OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITION
Will Win and Should Win: "The Amazing Race"
It has won seven consecutive Emmys in this category, making them the Bill Russell era Celtics of reality TV (with "American Idol" as any Wilt Chamberlain team in the 1960s). And with the same competition as last year (and of the last two before that), I don't see how it can finally get beaten by one of them this time around. Besides, it's a really good show. It's entertaining, you can watch it from beginning to end, and the host is not unbearable. To me, only "Top Chef" comes close to its watchability.
OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST
Will Win and Should Win: Jeff Probst on "Survivor"
The tribe has spoken and Jeff Probst is the "The Amazing Race" of reality hosts. Like "The Amazing Race," he is a multiple time Emmy winner. Like "The Amazing Race," Probst has won his award since it was created (in 2008 while the most outstanding reality competition category was created in 2003). And like the show, Probst has the same competition for the award ahead of him and I don't see any sign why any of them will finally beat him. So, I'm pretty confident in a Probst three-peat coming up. So much, that if this were my weekly NFL picks column, Probst for best reality show host and "The Pacific" for best miniseries would be my Lock of the Weeks.
Other Thoughts: Out of all the category I think will be presented at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, it seems that this and the most outstanding reality competition category are the most boring. Both have been won by the same people since its creation ("The Amazing Race" and Probst respectively). It has also been the most predictable. Since 2007, the same five shows have been nominated for Outstanding Reality Show Competition. In the reality hosts category, the same five people that were nominated this season were nominated last season and the big four (Probst, Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron and Heidi Klum) have been nominated every time. Will someone please do something and spice these two categories up?
OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW PROGRAM
Will Win: "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List"
In the four different occasions Kathy Griffin's show has been nominated for this particular Emmy, it has only lost twice: in 2006 to "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and last year to "Intervention." Well guess what? None of these shows are nominees this year! So, unless I've underestimated the other nominees, it looks like a clear road to the award's stage podium for Ms. Griffin and crew.
Should Win: "Dirty Jobs"
This show is way overdue for an Emmy! Good premise, great host, fun to watch, funny and educational. What more does this show have to do?
Other Thoughts:
a. It's finally good to see a reality TV category with some unpredictability. You have "Intervention," last year's winner by the way, not even getting a nomination this season (which I still don't get, by the way. It's basically the same show with the same drug addicts, same intervention and the same great moments. Nothing makes sense anymore!). You have not one, but two first time nominees. Even "My Life on the D-List" can't be considered the sure to be winner at this point as its won only 50% of the time.
b. Watch out for "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution"! Though I've never watched it, I think its concept (famous UK chef/ health advocate going to America's fattest towns to fight obesity) sounds like something the Emmy voters will go ga-ga for.
OUTSTANDING MUSIC, VARIETY OR COMEDY SERIES
Will Win: "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"
Out of all of the shows on late night, none is as good, as funny, and as consistently well-done as "The Daily Show". It brings the biggest news stories of the day and brings it all into great, humurous perspective. No wonder a ton of people view the show and Stewart as the most trusted names in news.
Should Win: "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien"
The last two weeks of the show were the biggest must-see TV moments of the year. You had Conan, who was on his way out as NBC was replacing him with yes-man Jay Leno after only seven months as host, go out in front of the camera every and doing everything to piss NBC off. I still remember the excitement I had every night, thinking: what will Conan do? What will Letterman and Ferguson say about this? How will Leno respond? And every night, O'Brien failed to dissapoint.
Also, wouldn't that be a great "Eff You" moment by the Emmy committee, having O'Brien and his crew accept the award ON NBC! Will Conan even be allowed to give a speech, since his "won't appear on TV until Spetember 1st" clause to his buy out will still be on? And what if that's the only award NBC wins that night (and it's possible)? My God, just imagining Jeff Zucker's face watching it all unfold is fantastic!
Other Thoughts: Yes, finding out that "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" was nominated for this award made my day. It's just good to know that the Emmy committee are, too, on Team Coco.
OUTSTANDING MUSIC, VARIETY OR COMEDY SPECIAL
Will Win: The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Special
Bruce Springsteen and the East Street Band, Metallica, U2, Aretha Franklin, Tom Hanks...and more! All of them showed up to perform songs on one stage for four hours honoring the silver anniversary of the big museum in downtown Cleveland, something that probably won't be seen for years. Though it was boring at times, it was quite something watching history's biggest names in music history perform. And for that, I think it will win.
Should Win: "Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction"
Just because it was the funniest stand-up special out of all of the other nominees.
Other Thoughts: This one can really go either way. On one hand, you can see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame special winning it. On the other hand, there's also a great chance that the Help for Haiti special could win just because of the concept. In terms of everything (writing, directing, camera shots), it could go to the Kennedy Center Honors. In other words, if Probst and "The Pacific" were my theoretical Locks of the Week, my pick in this category would be the "I'm not sure" pick on my NFL picks colum (returning this September by the way if you weren't sure).
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM
Will Win: "Alien Earths": "NGC"
Come on, a cool educational program on the National Geographic channel NOT winning an Emmy? Personally, I think that's just crazy.
Should Win: "South Park": 200/201
The best two episodes of the show's 14th season. It brought back old characters and storylines into one great mash-ups. Out of all of the other nominees in this category, this has the best chance of beating that show on National Geographic.
Other Thoughts: I did not understand how "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" ended up being the nominated episode for "The Simpsons." Personally, I thought that it was one of their worst episode of the season. If anything, it should have been an episode like "The Bob Next Door" or "American History X-cellent."
And there you have it! Now, since it's been so long, how about some random thoughts? The following were on my mind from Monday, July 13th to Tuesday, July 20th:
- I don't care what kind of band Free Credit Score.com ends up with, they will never compare to the greatness that was the Free Credit Report.com guys.
- I'm in the acceptance stage when it comes to a possible Miami Heat dynasty. There will only be four teams (the Lakers, the Celtics, the Magic and possibly the Knicks if they get Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul as it has been rumored) that will challenge them for the next few years to come, and Mike Miller will provide some great three point shooting. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna bang my head on my desk. (bang) Owwww.
- Since I finally have the opportunity to do, I would like to issue an apology to my beloved White Sox. When the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, I was gloomy about the possibility of two and a half months with nothing to look forward to except for Bears training camp to begin and the Bulls free agency signings since both Chicago baseball teams were playing terribly and out of the playoff picture. Well, since June 9th (coincidentally, the same day the Hawks hoisted the Cup in Philly) the Sox have gone 28-8 and gone from 9.5 GB out of first place to a 2.5 game lead in the division, including both a 9 game and a 11 game winning streak in that period. The hitting has been phenomenal, the pitching is what many thought would be like in the beginning of the season, the rumors about trading top players like Buehrle and Konerko are now dead, and the possibility of playoff baseball in Chicago this October looks much brighter. And for that, I apologize. As for all the winning, why stop there? Keep those wins coming, boys! I wanna see another banner hanging above U.S. Cellular Field!
- You know, with all the negative reaction given to Lebron these past few days, we should at least thank him for one thing: creating a story so it that it actually shelved the around-the-clock coverage of the Brett Favre's annual "will he or won't he?" storyline for a month and a half. And Lord knows we needed that break from Favre's ego!
- The world we live in: where you can be a star on a reality TV show by just having sex with Tiger Woods.
-"Mad Men" is back this Sunday! "Mad Men" is back this Sunday! Don, Peggy, Roger Sterling, Pete, Joan, even Harry...they're all back! Back I tell you!
Err, what I meant to say was...I'm glad the 4th season of "Mad Men" finally premieres this week and am looking forward to how this new season unfolds, especially with the twists and new plot developments that last season's finale had. Sunday night TV was getting a little bit bored with the show.
Well, that's about it for now. As usual, more random thoughts to come sometime next Monday. Be sure to stop by then. Otherwise, enjoy the start your workweek!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you want to suggest anything to mj15 for his next blog entry (tips, perhaps?), e-mail him at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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