This seems to be Neil Patrick Harris' year. A tour-de-force season on How I Met Your Mother was followed by hosting stints on the Tonys and TV Land Awards that showed how natural he was in the role of awards host. Heck, he even managed to get the Tonys some viral street cred by doing a Billy Crystal-esque medley at the end that stated the show "could not be any gayer if Liza was named mayor and Elton John took flight."
Today the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced that they are increasing the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten. Now this could mean that a.) the race will be more suspenseful because more quality films will be in the mix, and b.) Rob Schneider might finally get one of his pictures nominated.
But it could also make the telecast (airing on ABC next year) even longer than it is now, and every year we have speeches cut short by music and the show threatening to bleed over into local news. But beyond more Best Picture nominees, what else should they change?
Rock of Love star Bret Michaels ran smack into a descending piece of stage scenery at Sunday night's Tony Awards, going down for the count with multiple injuries.
You can watch the video here, or just watch after the jump. If you're not a fan of Michaels, his band (Poison) or his "looking for romance" reality show, you should resist the urge to watch it about 10 times while giggling. It's wrong to laugh at another person's misfortune. This reporter would certainly never dream of enjoying something like this.
MIchaels' injuries include a broken nose and three stitches in his lip. He had a CAT scan today as a precaution s he has an old neck injury. No word what effect the impact had on his permanent make-up.
If you had DVR'd the Tony Awards on CBS last night, or switched off the set after Elton John's Billy Elliot, The Musical won the final big award of the night -- Best Musical -- you missed the best thing in the entire show. In a word, Neil Patrick Harris.
At a few minutes after 11 o'clock, Tony host Neil Patrick Harris wrapped up the broadcast, but instead of just saying goodnight and urging viewers to go see a Broadway show, Neil did a musical number and it was the high point of the night. In true Barney Stinson style, the How I Met Your Mother star (and sure bet Emmy nominee), performed a song that was as good as any Billy Crystal Oscar opening. Funny, snarky and pointed, it really skewered the Tonys, almost like a Mad magazine parody.
All the talk has been about Conan O'Brien taking over The Tonight Show and Jimmy Fallon taking over Late Night, but let's not forget Craig Ferguson over at CBS' Late Late Show. He might host the Emmys this year.
That's one of the changes being discussed by producer Dan Mischer. And let's be honest here: anything would be better than last year's horrifying hosting job done by the team of Ryan Seacrest, Jeff Probst, Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel. It was a train wreck from start to finish, with only one moment that was kinda funny (when they gave the award for Best Reality Host and dramatically went to a commercial before announcing the winner.
I was fine with the initial story that it may have been a hoax, because it was news. After all the stunt Sacha "Bruno" Baron Cohen pulled putting his ass in the notoriously sensitive Eminem's face was the big buzz moment of the MTV Movie Awards. But it didn't stop there. Finally, after speculation and reports all week about it, Eminem admitted it was a stunt. Fine. Great. Does this mean it's over? I can't tell you how many "news" stories I read about this.
Everyone had their own take on it. You'd have thought it was the JFK assassination all over again. "There was one shooter with a camera zoomed in on Eminem's face. That's the only person who knew what was happening." "Impossible. Who worked the rig that lowered Cohen? Clearly there was a conspiracy." "But Eminem had to have been in on that conspiracy. Can you really lower a man on top of someone without them knowing it." "Perhaps, but did Em know Cohen's ass was bare." "Oh I think he most certainly did." Who cares, honestly?!
I'm not really sure if there's anything else to say about this clip from GSN's upcoming2009 Game Show Awards (this Saturday at 8). It's 70s pop culture icon Charo presenting at the ceremony as well as taking on Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings in a trivia contest that is obviously tilted in her favor.
It looks like Eminem wasn't the real butt of Sacha Baron Cohen's prank at the MTV Movie Awards. (And yes, I do get paid by AOL to write jokes. God bless the writer's strike!)
Entertainment Weekly confirmed from an unidentified source close to the network that Cohen said the prank was staged and that Eminem wasn't really mad that he got a face full of ass.
EW also reported that Scott Aukerman, the show's head writer who comedy geeks will recognize as a Mr. Show actor/writer and one-half of the comedy duo The Fun Bunch, leaked the news on his blog. That entry seemed to have disappeared from his blog as fast as Eminem's ass-smelling face from the awards show.
OK, so you might have heard that Bruno (aka Sacha Baron Cohen) fell from the sky last night at the MTV Movie Awards and shoved his rear into Eminem's face. Was Eminem really surprised and ticked off by this, so irritated that he and his crew actually left the show? I'm leaning towards no. You can see Eminem "acting" as he looks up (the camera just happens to be on him), and then Bruno lands on him perfectly. I guess it could be true, but I'm not quite buying it. The funny moment is when he announces Zac Efron the winner of some award and Efron isn't even sure what the hell is going on.
It's hard to imagine that anyone would consider TV's sweet-natured grandma Betty White as their "sworn enemy." Except, of course for maybe Mom from Futurama and the bizarro version of Bea Arthur.
But apparently that's the label that Price is Right host Bob Barker has bestowed upon the Golden Girl. It turns out the two aren't pals or confidants. Buzzer Blog reported that Barker threatened not to show up to GSN's 2009 Game Show Awards where he accepted a lifetime achievement award along with Mark Goodson and Monty Hall if White was there.
It gets weirder. The whole thing was caused by an elephant. This is starting to sound less like Hollywood gossip and more like a job for Mythbusters.
Seth McFarlane is trying to break the Emmy barrier by having Family Guy compete with such shows as 30 Rock and The Office. For the second year in a row, Family Guy is being submitted as a nominee for the general comedy series category (as opposed to the animated 'toon category).
I'm ambivalent about this choice. On one hand, a lot of great comedy has come from animation that certainly is on par with the live-action television comedies. On the other hand, if a comedy series did compete against live sitcoms, I'd prefer it was The Simpsons or South Park which historically have been much better at intellectual humor than anything McFarlane has produced. It's also difficult to do a direct comparison since cartoon shows are more flexible storytelling vehicles than live sitcoms. It's like having an unlimited special effects budget.
I note that McFarlane and company have also jumped on the Obama campaign poster parody bandwagon. That's so six months ago.
I know it puts me in the minority, but I've always loved TV commercials. Sure, the bad ones are bad, but the good ones are art. The Clio Awards (for excellence in advertising) last week, and here's the list of winners. After the jump, some highlights from various categories.
The thing that gets me about the TV Land Awards is this: they're celebrating the types of TV shows that TV Land will one day not even show anymore.
But before reality shows and movies take over the network, it's kinda fun to see the casts of Magnum, P.I. (too bad John Hillerman wasn't there) and Home Improvement again (but still no Jonathan Taylor Thomas ... guess that tension is still alive all these years later). Neil Patrick Harris was a good host, and the lineup of old and new stars they had is actually quite impressive.
For those who are unaware, the Bradbury Award (named after science fiction writer Ray Bradbury) is a special honor given at the Nebula Awards, which themselves are hosted by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association. The Bradbury Award honors excellence in screenwriting as it relates to science fiction and/or fantasy.
Granted, the news that Joss Whedon is the recipient of this award is not new. In fact, the announcement of his victory was made two months ago. However, the official ceremony was this past weekend, and he didn't get hit by a bus in the interim or catch swine flu or have anything bad happen to him that would have prevented his receipt of the award in that time. And now, his award is complete.
If you go by all of the various stories in the media, it would seem that TV viewers just aren't into award shows anymore. The ratings are often down year to year, and if people are tuning in it seems to be more for the fashions, the red carpet, and maybe to see a particular category/performance by someone on the show.
So it's interesting that there are so many new genre award shows popping up. TV Land has had their own awards (The TV Land Awards) for a number of years now (the latest airs next week with Neil Patrick Harris hosting), and Bravo has The A-List Awards, whatever they are (it aired earlier this week). Now GSN is getting into the game (no pun intended) with The Game Show Awards, a show dedicated to giving awards to game shows, game show hosts, even game show sponsors!
This seems to be Neil Patrick Harris' year. A tour-de-force season on How I Met Your Mother was followed by hosting stints on the Tonys and TV Land Awards that showed how natural he was in the role of awards host. Heck, he even managed to get the Tonys some viral street cred by doing a Billy Crystal-esque medley at the end that stated the show "could not be any gayer if Liza was named mayor and Elton John took flight."
Today the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced that they are 
Rock of Love star Bret Michaels ran smack into a descending piece of stage scenery at Sunday night's Tony Awards, going down for the count with multiple injuries.
All the talk has been about Conan O'Brien taking over The Tonight Show and Jimmy Fallon taking over Late Night, but let's not forget Craig Ferguson over at CBS' Late Late Show. 
I was fine with the initial story that 
It looks like Eminem wasn't the real butt of Sacha Baron Cohen's prank at the MTV Movie Awards. (And yes, I do get paid by AOL to write jokes. God bless the writer's strike!) 
It's hard to imagine that anyone would consider TV's sweet-natured grandma Betty White as their "sworn enemy." Except, of course for maybe Mom from Futurama and the bizarro version of Bea Arthur. 
Seth McFarlane is trying to break the Emmy barrier by having Family Guy compete with such shows as 30 Rock and The Office. For the second year in a row, Family Guy is being 
I know it puts me in the minority, but I've always loved TV commercials. Sure, the bad ones are bad, but the good ones are art. The Clio Awards (for excellence in advertising) last week, and 
The thing that gets me about the TV Land Awards is this: they're celebrating the types of TV shows that TV Land will one day not even show anymore.
For those who are unaware, the Bradbury Award (named after science fiction writer Ray Bradbury) is a special honor given at the Nebula Awards, which themselves are hosted by the 
If you go by all of the various stories in the media, it would seem that TV viewers just aren't into award shows anymore. The ratings are often down year to year, and if people are tuning in it seems to be more for the fashions, the red carpet, and maybe to see a particular category/performance by someone on the show.
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
TV Squad previews CBS's new shows
