Friday – I checked out the symposium at Alma Mater Law School about Justice Blackmun. It was intruiging stuff. And, of course, considering the timing of the event, no speaker could avoid talking about the proceedings to confirm prospective Chief Justice John Roberts. A lot of great praise for Linda Greenhouse’s book, “Becoming Justice Blackmun,” which I’d love to get my hands on one of these days (if only to glimpse what a treasure trove of info that his rat packing ways provided).
Sunday – Emmy night!
— Such a shame Hugh “Dr. House” Laurie did not win best dramatic actor (I suspect that the nomination of HBO’s “Deadwood” actor – also a Brit doing an American accent – cancelled out the Hugh Laurie nomination). Don’t quite understand why that award went to James Spader, while his colleague William Shatner won the best supporting actor – their work on ABC’s “Boston Legal” wasn’t that strong in my mind.
— Tony “Monk” Shalhoub won best comedic actor – umm, well, I guess that’s nice (mind you, I consider “Monk” to be in the (not-yet-in-existence) category of dramedy, not comedy.), but I do wish Jason Bateman or Zach Braff had their shot at winning the Emmy.
— Felicity Huffman of “Desparate Housewives” won best comedic actress; lovely speech about how she loved her husband William H. Macy. Roseanne Arquette won the best dramatic actress award for her work in NBC’s “Medium.”
— Best supporting comedic actor and actress given to Brad Garrett and Doris Roberts of “Everybody Loves Raymond” – but too bad that Peter Boyle didn’t win (it was a toss between him and Brad Garrett, I’m sure, and Brad Garrett had the more laughs, simply because those writers could not stop torturing his character in such hilarious situations).
— The theme song Emmy Idol gigs was a not entirely fun. I missed the Shatner pairing with Fredericka von Stade doing the “Star Trek” theme; Kristen “Veronica Mars” Bell did “Fame” – while I enjoyed it, I felt she was a bit light on the singing chops. Gary Dourdan (“Warrick” of “CSI”) paired up with Macy Gray to sing the “Jeffersons” – and they captured the “Jeffersons” feeling just right, I thought (ok, I confess – I used to watch way too much “Jeffersons” when I was a kid). O just didn’t think much of the Donald Trump-Megan Mullally doing “Green Acres” (while I can buy Mullally as Eva Gabor, I just don’t see Trump as Eddie Albert) – so I thought it was silly that they “won.”
— the homage to the TV anchormen – Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather doing a tribute to Peter Jennings and David Letterman’s homage to Johnny Carson – both were stuff that gave me a lump in the throat.
— S. Epatha Merkerson won for her tv movie role on HBO’s “Lackawanna Blues” – and as the MSNBC’s posting of the AP article notes:
S. Epatha Merkerson was named best actress in a miniseries or movie for “Lackawanna Blues,” on HBO, and proceeded to charm the audience by announcing her acceptance speech, which she’d tucked into her bosom, had slipped down and couldn’t be retrieved.
There was something touching about watching a veteran of stage and tv so surprised and happy to win and shocked that her thanks fell into her dress. She thanked her “Law and Order” crew too – wow. The show really is something, to get thought about even when the winner wasn’t winning for it.
— So pleased that David Shore won for the best episode of “House” (the one where House reveals how the stroke in his leg ended his relationship with the lawyer).
— I was disappointed that the speeches were cut by the music; I’m sorry, I’m a sucker for speeches.
— Hugh Jackman! Sorry, but he’s a showman. Nice that he won for his Tony work. Thought it was cute that at the end, he and Whoopi Goldberg (frequent Oscars host) were the ones giving the final awards to best drama and comedy (“Lost” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”).
— “Everybody Loves Raymond” getting a final send-off, winning the Emmy over the “Desparate Housewives.” At least an old fashioned sitcom won.
— Ellen DeGeneres did a pretty good job.
Monday – premieres on tv! “Arrested Development” – funny season premiere. America – please watch this funny show! (and “Scrubs,” once it’s back from hiatus, whenever that it’ll be).
Watching the series premiere of “Kitchen Confidential” on FOX, wherein Bradley Cooper (the ex-Will of “Alias”/the TA of “Jack and Bobby” of WB/and the Psycho Boyfriend of “Wedding Crashers” the movie) is a chef. A sitcom by the makers of “Sex and the City.” A show with potential, so is my sense of it. Cooper’s a cutie (I’ve obviously warmed up to him since his “I’m in deep trouble, Secret Agent Sydney” days). Actor John Cho plays a seafood chef. An Asian in a cast!
The series premiere of “Out of Practice” on CBS, in the 9:30pm slot — well, I will always have a soft spot for Henry Winkler (previously the incompetent attorney on “Arrested Development”), but this new series had a premiere episode that just wasn’t funny to me. Oh, well – to each his/her own.
New Orleans v. NY Giants – on Monday night football. Hmm…