Thursday, September 19, 2013

Death Tributes At Emmy Awards Are Still About Ratings

Don't kid yourselves. The Emmy Awards want high ratings. They want eyes on the screens so next time that the organization does their television contract they get big bucks. The Executive Producer of the show also wants big bucks so that means thinking about ratings even when it comes to the memorial tributes to actors who passed away since the last Emmy Awards. This year five actors who died are getting a special tribute in the form of a speech by five living stars and everyone else who died is getting ignored. So you will have Cory Monteith being honored by Jane Lynch and Larrty Hagman gets nothing. Yes, the man who was on television for a lifetime and in some of the biggest shows of all time and the biggest cliffhanger on television of all time gets stiffed so Cory Monteith can have a couple of minutes.

The Executive Producer admitted its about ratings and that Larry Hagman is not going to get good ratings but a young person who died on a semi-hit show is. James Gandolfini did make the list. The other trick in all of this is that the stars chosen to talk about the dead actors are fairly big ratings draws in their own right. Jonathan Winters is being honored just because they got Robin Williams to talk about him.

35 comments:

Patty said...

Wrong. Pay your respect to all or none. Cory was on TV for about 10 minutes compared to Larry. So wrong.

Kelly said...

It's always been about the ratings. Doing the five is fine, but are they at least doing a in memoriam clip for everyone?

Count Jerkula said...

I Dream of Jeannie > Dallas.

Gertie Raus said...

JR/Major Healey deserves better than this.

FSP said...

I Dream Of Jeannie with a 10 foot weenie.
Showed it to the lady next door.
She thought it was a snake, hit it with a rake.
Now it's only 2x4.

Now! said...

That's the nature of celebrity, though. People want what's new and hot, and a large percentage of the audience wasn't even born when Larry was on 'Dallas'. Unlike comedy shows and single-episode dramas like CSI, serial dramas don't have that great a life in syndication. I would guess that half of the potential audience does not know who Larry Hagman is.

I remember knowing it was time for Johnny Carson to go when all his references to celebrities of his day - Rudy Vallee! - started to fall flat with the then-contemporary audiences.

Simon said...

Hard to believe they would choose to ignore JR! I won't be watching. The only reason they are honoring Jonathan Winters is so they can promote Robin Williams and his new show. What a bunch of rubbish.

Danielle said...

This can't be true. There's no way they won't honor Hagman in some way. No way.

roxie said...

Robin Williams is kind of a has been in his own right.
Cory Monteith? come. on.

amused bush said...

This has to be a mistake. How can you not honor Larry Hagman?! He played one of the most seminal characters in tv history. Very disappointing...serial dramas on tv owe Dallas respect for ushering in the genre.

Count Jerkula said...

Larry Hagman's second liver had a better career then that Cory junkie.

Sugar said...

FSP that seriously gave me the haha's. thanks for that.

crapbag said...

Larry was very very difficult to get along with. Made alot of people down right hate him. Maybe this has something to do with it?

crapbag said...

Larry was very very difficult to get along with. Made alot of people down right hate him. Maybe this has something to do with it?

caralw said...

Can't blame Corey for them ignoring J.R., especially since Corey was well-loved and giving, whereas Hagman wasn't.

Bitch about them excluding Larry, but please don't do it at Corey's expense.

Brenda L said...

I don't know but the fact that a lot of people don't know who JR was makes me start contemplating my own mortality.

Nancy said...

I'll just say this. Let them all have their special tribute or none of them. It is all about ratings.

pegd said...

Horrible. Another reason not to watch. Larry Hagman was TV in the 70-80's.

Unknown said...

Well given this is making such a ruckus be interesting to see if this affects their ratings, I usually can't be bothered to watch the Emmys in total, if I am watching TV I might pop over during commercials of the shows I am watching but I won't do even that.

Half the people in Hollywood are difficult, is Lea Michele going to be giving the tribute for Cory?

Didn't Larry make it to do a few epsiodes of the new Dallas show with Jessie Metcalfe?

That said Gandolfini was well loved. Some friends of mine were visiting NYC and went to a restaurant on the birthday of the one friend. They did see James G sitting at a table by himself but did not bother him.

He overheard it was someone's birthday and asked if he could bring the birthday cake out from the kitchen, with the candles lit too out to their table when it was time. They were floored and loved it and said what a sweetheart the guy was.

Anonymous said...

No Larry Hangman.....JR Ewing/Major Nelson

No Jack Klugman......Quincy/Oscar Madison

BULLSHIT!

ktmonster said...

Oh heaven forbid they want people to actually WATCH the Emmys...bastards.

Little Miss Smoke and Mirrors said...

Jack Klugman won 3 Emmys.
Larry Hagman nominated for 3 Emmys.
Cory Monteith nil, but Finn made Regionals.

Jenn said...

an overdose of a 10 second star vs a lifetime on television, awful. I am not a fan of glorifying overdoses.

Tara said...

I love the In Memoriams. I even prefer when they just let the audience clap it out instead of covering up the audio with Celine Dion's singing. It's a very Hollywood-inclusive thing to me, to hear and see how the various actors and crew were respected by the famous people we all know. I really enjoy it. I have nothing against Monteith - I think hid performance touched and helped a lot of young people and that's lovely - but I'm sure a host of Emmy winners/nominees passed this year, where he has not received even a nomination. Also, they SHOULD honor Larry because there's a damn remake of his show on the air right now.

Tara said...

Additionally, I like the Oscars' new method for lead acting roles with the co-star speeches, but I don't know if I want to hear five speeches about the deceased. It seems like that would take more time than the five-minute memoriam video.

Tara said...

If this was done the right way, you would have every person shown as usual - some with audio or video clips - and then at the end, a longer clip of Cory singing, followed by Larry and then James, because I think James was the one people were the most upset about. Every single actor made some mention of him after he died. We were asked to lower our flags to half-mast when he passed (I live in NJ). So, he should be the last, right after Larry. And then, you get a bunch of people in the audience giving a standing ovation, crying, clapping, what have you. INSTANT piece of classic Emmys history, and something that will go viral the next day without putting a 30-year-old with 4 seasons of a musical television show over two iconic television actors.

auntliddy said...

I can live without honoring Hagman. It isnt nice but thats the biz; the hot get the publicity even in death.

FrenchGirl said...

who is Corey M?

Presto said...

And this is one of the reasons why I never watch the Emmys.

Erik said...

Another reason not to watch...

RowdyRodimus said...

So hopefully they show that Glee Junkie as a cold, blue stiff with a needle hanging out of his arm when they do his memorial. Maybe the Geeks or whatever will learn a thing or two.

Kelly said...

+1 @caralw!

Jennmcn said...

I won't be watching. Sorry, Cory was just a blip on the screen compared with Larry Hagman and Jack Klugman both were on shows that changed broadcast TV. Dallas the huge nighttime soap and Quincy the father of modern forensic television. James Gandolfini played a transformative character on a show that changed cable television.

Meh. They never even nominate the right people.

di butler said...

A kid who couldn't act his way out of a paper bag on a show that only had one good season, ORRR...a man who defined the words "tv leading man" for a couple of decades. Sure. Emmys sucking, per usual. And Robin Williams is old and sucks now with his cocaine free pig heart.

NaughtyNurse said...

Shit like this, as well as all the self-aggrandizement involved in these award shows are exactly why I don't watch them.

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