Monday, December 01, 2008

By Pat Clark
pclark@modbee.com

last updated: August 21, 2008 12:22:30 PM

To help celebrate the Emmy Awards this year, the folks who organize such things have devised a little online poll to test the staying power of some of television's finest moments.

Go to www.emmys.com and you'll find two lists of great television moments, 20 in each, comedy and drama. You can watch the snippets, then vote for your favorites. The top voter-getters will be presented during the Emmys telecast Sept. 21.

Narrowing down TV's greatest moments to 40 no doubt will prove a thankless task. Surely there are people who will be up in arms over their own personal favorites being excluded. I'm not going to cry over the fact that nothing from "Cheers" made the cut. Although if I really wanted to, I could make a case for Sam and Diane's angry first kiss deserving a spot -- especially since a copycat moment from "Moonlighting" got a nod in drama.

I also could take aim at the Kelly vs. Justin denouement from 2004's initial "American Idol" contest being included.

Comedy? Really?

Well, the very thought does make me laugh -- derisively.

Still, I appreciated most of the moments represented. I chuckled all over again in several of the comedy spots and got totally choked up in too many of the drama ones. It's a pretty solid group.

Oh, I'm not convinced anyone born later than 1973 really will get the significance of the snippet that finds Sammy Davis Jr. belittling Archie Bunker without Archie getting the joke on "All in the Family." It ends with Davis planting a smooch on Archie's shocked face. Sure, folks under 35 might know about the deep level of racism in America that was losing its foothold in the early '70s, but the groundbreaking combination of heavy social commentary (a la Norman Lear) coupled with comedic TV might not be fully appreciated by anyone who didn't live the times.

When it came time to vote, I really had to wrestle, although some were easily discounted.

The "Friends" moment featuring Ross and Rachel's first kiss, for instance, is OK, but there's a far funnier and more memorable scene from the same episode -- when Rachel is desperately trying to keep Ross from hearing her drunken phone message declaring she's "over him."

Ross: "You're over me? When? When were you under me?"

That one I might have considered voting for, but this one? Nah.

I went with a 1976 skit from "The Carol Burnett Show" that "re-enacts" the scene from "Gone With the Wind" that finds a destitute Scarlett sashaying down the staircase to greet Rhett in a dress she'd fashioned from the curtains in the window -- including the curtain rod.

Scarlett (Burnett): "I saw it in the window and I just couldn't resist it."

Visually hysterical and whenever I hear "Gone With the Wind," I think of that skit. That's about as personally memorable as it gets.

Over in the world of drama it was a bit tougher. Mostly because I got choked up at almost every scene. Even one I'd never seen before.

What a sap.

I was tempted to choose Clooney's exit scene from "ER," just on basic Clooney principle. But, honestly, I didn't remember it.

I also really enjoyed the setup and ending from "The Twilight Zone: To Serve Man" episode that has a great Holy-Soylent-Green-Batman! payoff, but I'd never seen it. Hence, not actually "memorable."

But I am going to remember it in my nightmares from now on.

I picked the scene from "Roots" when Kunta Kinte's father presents the infant to the sky: "Kunta Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself."

Very cool.

My guess, though, is that J.R. being shot on "Dallas" is going to take the prize.

It requires some time to make your way through both lists, but it's entertaining as all get out and a nice little trip down television lane. Take a look. Enjoy the shows. Vote.

Just don't pick "American Idol."

Reach Scene edtor Pat Clark at pclark@modbee.com.

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