Bravo to the Emmys: Give that show an award

By Pat Clark
pclark@modbee.com

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I kind of loved the Emmy Awards on Sunday night. Not only did the folks who did the voting get a whole lot right, the show actually was entertaining.

This TV fan could not complain, what with "Mad Men" winning best drama, "30 Rock" winning best comedy and Alec Baldwin and Bryan Cranston taking the top male acting honors.

Even though Holly Hunter was my first pick, Glenn Close winning best dramatic actress was hardly a disappointment — or a surprise.

The Emmy show itself was a vast improvement over most any awards show. It felt snappy, swift and, yes, hip.

The producers should get a contract out to Neil Patrick Harris post-haste and sign him up again to host next year. He was simply fabulous.

In fact, the folks who run the Grammys, the Oscars and the Tonys should ring up Harris, as well.

He reminded a bit of a modern-day Johnny Carson as he manned the hosting duties — suave, sophisticated, but willing to poke fun at himself and the television genre in general. His opening song-and-dance number, reminiscent of a 1960s variety show, certainly got things off to a rousing start.

Admittedly, as soon as he launched in, I thought "Oh, no, not an opening musical number ... how lame." But the cleverly written song totally worked and set the tone for the evening's running joke about the financial straits broadcast television finds itself in.

Kind of made me feel a kinship to the actors and writers in the TV industry, what with newspapers being another medium under attack.

Well, as much kinship as I can feel to a group of overpaid, overly beautiful people, most of whom likely have enough money to see themselves and several small African nations through their retirement years if television were actually to go bust.

Which, of course, it won't. Seriously, for all the woe-is-TV banter, the genre is hardly dodo bird material. Oh, sure, broadcast television is in a pickle, given the quality onslaught being dished out by cable networks. But television, in general, is going to be just fine.

There aren't a whole lot of people buying fewer or even smaller TVs. Several and bigger is more like the case. Even Internet junkies want a big screen to watch the good stuff.

It will be interesting to see what happens to broadcast television, though, especially given all those exorbitant salaries paid to the biggest of its stars.

Massive salaries and a dwindling advertising market? Not a good business combination.

But, really, who deserves millions of dollars a season to play pretend? Let me answer that one for you: No one.

So what happens? Does Kiefer Sutherland — reportedly making around $550,000 per episode (per episode?!) — take a pay cut? Do the "Desperate Housewives" ladies, who each take home $400,000 per episode, get furloughed?

Uh, right.

More than likely, viewers will get fewer stars as scripted TV takes a back seat to more and more cheap-to-produce reality shows and Jay Leno five nights a week. (Not that Leno's salary is low, it's just cheaper to produce sub-par talk shows.)

And that kind of stinks.

No doubt television will find its way clear of the Internet threat. It's the quality that's under question.

Is it just me, or does it feel like the Internet is swallowing up the entire world?

Elsewhere around the Scene:

If you love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, you'll want to join in the Californication Night on Saturday at the Fat Cat in downtown Modesto. The tribute show features Anthem, Disturbing the Peace, The Plastics Birthday Party and Chili Peppers tribute band Righteous and the Wicked. Tickets for the

7 p.m. show are $5, available at the Fat Cat box office, 930 11th St.

Saturday also is opening night for Verb-A-Tude — spoken word with attitude. Poet Jimi Choice, a retired educator from Stockton, and blues group Fetish highlight the event at Doc's Q 'N' Pit Stop, 421 Maze Blvd., Modesto. Promoter Jai Gullatt calls Doc's "reminiscent of the days when the clubs were small, intimate and oh-so sexy." There also will be an open mike. Doors open at 6 p.m.

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