Posted by
DougPowers on Monday, August 28, 2006 10:28:17 AM
You may have heard that the Emmy Awards telecast aired last night, and the opening of the program featured a skit depicting what was supposed to be a parody of the show “Lost.” The problem for the network is that the sketch was complete with a plane crash at the beginning and subsequently featuring Conan O’Brien surviving the crash and reaching a desert island.
Here’s a video of the skit.
This aired the same day that 49 people died in a plane crash in Kentucky.
Was this just an unfortunate coincidence that was simply overlooked by producers? If we can honestly say that the Emmy producers would have aired the skit had the plane crashed in Los Angeles instead of Kentucky, then we can call it an unfortunate oversight. Sure. And Anna Nicole Smith’s baby will grow up well-adjusted.
Not only that, but had the plane gone down at LAX and been carrying, ::gulp:: — celebrities – not only would the crash skit not have aired, but the Emmys would have been cancelled, Inside Edition would hit the air with wall-to-wall coverage, and Barbara Walters would be on the phone immediately securing a weepy sit-down with Brangelina, who probably wouldn’t have known anybody on the plane, but damn can they get the ratings.
Wondering why the network decided to air the skit isn’t difficult. Frankly, Omaha could have been nuked that morning and the network suits would still have green-lit a parody of “The Day After.”
As far as the shallow glitterati is concerned, if it doesn’t happen in New York or L.A., it doesn’t matter. What will save producers of the show is the converse: If it happens at the Emmys, most of the country doesn’t care.
That aside, Conan O’Brien helped keep the celebs in check. In an attempt to end long-winded acceptance speeches, O’Brien showed the crowd Bob Newhart, who was in an air-tight chamber, and announced that there was only three hours worth of air in there. “If the show goes over three hours, Bob Newhart dies.”
O’Brien also warned that anybody who makes a heavy-handed political comment would be forced to ”make out with Al Gore in a Prius.” There was no heavy-handed political commentary. I think O’Brien’s on to something.
The jokes were funny. Too bad the focus today has to be on the producers’ poor judgment and/or taste in deciding to air the pre-recorded opening segment. In Hollywood, however, they’re probably still trying to figure out what was wrong with that.