The TV Zone

Final Nielsen read on last night's Globe's minicast is not good. In fact, it's almost unimaginably bad. The nationals are out, and the Billy Bush/Nancy O'Dell telecast averaged just 5.8 million viewers, or a little better than a third of what NBC did last year.

So from NBC's viewpoint (though not necessarily mine; see below) this strike-crippled telecast is an unmitigated disaster. No one expected much traction anyway and now ABC - which just laid off a bunch of producers who were working on spec (including stars like Larry Charles and Taye Diggs) - is looking towards a similar fate this February.

All eyes will now turn to the Oscars, and I simply can't see how the scenario will be much different. The Screen Actors Guild has yet to lay down a pronunciamento on the Oscars as it did with the Globes, but under current circumstances, how could it be any different? If actors don't show and writers picket, the most important awards program on the globe will be side-lined as well. (Per a recent Pew poll, most respondents still haven't noticed the impact of the strike - they will when THAT happens.)

Here's the NBC numbers wrap:

"From 7-9 p.m., DATELINE NBC averaged a 1.1/3 in 18-49 and 4.4 million
viewers overall. From its first half-hour to its fourth, DATELINE increased its
18-49 rating by 63% (to a 1.3/3 from a 0.8/2) and its overall viewership by 1.6
million persons or 42% (to 5.3 million from 3.7 million).

From 9-10 p.m., the 65TH ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT, hosted by Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell, delivered a 1.7/4 in 18-49 and 5.8 million viewers
overall.

An earlier AP dispatch provided a little more perspective:

"NBC [was in] fourth in the hour, behind CBS’ miniseries
“Comanche Moon,” ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and the
Fox comedies “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” For the hour,
“Comanche Moon” had almost twice the audience as the NBC awards
announcement, Nielsen said Monday.
Last year, the Golden Globes ceremony on NBC had a 16.0 rating
and 23 audience share, Nielsen said. A ratings point represents
1,128,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 112.8
million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions
tuned to a given show."

(Photo courtesy of AFP).

My favorite moment?

Glad you asked because now...without further ado...my own personal winner of the night: Great Neck's own Nikki Blonsky - Tracy Turnblad of "Hairspray" - on the "Dateline" special that preceded last night's awards telecast.

Nikki (best supporting actress nom; no cigar, unfortunately, but at least she scored a Critic's Choice; see right) was featured in a day-in-the-life segment, and had the class to hold up a copy of Newsday - the edition in which she was on the cover of the Jan. 10 Part 2 cover.

"Being from New York and being on the cover of Newsday is really, really cool," she said.

By the way, the segment was pretty good, too (best part: Nikki throws a table upon learning she's been nominated for GG.) Catch it all here...

I was thinking it. I know you were thinking it. I'm pretty sure everyone I know was thinking it. We were all thinking this: I LOVE this strike-shortened, bang-'em-out, knock-em-down Golden Globe Awards telecast.

I mean, THIS is what I'm talkin' about: No filler, no nonsense, no tributes, no speeches, no hosts, no bad jokes or tired song-and-dance routines, or orchestral cues (telling the gaseous nominee to get his or her butt off stage), no quips about how long that winner droned on, and no teases telling you/me to wait through the five-minute commercial break to learn just who (exactly) WILL win Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, etc.

In fact, fewer commercials.

Yeah, we had to endure Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell, but they weren't so bad and after a while, I came to absolutely love their brisk, semi-nonsensical style (you could almost imagine one of them saying to the other - "there's an award show to put on, pal - don't CARE what you think about Cate Blanchett.") These two were handed lemons and forced to make lemonade, and pretty much succeeded. They didn't try to be too cute - no lame jokes, the best I could tell - because the format forbade it. Dave Karger, the "EW" writer who vaguely looks like Matt Damon (if you're near-sighted?) He was good too - the guy who provided color on an as-needed basis. I didn't pay close attention to his predictions but think he was careful to couch matters (well, "Atonement" could win, but...)

I think we've witnessed the birth of a tradition -a team for the future. The lemon team.

Why were these awards so darned great? Beyond the fact that they were over by 10 p.m. sharp? Need I say more?

Almost as soon as we learn the winner of "Best Director - Motion Picture" - then BOOM! - we're on the next category (best screenplay - motion picture), and then the next one, and the next one after that.

Boom, boom, boom. What joy, joy, joy.

Of course, from the WINNER'S perspective, it was probably a massive let-down. The Globes and all these other award shows are all about consecrating one's stature, inflating one's ego, dressing up one's legend, and for the network, raking in the ad bucks and flacking the new mid-season series' launches. Well too damn bad: How about us? The great unwashed at home, who must endure this preening parade of primping year after year after year? This format was all about getting it DONE. It was almost as if NBC were embarrassed by the thing - even though NBC was forced to cover this glamorized envelop-opening when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association canceled the ceremony, due to the writers strike.

But don't worry, NBC. For those of us sitting at home, who usually gird our collective loins for a horrendously long and tedious night, we are grateful. Eternally grateful. Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU.

My favorite moment of the night? You'll learn in the next post.

Inside baseball perhaps, but still an important development on the GG front: NBC News's "exclusive" coverage of this Sunday's Golden Globes is no longer "exclusive." The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has opened up coverage to EVERYONE, or at least everyone who's credentialed. NBC - which had been reduced to covering these silly awards as though they were actually a news event and had forced the HFPA to keep other news orgs away from them - apparently took megadoses of Xanax this morning and has agreed to let others cover.

Here's the statement from the Writers Guild (which had threatened to picket the awards because of NBC's "exclusive" deal):

"The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced that instead of the usual televised three-hour gala on NBC, the HFPA will take complete control of its 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards Announcement and host a press conference open to all media to announce the winners of the Golden Globes. In light of this change to the program, the WGA gave the HFPA our assurances that there would be no picket of their press conference on Sunday."

The Queen: Live or Memorex?

For your first immediate real-time look at how the hugely profitable - and highly viewed - awards industry has been hit by the writers strike, check out tonight's telecast of the People's Choice Awards.

Whether this brand new format - created specifically to avert those deadly picket lines and no-show actors and actresses - will work will depend on whether viewers at home swallow the whole thing. But the folks at PCA have already PRE-TAPED the winner's speeches.

That's right. You heard me correctly. Pre-taped - and pre-taped all of them, dozens of people, who will win an award in one of 39 categories presented tonight. It's clever, very clever, or at least a hell of a lot smarter than what those knuckleheads at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have gotten themselves stuck with. Credit goes to PCA chief Fred Nelson who figured there'd be a problem back in December (the strike started at the beginning of November) and started taping then.

Let there be no mistake: The PCAs have hardly got the cache of the Golden Globes, but they do mount a good live show. Tonight's PCAs? Taped, for the most part. Irony here is that this one will be directed by superduper live event specialist Bruce Gowers, who did honors on New Years Eve for ABC - and, incidentally, is "American Idol's" longtime maestro.

Ratings are always pretty good too while winners - though they know they're clutching just a PCA statue that they will probably NOT set on the mantle next to the Emmy -are almost always game when they get on stage. ("oh thank YOU!! THANK YOU!!!! YOU LOVE ME! YOU REALLY DO!!")

With a few exceptions - like when Queen Latifah's on-screen presenting an award - tonight won't be live at all, but sort of like a magazine show, similar to "ET" or "Access Hollywood."

Show airs at 9 on CBS.

Next? (Gulp.)

The Golden Globes - which are arguably, no, make that definitely the silliest awards in all of awardom - have been sacked. This is unfortunate because although silly, they are usually entertaining and by some weird fluke conferred by the award gods, actually even give the world a quick forecast to the Oscars.

Which is the point of this blog entry: What about the Oscars? ABC has to be somewhat, no make that definitely, concerned about the turn of events this afternoon, because (think about it) what's to prevent SAG from issuing a directive to members to boycott that awards show as well? (The Oscars air Feb. 24 - a blink of an eye, really, from now.)

Of course, ego - which you should never underestimate in Hollywood - could be a factor, but really: How can SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) argue that members shouldn't turn up at the GGs, but that it's perfectly OK to turn up at the Shrine?

In any event, just to bring you up to date, here's the news: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced on its website not too long ago specifically this:

"The Hollywood Foreign Press Association today announced that the recipients of Golden Globe Awards in 25 categories will be revealed during an hour-long HFPA press conference at The Beverly Hilton to be covered live by NBC News beginning at 6:00 pm PST on January 13. “The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards” NBC telecast and champagne dinner in The Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom is officially canceled.

“We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007’s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television,” said Jorge Camara, President of The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. “We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year’s Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled.”

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times' John Horn got a hold of an NBC memo sent to studios this afternoon. We quote it here in full:

"At 9 pm [EST] there will be a press conference covered by NBC News announcing the Golden Globe winners. (9pm-10pm)

At 8 pm, we are negotiating with Dick Clark Enterprises for a one-hour retrospective/clip show.

At 7 pm we will air a Dateline with clips and interviews with nominees. (Currently scheduled to air for two hours on Saturday night.)

At 10 pm we will broadcast an "Access Hollywood" style, Golden Globes party show...visiting the various parties in Hollywood."

So I'm wondering: Now that the Screen Actors Guild has asked (told) members not to attend the Golden Globes, who will be showing up to this primetime schnorr-fest? I suppose the executives from the Big Bad Studios. They will be very lonely....

SAG boss Alan Rosenberg has released a statement, saying the following:

"After considerable outreach to Golden Globe actor nominees and their representatives over the past several weeks, there appears to be unanimous agreement that these actors will not cross WGA picket lines to appear on the Golden Globe Awards as acceptors or presenters."

To condense this to a single word: BOOM!!

If Rosenberg has some clout amongst the rank and file, and I suspect he does, it's now pretty much over - with the exception of NBC officially pulling the plug.

Here's the Writer's Guild statement:

“We are grateful to our brothers and sisters in SAG for their continued solidarity and support. The entire awards show season is being put in jeopardy by the intransigence of a few big media corporations. We urge the conglomerates to return to the bargaining table they abandoned and negotiate a fair and reasonable deal with writers to put this town back to work.”

RSVP:Marg (married to Alan) will not be attending the Globes this year. Thanks for the invite!