I don't have to tell you who this is.
I am writing here today because something sad happened to me today.
No, it wasn't jury duty, though I may have to serve if they summon me to show up tomorrow or Friday.
Ugh...
Sorry, I'm getting away from the subject at hand.
A friend of mine had sent me an email containing the tribute to Star Trek at the Emmys when it received the Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement. I don't watch the Emmys, or any of these stupid award shows, and I believe them to be increasingly irrelevant due to the fact that the same old shows and actors are being nominated and awarded. If I am right, I think that the ratings to such shows have been going down for some time now. If I am right, this certain segment was quite telling of that fact.
The tribute to the Star Trek franchise was nice enough, with a montage of scenes from every Star Trek show ever produced, with cast members of all the shows walking onto the stage in a show of solidarity to Gene Roddenberry's creation. Actors who played certain roles were even singled out as a representative to the show that they starred in. The presenter was Bill Nye the Science Guy, always a fun addition to any show he appears in. For all entertainment purposes, this should have gotten a warm response from the audience.
It didn't.
The audience response was pretty lukewarm. Yes, the people in the audience smiled. Yes, the people in the audience clapped. However, they seemed bored. Disinterested, really. It was as if they were clapping because they were told to do so. Even Bill Nye, at one point, seemed as if he was trying to rouse the crowd to more excitement for the tribute. Even when Sonequa Martin-Green and William Shatner were the last to appear on the stage, the standing ovation that finally happened (probably for William Shatner) seemed put-upon the audience members quite frankly. While Mr. Shatner was accepting the Governor's Award, both Ms. Martin-Green and Ms. Linda Park from ST:Enterprise both looked a bit uncomfortable, with Martin-Green even going as far as to extend her hands to the audience in applause like some kind of cheerleader.
It was sad.
Truly.
When the segment was over and the cast members from all of the shows stepped off the stage, members of the audience were seen getting out of their seats for what looked like a bathroom break.
Oh, before I forget, the make-up department of Star Trek Discovery was asked to stand up in the audience and they did-to a polite but lukewarm applause. The members of the make-up team gave one another looks of discomfort.
What does this all mean? I really can't say. I'd hate to think that this audience response means that Star Trek is not the crowd favorite it might have been at one time. What happened here? Maybe it was the wrong venue, where a better response at the Saturn Awards would have been a sure thing-but the Saturn Awards have nothing to do with the Governor's Award, I know.
It could be the fact that most of the actors on stage for the Star Trek tribute were unrecognizable-no Whoopi Goldberg, no Scott Bakula, no Avery Brooks, no George Takei or Nichelle Nichols or Sir Patrick Stewart, Jason Issacs, etc. A lot of actors were missing from the roster. A lot.
Even the two actors who were dressed up as Saru and the main female Klingon from ST:Discovery were clearly not the original actors who played them on the show, as per their physiques.
I really don't know what it was. Maybe the tribute was played during the middle of the Emmys, where people are just plain tired of being there before they get their second wind.
It happens.
I can't say. All I know is that it was all pretty pathetic, particularly when you consider how increasingly unimportant the Emmys has become by its own hand. When I can see an actress like CCH Pounder out in the audience, a woman who stars in the incredibly boring and provincial CSI:New Orleans, it shows you just how depressing the awards have become.
Who talks about CSI except for your grandparents.
Hopefully, in the future, Star Trek will be honored in more places by people who truly love the franchise, and the applause will truly be a helluva lot more warm and exuberant than it was in the increasingly irrelevant Emmys by a tired, bored, robotic, numb, unappreciative and bladder-filled to bursting audience.
Thank you.
Post note: I saw a clip today from the Comic Con event on October 6 ( I think ) at Madison Square Garden in NYC, which is my neck of the woods. The auditorium was filled to brimming and the audience was warm, exuberant, and welcoming for the cast of ST:DISCO!
Thank you StarTrek.com! :D
It was sad.
Truly.
When the segment was over and the cast members from all of the shows stepped off the stage, members of the audience were seen getting out of their seats for what looked like a bathroom break.
Oh, before I forget, the make-up department of Star Trek Discovery was asked to stand up in the audience and they did-to a polite but lukewarm applause. The members of the make-up team gave one another looks of discomfort.
What does this all mean? I really can't say. I'd hate to think that this audience response means that Star Trek is not the crowd favorite it might have been at one time. What happened here? Maybe it was the wrong venue, where a better response at the Saturn Awards would have been a sure thing-but the Saturn Awards have nothing to do with the Governor's Award, I know.
It could be the fact that most of the actors on stage for the Star Trek tribute were unrecognizable-no Whoopi Goldberg, no Scott Bakula, no Avery Brooks, no George Takei or Nichelle Nichols or Sir Patrick Stewart, Jason Issacs, etc. A lot of actors were missing from the roster. A lot.
Even the two actors who were dressed up as Saru and the main female Klingon from ST:Discovery were clearly not the original actors who played them on the show, as per their physiques.
I really don't know what it was. Maybe the tribute was played during the middle of the Emmys, where people are just plain tired of being there before they get their second wind.
It happens.
I can't say. All I know is that it was all pretty pathetic, particularly when you consider how increasingly unimportant the Emmys has become by its own hand. When I can see an actress like CCH Pounder out in the audience, a woman who stars in the incredibly boring and provincial CSI:New Orleans, it shows you just how depressing the awards have become.
Who talks about CSI except for your grandparents.
Hopefully, in the future, Star Trek will be honored in more places by people who truly love the franchise, and the applause will truly be a helluva lot more warm and exuberant than it was in the increasingly irrelevant Emmys by a tired, bored, robotic, numb, unappreciative and bladder-filled to bursting audience.
Thank you.
Post note: I saw a clip today from the Comic Con event on October 6 ( I think ) at Madison Square Garden in NYC, which is my neck of the woods. The auditorium was filled to brimming and the audience was warm, exuberant, and welcoming for the cast of ST:DISCO!
Thank you StarTrek.com! :D
