Let’s make this clear again: A no-host awards show is an awful idea.
Music shows can get away with it sometimes; the Oscars did once, because there was a musical start. But mostly, it’s a dreary notion … as proven by the Emmys, most of the Oscars and more.
These shows soon deteriorate into droning speeches, thanking agents and such. With rare exceptions — one at tonight’s Screen Actors Guild was Alex Borstein (shown here in her “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” role) — this becomes dull; it needs a clever host to spark things.
Still, I’ll admit that the start of tonight’s SAG awards was fun. (It’s running from 8-10:15 p.m. ET Jan. 19 on TNT, repeating at 10:55 on TNT, after the hilarious “Miracle Workers” opener.) Eugene Levy and his son Dan had drolly clever moments.
These are funny guys. You can read a story about them here; for that matter, you can also read one about “Miracle Workers.”
But then, alas, it was time for awards to be accepted. One went to Tony Shalhoub of “”Mrs. Maisel,” another to Phoebe Waller=Bridge of “Fleabag.” Waller-Bridge keeps winning awards, yet has no idea what to say … and, in this case, no idea what to wear.
Things finally perked up when “Mrs. Maisel” won for best comedy ensemble and Borstein was nudged to the mike. “This is crazy,” she said (among other thing)s. “I voted for ‘Fleabag.'” Let’s be glad she didn’t prevail; it would have meant another dreary speech.