Obviously, I’m not a movie person! That’s why we’re TV Club! But, last night is the big night when all the film nerds try to convince us they matter by making a big TV show about it. I watch the Oscars every year, even when I’ve barely seen the movies. Of the 95th Oscar nominees, the only films I saw were: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Glass Onion, The Martha Mitchell Effect, EO and The Batman. Clearly, I’m not in it because I care about the movies.
I tune into the Oscars because I love traditional television. I love the live events that bring us all together and are just Culturally TV Experiences. There was a time when we all knew what someone meant by “primetime,” “5pm news” or “daytime TV.” It didn’t just speak to the programming hour, but a certain genre or level of quality you could expect. A “primetime debut” used to be a big deal!
I sound like I’m a million years old right now, but Jenna Ortega hosted SNL last weekend and said she grew up “watching The Californians” and someone else told me they “loved watching Bojack Horseman as a kid” and I just had to pretend neither of those things made me want to smear retinol on my face. The traditional structures of TV don’t exist for a large majority of audiences who seek episodic viewing experiences (lmao, TV isn’t really on TV anymore, but that basically explains how I watched Unprisoned in a day, right?)
I’m not saying that’s a good or bad thing. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. Watch what you want when and how you want. Did you know there’s an entire channel that just plays Bar Rescue all day? My 22-yo brother came to visit me and watched Tiktok on a TV. My bestie from high school came to visit and looked at me like I’d lost my mind because I still watch Extreme Sisters with commercials.
When you’re a person who loves TV as a medium, you’ll inherently have some love for those faded traditions. The Oscars are a TV event that take me back to the Good Ol’ Days. We’re all watching together, in real time! A funny man will deliver a monologue with fun jokes and timely references! Famous people will look nice! Maybe something interesting will happen! Things will be safe for advertisers! It’s not supposed to change the world, it’s the Oscars and this year was great.
We only had to be mad at one person (sorry, Jamie Lee) and every win for EEAAO made my heart glow. Rihanna performed with the most famous fetus in the world. There weren’t any huge surprises or sketches, but after The Slap, they obviously wanted to keep things calm. Kimmel had a few hardball jokes, but he was mostly there to keep everyone in a good mood. I didn’t even mind his failed joke with Malala! It gave her a moment to be witty and charismatic at his expense and that’s what a host is supposed to do!
In 14 years, we’ll all probably have to subscribe to some Oscar+ Premium app to watch the ceremony, but right now, it still gets to exist as a celebration of TV’s ability to go live and connect.
If you love TV I Say and all things old school TV, I’d also love to recommend Raised by Ricki! Part rewatch podcast, part cultural retrospective, Raised By Ricki revisits the 90’s and the era to which it belonged.
Ricki Lake and Kalen Allen come together to dig into all the shows that made me beg my mom to let me stay home sick as a kid! If daytime talk shows and your grandma’s obsession with Victor Newman shaped you, you are not alone. It turns out John Waters and Bob the Drag Queen were right there with us.
Go check it out and share your Oscar thoughts in the comments!
TV Tidbits
Some quick TV thoughts!
I watched all of Unprisoned and really liked it! It’s fun to see Kerry Washington in a comedy. It’s sharp and well-written. It also doesn’t try to give us a perfect black female lead. She’s really frustrating!
I’m obsessed with Daisy Jones and the Six. I realized it is basically Nashville made into a premium show. I like Fleetwood Mac fan fic.
I watched a bunch of Netflix documentaries because I was procrastinating: I Just Killed My Dad, John of God, In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal and Monique Olivier: Accessory to Evil. I’ll be sharing some thoughts on the Patreon.
Did I watch Grey’s Anatomy after they made Teddy chief? Yes. Did I like it? No.
I love this season of The Great North and Bob’s Burgers is still so good. What else is there to say?
THIS SEASON OF EXTREME SISTERS IS WAY TOO MUCH. I do love that the one girl said she was “nightmarin’” and I like that phrase.
Below Deck is really slowing down, this new stew did not bring any drama.
The Poker Face finale was excellent television.
The Last of Us finale was also excellent and we’ll be talking about it on the podcast this week!
90 Day: The Other Way…I owe you a recap, I know! They took a week off then that one episode was boring, but now that girl is shopping for swords and I am in!
Darcey and Stacey…how much did they pay Fabian to make this drama happen? There’s no reason to make Florian your best man!
Last Week Tonight is back and killing it.
Is Farmer Wants a Wife a real show or is it an AI fever dream?
Apologies for being corny on here, but your love for television is contagious and I hope we're never cured! Even when you are streaming something I'm not that excited about (docs or reality) you make it sound absolutely fascinating. TV is the best and so are you.