Emmy reality hosts blathering; Piven reaction

This may be the most bizarre opening in Emmy history.

After Oprah's bland scripted speech, the five reality hosts took the stage to ... I'm hoping ... kill time due to the next presenters being stalled by the security alert.

Their meandering exchange reads like some surreal off-Broadway play. 

Howie Mandel: "We feel like the step child of television and for you to accept us …"

Jeff Probst: "We wanted to bring something to the party... television has been very good to Seacrest-- "

[Annoying cross talk here as a couple hosts try to speak at once ... cross talk being one thing reality shows do painfully well]

Probst: "Two minutes into the show we have nothing for you."

Ryan Seacrest: "If you look at the teleprompter, there is absolutely nothing there..."

Mandel: "We are like on Sarah Palin's 'Bridge to Nowhere.' The government can’t even bail us out of this. This is serious. This is not a bit."

Seacrest: "What is there to do ..."

Probst: "By doing nothing we have fulfilled our obligation ..."

Reporters in the press room exchange looks: What the hell is this?

After, Jeremy Piven wins supporting comedy actor for "Entourage" and reels about what just transpired.

"For the love of God, what if I just kept talking for 12 minutes?" he asks. "What would happen? That was the opening."

BACKSTAGE: "This third one was more shocking than the first two," Piven says of his award, and is then asked to comment more about the reality hosts' opening. He thankfully obliges.

"I thought we were being punk'd," Piven says. "I was confused. [In the room] it was like in 'The Producers' when they do 'Springtime for Hitler.' There's a, 'What was actually happening right now?' There was a great line about Sarah Palin that landed. But it was confusing. From Lucille Ball on, television has been so entertaining. And this was a celebration of nothingness. So it was confusing."

Re: whether he's going to overthrow Don Knott's tally for supporting comedy actor Emmys.

"There's not a moment that goes by that I don't think: 'When am I going to take Don Knotts down,'" he jokes.

UPDATE: Probst explains what happened....

Comments

[Uncle]

Burn reality burn

[tvgrrl]

Jeremy Piven is an ass.

[Roger]

Celebrate television? Everytime I turn my television on it tells me what a racist, uneducated rube I am. Theses a**holes are constantly undermining the hopes, dreams, and beliefs of (AT LEAST) half of the American population, and now they want me to tune in while they reward themselves for the crap on television!!! LMAO, maybe in my next life, I'm under the age of 30, and therefore, have no memories of "good television".

[Elliott]

@Roger:

What channels are you watching that make you feel like "a racist, uneducated rube?" You seem a little defensive. Are you sure you're not a racist, uneducated rube?

And thank you for pointing out that "(AT LEAST) half of the American population" has their hopes, dreams and beliefs crushed by television. This whole time I thought people were watching TV to be entertained -- I was none the wiser to the dream crushing.

[Mike]

A joke...any joke...would have helped!!

Mandel's "bridge to nowhere" line did not make any sense and was not funny because it made no sense!!

[twilliam]

Elliot..You see with your education, un racist self, you cannot see the most obvious..Religion is ridiculed and mocked every day on TV; Most male characters are portrayed as racist and chauvinist pigs on Tv and the others are playing the roles of gay men. IE: Cold Case was devised to go back to the days of true racism and drudge it all up again. @Roger was correct.Another example is when comedians ridicule just one side of the politcal spectrum you are undermining at least half of the country..get it..they have a right to do it but they can't make us watch the crap and most certainly you can't say we are being "entertained" That's what @Roger is saying...Stop preaching and campaining...Entertain us, and we will watch!

[Augustine]

It was perfectly consistent with this age's debonair nihilism.

See these books:

-Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture from The Exorcist to Seinfeld

-Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

[Cheryl from Seattle]

Television and movie award shows are getting what they deserve. They're just a bunch of elitist political leftist who develop one award show after another to pat themselves on the back for TV shows and movies that NOBODY watches. The rest of the country is doing something productive while they give each other awards for vapid nonsense like "Outstanding host of a reality or reality competition program." Sorry, don't expect the country to watch you kiss each other all night while insulting the rest of us. It's BORING and we've got better things to do.

[Buck Cronkite]

Jeremy Piven: "There was a great line about Sarah Palin that landed."

What drug (drugs) were needed to assure that line got a laugh? Howie was preaching to the choir, for those of us viewing at home... We were laughing 'at' you -- not with you.

[John Wark]

Hey TV producers and stars: you are the stupidest entertainers in history. Write something intelligent, funny, or provocative and regain some respect. Until then, no more "award" shows. What happened to Hollywood? Stupid reigns supreme in SOCAL

[Anamnesis]

No words can express my contempt for these "debonair" nihilists. They consider themselves to be--what? Sophisticated? Sexy? There is nothing more nauseating than nihilism with a good conscience--the ceremonious, self-satisfied, pretentious mediocrity of our cultural "elite"!

[bpenman]

Rock Bottom.

I wish I had watched it so I could join in on this conversation, but then again, who wants to be in a conversation about nothing?

Hollywood is at it's nadir. Saturday Night Live is the only entertainment worth staying to watch.

ABC should close up shop and give their equipment to the Disney Channel.