• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Donate

The Arts Fuse

Boston's Online Arts Magazine: Dance, Film, Literature, Music, Theater, and more

  • Podcasts
  • Coming Attractions
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Commentary
  • The Arts
    • Performing Arts
      • Dance
      • Music
      • Theater
    • Other
      • Books
      • Film
      • Food
      • Television
      • Visual Arts
You are here: Home / Featured / TV Commentary: Why the SAG Awards is the Most Viewer-friendly Awards Show

TV Commentary: Why the SAG Awards is the Most Viewer-friendly Awards Show

January 31, 2012 Leave a Comment

The SAG Awards have everything you want and very little you don’t. The ceremony celebrates film and television, so it’s always star-packed, and only honors actors, so you don’t have to sit through hours of awards for Best Sound Editing.

By Molly Jay

Actresses Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy speak onstage during The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Now that awards season is in full swing, it seems that there is a new show each weekend. Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, Producers/Directors/Writing Guild Awards (yes, three separate ceremonies), and BAFTA Awards, all lead up to the main event: Academy Awards.

While the Oscars may still hold the most prestige and fanfare, the Globes are often talked about as the most viewer-friendly show. The Globes are a mix of television and film, so the star power is usually pretty awesome. There’s always an entertaining host, and guests notoriously indulge in the free liquor that’s endlessly flowing, creating some truly great speeches and unscripted moments. Sounds great, right? In theory yes, but in practice, the Globes have become somewhat lackluster. Sure, it was a riot seeing Ricky Gervais tear Hollywood apart last year, but this year his razor sharp bite seemed tamed. The once-candid awards show has become just another parade of pretty dresses and bad onstage banter,wrapped up in one achingly long telecast.

Now, true awards-show junkies (self-admitted addict, right here) don’t really care about the entertainment level of the broadcast—we’ll watch anything as long as talented people are awarded shiny statues. But the general viewing public, those who don’t spend hours analyzing the voting histories of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, often aren’t as invested in the outcome and are more just along for the ride. And for those people, there is one show that is hands-down the most enjoyable, viewer-friendly telecast: the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The SAG Awards have everything you want and very little you don’t. The ceremony celebrates film and television, so it’s always star-packed, and only honors actors, so you don’t have to sit through hours of awards for Best Sound Editing. The guests are treated to as much alcohol as they’d like (insert obligatory Charlie Sheen joke here), creating a festive, excited atmosphere. Best of all, there is no host. At first this may seem like a deterrent. No host? But who’s going to make us laugh? Who’s going to lead the show?

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the 2012 SAG Awards

First, think about what the host actually does. Aside from a 10-minute opening monologue, the host rarely does more than pop onscreen from time to time to introduce presenters when the voice-over guy is taking a break. Additionally, the Golden Globes didn’t even have a host until last year, when Gervais stepped up to the plate (and subsequently knocked it out of the park). Third, think about the crowd at the show. The place is filled wall-to-wall with some of the most talented performers in the world. You don’t need a host when the bill is already stacked with entertaining individuals. I’d rather watch a bit by Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Melissa McCarthy (best part of last night’s SAG awards, by far) than listen to another Kim Kardashian joke.

Finally, the SAG Awards telecast is only two hours long. Two hours. In 2002, the Academy Awards lasted four and a half hours. That’s more than two SAG ceremonies . . . and completely unnecessary. Listen, most of us will never win these accolades or attend these events. So, while some may deem the Academy Awards more prestigious and the Golden Globes more popular, the only element that should really matter to us, the lowly non-celebs, is the show’s “watchability.” And for that, no ceremony will better entertain you than the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

By: Molly Jay Filed Under: Featured, Television Tagged: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Ricky Gervais, SAG Awards

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Popular Posts

  • Television Review: “Surviving Death” — Probing Death and the Great Beyond Surviving Death's balance between personal experiences... posted on January 11, 2021
  • Jazz Album Review: “El Arte del Bolero” — Passionate Homage to the Era of the Bolero So Miguel Zenón, who on saxophone has the facility of a... posted on January 5, 2021
  • Arts Feature: Best Movies (With Some Disappointments) of 2020 Our demanding critics choose the best films (along with... posted on December 21, 2020
  • Arts Feature: Best Classical Recordings of 2020 The pandemic may have largely shut down live musical pe... posted on December 22, 2020
  • Film/Music Review: The Best Music Documentaries of 2020 — With Some Disppointments Some of the best music documentaries of 2020 - and some... posted on December 29, 2020

Social

Follow us:

Follow the Conversation

  • beverly schwartz January 17, 2021 at 3:23 pm on Book Review: A.B. Yehoshua’s “The Tunnel” — A Serious Romp about an Aging BrainDid not understand the end of "The Tunnel" By A.B. Yeshoshua
  • Tom Augaitis January 15, 2021 at 10:23 pm on Blues Album Review: John Hurlbut and Jorma Kaukonen’s “The River Flows”What a great recording from two masterful artists. Hoping for a sequel.
  • Anthony January 15, 2021 at 7:08 pm on Classical CD Reviews: A Banquet of Beethoven from Daniel Lozakovich, Midori, and Gidon Kremer & FriendsI went ahead and listened to both but I could not finish listening to Midori's, had to stop. Lozakovich's was...
  • Bill Marx, Editor of The Arts Fuse January 15, 2021 at 11:44 am on Film Review: “Pieces of a Woman” — “They give birth astride of a grave…”The quotation in the review's headline is part of a line in Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot: "They give...
  • erica abeel January 14, 2021 at 3:31 pm on Film Review: “Let Them All Talk” — Angst of Many FlavorsI'm most grateful to be read by such responsive readers as you guys!

Footer

  • About Us
  • Advertising/Underwriting
  • Syndication
  • Media Resources
  • Editors and Contributors

We Are

Boston’s online arts magazine since 2007. Powered by 70+ experts and writers.

Follow Us

Monthly Archives

Categories

"Use the point of your pen, not the feather." -- Jonathan Swift

Copyright © 2021 · The Arts Fuse - All Rights Reserved · Website by Stephanie Franz