Few of my EW.com colleagues agree with me, but I thought Lewis Black‘s rant during Sunday’s Emmys was a hilarious highlight of a dreary telecast. It was also bravely suicidal, since the TV executives whom the Daily Show pundit was blasting were probably all in the audience, making mental notes never to hire him. Still, even as he worked himself into his usual apoplectic froth, I bet he spoke for millions of viewers in expressing his irritation at pop-up promos for the next show that distract you from the show you’re still watching, crawling news tickers that add more visual clutter than valuable information, and end-credits that scroll past so fast that even Evelyn Wood couldn’t speed-read them.
Did Black speak for you, too, PopWatchers? Were there other televisual annoyances he should have mentioned? Did he make you laugh or just make you afraid he was going to have a stroke onstage?
I liked it. Mr. Black has a way of saying exactly what most of us wish we could. I absolutely hate those little pop-ups during shows, especially last year when we were watching something dramatic and Homer started running naked across the screen. Some of them take up almost a quarter of the viewing. I can disable pop-ups on my computer, why can’t I get rid of them on my TV? Oh, and the announcers during the football and baseball broadcasts plugging upcoming shows is another one. I hope they were listening, I am personally hoping we are only one TiVo upgrade away from being able to block those suckers.
Absolutely Mr Black was speaking for me during his rant on over the top promos during regular viewings. Case in point…TNT. Excellent programming and shows but kill me now if I have to sit through another promo for an upcoming show. I love the Closer but during the show they have those annoying pop-ups showcasing Saving Grace every 2 minutes. And then during the commercials you have to see at least 2 SG commercials during EACH commercial break. We get it TNT…now stop it!
Oh and interestingly enough on this EW Popwatch page…new pop-ups for the new seasons TV shows…Stop It!
I was laughing hysterically during his rant. But then, I’ve always been a huge fan of his. I think Black’s appeal is that he rails against things that bother most people, but he does it in a way that borders on lunacy. I’m sure Emmy viewers who had never seen him before probably thought he was certifiable. But I love him!
YES YES YES!!!!
I agree that miniaturizing the credits of a movie is annoying – What if I wanted to see who played a particular character? And the on-screen advertising can be annoying as well, when it covers up something semi-important on the screen. But his whole schtick seemed a little forced.
I think Lewis Black is right on target and even though I know his manner can be a bit much, I really enjoyed his dig. I was especially impressed that Rupert Murdoch didn’t censor it – apparently only anti-war speeches are banned on Fox.
One of my pet peeves is when reality shows give you a minute of “coming up!!” previews before each commericial. It’s like, OK, thanks, now I really CAN change the channel, because I’ve seen everything that is going to happen.
Also when they return from a commericial and give you a little recap. My short term memory isn’t that bad, and even if I’m just tuning in it’s not like the plotline of each episode of “Ace of Cakes” is that hard to follow.
I was stunned to hear that so many people didn’t like it. I thought everything he said was so true and SO FUNNY. But then again, I’m a huge fan of his…I “get” him.
I HATE HATE HATE CRAWLS and POP UPS!
The promos are getting out of control! I was watching a rerun of Buffy on FX when there was a burst of flame, and I had to do a double take, cause for a second I thought Spike had caught on fire, but it turned out just to be a “Rescue Me” promo. Promos should not distract from the current show!
Finally! I have hated those pop-ups for so long. They block subtitles! They are getting bigger and can cover up about a third of the picture. And one time while watching a quiet love story, one of the main characters suddenly burst into flames. I was so shocked, then realized it was a promo for Rescue Me. Now THAT was distracting!
Now that I’ve ranted I have to admit I missed Lewis black and now am pretty bummed.
I thought it was spot on. But what he rants against is just a subset of a bigger problem – advertising and information overload. We have commercials before theatrical movies, we have this….for crying out loud; I now am subjected to advertising and weather forecasts when filling up my tank (Shell). Where does it end?
I too completely HATE Pop-up promos! And the WORST are the ones with SOUND – HELLOOOO, whose brilliant idea was this to miss the dialogue of the show you are watching because of the sound blast of a promo! IDIOTS!
Lewis Black is almost always hilarious. His rant was brutally honest & exactly what I have long been thinking. I don’t really understand the negative feedback. Perhaps, he isn’t for everyone. That, or they don’t have a sense of humor.
Finally someone with enough courage to talk back about this ridiculous process. I like to see who worked on a production, if there are music credits, where it was filmed, etc. I also don’t read at Ms Wood’s speed.
Everything LB said was spot on, but I would take it one step further regarding the promos and pop-ups which are extremely annoying. My pet peeve is the staion logo at the bottom of every screen. Does the network think I forgot what channel I’m watching? After all, it’s usally desplayed in the channel window on my cable box, and blasted at me at least 3 times every 8.5 minutes during commercial breaks in the show I’m watching. Can’t you just let us enjoy our show in peace and quiet without trying to sell us a product 24/7?
I sincerely feel that Mr. Black said it all better than I ever could have. Unfortunately his comments will soar over the heads of the network suits like the space shuttle because common sense doesn’t exist in their tiny world.