Last year’s Primetime Emmy Awards were a grim affair, a meditation on the fleeting nature of existence occasionally punctuated by the distribution of award statues. Not so this year’s ceremony, host Seth Meyers assured the Television Critics Association last month. The 66th Primetime Emmys were to be “a celebration of TV,” breaking from the one-year tradition of being a morbid parade of “in memoriams” and moments spent silently reflecting on how few years we all have left to occupy with showbiz award shows.
But then news of Robin Williams’ death broke on Monday, and Emmy producers had to put aside plans for Seth Meyers’ Good Time Tiny Golden Lady Salute To Television in favor of something more solemnly Emmy. “It’s about what can we do to properly remember Robin and create perhaps an emotional moment about Robin, knowing all that he did for all of us who love entertainment and love comedy,” executive producer/human embodiment of the tragedy mask Don Mischer said to TV Guide. In line with the 2013 ceremony, perhaps the Television Academy could broadcast a handpicked selection of Mork And Mindy and Comic Relief clips, only all of the dialogue has been replaced with the incantation “Everything you’ve ever loved will leave you.” Or maybe everyone in attendance will be handed a plush toy version of Aladdin’s Genie, which will then be snatched from their clutches at random intervals throughout the evening. Failing that, maybe NBC can just postpone the thing and broadcast a rerun of Williams’ gutting, Emmy-nominated guest turn on Homicide: Life On The Street. That’d truly be getting into the Emmy spirit.