Hulu Awards Week 4: John J. Joex's List

Round 3 Nominations:

I decided to tread lightly through the Round 1 nominations for Week 4 because they focus on a category that is the bane of many a television viewer: Reality Shows. I am definitely not a big fan of the genre, but I will also not cast it as a worthless form of entertainment. As with anything, it has its place, in moderation. I regularly tuned in to The Real World for its first six seasons or so (before it turned into a show about hot people having sex with each other). I also caught the Survivor wave early on and have continued to enjoy that show. In my opinion, both of these shows present an interesting social experiment by throwing diverse people together in various situations and seeing how they react. Of course, I’m not going to try and present an extended defense on the relevance of these shows because I admit that their greatest appeal is to my inner voyeur. Unfortunately, Hulu.com has neither of these shows available, so I had to sift through an assortment of other choices. Still, I managed to find a few decent examples among the selections.

Best Competitive Reality Show

These two picks definitely rank high in the guilty pleasure category.

1. Deal or No Deal – Not certain why this is in the reality category and not the game show category, but it makes my decision easy. It’s a simple premise, but it really grabs you and quickly becomes addictive.
2. American Gladiators – Offers some good cheesy fun and a decent enough diversion when you want to put your mind into neutral.

Best Non Competitive Reality Show

This category actually had several decent choices. Nothing at the level of The Real World or Survivor, but still some good ones.

1. America’s Most Wanted – Not what I would consider a reality show, and they only have one episode available, but this series could really present some interesting cases.
2. Queer Eye – Hulu only has clips of this one available, but it could really be fun at times.
3. Ghost Hunters – Never quite convinced me that ghosts were real, but I have enjoyed watching them try.

Best Celebrity Driven Reality Show

This list for this category reads like an inventory of what’s wrong with reality shows and television in general. Most of these represent some of the worst excesses of the genre, but still I managed to find a couple of gems. I will be dreading Round 2, though when I will have to cast votes for five shows.

1. Uncorked – Comedian Billy Merritt is an average Joe who knows nothing about wine so he decides to go on a tour to educate himself on the subject. Presents a good rundown on wine for the non- connoisseur and you will learn a thing or two along the way.
2. Kitchen Nightmare’s – If you ever thought about opening a [beep]ing restaurant, watch this first. It will [beep]ing scare you the [beep] away from the [beep]ing idea. Oh, and be prepared for half the [beep]ing dialogue to be beeped the [beep] out.

Round 2 Nominations:

Best Dramatic Short

Two of my Round 1 nominations made it to this list, and the other three that I voted for this week all have some merit. (See my previous column for my comments on the top two)

1. David Bianchi's Soldiers
2. Between the Flags
3. Applause – An interesting take on motivational techniques and how clueless bosses can be.
4. Uncle Johnny – An interesting look at a child’s perspective on his rather odd family.
5. Lollypops – A geriatric protest film

Best Horror Movie

The top two were easy, and somehow I missed Christine in the Round 1 nominations so I am making up for it here. That’s followed by two others worthy of making it to the finals. (See my previous column for my comments on the top two)

1. The Thing
2. The Toxic Avenger
3. Christine
4. 28 Days Later
5. The Island of Dr. Moreau

Best Documentary Feature

All three of my Round 1 choices made it here along with my guilty pleasure nomination. My fifth choice below almost made it to my Round 1 list as well. (See my previous column for my comments on the top four)

1. Koyaanisqatsi
2. Australia: The Land Before Time
3. Split: A Divided America
4. Burger Town
5. Cosmic Voyage – Some of the greatest scientific discoveries in just over thirty minutes narrated by Morgan Freeman. What’s not to like?

Round 1 Nominations:

Best Show of the Seventies

Barney Miller – I will admit that Mary Tyler Moore might be the superior show as far as its relevance and impact on the medium, but I just like Barney Miller more. And face it, is more of a guy show, while BMMTM is definitely a chick show.

Best Show of the Eighties

A-Team – No idea how Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and Fame did not make it to the finals, so I have to go with this one because none of the others ever really registered with me. Alf was actually a show with some potential because the Gordon Shumway character was pretty darn funny. Unfortunately all they gave him to work with were standard run-of-the-mill sitcom plots.

Best Classic TV Show

Dick Van Dyke Show – It was a real toss-up between this and Alfred Hitchcock Presents and I ended up deciding to go against my previous nomination and move this one to the top. If you don’t understand why, go back and watch this show because it is still funny today and Dick Van Dyke is a master entertainer.

(Editor's Note: The general public can participate in the nominations as well. Go to the links above for any or all of the categories you are interested in and cast your vote for the shows you think should win. All of the general votes will be tallied up and count as one panelist in deciding the final winners. PSW)