Hulu Awards Week 5: John J. Joex's List

This week’s Round 1 nominations were quite a bit more palatable than last week’s Reality-focused choices. For Week 5, we will focus on Comedy in three different categories: Movies, Television Series, and Short Films. Plenty of fun here, so let’s get on to the nominations.

Best Movie Comedy:

My nominations stay pretty close to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre (well, what did you expect?), but I threw in one non-genre selection for good measure.

1. Bedazzled – This is the original 1967 version, not the ersatz American remake. It stars Peter Cook and Duddly Moore in a romp that could be described as Monty Python meets Dr. Faustus. If you have never seen this version, you are in for a treat. (Note that the video has currently been pulled from Hulu. Let’s hope that is just a technical glitch).
2. Men in Black – The chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones makes this Science Fiction comedy a classic.
3. Ghostbusters – A good partner to Men in Black and almost as funny.
4. Eddie Murphy: Raw – Murphy is not only a good actor, he is a good comedian as this concert film from the late 80’s demonstrates.

Best Comedy TV Show:

I would not call this the best sampling of recent television comedies, but there are definitely some gems on the list.

1. The Tick – Should this really be at the top of my list? As a comic book fan, yes. This one provides a great skewering of the superhero genre and delivered more laughs during its short run than some series do over multiple seasons.
2. The Simpson – Can’t call myself a huge Simpsons fan, but I have to admit that this has delivered more than its share of laughs over its long run.
3. Saturday Night Live – Hulu only has selected clips from the most recent seasons, but this is actually a good way to view the series. These are some of the show’s highlights, and they provide plenty of laughs (especially the parodies of the recent Presidential campaign).
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – It’s not higher on the list, because I consider it more of a Fantasy/Supernatural show than a comedy. Still, it had its share of warped humor.

Best Comedic Short:

This category provided a lot more misses than hits than the one for Best Dramatic Short. I did find a few good ones though.

1. Shaolin Delivery Boy – A Chinese Canadian actor gets lesson on how to be more Asian. A great parody on the entertainment industry.
2. Non Fat – For those who did not die laughing at this short one-minute film, we know how often you go to Starbucks and what you order!
3. Stricteternum – I saw the ending coming from a mile away, but visually it reminded me of Pushing Daisies. A definite plus.
4. Music For One Apartment and Six Drummers – Answers that question you always wondered about: what if Stomp came to visit your home?
5. Silencer – Just plain bizarre.

Round 2 Nominations:

Best Celebrity-Driven Reality Show:

I dreaded this one as I knew I would have to pick five shows most of which make my skin crawl. At least my two Round 1 nominations made it to the list. For the next three, I simply picked the least heinous of the rest.

1. Uncorked
2. Kitchen Nightmares
3. Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style
4. Flipping Out
5. Clean House

Best Competitive Reality Show:

My two Round 1 nominations made it through, then the next three are all tolerable.

1. Deal or No Deal
2. American Gladiators
3. Top Chef
4. Hell’s Kitchen
5. The Search for the Next Elvira

Best Non-Competitive Reality Show:

Okay, I have to start being more observant. Yet again I totally missed out on one in my Round 1 nominations. As a beer fanatic, not certain how I skipped over Beer Nutz, but I am making up for it here. Then my fifth nomination is really a freebie.

1. America’s Most Wanted
2. Beer Nutz
3. Queer Eye
4. Ghost Hunters
5. Ghost Hunters International

Round 3 Nominations:

Best Dramatic Short:

Save the Children - Wasn’t too thrilled with the ones that made it to the finals in this category, but I will go ahead and give the nod to this one.

Best Documentary Feature:

Split: A Divided America – I would have preferred to give Koyaanisqatsi the final nod in this category, but it didn’t make it to the finals. This one is a decent enough second option, though.

Best Horror Movie:

John Carpenter’s The Thing – In Rounds 1 and 2 I was just biding my time to give this one the final nod in Round 3. In some categories, it is hard to chose a clear winner based on what Hulu has available. In this category, there’s no debate in my mind. This would make it to my Top 10 list of all time best Horror Movies.

(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)