TV's award shows get their act together

At long last, producers of TV award shows have gotten our memo. It was pretty short and sweet. It said: "Listen, we don't have to watch." If there is such a thing as appointment television anymore, and that's debatable, prime-time slogs like the Golden Globes hadn't been on the calendar. Most of the major award shows have been declining in the ratings for years. If someone wore something ridiculous or said something scandalous, we could check it out later on YouTube. But finally, producers have stepped up their game and put on programs with some entertainment value. (Imagine that.) They've been rewarded for it, too, with the Grammy Awards drawing nearly 26 million viewers, a 35 percent increase from last year.

Last month's Globes were also up, by 14 percent, maybe on the novelty of first- and last-time host Ricky Gervais. (That didn't work out quite like it was supposed to, but it was a noble experiment.) The Emmys were up 8 percent a few months ago. This bodes well for the Oscars, coming March 7, with new producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman promising more fun and less stuffiness. It can only help—immensely—that blockbusters and popular favorites like Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9 and Up will vie for best picture with erudite indies like A Serious Man and An Education. The momentum's there, guys. Now it's time to capitalize by giving us a show we'll enjoy watching. See a Q&A with Mechanic here at our brother blog The Live Feed, and pray he means it when he says the show will be mercifully light on interpretive dance numbers.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley