The Emmys in America took place last weekend and my home country Germany is not far behind time-wise with its defining ceremony of the year in terms of honoring the best the small screen had to offer in 2021/2022. Of course, one can say right away that in terms of the programs in America and Germany, the quality gap could not be any bigger as there are dimensions, galaxies in comparison with American (plus British) television thriving during a golden age and German... well, let's not talk about it, even if they want you to think otherwise. Of course, there are solid program inclusions as well, but these are really just a tiny minority and only to some extent what you see honored during this ceremony. Still, this does not have to mean automatically that the German Television Awards 2022 have to be vastly inferior to the Emmys that are also not always top-notch. But I have not seen the Emmys yet, so I am not going to compare, but just elaborate on what I thought about the German ceremony here. And I did not think a lot of good. The only somewhat positive thing on a grand scale that I can say is that this event was not as terrible as the so-called "night of the creative people" that took place as an appetizer the evening before already. Now that was an abysmal ceremony with maybe the worst host I have ever seen in awards history and it was exactly the opposite of what the title implies, but the actual event I am talking about now that took place one day later was still really poor. Just not 100% failure. Maybe 80 or 90%. This was also due to host Barbara Schöneberger. I still remember over 20 years ago when she worked for DSF and a noon card game show on Sat.1, but by now she is one of the defining people in terms of German television, maybe even the leading female. It is for good reason that she runs shows alongside icons Jauch and Gottschalk. Here her hosting also elevated the material and she was always in control. I am still a bit surprised that she did not get ousted from the German entertainment branch for some of her not entirely mainstream views, but this only says more positive about her. She was as good as a host for this event could have been.
Another aspect I liked was the music. The opening was alright, but still I cannot say at all that I am a fan of Giovanni Zarrella and if he or his show is winning national awards, then this does not say anything good about television at all. His musical talent I will not deny, even if there he is not great either, but everything else I just don't see why he is famous. Speaking of the music, Roland Kaiser and a duet from a young woman and girl were nice, even if for the latter two, the song was sadly interrupted by stupid political inclusions. But Westernhagen's "Freiheit" is really good enough to survive this as well. True classic. As for other people I liked during the broadcast, I must mention Bülent Ceylan. He has turned into something good that I would not have expected, much more than a mere comedian at this point. He just feels authentic and bubbly the way he is and I don't think he is fake. Also fairly humble. One big downside that night was politics of course. I already mentioned the scenes show during this song and no they did not make it better, but the worst moment was surely when a news reporter was honored for her work in the Ukraine. I am okay with the fact that she was honored or maybe not, but everything she had to say there, right before her name was announced and immediately after as well, was so unbearably full of herself and promoting the entire situation that it was tough to stomach. And if you really think that the German TV stations that collect GEZ as we call it here, an amount of money everybody is obliged to pay and it is not just a few cents, really deliver unbiased and objective news on anything, then they tricked you too.
There were other poor moments too that maybe explain why I give this show the for me lowest-possible rating of 1/5 and one would be the win for Joko at the start. I don't like him and also don't see talent really with him and it was not funny, witty or authentic (or actually, maybe that's the thing it was) when he was gloating there about how his show won the big award a second time. Klaas being present did not help either. Let's be grateful that this project is not intended to run for another eight years. I can see why one of the guys working on it apparently had a fallout with Joko in the past as he let us know. Another not great move. A win I liked more was Last One Laughing's, even if I do not have a great connection with this show either, but everything is better than Böhmermann winning categories. By the way, Till Reiners' comedy stand-up routine did not win me over either. Too much brown-nosing on Böhmermann there too and I think he can do better than that. Was he also the one who opened the show yesterday? I am not sure. Anyway, on a side note, I also liked the idea that the nominees for some of the categories sat together on a sofa on stage. That was cool, this way they also did not have to worry about the camera having to find and catch the nominees in the audience. There were other aspects I did not like: One is a crucial reference to the show at its core. I have no clue how they managed to have it run for almost three hours and still not manage to include all categories. In the middle of the show, they informed us quickly about the winners from the apparently not so important categories. Quite disrespectful to both nominees and winners from those.
Another letdown here was the final category of the night which was a lifetime achievement award for Iris Berben. I am not a fan of her at all and I think that her popularity and fame do not match her range at all. I think she is a fairly limited actress. There were many people commenting on her as a person too, which I cannot really comment on because I do not know her obviously, but how she was depicted as an icon, the most humble person under the sun and of course also a really sexy woman was just over the top and simply too much. Besides, some of the people praising her are also ones that I do not really wanna see during shows like this. Claudia Roth is just one example, but no surprise either because they also told us about Berben's great political impact. These praise sequences were something they really went for here, also with the acting nominees for example. There the choices were also not really great, but here and there tolerable. Only Sabine Postel I would have omitted as I think that her inclusion does not really do justice to the performance and probably also film she was talking about. Another one we hear there is Walter Sittler, another actor who has probably more charisma and recognition value than actual range and acting versatility. He is still kinda likable I guess, even if his final music number for Berben was among the weakest music moments of the night. Anyway, he looked somewhat French to me, not only because of the words he said at the beginning before he started singing and dancing. What else was low? Oh yes, the win (Or wins? At least it triumphed the previous night too.) for a documentary on young social democrat politician Kühnert, who is much more on the left end of the spectrum than his fellow party members. This also shows that you can really say that they made sure that this documentary was really going the direction they wanted politically and that it was just as biased as almost everything else you see in terms of news coverage on ARD, ZDF and the smaller channels. A reference to a documentary dealing with Karl Lauterbach, Germany's Dr. Fauci if you wanna say so, was also included and not in a critical way obviously.
Then there was a little staged segment (or actually three) that included Bastian Pastewka, an actor and comedian I really like, but not even he can raise the roof in the presence of Andrea Kiewel (who took money for secretly advertizing products during her show) and Johannes B. Kerner and with the latter, there could not have been any more cringe to the moment when he says that he will send his best man, namely himself. Unwatchable there, just like he always is. If this had been a real non-scripted quiz, Pastewka easily would have won I am sure. A bit disappointed he agreed to be part of this charade there with these two fools next to him. Speaking of staged events, the newcomer category or whatever I wanna call it with this young woman who is surprised by another televison personality that she got the award was also really cringeworthy to watch and I am pretty positive that the honoree also knew from the start and it was all fake. I cannot say for sure obviously, but it seemed unauthentic and like very poor acting to me. The sports category had something interesting to offer, namely American Football coverage taking home the big prize. One of the more extraordinary moments of the night, but also not a huge surprise I guess. Still I wanna make sure there are talented women in the German television industry. Like Schöneberger. Carolin Kebekus, however, is not one of them and the one occasion where she was mentioned for something she did, it also felt very anti-male like it often does with her. This is not the road to gender equality. As I said earlier, this show was a great deal about politics and they made sure the right winners were presented. With the right agendas. It was not decisive whether or not these projects had the best quality from the nominees. Another example is a documentary that elaborates on homosexuality in the Catholic Church. Thankful mainstream issue. Pro-LBGT (which I am too btw.) and against religion. Exactly what I expected to win awards that night. That is all. I actually liked Schöneberger's joke early on about how it would be funny if Berben does not get the award. I would have liked that too. And would have liked it even more if this entire event had gotten canceled. Big thumbs-down.
Another aspect I liked was the music. The opening was alright, but still I cannot say at all that I am a fan of Giovanni Zarrella and if he or his show is winning national awards, then this does not say anything good about television at all. His musical talent I will not deny, even if there he is not great either, but everything else I just don't see why he is famous. Speaking of the music, Roland Kaiser and a duet from a young woman and girl were nice, even if for the latter two, the song was sadly interrupted by stupid political inclusions. But Westernhagen's "Freiheit" is really good enough to survive this as well. True classic. As for other people I liked during the broadcast, I must mention Bülent Ceylan. He has turned into something good that I would not have expected, much more than a mere comedian at this point. He just feels authentic and bubbly the way he is and I don't think he is fake. Also fairly humble. One big downside that night was politics of course. I already mentioned the scenes show during this song and no they did not make it better, but the worst moment was surely when a news reporter was honored for her work in the Ukraine. I am okay with the fact that she was honored or maybe not, but everything she had to say there, right before her name was announced and immediately after as well, was so unbearably full of herself and promoting the entire situation that it was tough to stomach. And if you really think that the German TV stations that collect GEZ as we call it here, an amount of money everybody is obliged to pay and it is not just a few cents, really deliver unbiased and objective news on anything, then they tricked you too.
There were other poor moments too that maybe explain why I give this show the for me lowest-possible rating of 1/5 and one would be the win for Joko at the start. I don't like him and also don't see talent really with him and it was not funny, witty or authentic (or actually, maybe that's the thing it was) when he was gloating there about how his show won the big award a second time. Klaas being present did not help either. Let's be grateful that this project is not intended to run for another eight years. I can see why one of the guys working on it apparently had a fallout with Joko in the past as he let us know. Another not great move. A win I liked more was Last One Laughing's, even if I do not have a great connection with this show either, but everything is better than Böhmermann winning categories. By the way, Till Reiners' comedy stand-up routine did not win me over either. Too much brown-nosing on Böhmermann there too and I think he can do better than that. Was he also the one who opened the show yesterday? I am not sure. Anyway, on a side note, I also liked the idea that the nominees for some of the categories sat together on a sofa on stage. That was cool, this way they also did not have to worry about the camera having to find and catch the nominees in the audience. There were other aspects I did not like: One is a crucial reference to the show at its core. I have no clue how they managed to have it run for almost three hours and still not manage to include all categories. In the middle of the show, they informed us quickly about the winners from the apparently not so important categories. Quite disrespectful to both nominees and winners from those.
Another letdown here was the final category of the night which was a lifetime achievement award for Iris Berben. I am not a fan of her at all and I think that her popularity and fame do not match her range at all. I think she is a fairly limited actress. There were many people commenting on her as a person too, which I cannot really comment on because I do not know her obviously, but how she was depicted as an icon, the most humble person under the sun and of course also a really sexy woman was just over the top and simply too much. Besides, some of the people praising her are also ones that I do not really wanna see during shows like this. Claudia Roth is just one example, but no surprise either because they also told us about Berben's great political impact. These praise sequences were something they really went for here, also with the acting nominees for example. There the choices were also not really great, but here and there tolerable. Only Sabine Postel I would have omitted as I think that her inclusion does not really do justice to the performance and probably also film she was talking about. Another one we hear there is Walter Sittler, another actor who has probably more charisma and recognition value than actual range and acting versatility. He is still kinda likable I guess, even if his final music number for Berben was among the weakest music moments of the night. Anyway, he looked somewhat French to me, not only because of the words he said at the beginning before he started singing and dancing. What else was low? Oh yes, the win (Or wins? At least it triumphed the previous night too.) for a documentary on young social democrat politician Kühnert, who is much more on the left end of the spectrum than his fellow party members. This also shows that you can really say that they made sure that this documentary was really going the direction they wanted politically and that it was just as biased as almost everything else you see in terms of news coverage on ARD, ZDF and the smaller channels. A reference to a documentary dealing with Karl Lauterbach, Germany's Dr. Fauci if you wanna say so, was also included and not in a critical way obviously.
Then there was a little staged segment (or actually three) that included Bastian Pastewka, an actor and comedian I really like, but not even he can raise the roof in the presence of Andrea Kiewel (who took money for secretly advertizing products during her show) and Johannes B. Kerner and with the latter, there could not have been any more cringe to the moment when he says that he will send his best man, namely himself. Unwatchable there, just like he always is. If this had been a real non-scripted quiz, Pastewka easily would have won I am sure. A bit disappointed he agreed to be part of this charade there with these two fools next to him. Speaking of staged events, the newcomer category or whatever I wanna call it with this young woman who is surprised by another televison personality that she got the award was also really cringeworthy to watch and I am pretty positive that the honoree also knew from the start and it was all fake. I cannot say for sure obviously, but it seemed unauthentic and like very poor acting to me. The sports category had something interesting to offer, namely American Football coverage taking home the big prize. One of the more extraordinary moments of the night, but also not a huge surprise I guess. Still I wanna make sure there are talented women in the German television industry. Like Schöneberger. Carolin Kebekus, however, is not one of them and the one occasion where she was mentioned for something she did, it also felt very anti-male like it often does with her. This is not the road to gender equality. As I said earlier, this show was a great deal about politics and they made sure the right winners were presented. With the right agendas. It was not decisive whether or not these projects had the best quality from the nominees. Another example is a documentary that elaborates on homosexuality in the Catholic Church. Thankful mainstream issue. Pro-LBGT (which I am too btw.) and against religion. Exactly what I expected to win awards that night. That is all. I actually liked Schöneberger's joke early on about how it would be funny if Berben does not get the award. I would have liked that too. And would have liked it even more if this entire event had gotten canceled. Big thumbs-down.
