This is the time of year when I get deluged with free DVDs of TV shows and invitations to come to screenings and panel discussions about them, all in an effort to get me to vote for those shows to win Emmy Awards. This should not be confused with the time of year when I get deluged with free DVDs of movies and invitations to come to screenings and panel discussions about them, all in an effort to get me to vote for those movies to win Oscars. It is not in this world possible for me or anyone to watch even a quarter of the DVDs I receive, let alone attend any of the events.
Last night, my friend Shelly Goldstein and I went to see a promotional event boosting Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, a show I think is terrific. I will more likely vote for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in that category but Ms. Bee's program is first-rate and also Emmy-worthy. She was there along with several of the show's writers and producers, most of whom talked a lot more than she did. Matter of fact, most of them sounded more like the star of the show than the star of the show.
She did say (in answer to a question that Shelly asked) that TBS, which airs Full Frontal, was a lot more lenient than Comedy Central was when she was a correspondent for The Daily Show with That Guy We All Wish Was Still Doing It. She didn't call it that. I do.
She also insisted, as did others on the stage, that their show is not Liberal or Feminist; that its point-of-view was actually "Radical Centrist." There were around a thousand people there and I'd be surprised if more than five bought that.
There were no tough questions asked by the moderator or audience since this was, after all, a promotional event. After the panel (which included clips), we all hiked downstairs where there was lots of free food and drink, as well as free Full Frontal t-shirts, almost all in Small or Medium. In spite of all that, I still think she and her show are clever, brave and generally excellent. And I'm still going to vote for John Oliver.