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28 Aug 2006 10:43 am

Crash and Learn

by David Weigel

Forgive me, but I just can't muster up the mandatory outrage over NBC running its filmed intro for the Emmys. In Kentucky, hours before the broadcast, a passenger plane crashed right after leaving the runway. In the Emmy intro, host Conan O'Brien is flying in a luxury jet that starts going down and strands him on the "Lost" island. HotAir, which has a clip of the O'Brien sketch (notice we never see the plane crash - did NBC actually snip part of the segment?), sees blue state bigotry at work.

This looks like a case of awful timing more than awful taste (and yes, we’re aware it’s a Lost parody); nevertheless, it’s going to be a night to remember for NBC, the Emmys and Conan O’Brien. On the other hand, if the Comair crash had happened on the Left Coast, would NBC have gone through with the skit?

Oh, come on. They awarded the big statues to "24," didn't they? Not the actions of people who stay up late thinking of ways to torment red-staters. (They stay up late, but for better reasons.)

I completely understand how Kentucky viewers were shocked by this, as the Emmys began right after a local update on the crash. But hectoring NBC for insufficient pandering to tragedy seems a mighty lame tribute to 49 people.

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