This week in television began with Sunday’s highly entertaining Golden Globe Awards, featuring strong jokes from Amy Poehler and Tiny Fey as well as big wins for some very deserving actors and shows. Sunday night also gave us a hilarious new episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and an episode of The Good Wife that attempted to tackle the issue of racial unrest in America while also featuring Alicia’s big debate. Monday’s episode of Castle proved that taking Castle out of the precinct was actually a wonderful decision for the show. And Tuesday gave us the return of Parks and Recreation, joining a night of television that also featured another strong episode of Agent Carter and an excellent guest appearance by Lee Pace on The Mindy Project.
I’m a sucker for a good award show acceptance speech, so this year’s Golden Globes were an embarrassment of riches for me. From George Clooney’s love for his wife to Michael Keaton’s love for his son, sincerity was the real winner, which is rare for a Hollywood event. However, no moment was more sincerely joyful and emotional than Gina Rodriguez’s acceptance speech for Best Actress in a Television Comedy. I don’t even watch Jane the Virgin (Yet! That will change soon.), but I found myself moved to tears by her pure gratitude. This was a year for inspiring, diverse projects and people to take home Golden Globes, and Rodriguez’s win set the tone for the whole evening in such a beautiful way: “My father used to tell me to say every morning, ‘Today is going to be a great day. I can and I will.’ Well, Dad, today is a great day. I can and I did.”
What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?
Nerdy Girl Notes 
Is it wrong that I cried just at your retelling of that moment on the Golden Globes? I didn’t even need to rewatch the clip. Everything about Gina Rodriguez impresses me, from her humility around this moment to her deep rooted pride in the significance of being a part of a show led by Latinas, produced by Latin@s and offering an honest portrait of what that means. My love an adoration of this show is well documented. This moment was a golden one for the week without a doubt. It was a perfect reflection of what happens when you remain grounded while reaching for the stars. And it was a great reminder that wonderful things happen to good people. I am eager to go visit the set of the show and tell her that in person, but for now I will merely gush here in my favorite happy place.
In spite of that, I have to say my favorite moment of the Globes was Clooney. Perhaps because I was very late to the Clooney band wagon. But I so deeply appreciated the self deprecation and the ability to articulate that he lives in a space of rarefied air and that it is in fact special and that it is a special thing that he doesn’t not see or take too lightly. And that ain’t losing.
If NGN is anything, it is a place for gushing—so gush away! I love your love for Jane the Virgin, and it’s what put this show at the top of my spring/summer must-watch list. 🙂
If I were to pick a second best moment, it would have been Clooney’s speech. It was a moment of very sincere humility and honesty that I could watch over and over again. Combine that with his very obvious and very sweet love for his new wife, and I was tearing up.
I teared up a bit just thinking about her speech again, so thank you for that :p I have had Jane the Virgin on my to-watch list for a while now but her speech was what gave me that final push to just start watching despite the fact that I have a million shows to catch up on, and I’m really enjoying it so far.
I am someone who is not always super interested in award shows – too often I haven’t seen the shows/movies that are up for nomination and thus I end up being bored by a long parade of award winners who I don’t know and aren’t invested in. This year’s Golden Globes however was wonderful, and I think you nailed the reason why – the sincerity and depth of the messages that came from the acceptance speeches for this year’s awards were what, for me, made it truly worth watching almost every speech even when I hadn’t seen the show or movie that had won. Hollywood still has a long ways to go in representing the full spectrum of humanity, but to see the Globes celebrate a diversity of people and stories and to see so many actors get up on that stage and beautifully acknowledge how much these stories and characters mean for our society felt important (and often inspiring) to me.
First of all, I’m so glad you’re also enjoying Jane the Virgin, and I can’t wait to start it this summer. 🙂
I also love what you said about all the speeches being worth watching even if you hadn’t seen the movie or show. I completely agree. Usually, if my favorites/picks don’t win, I don’t care so much about the speeches, but this year I found myself ultimately happy for most of the winners because they’re speeches were so lovely and the work they were doing seemed so inspiring to me.