Peoples Choice Awards Bomb
January 9, 2008

Are they still the People's Choice if no people are watching? Before we get to the ugliness of the ratings of last night's taped People's Choice Awards when it comes to telecast and ratings, we should probably get the actual awards out of the way. Yawn. People sure are predictable. The third film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, At World's End, won the prize for Favorite Movie at the 34th Annual People's Choice Awards, making it a hat trick for the franchise in that category. It also won a new category, Favorite Threequel. Isn't that an oxymoron?

Johnny Depp won Favorite Male Movie Star for the third straight year and Keira Knightley took home Favorite Female Action Star. They didn't win top duo however. That honor went to George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Ocean's Thirteen. Reese Witherspoon won for Favorite Female Movie Star. For what? Rendition? These awards are so weird. Matt Damon won Favorite Male Acton Star for The Bourne Ultimatum. Joaquin Phoenix was named Favorite Leading Man. Once again, no rip on Phoenix, but for what? Reservation Road? We Own the Night? Drew Barrymore took home Favorite Leading Lady.

Now, on with the show. Sort of. Because of the strike, the usually fun telecast was more like a retrospective than a ceremony. Queen Latifah both hosted and announced the winners over the two-hour snoozefest, we mean, telecast. Latifah said, "The thing about the People's Choice Awards that's different from everybody else is it's the people's choice. So as much as we actors and writers and everyone are dealing with the writers' strike and supporting the Writers Guild, you can't disrespect the people who keep us working--and that's the people. Ten million people logged on and voted for everyone, so out of respect for them." The show went on.

Winners accepted on-tape and the whole affair BOMBED in the ratings, probably telling NBC that they made the right decision in canceling the Golden Globes and making everyone related to the Oscar telecast nervous that the same fate as the People's Choice Awards could befall that staple. The show averaged only 6 million viewers, down an amazing 5.3 million viewers from last year. Taking the significant lack of interesting new programming on TV, you'd have to assume the ratings could have been even worse if there was any sort of competition. The 18 to 49 demo actually fell by fifty percent year to year.

TV Guide critic Matt Roush summed up by saying, "There was no sense of ceremony. It was like something being done in a bunker. Anybody who made it to the end, I suppose, was somebody who had won a People's Choice Award." That about says it all.

For more awards season news, check out our stories on Men Takes More Critics Awards, NBC and the Golden Globes, and a story about everyone's favorite dude, Johnny Depp.