Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best TV Drama"

(Please welcome guest presenter Scooter McGavin, who runs the excellent site Scooter McGavin's 9th Green)


And the Hulie goes to....

Friday Night Lights!

Friday Night Lights is an unassuming show. On the surface it would be easy to dismiss it as One Tree Hill with football or a serialized version of Varsity Blues, but for anyone who has actually seen an episode, you know there is much more from much better acting and writing. There is a grandeur about Friday Night Lights that you just don’t see in high school dramas. There are no bored rich kids in Dillon, just football, it can be your ticket out of town or keep you around where all you have are your memories of a state championship long ago. Like real life, the characters are much more than their label, there is laughter and tear, and you want to root from each of them. With the conclusion of the third season it may be time to stop debating if it is the best show currently on television and start to debate if it is the best show this decade.

After tabulating nearly 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was House, with a shopping 34% of the votes!

The other nominees in this category were "Bones," "Burn Notice," and "ER."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Cartoon Series (non-anime)"

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

The Simpsons!

Way back in 1987, an animated family skit appeared on "The Tracey Ullman Show" on FOX. These squiggly, somewhat unconventional characters earned their own show in the 1989-1990 season and twenty years later, "The Simpsons" is still going strong. Not only is it the longest running US sitcom in current history, it's also the longest running animated series and just surpassed "Gunsmoke" as the longest running primetime entertainment show.

The genius of the show is the way its heartfelt moments are surrounded by sightgags, pop culture references, sarcasm, mischief, and double entendre. And really, how many cartoons have created words that have ended up in Webster's Dictionary? With five rotating full episodes and well over 1,000 glorious clips from it's illustrious run, you could spend hours checking out your favorite moments in Simpsons history.

The other nominees were "King of the Hill", "Family Guy", "Wallace and Gromit", and "Futurama".

After 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is...Futurama!



Creator Matt Groening is a double winner in this category. Taking some of the same sensibilities of "The Simpsons" and time-warping them to the 31st century, the adventures of cryogenically frozen 21st century Philip J. Fry and an assortment of oddballs had a rough run.

Originally airing on FOX, it was yanked around the schedule for four seasons before being canceled in 2003. But you can't keep a good show down. Thanks to syndication by Cartoon Network and Comedy Central, the show found new life and has gone on to make new direct-to-dvd movies - four and counting.

Much like "The Simpsons", "Futurama" can be enjoyed in bite sized pieces. There are a little over 300 clips available from five seasons.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Classic TV Show"

And the Hulie goes to....

The Dick Van Dyke Show!

That's the opening from the very first episode, which you can watch in its entirety on Hulu (interestingly, in this pilot, the main character is played by Carl Reiner, not Dick Van Dyke). Hulu also hosts the entire 64 episode run that makes up the show's first two seasons.

We did get a brief note from "Friend of the Hulu Review" Doug Denoff, whose father, Sam Denoff, was involved with the original show as a writer, producer, and occasional bit player. Doug is also Andy Kaufman's cousin, for those of you keeping score. He writes:

"Thanks for the honor. Cool site!"

He also tried to coordinate a statement from Carl Reiner or Dick Van Dyke himself (which was an exciting possibility for me, let me tell you), but we were unable to get the statement before press time. You can get all of your current "Dick Van Dyke Show"news at the official site of the show, here.

After 20,000 votes the Audience Favorite was also "The Dick Van Dyke Show," with 36% of the vote.

The other final nominees were "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Bewitched."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Movie Comedy"

(Please welcome guest presenter Tamara Brooks, a regular contributor to the excellent site Zap2It)

And the Hulie goes to....

Ghostbusters!

Here's what the good folks over at Ghostbusters Central had to say about their award:

Upon hearing of its recent Hulu "award," the group denounced the hoax, seeing through the ruse to lure the group into an alternate paranormal universe. After learning that Hulu is not one of Zuul's demon henchmen, but in fact a well-respected, totally non-evil video site, the Ghostbusters would like to retract its initial rejection of the award and express their gratitude for such an honor. To celebrate, the group released Ghostbusters on Blu-ray High Definition.

And, after 20,000 votes, the Audience Favorite is also Ghostbusters!

People just can't resist the glory of Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston. Infinitley quotable, funny, smartly written, well-acted, and awesomely directed, years and dozens of viewings later it's still one of my favorite movies of all time. And clearly I'm not the only one who feels this way.

The other contenders in this category were "Eddie Murphy: Raw", "Men In Black", "Raising Arizona", and "Three Amigos" - all fine, hilarious nominees.

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Classic Movie"

(Please welcome guest presenter Sam Christopher, who, along with his cronies, runs the awesome SciFi site Axiom's Edge)

And the Hulie goes to....

Night of the Living Dead!

And here, accepting the Hulie for Best Classic Movie is Kyra Schon:

I am deeply honored to have been asked to accept the Hulu Award for Best Classic Movie on behalf of Night of the Living Dead, and I am thrilled that this movie was chosen, among the greatest classic films in history, to claim this award.

Full credit for the film must go to the extraordinarily talented group of adults who were involved in its creation, and not to the nine year old kid who, through sheer luck, happened to land a small part in it.

The "adults" and creative geniuses behind the production were co-producers and actors Russ Streiner and Karl Hardman, co-writer and actor John Russo, and the brilliant and dedicated ensemble cast members, Judith O'Dea, Bill Hinzman, Duane Jones, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley, Marilyn Eastman, Charles Craig and George Kosana. Many more people generously contributed their time and talents on-screen and behind the scenes to help create what would become a classic in the horror genre.

The "Night" crew was fortunate to count then-fledgling director and co-writer George A. Romero among its friends and colleagues. Night of the Living Dead was George's first feature film, but his style was already clearly in place. George consistently brings sanity, soul and a sardonic sense of humor to his film projects, encouraging us to recognize persecution and injustice. His socio-political views have most often found their voice in the guise of horror films, but there's much more to them than just zombies. They reveal the stupidity of racism, sexism, abusive and overreaching government, social inequity, mindless consumerism, class warfare and, yes, the threat of zombies. His voice has resonated through generations of horror film fans who recognize the subtext as more than meets the eye. Without George's direction and editing, Night of the Living Dead may have been a far different film.

On behalf of the "Night" family, I extend heartfelt gratitude to the awards panel for bestowing this special honor on Night of the Living Dead.

Many thanks to Kyra, a Friend of the Hulu Review, for taking the time to personally accept this award. You can check out here latest pursuits at her website, The Ghoul Next Door.

After 20,000 audience votes, the Audience Choice is "Some Like it Hot."

One of the great comedies of all time, this film boasts a stellar cast including Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, and a bunch of other people you've heard of. The story is that a couple guys are hiding from gangsters dressed as female musicians. And, of course, one of them falls in love with Marilyn Monroe (I know, I know, if you only had a nickel, right?), and the other... well, you just really need to watch the movie.

The other nominees were "Wuthering Heights" and "Pride of the Yankees."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Short Format Comedy Series"

And the Hulie goes to....

Dorm Life!

Dorm Life is the little web series that could, beating out other competitors with far bigger budgets, and far more famous comic talents. For those who don't know, the show takes the mockumentary model made famous by Christopher Guest and "The Office," and transposes it to a college setting. The creators of the show have shown remarkable savvy-- how many college students will sit down and make an insightful and appropriate comedy centered on their actual surroundings, rather than choosing an obscure intellectual topic they just learned about in class?

It comes as no surprise that Dorm Life is Hulu's most-watched web show.

After 20,000 audience votes, the audience favorite was also "Dorm Life," with an emphatic 44% of the vote.

The other nominees were "The All For Nots," "Carpet Brothers," "The Writer's Room," and "That Guy."

Announcing the Hulu Award for "Best Comedic Clip"

And the Hulie goes to....

Peter's Interview from "Office Space"!

There were literally thousands of comedic clips on Hulu to choose from, and the list of ten finalists was long, distinguished, and hilarious.

But only one clip made the final cut, and it's fitting that it comes from an independent cult classic such as "Office Space." Even more fittingly, fans of director/writer Mike Judge can look forward to this year's "Extract," where Judge works with Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, and Jason Bateman to bring us all some thoughtful comedy.

After 20,000 audience votes, the Audience Favorite was "Dick In A Box," the much ballyhooed Timberlake/Samberg digital short, which aired on Saturday Night Live.

The other nominees were

Arrested Development: "Making Fun of Michael" Animal House: "Toga Guitar Smash" The Office: "Goodbye, Toby" Robin Hood: Men In Tights: "Men In Tights" Shaun of the Dead: "Throwing Records" The Big Lebowski: "Don't Fuck With Jesus" 30 Rock: "Jenna on Hardball" It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: "Spin Class"



You can see all of the nominated clips in their entirety HERE