It was just a case of bad timing, but when NBC opened its Emmys broadcast with a plane crash skit, some people were shocked. A few hours earlier on that same Sunday, an plane crash in Lexington Kentucky killed 49 people.
Should NBC have cancelled the Emmys in response? There obviously wasn't time for them to film something else before the telecast. Just forget about the opening? Turn the entire show into a memorial for 49 random victims? I'm not sure what people expected, but some are up in arms anyway.
In response, NBC is doing whatever corporate monolith does when there's even a hint of controversy: They're apologizing. They did so on Monday by issuing the following statement: "Our hearts and prayers go out to the many families who lost loved ones in the plane crash in Kentucky on Sunday. ... In no way would we ever want to make light of this terrible tragedy. The film's opening during the Emmy telecast was meant to spoof some of television's most well-known scenes. The timing was unfortunate and we regret any unintentional pain it may have caused."
Personally, I don't think an apology was owed. The skit was a spoof (a very funny spoof) of popular television shows, and the plane crash in which Conan climbs up inside the luggage compartment in a panic is a parody of the plane crash on "Lost". Should J.J. Abrams and his cast then also apologize for having the audacity to exist?
The crash on Sunday is a tragedy, but NBC's silly Emmy skit has nothing to do with it. It was funny. Leave them alone.
