When Television Ruled the Earth, and Walls Smelled of Glue and Truffles

In post-morteming Emmy night and the ensuing whoop-de-dos, the LA Times examines the application of Nietzsche 101 to the very practical arena of basic cable career advancement; namely, willing yourself to A-list power. Can it be done? Anything is possible in Dreamtown, kids, where sound-bites sparkle like princess-cut diamonds anchored in settings of 18-karat self-delusion:

"Finally, television is king. At least, that's what Patricia Richardson of "The West Wing" was saying. She was standing on the red carpet outside the "Entertainment Tonight"/People magazine post-Emmy soiree and explaining matter-of-factly that "TV is better than movies. Look at shows like 'Six Feet Under' and 'West Wing,' and then look at all the dreck Hollywood is putting out."

That was the consensus at Emmy parties around town Sunday night, where celebrities sick of their status as show biz's second-class citizens (a theme even Emmy host Ellen DeGeneres riffed on during the broadcast) celebrated a blockbuster year for the small screen — and a lackluster year for the big one.

"More and more people get their information and entertainment from TV," said television icon Don Johnson, who has a new show, "Just Legal," on the WB. "Film has become a boutique business. The time has come when we're going to get all our entertainment in our home.""

While you suck on the bitter lozenge that is our inevitable communal fate of a nation of Pink Dot-dependent shut-ins mindmelding with 24-hr Nash Bridges reruns as our flesh literally melts into our couches, take heart-- there are those who refuse to resign themselves to a single destiny:

Not everyone was optimistic that TV will become the dominant form, however. "Everything's cyclical, it comes and goes," said Kelsey Grammer, looking tired.

Jesus!  I mean I've heard of not interfering in the name of journalistic objectivism, but this is ridiculous! Can someone give the Kelser a bump already! Frasier's flatlining over here.

Ooh! Chocolate walls!

Inside at the Mondrian Hotel, the dark, musky scent of chocolate all but wiped out perfumes and colognes, leading revelers by their noses to the Godiva room. Truffles were everywhere, hundreds of them, glued to the walls in circles and swirls like something out of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Can I say something? That sounds fucking disgusting.

Ooh! India!

There wasn't a chocolate room at the HBO party at the Pacific Design Center, but the Bollywood-themed celebration was by far the night's most elaborately designed. Veteran event designer Billy Butchkavitz flew to India to do research and returned with miniature temples, which he meticulously reproduced as life-size hangout areas spread throughout a palatial blue tent and outside. Waiters strode about dressed in white cotton Indian-style tunics, refreshing plates of samosas and vats of delicious mango and pistachio rice pudding.

I'm sure Billy Butchkavits didn't do all the work himself; he had a hand from his dependable assistants Sam Nelliestein and Doron Queenberg.