The Super Bowl is really the World Series of the Super Bowl, or something. It’s like the annual referendum of everything American.
So apart from the game, which was boring enough to contain a whole episode of “Downton Abbey,” this is what we learned:
Lady Gaga cannot go back to ArtPop. She has become a great singer. Tony Bennett has ruined everything for her. Between his album, her singing “The Sound of Music” on the Oscars, and the Star Spangled Banner tonight, she is finished. She’s transcended her own fame. What a wonderful performance.
Beyonce stole the half time show. She also announced her worldwide Formation tour. She is clearly not pregnant. It’s unclear if “Formation” is a first single from an album, or the new song on a Greatest Hits package. Whichever, she’s back.
Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson were terrific. “Uptown Funk” was perfection. Not that Coldplay wasn’t lively and didn’t give their all. But they don’t really have the hits. It’s mostly “Clocks” and “Viva La Vida.” Chris Martin is very good at jumping.
CBS announced mid show the end of “The Good Wife.” So weird. TV writer Joe Adalian guessed it in a Tweet. Maybe he knew. I think he was just prescient. Everyone from “The Good Wife” will do well going forward. But Alan Cumming had better get an Emmy in September. Christine Baranski, I think, still has Oscar potential.
The commercials? I didn’t think they were too special. We learned that the new Bourne movie is called “Jason Bourne” instead of “The Bourne” something. I really liked Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen.
The worst: why does CBS take money from Scientology for commercials? They are a religious cult, the subject of an Emmy award winning documentary that chronicles their ills. Is it a Paramount-Viacom-CBS-Tom Cruise thing? I hope not. What a mistake for the Tiffany network.
