And the Loser Is . . .

Good news for anyone starved for another self-important, self-congratulatory awards show about TV on TV: The postponed Emmys are on Sunday night.

Bad news for anyone who likes that show: They’re changing it because of, you know, Sept. 11.

Please, let’s not make a habit of this carefully calibrated mourning by a business so globally good at entertaining but absolutely awful at being self-appointed as anything else.

Here’s how seriously CBS and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is changing the 53rd Emmy Awards: (1) The participants and guests are going to wear business attire instead of tuxes and formal gowns. (2) Arriving celebrities won’t linger on the red carpet. Oh, and (3) Walter Cronkite, the retired newscaster who covered so many important events, will speak before handing the mike to the emcee, none other than Ellen DeGeneres.

So, now you know how really, really serious this show is. But who wants a serious Emmy show anyway?

Flagrant pop culture is a major American export and a prime target of foreign fundamentalists. The Emmys reportedly are broadcast to 100 countries. Now, those folks abroad will see how intimidated that culture is. No tuxes? Wow!

Look, we’re all feeling our own emotional way into this new era. Some will tiptoe longer than others. That’s fine. Some people may even be able to watch staged explosions without flashing back to real ones and wanting to go home. We understand the sudden desire of celebrities who sell themselves to the public to appear sensitive. We’ve experienced an immense national trauma. Our lives have changed more than we yet know. We’ve had silent moments, memorial services, countless prayers. Many entertainers performed grandly--and gave generously--during the national telethon for victims.

But Emmy nominees and presenters aren’t heroic or even elected. Instead of playing the role of mourners, let entertainers entertain; that’s what they do best. Those TV viewers who like what now seem to be weekly awards shows can watch. Those who don’t won’t. But, c’mon, what’s the point of a glittery awards show that cans the glitter and acts humble? It’s show biz, not the National Cathedral. Bob Hope didn’t excise silliness from his USO tours because there was a war going on. He entertained that way precisely because there was a war going on. So, Emmys, entertain us.