The good news was that tonight’s Emmy broadcast ended on time, roughly three minutes past the hour. The bad news is it seemed like the show took twice as long.
No, I’m not bitter that my guesses were as awful as usual; in fact I was delighted that a couple of my “should win” nominees actually did. And I thought Jane Lynch did about as good of a job as she could given the circumstances – aside from a weak jab at a superior talent (Ricky Gervais) she looked like she was having some fun up there. But as these shows often are, there was more pomp than circumstance.
All the winners are listed on the official site.
My take on the event…
- Opening bit was very clever but waaaaay too long considering there were only a couple of truly clever sight gags.
- “Thinking’s a pain in the ass“. Yes, I watch television – this is likely a mantra.
- “Betty White is the reason we start the show at 5pm“. Great line.
- Was I the only one watching the The Emmytones thinking there would be a wardrobe malfunction by Kate Flannery?
- Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon should go on the road together. And either would make a great Emmy host.
- I did like the staging and the hi-tech graphics; first-rate technology.
- I wish the guy commenting on the winners was louder because he was often hilarious.
- Was Julianna Margulies wearing a rocks glass for a top?
- Ty Burrell can’t not be funny.
- Ricky Gervais was the funniest guy in the room and he wasn’t even in it.
- Best camera aside – Steve Levitan’s wife. Twice.
- Maybe he was pimping his upcoming Comedy Central Roast, or maybe it was supposed to be satire and his delivery sucked…but WTF was up with Charlie Sheen’s “apology”? I don’t know what they had over him, but that was the worst confession of guilt and remorse since…well, I’m going to have to think about that.
- If after that speech Jon Cryer won Best Actor I think Vegas would have shut down the betting. He didn’t. They didn’t.
- Why did I have to wade through Reality TV to get to Variety TV? That’s like offering me vanilla ice cream but insisting I mix in two tablespoons of shit before eating it.
- Guy Fucking Pearce. Awesome actor.
- Either Amy Poehler’s stage-jump was truly spontaneous or Edie Falco is an even better actress than I thought – her moment of hesitation looked genuine. And if it was…well, that explains why Amy Poehler should have won.
- There are a lot of talented people writing comedy for Conan, Jon Stewart, Steve Colbert and others. Why doesn’t Emmy hire some of them to write the presenter banter?
- Lonely Island does not work as well live as on video but “Freak Bill Macy” was worth it.
- The Daily Show is an unstoppable force and I feel bad for anyone nominated against it. And damned if I’d be as humble as the host after an unparalleled record of success.
- Nice to see Friday Night Lights finally get some love, albeit too late.
- Kate Winslet is a great actress but I had hoped I had seen the last of her over-the-top insincere “I’m not worthy” acceptance speeches. Apparently not.
- Line of the night – Martin Scorcese seeing the “hurry up” light and offering to “talk a little faster“.
- No one followed up with the Two And A Half Men jokes when Peter Dinklage won? Where is Gervais when you need him…
- Since when does Drew Barrymore get to “pass the torch” for Charlie’s Angels? Like anyone thinks that movie has a tenth of the legacy that the TV show did.
- In Memorium always gets me, although this new trend of live vocalists is unnerving. Focus on the departed.
- Mad Men is four-for-four and Modern Family is two-for-two. So much for change.
- Margo Martindale gave the best performance of the year by anyone and I was fully prepared to see her get screwed over. Maybe the glass is half full after all?
"We're all winners!" (Um...not really.)
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