What I do know is that the Emmys have always reliably been my least favorite awards show every year. The best shows on television tend to stay the best shows for as long as they are on the air, and the Emmys almost always play it safe with their nominations, resulting in the same faces trotting up to the stage year after year after year. Who wants to see William Shatner’s name read among the nominees for the umpteenth time? Despite a couple of more daring nominations (FOX’s animated series “Family Guy” for Best Comedy Series, Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory” for Best Actor in a Comedy Series), this year’s ceremony promised to be no exception, with “Mad Men” and “30 Rock” expected to dominate the drama and comedy categories, respectively, for the second straight year.
While the Emmys didn’t quite turn into the clean sweep many had predicted, they also failed to cast off the burden of repeat winners that has resulted in declining interest and plunging ratings. five of the six top winners (“30 Rock,” “Mad Men,” Bryan Cranston for Best Drama Actor in “Breaking Bad,” Glenn Close for Best Drama Actress in “Damages,” and Alec Baldwin for Best Comedy Actor in “30 Rock”) were reprisals of last year. Only Toni Collette (of Showtime’s “The United States of Tara”) upsetting Tina Fey for Best Actress in a Comedy produced any surprise, but the shock there was immediately doused by Baldwin’s victory over poor Steve Carell, unrecognized for his brilliant work on “The Office” for the fourth straight year.
The supporting categories all featured first-time winners, helping to spread around the love to a couple of otherwise-snubbed shows. Jon Cryer won Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for CBS’s extremely popular “Two and Half Men,” the show’s first Emmy. Meanwhile, Kristen Chenoweth won Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for ABC’s cancelled series “Pushing Daisies.” Chenoweth had one of the best speeches of the night, appearing genuinely overwhelmed and grateful for the award, and jokingly pointing out that she is still currently unemployed and would love a role on “Mad Men.” Michael Emerson (“Lost”) and Cherry Jones (“24”) won the supporting awards for drama series. While it was nice to see some new victors, there was still a distinct lack of suspense to the night.
Outside of the actual awards, the ceremony was smooth but rather bland. The decision to group the awards into five main categories (drama, comedy, reality, mini-series/made-for-TV movies and variety) was a stroke of simple genius, cleanly organizing a usually cluttered show. The stage was well designed, with both the live band and the control room placed within view behind host Neil Patrick Harris. Harris himself shined, proving once again to be one of the most charming, charismatic actors in America. He performed an energetic opening number that urged viewers to “put down the remote,” and ad-libbed some of the evening’s funnier lines. “Upsets at every turn,” commented Harris after “The Amazing Race” won Best Reality Competition Show for the seventh straight year. Whoever is in charge of these things: please hire NPH for the Oscars. I don’t care if his only major film role so far was in “Harold and Kumar.” Jon Stewart was the fourth male lead in “Death to Smoochy,” and I didn’t see any objections when he got the job.
The token speech from the accounting firm that handles the ballot counting was interrupted by a broadcast from Harris and Nathan Fillion, appearing as their characters from Joss Whedon’s Internet musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” It was a great inside joke for those who had seen the film, but I fear the reference may have been lost on some casual viewers.
The most bizarre moment of the night went to the decision to air a clip from “Family Guy,” featuring baby Stewie beating Brian the dog into a bloody pulp in order to get an Emmy. As a fan of the show, I knew the episode they were making a reference to, but even so I found the use of the clip jarring and in poor taste.
If the Emmys want to hold an exciting ceremony and revive their flagging ratings, they need to spread the wealth. As far as the Emmys are concerned, there are only four or five quality shows on television right now, which is simply not true. Not even NPH’s gleaming smile can keep us from putting down the remote at this rate.