Sunday, September 20, 2009

Emmy Post-Mortem: Well That Was a Weird Show Wasn't It?

So the Emmys are over. I have to say that was one of the more entertaining Emmy telecasts I've seen in a while. Also, my predictions were way, way off. I was 4 for 10 for the major categories, but to be fair, some of those acting wins were total "WTF?"s, so I don't feel too bad. Plus, one of my "should win"s did win, which makes me feel nice. Let's look at each race in turn.

Supporting Actress, Comedy: I called Jane Krakowski as my should and will win, and alas, she did not. Kristen Chenoweth from Pushing Daisies took home the award and she could not have been a more gracious winner, so I really can't complain. Also, that funny glasses bit with all the nominees was a hoot.

Supporting Actor, Comedy: I called Neil Patrick Harris as my should and will win, and he didn't. Jon Cryer from Two and a Half Men did. I know what you're thinking. You're asking yourself, "Wait, I thought he was just kidding about the Two and a Half Men guys having a deal with the devil? He is kidding right?" Damned if I know. All I do know is that I hate Two and a Half Men and I cannot understand the Academy's interest in it when in almost all other categories its tastes skew more highbrow. NPH was robbed. ROBBED.

Lead Actres, Comedy: I called Tina Fey as my should and will win, but she didn't. Nope, Toni Colette took home the trophy, which would be surprising except for one little fact: Colette plays a character with multiple personality disorder, and awards shows go ape shit for the kind of stuff. The only thing more effective is when pretty actresses make themselves "ugly" for a role (i.e., gain weight, wear prosthetics). So congratulations Toni, but Tina, you're still my girl.

Lead Actor, Comedy: Alec Baldwin was my should and will win, and he DID. Woo hoo! Well deserved, Alec.

Comedy Series: How I Met Your Mother was my should win, 30 Rock was my will win, and 30 Rock did win. I wasn't surprised, but there was a small part of me that thought the Mother upset might happen. Perhaps now that the show is on the Academy's radar, next year it might be able to do it.

Supporting Actress, Drama: Chandra Wilson was my should win, I had no idea as to who would win, but Cherry Jones did win. She's great, I'm sure it's well deserved, but can we give Chandra Wilson an award one of these days, please?

Supporting Actor, Drama: Michael Emerson was my should win, William Hurt was my will win, but in the end Emerson did indeed win. Can I get a woo hoo? Dude deserved it. He has created one of the most terrible and complex television villains in Benjamin Linus. He seemed a little subdued during his acceptance speech, though, so I hope he's perked up so he can enjoy his night.

Lead Actress, Drama: Glenn Close was my should and will win, and she did win. Was anyone surprised? She's fantastic. I know some of you out there were pulling for Moss, and I'm sure she'll get hers one day, when Glenn Close isn't nominated. I love that Close called Patty Hewes the "role of a lifetime" because given some of the memorable characters she's played over the years, that's saying something. (I still have nightmares about her sitting in the corner turning the lightswitch off and on.)

Lead Actor, Drama: Jon Hamm was my should and will win, but Bryan Cranston did win. I've got to start watching Breaking Bad to see what this guy is all about, because winning back to back awards in this day and age is very difficult to do. Kudos.

Drama Series: LOST was my should win, Mad Men was my will win, and Mad Men did win. Again, not shocked, but hoping that the Academy gave the award to Mad Men this year so that they could honor LOST's final season next year. Please?

Also, NPH was fantastic as host, and a tremendous improvement over the 5-host tag team from least year, and it was nice to hear Jeff Probst, who was part of that fiasco, say so. I also really liked the format change of doing all of the comedy awards together, all of the miniseries awards together, etc. because (1) it made easier to see how dominant some shows are (i.e., Mad Men, 30 Rock) and (2) it let me switch over and watch the Giants game while they handed out awards in categories I didn't care about.

All in all, it was a pretty satisfying and entertaining evening, even though I was wrong most of the time.

Check back tomorrow for a review of the How I Met Your Mother premiere.