MODERN FAMILY Wins Big: The awards were surprisingly well-distributed this year. Only two shows garnered more than one win: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS won two and MODERN FAMILY won five. As Jane Lynch succinctly put it: "Welcome back to the MODERN FAMILY Awards!" It was great to see this well-written, well-acted show get its due, winning Outstanding Comedy Series for the second year in a row. And it was absolutely delightful seeing both husband Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell, an obvious choice) and wife Claire (Julie Bowen, a less obvious but equally worthy choice) take the stage one after the other. (The show also won for Best Directing and Best Writing.)
The Lead Actress in a Comedy nominees all take the stage: This, to me, was the most surprising and genuinely funny moment of the night. When Amy Poehler's name was announced as the first nominee, she abruptly stood up and walked onto the stage in what seemed a personally planned comedic moment where she was going to try to accept the award. However, it quickly became clear that it was a group effort, as each nominee in turn mounted the stage in a state of over-the-top excitement to clasp hands and await the announcement of the winner. When Melissa McCarthy's name was called (for MIKE & MOLLY), the other nominees all hugged her (and seemed genuinely happy), and then she was crowned and handed a bouquet of roses. A brilliant take on beauty pageants delivered flawlessly and hysterically by six of the funniest women alive. It was awesome seeing them all up there together, for laughs but also in support of one another.
Peter Dinklage wins for GAME OF THRONES: Anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with this show. I watched the first season with rabid interest and have since been devouring each of the epically long novels in the book series on which it's based (I'm currently on the fifth and most recent). Tyrion Lannister has been a fan-favorite character since the first book was published. Brought to life by the incredible Dinklage, he nearly stole the show from hordes of talented actors. It was extremely gratifying for us fans of the show to see him recognized as not only the lone member of the cast who was nominated, but also the only trophy the show took home. I expect the presence of HBO's best new show to only grow at the Emmys every year as it gets more and more epic. If you haven't watched this show yet, start now. Like, literally now. Stop reading and watch the first episode.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS finally gets some Emmy love: Before this year, the critically-acclaimed show about football had received four nominations over its first four seasons -- one in its first year and three in its fourth. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to see the show finally take home some gold for its fifth and final season, winning both Best Writing and Best Lead Actor in a Drama for its star, Kyle Chandler. I have yet to watch this show, though I hear nothing but amazing things about it. It is in my Netflix queue, but with all the current shows I watch, I find it difficult to catch up on ones that are already off the air. I'm currently working on both THE WIRE and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but once I finish one of those, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is next on my list.
MAD MEN snags a fourth-consecutive Best Drama Series award: They must've been nervous. The show was nominated for nine awards last night, and when the time came for Best Drama Series, they had yet to win a single one. It could've been a bad omen when they lost Best Writing to FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, the other award that MAD MEN took home in each of its first three seasons. But when it came down to it, MAD MEN still walked away with the Big One. In my opinion, each season of MAD MEN has gotten increasingly better, both in acting and writing, and it would've been disappointing to see the show lose after its best season yet. It deserved the award for the stunning episode The Suitcase alone. That single hour was the one of the best episodes of TV I have ever witnessed in my life. Hands down.
Other highlights:
-- Julianna Margulies wins Best Lead Actress in a Drama for THE GOOD WIFE after being completely robbed last year.
-- Jane Lynch is a light-hearted and witty host (to absolutely no one's surprise).
-- After last year's horrifically rude hosting of the Golden Globes, Ricky Gervais delivers a surprisingly funny video clip, edited to comedic perfection.
-- Charlie Sheen makes a surprise appearance and manages to at least act contrite for a solid minute, wishing TWO AND A HALF MEN luck in its new season.
And some lowlights:
-- The EmmyTones. Seriously, what was that? Embarrassed-looking TV stars (CHUCK's Zachary Levi, COMMUNITY's Joel McHale, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER'S Cobie Smulders, THE OFFICE's Kate Flannery, and TAKEN FROM ME's Taraji P. Henson) mounted the stage four increasingly humiliating times to deliver ear-piercingly awful a cappella introductions of the four genres. They looked so humiliated, it was actually difficult to watch.
-- The entire TV Movie/Miniseries portion. I had a hard time staying awake during the mind-numbingly dull interlude that was the Reality/Variety and TV Movie/Miniseries awards. Okay, I get that we have to show Reality/Variety, because even though I don't watch any of it, lots of people do. (Although, who really needed to see either the DAILY SHOW or THE AMAZING RACE pick up their ninth Emmys? Yes, NINTH.) But who watches TV Movies or Miniseries anymore? I'm not saying eliminate the awards, but you already have a non-televised event where you hand out awards including Best Guest Actors. Why not include this portion in that event so you don't bore your audience to tears and tempt them into tuning out before you've even gotten to Best Drama Series?
All in all, it was a fun night. There were just enough surprises to keep me interested and Jane Lynch was a friendly, engaging presence (so contrary to her role on GLEE). We need more spontaneous moments like the Best Comedy Actress bit to keep audiences engaged in award shows. Well done, Emmys (or at least Amy Poehler and co). All said and done, I'd give the show a solid B.
Quick rundown of the winners:
(I'm not even going to address Reality/Variety or TV Movie/Miniseries because this is already too long and I don't really care.)
THE BIG BANG THEORY: Best Lead Actor in a Comedy (Jim Parsons)
BOARDWALK EMPIRE: Best Directing
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Best Writing, Best Lead Actor in a Drama (Kyle Chandler)
GAME OF THRONES: Best Supporting Actor in a Drama (Peter Dinklage)
THE GOOD WIFE: Best Lead Actress in a Drama (Julianna Margulies)
JUSTIFIED: Best Supporting Actress in a Drama (Margo Martindale)
MAD MEN: Outstanding Drama Series
MIKE & MOLLY: Best Lead Actress in a Comedy (Melissa McCarthy)
MODERN FAMILY: Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Directing, Best Writing, Best Supporting Actor (Ty Burrell), Best Supporting Actress (Julie Bowen)
(GLEE, GREY'S ANATOMY, HARRY'S LAW, and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE all took home trophies for Best Guest Actor or Actress in a Comedy or Drama at the untelevised portion.)
What about you, Fellow Addicts? What was your favorite/least favorite moment of the night? Vote in the poll or leave a comment if it was something I missed!
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