This past Sunday, CBS aired the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards that, in more recent years, have been better known as the relatively dull kickoff to awards season.
Especially after last yearís notoriously awful Emmys broadcast, which was emceeíd quite poorly by various reality show hosts, expectations for this yearís show were not exactly high.
But quite surprisingly, this yearís host Neil Patrick Harris found a way to make the broadcast relatively entertaining and, dare I say it, even funny.
Harris kicked off the show by asking viewers, through song, to ìput down the remote.” Not only was his opening number witty and lively, but it also served as further proof that Americans love watching cheesy song and dance numbers during all of their awards ceremonies.
Throughout the show, Harris remained charming and funny, with some of the best moments coming when he introduced the presenters by mentioning some of their most obscure acting credits.
When announcing ìMentalist” actor Simon Baker, Harris stated that, ìYou loved him as Retaux de Vilette in ëThe Affair of the Necklaceí,” a little-known film from 2001 co-starring Hilary Swank. Later, ìHeroes” actress Hayden Panettiere was introduced as ìthe voice of Fairy Princess Willow in ëScooby Doo and the Goblin King.í”
Harris also asked the audience to ìplease welcome the comedy stylings of Kiefer Sutherland and Anna Torv,” two actors known for the rather serious roles they play on ì24″ and ìFringe,” respectively.
Harris proved to be so entertaining that he even received praise from ìSurvivor” host Jeff Probst and ìThe Daily Show” host Jon Stewart as they both accepted their awards. Probst, knowing how poorly both he and his reality show comrades performed last year, no doubt felt he needed to repent a bit.
John Hodgman, better known as the ìPC Guy” from the Mac commercials, also added to the humor, by serving as the showís commentator. Throughout the night, Hodgman would offer ridiculous and completely false facts about each winner as they went onstage to accept their award.
Later on in the show, in a rare attempt to actually make people laugh, announcer Jimmy Fallon came onto the stage using an Auto-Tuner as he sang a song, and continued to use it after he took a pratfall, groaning several ìouches” through the voice-altering device.
Shots of the crowd revealed that both Steve Carell and Fred Armisen enjoyed the silly skit, while highly intellectual actor Kevin Kline was left noticeably unamused.
In a rather unconventional move, this yearís Emmys also featured a live musical tribute during the ìIn Memoriam” portion of the program. Viewers got to be transported back to the 90s as they heard Sarah McLachlanís ethereal voice singing ìI Will Remember You,” while the celebrity deaths of the past year were recounted.
This yearís Emmys featured yet another new element, as they were split into five genres, including comedy, reality, movie/miniseries, variety and drama. There was also a box that would appear periodically in the corner of the screen, letting viewers know which presenters would be appearing next.
These two new elements seemed to serve almost as a warning, telling viewers when they should move to a different television program.
And given the fact that many of the actual award winners were repeats of last year, there were plenty of opportunities to change the channel.
For the second year in a row, ìMad Men” and ì30 Rock” won for Best Drama and Best Comedy, respectively, with Glenn Close and Bryan Cranston both receiving their second wins in the categories of Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama. Alec Baldwin also once again won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy.
Some of the biggest shockers of the night were Toni Collette beating out Tina Fey for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy, and also Kristen Chenoweth winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her role in the now-cancelled ìPushing Daisies.” John Cryer also beat out his competition for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his role on ìTwo and a Half Men.”
Even with the few surprises in the aforementioned categories, the biggest surprise of the 61st Annual Primetime Emmys seemed to be that awards shows such as this can actually be quite funny. So thank you, Neil Patrick Harris, for reminding us all why we watch television in the first place ó to be entertained.