Sunday, September 20, 2009

Emmys 2009 open thread

I gave my Emmy predictions on Friday, and I'm going to be too tied up in writing my column (which has a deadline of about five minutes after the show ends) to live-blog during the show (though I may Tweet and/or make a few stray comments here). So consider this the place for you to discuss the awards as they happen, and I'll post a link to my column as soon as it's done.

UPDATE: My Emmy recap is up at NJ.com.

63 comments:

Nicole said...

The Emmys don't seem to be worthy of a pre-show in Canada this year. They definitely air the Oscar pre-shows.

Mark said...

With football delaying the show by a half-hour (and counting), does anybody know if they're going to air the Emmy's tape-delayed, or if they're just going to wait for the live broadcast to begin?

Anonymous said...

Announced yesterday: John Hodgman is going to be the announcer. Including his "unique" version of facts.

I might actually watch this show now. I had just been planning on fast forwarding through the DVR recording...

Alex Mullane said...

Bryan Cranston needs to win best actor.

Far and away the best performance this year. I love Hamm as much as the next, but I think Cranston is head and shoulders above everyone.

Would like to see Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Lost and Dexter do well. Not too bothered about the comedy categories.

Oh, and Generation Kill for mini series, obviously.

valsadie said...

Nicole, the Oscars pre-show is actually a part of the Oscars. This Emmys red carpet show Alan and others are talking about is on the E! entertainment cable channel, and isn't officially part of the show.

jackztv said...

"The Cleaner" is the best show that you all are not watching!!! I could see Benjamin Bratt or Amy Price-Francis with Emmy nods....

Anonymous said...

NPH's opening number and monologue was great!

BF said...

What the **** is it with all the glasses?

rosengje said...

I am so happy for Pushing Daisies!! This reminds me of when Blythe Danner won for Huff after the show had been canceled by Showtime. Kristen Chenoweth just looked so genuinely happy.

Nicole said...

No we usually get the non Regis pre-Oscar show as well as that half hour produced by ABC. This year, there was nothing. Don't think I missed much though.

NPH intro song was great, but the clip montages are pretty pathetic. Entourage was represented way too much and it was mostly Piven yelling Lloyd.

It's nice that Chenowith pulled off a win for Pushing Daisies. I can't say there was anyone in that category who was that much better than her.

Unknown said...

Cryer? Really? Really? I think Poehler's Rigged gag seems awfully precisient.

Nicole said...

As read on the internets " Where is Kanye when you need him?"

Seriously, that was the worst pick out of all the nominees to choose from. I wonder what CBS paid to get that award for him.

Anonymous said...

Didn't it seem like NPH was angrily arguing with someone backstage right after Chenoweth won?

Anonymous said...

Seriously, that was the worst pick out of all the nominees to choose from. I wonder what CBS paid to get that award for him.

NPH is also on CBS though...

-DamnYankees

Grunt said...

disappointed that Crier won over NPH but it was nice seeing the cast of HIMYM without the baby weight.

Steve said...

Jon Cryer.. .really? I would have preferred another win for Piven over Cryer.

NPH and Rainn Wilson were robbed. Damn, I thought this was finally the year NPH would win.

I thought people would vote for him as host, but maybe it was the opposite. Perhaps voters didn't want to vote for him because they thought it would seem like they were placating the host?

Alan Sepinwall said...

FYI, looking like it's easier for me to post my one-liner thoughts on my Twitter feed, in case anybody cares.

Nicole said...

NPH is making good use of that not winning bit. I wonder if he was tipped off beforehand.

I don't understand why Tina Fey and Justin Timberlake were brought out to speak again. I thought that there would be a funny skit, but it was just pointless. I am not liking the non NPH bits of this telecast... and it's not even 9 yet.

Paul Hanlin Jr said...

TONI F'N COLLETTE? Really, Emmys? Seriously? For shizzle? And the hundreds of US of T viewers rejoice. This is why the Emmy telecast is going in the toilet in the ratings, because they're honoring shows 99.5% of America has never heard of until the night of the awards. Fey was robbed.

Anonymous said...

Just FYI Alan, NPH isn't making up fake credits. He's just using obscure ones. From what I can tell they are all real - I looked it up for a few.

Grunt said...

I think the Captain Hammer bit was brilliant.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Just FYI Alan, NPH isn't making up fake credits. He's just using obscure ones. From what I can tell they are all real - I looked it up for a few.

Yes. I figured that out after 11,000 people on Twitter also pointed me towards the IMDb. Either way, NPH needs to let that gag (and the "Best seat in the house" runner) drop.

Strong show overall so far, even if I don't agree with all the winners.

Nicole said...

Thank god for the Dr Horrible bit.. this middle part is sagging when anyone other than NPH is on the stage.

I actually watched Little Dorrit, so I don't mind that they won something. I did think that Drew Barrymore would get the Emmy, but Jessica Lange was good as well.

Groovekiller said...

Even when the odds are 50-50 for David Simon, he still can't catch a break.

No offense, but f*!@ Little Dorrit.

Nicole said...

I don't know if Little Dorrit was the best mini-series this year, but it was nice to see all women on the stage accepting the award. But it's a UK/PBS co-production so that is probably why it wasn't a bunch of young white guys.... which brings me to the comedy shows. The intros for the writers were good (loved the oblique dig that Letterman made re: Leno's 10 pm show, as well as the Conan ignore friends too).

As for best song??? Is this the Grammys... and motherlover should have won. I bet the emmy voters can even stay up late enough to watch SNL.

Carrie said...

I don't understand this "Breakthrough performance" nonsense. Is this the MTV Movie Awards?

Nicole said...

Ricky Gervais... always spectacular. If only he was allowed to present all the awards.

George C said...

YES! Bear McCreary's BSG score as the background to the drama montage.

SCORE.

Anonymous said...

BSG music for the drama montage! "Prelude to War" from Pegasus.

Anonymous said...

Watching clips of Criminal Minds I realized Joe Mantegna has a pretty high Similarity Score with Mandy Patinkin. Good replacement there.

Carrie said...

I wanted Aaron Paul and Hope Davis, but I knew it was not to be. :(

Anonymous said...

I wanted Aaron Paul, but Michael Emerson was my second choice. I love John Slattery on Mad Men but his role in the second season was pretty limited.

Anonymous said...

The presenters are pretty awful. Even Fey and Hamm at the beginning struggled. Only Gervais and Jimmy Fallon have done anything good to distinguish themselves.

Was hoping for Aaron Paul to win but oh well.

NPH rocks.

Brandy said...

Would have prefered Colbert to Daily Show... and Cryer vs NPH is a joke/... but it's been a good show so far.

I like the obscure credits, but best seat in the house is a dumb bit.

Anonymous said...

I swear I thought Bentley from The Jeffersons died years ago.. And I had no idea Ron Silver died.

For old times sake they should've played the classic "DISTRICT ATTOURNEY!!" clip.

Tank Gates

Anonymous said...

Tim Watley: TWO Emmys.

Jerry Seinfeld: None!

Carrie said...

I love 30 Rock, but not this year. Sorry, Tina. You can do better.

Anonymous said...

Grizz and Dot-Com are giants! I didn't realize they were so tall.

Anonymous said...

So the "Breakthrough Performance of the YEAR" was from TWO seasons ago??

WONDERFUL!

Anonymous said...

The official Tina Fey backlash starts NOW!

Really, enough already with her.

Her name was mentioned more than the word "Emmy" tonight.

Nicole said...

Comparing the drama actor and actress nominees, its pretty obvious that the guys have the stronger category. Glenn Close is good in an okay show, but with the exception of Simon Baker, the actor nominees are outstanding.

I can't complain about the drama winners and am happy to see Mad Men get the top prize.

However... where is the NPH closing song?

Paul Hanlin Jr said...

George, you wrote:

*YES! Bear McCreary's BSG score as the background to the drama montage.

SCORE.*

Uh, no. NOWHERE CLOSE to being good enough. It's just the equivalent of tossing the best sci-fi show one of the best series ever bread crumbs.

Rymer goes away empty-handed. 19 nominations, just 4 wins. They should have been nominated for an AVERAGE of 19 nominations a season. The ER finale? What the f ever, Emmy.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Emmy recap column is up at NJ.com.

Unknown said...

From the recap:

"He didn't, alas, win over Emmy voters, who chose Jon Cryer from "Two and a Half Men" over Harris' "Two and a Half Men" performance."

Is this a typo or are you saying that Harris had a performance equal to two and a half of Cryer's, which I would agree with.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Brian, that was a screw up. Thanks for catching it!

George C said...

Paul:

I take what I can get when it comes to BSG getting awards. Same with FNL. Nice to see some shows mentioned even if they weren't nominated.

That said, Bear should've won. BSG should've had some major nods. And Jon Cryer? No.

Hatfield said...

Just saw the Dr. Horrible skit. Did it actually win anything?

Myles said...

Yes, Hatfield: it won the Special Class Short Form award, which applies to Super Bowl Halftime shows, Online only/DVD Featurettes (BSG, for example), as well as Dr. Horrible.

Hatfield said...

Ooh, that's a clever spam just above me, stealing part of someone else's comment.

Hatfield said...

Oh, and thanks for the answer, Myles!

Anonymous said...

Alan,

in your article, did you mean to say that Michael Emerson won an Emmy ON (not or) The Practice

LA said...

Love that Kristen Chenowith won. And Mad Men.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Ooh, that's a clever spam just above me, stealing part of someone else's comment.

That's often how those spammers work, Hatfield. Which is why the comment is now gone.

Alan Sepinwall said...


in your article, did you mean to say that Michael Emerson won an Emmy ON (not or) The Practice


Actually, I meant "for The Practice," and that's now been fixed as well. Thanks.

Writing on a tight deadline can be fun from an adrenaline standpoint, but I always make two or three mistakes like that.

Matthew said...

"Next year, the theme tune for Two and a Half Men will just be 'Meh'".

Nice to see NPH get a subtle but sharp dig at that awful show before Jon Cryer undeservedly beat NPH for Best Supporting Actor. I can't believe the words "Emmy-winning" are now attached to Two and a Half Men.

Brandy said...

Alan,

alluding to both Kaney and Joe Wilson as he quipped,

Small Typo on the 8th Kanye in that sentence. Heh, really hard those ones that always come up as misspelled you miss when you actually misspell them.

Anonymous said...

"I can't believe this is happening to me," said a stunned Cryer, as several dozen TV critics across the country nodded their heads in frustrated agreement."

The poor guy's on a show that gets no critical respect but always wins its time slot and is usually in the top ten for the week. It's too bad the win won't enhance his resume, because it's for a show that gets no critical respect.

I liked the Hodgman stuff but it was hard to hear it over the applause. The rest of it pretty much like any other year.

Anonymous said...

I'd have to watch it again on the DVR, but did the orchestra stupidly play "Rosanna" while PATRICIA Arquette walked out with Jennifer Love Hewett? Uh, wrong Arquette, people!

JanieJones said...

I was a bit surprised that Cherry Jones won but I do not watch "24." I was hoping Hope Davis would get the Emmy.
John Cryer-it was a bit beyond my comprehension but it is a popular show but NPH was robbed.
I was disappointed that Aaron Paul did not win but happy that Cranston deservedly took home another statue. His acceptance speech was very nice.
I was happy for Collette and Close, both deserving.
I like Tina Fey but she seems to rule the universe in some ways right now. She has gotten more recognition over the past several years than some do in a lifetime.

Anonymous said...

Alan, any insight as to why Jenna Fischer didn't get a supporting actress nod? She's done some phenomenal work, as you've noted in this space.

srpad said...

I wasn't able to watch. I saw the Dr. Horrible bit on Youtube but does anyone have a link to a clip that had them announcing the nominees for Variety Writing? They usually do something funny as they are announced. Thanks.

dez said...

Didn't it seem like NPH was angrily arguing with someone backstage right after Chenoweth won?

I thought so, too, but haven't heard what happened.

Anyone know what The White Shadow did to Matt Weiner that caused Weiner to make that crappy remark about the kidney transplant? Way to show your ass, Matt :(

Anonymous said...

The "problem" w/Jenna Fischer is that she's too subtle for her own good (and that category)...