Here are my 'Top 10' Takeaways from the three-hour broadcast.
10. Wow, can Jane Lynch sing, which makes me think she should be doing more of that on her hit TV series, GLEE. Her opening number was one of the best I can remember, as was its theme of the magic of television. How inspiring,
9. Ty Burell's acceptance speech (for supporting comic actor in MODERN FAMILY), which paid homage to his late father, was both touching and funny as hell.
"My dad passed away before he ever saw me perform. I can't help but wonder what he would think about all this. I have a job where, every day, I go to work in full makeup. I think he'd be thrilled that I get to work with such talented and loving people....But, if he were here tonight, I think he would say--'But why the makeup?'...To which I would say, 'Dad, just think of me as a very masculine lady.' And he would say, I do son.'"8. And then there was Charlie Sheen's mea culpa:
"I want to take a moment to get something off my chest and say a few words to everyone from TWO AND A HALF MEN. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season. We spent eight wonderful years together, and I know you will continue to make great television."Ye gods! He should have followed Berger's lead from SEX AND THE CITY and just written it on a Post-it.
7. To his credit, Charlie eventually got over himself and presented the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series to Jim Parson's of THE BIG BANG THEORY, who looked a little shellshocked when accepting the award. After all, Sheen had himself been nominated in that very category for four consecutive years through 2009. To sum up the surreal experience, the new poster child for geekdom eeked out:
"Wow, this is so odd for so many reasons."It wouldn't have been--not nearly as much so--if Charlie had simply written his mea culpa on a Post-it!
6. 'Girl Power' was overflowing throughout the evening, from Jane Lynch in a dress--Yikes--to the ode to '50s and '60s garb of the dreadful 'Emmytones,' but we'll get to that in a minute.
When the six ladies nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series rushed the stage as their names were read off, they showed the world that today the ladies of television rule the roost! It was a true Miss America moment when the Academy presented Melissa McCarthy (of MIKE & MOLLY) with a tiara and a bouquet of carnations, along with her Emmy. Later, when she and Amy Poehler (of PARKS AND RECREATION, a fellow nominee) came downstage to present the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, they offered the gentlemen nominees this advice:
"We are so encouraged to see the many strong and interesting roles out there for men. Finally fellas, this year you broke through that glass ceiling, and you got to play real characters, instead of just handsome, pretty pretty things to look at....That being said, you always gotta be willing to show some skin guys. Just a little sweet shoulder, just a little lower back, that's the stuff....That's what keeps us coming back. It's true."Oh how the tables have turned:)!
5. Speaking of transitions, how about those 'Emmytones?" The great band, THE ROOTS, sings, "It's all in the music." Well, I'm here to tell you, that ain't necessarily so!
If I could offer SURVIVOR-producer/Emmys-exec producer Mark Burnett one piece of advice, it would be this: Never again feature the 'Emmytones' on one of your broadcasts. First of all, they're tone-deaf. And, if that was the point of their inclusion, then they should have played it a whole lot funnier than they did.
4. Let's stay on this sad note for a moment. For it appears that only HBO and PBS can produce a good miniseries or made-for-TV movie. So says the members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which shut out all but these two networks in its slate of 2011 nominated TV films.
So, my first thought is to say to broadcast and basic cable stations, "You better get your act together! Ever heard of 'Quality TV?'"
But then I hear a cacophony of viewers' voices shouting back at me the myriad values of sappy, soapy tear jerkers--the DALLAS fare of the modern age, if you will.
But, don't worry HBO, PBS, and the Academy, you don't have to concern yourself with them. They're part of Lifetime's target demographic, so they don't count anyway.
3. Only one more unpleasant takeaway, because I'm starting to get bummed out. A large number of film actors took home television's greatest award last night. Sure, it's no longer taboo for actors to transition from film to TV, or even to work in the two mediums simultaneously. But because of this industrial trend, the level of competition at the Emmys has never been keener.
Leave it up to our tell-it-like-it-is host, Jane Lynch (or, rather, her alter-ego Sue Sylvester), to deliver this news with the venom of a rattlesnake:
"Congratulations to Kate Winslet who just won an Emmy. She's a wonderful film actress. And there are so many movie stars doing TV now that TV stars have been forced into providing voices for video games. And those same video games are then tuned into movies staring the very people who put the TV stars out of work in the first place. 'Hakuna Matata,' my friends--the circle of life."And, I add, 'May the force be with you,' just because I can.
2. Speaking of jokes (and, yes, on a more upbeat note), there were plenty of gay and lesbian jokes to go around during the three-hour telecast. The funniest may have been Steve Levitan's, when he accepted the award for Best Comedy Series.
"Last season, we were on location and a gay couple came up to us and said, 'You're not just making people laugh--you're making them more tolerant.' I thought to myself, well you're right! We are showing the world that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a loving, committed relationship between an old man and a hot, young woman. And, looking around the room tonight, I see many of you agree."Ba dum bum!
1. My favorite moment of the 63rd Emmys came when the already canceled FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS finally got its due. I'm sorry Connie Britton didn't take home the Emmy for best dramatic actress (then again, one can only be happy for the gifted Julianna Marguilies of THE GOOD WIFE for doing so); nevertheless, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is one of the finest shows in television history. From acting, writing. and production values, to content that forced us to examine our own thoughts on race, gender, class, and regional differences, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS brought it--week after week--during its five-season run. Thanks to the Academy for finally giving the show credit for its deft writing (with an Outstanding Writing Award to James Katims' for "Always") and extraordinary acting (with an Emmy to Kyle Chandler for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series).
It's about damn time!
