Last night was TV's top honors and the queen bee of the night was undoubtedly host Jane Lynch, who rocked the amphitheatre from beginning to end and proved to be a host to boast she is the most of the most - and among the best. The very best. Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman better watch out now with Jane in town! The rest of the Emmys evening was filled with a few thrilling surprises and some very unexpected upsets, chiefly among them: Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell's MODERN FAMILY wins as the show proceeded to sweep most of the Comedy categories, including Best Comedy for the second year in a row; and, in Drama, Peter Dinklage taking top honors for his ingratiating GAME OF THRONES turn and Kyle Chandler taking home the prize for the final season of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. Grandiloquent DOWNTON ABBEY was shown some serious love in the form of Oscar-winning GOSFORD PARK scribe's Julian Fellowes writing win, Maggie Smith for her supporting role, Brian Percival for directing; as was HBO's MILDREd Pierce - with Guy Pearce and Kate Winslet scoring the big wins - yet the picaresque big-budget series ultimately lost Best Miniseries to the UK-bred DOWNTON ABBEY, where it was somewhat unfairly juxtaposed by most accounts - and, surprising no one coming after its superb fourth season, MAD MEN expectedly took home Best Drama Series. So, for a rundown of the best, the rest and a whole lot more, read on!
Over the course of the next few months we will be taking a probing, illuminating and, hopefully, incisive look at the major award shows of the season - the Emmys, Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Oscars included - in between theatre's nights of nights, the Tony Awards. Following the same style as the weekly SOUND OFF columns, this new SPOTLIGHT series shall shine a new light on the winners and losers, as well as the hosts, presenters and, most importantly, the montages, medleys and musical numbers with the biggest stars in the galaxy that make these sorts of entertainment events shine so particularly bright - with, as always, a theatrical twist. This Emmy Awards consideration is only the very start, so be sure to check back for Monday morning reports on the big movie award shows that are coming up soon as the big Oscar-bait movie season heats up, just as temperatures start to plummet and theaters on Broadway and beyond are relatively barren of the brilliance of the Spring season.
Modern TV RealityTV in 2011 was more entertaining, rewarding and memorable than most offerings on Broadway and in Hollywood, to be perfectly honest - between the ecstatic musical highs of GLEE, the laugh-a-minute hilarity of MODERN FAMILY and PARKS AND RECREATION and many of the various variety and award shows feted last night, to the dramatic and resonant chords struck by the visionaries behind MAD MEN and BOARDWALK EMPIRE, as well as the fresh, new, bracing, brilliant vision of GAME OF THRONES and THE WALKING DEAD - there is something for everyone and all of it is well worth watching, to say the least. Perhaps not since the 1950s has TV been quite this button-pushing, hot-button and, well, hot. While SEINFELD, FRIENDS and THE SOPRANOS had a certain cache in decades past, with reality television and competition entertainment TV has entered a new era, both for better and for worse. The worse is JERSEY SHORE and The Kardashians and reality trash, but the good is the stunning originality of the helmers of many of the shows on TV these days - foremost among them being talents like
Matthew Weiner of MAD MEN and
Martin Scorsese of MAD MEN, both creating some of the best storytelling to be seen in any venue. After all, TV is as much about the writing as theatre is, especially in an age where film pays less attention and gives less weight to screenwriting than ever. How can you make a great movie from a so-so screenplay? That question seems to be addressed time and time again, weekend after weekend at movie plexes across the country with no apparent answer ever arising to those who make the big decisions. TV has been the American pastime since its inception, but only recently it has become the best entertainment available and fills the artistic and dramatic void so blatently left in the wake of Hollywood's lack of anything of value. TV is the home of the writer. TV is the only home of the writer. This was amply evident on last night's star-studded and glitzy broadcast of The 2011 Emmy Awards on Fox, in particular in that fantastic opening number "TV Is A Wonderland", written by Fountains of Wayne songwriter
Adam Schlesinger and THE DAILY SHOW's
David Javerbaum (also responsible for this year's Tony opener and CRY-BABY: THE MUSICAL) which could not have been more deliciously irreverent whilst still maintaining being entertaining and dynamically done - the MAD MEN sequence and onstage finale were both as good as TV gets - and the Lonely Island's risque, ribald and all-around hilarious rap-tastic musical sequence boasted a host of slick rhymes and sonorous sounds. In addition to the musical numbers, the 63rd Annual Emmy Awards also hosted a Greek chorus of sorts in the form of the Emmytones - a sextet comprised of
Zachary Levi,
Cobie Smulders,
Taraji P. Henson,
Kate Flannery,
Wilmer Valderrama and
Joel McHale - and their intermittent musical moments throughout the night; all four more than a sheer delight, with special mention going to the deft lyrics for the Drama category presentation. Yes, indeed, last night's Emmys - more than many - was a throwback to the great TV variety shows and specials of yore and Lynch is always in fine form and made it as painless as any awards show that hands out more than a hundred awards in three hours can be (although admittedly many of them are given out in the Creative Arts Emmy Awards the week before, of course). Who knows, maybe Lynch will even nab an Emmy for hosting this show next year! She certainly earned it (and admirably smiled through her unfortunate loss).
The impact of TV in the 21st century can virtually be felt in every facet of society. Indeed, what TV shows in the past have carved out a corner of the pop cultural landscape as quickly and in quite the same way as GLEE and MAD MEN? Like it, love it or loathe it, GLEE is changing - and some would rightfully argue, saving - lives with every broadcast. Many. While some may quibble with the mass-market, somewhat overproduced nature of much of the show, you cannot deny its relevance and how important it is to depict teens of all types in the way that it does. To claim GLEE is too, well, gay (in the old sense of the world, as well as the new), is like saying MAD MEN is dated. Isn't that sort of the point? Sure, some of the best shows on TV are little-seen gems and have a rarefied, if wise, viewer-base - SONS OF ANARCHY, BREAKING BAD, JUSTIFIED (with
Margo Martindale deservedly taking Supporting Actress), NURSE JACKIE, THE BIG C, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (which was shown some love in the writing category) and, believe it or not, 30 ROCK, as well as many others fit this bill - and to get the exposure of an entertainment behemoth like GLEE would surely help those shows have an impact, too. Yet, TV is a numbers game - and, almost as much, a hotness game. If you can create buzz and get people talking, blogging, texting and tweeting then you may very well be on your way to having a hit show. If you cannot do so, then no matter what the quality of the program - some very, very brilliant shows have been canceled too soon - you will have to face your maker sooner rather than later. The bottom line of TV and a fact that far too many people forget is that network TV programming is essentially filler for the commercials. It was then and it is now - TV shows are advertisements for advertisements. In the age of HBO and Showtime and pay-TV this has changed somewhat, further exacerbated by the implementation of single-episode and single-series buy options on sites like iTunes and Hulu, but for the most part TV is still business as usual. Business being the operative word above all others.
While there are the huge hit shows with tens of millions of viewers that pack the Top 20 each week - THE GOOD WIFE, THE BIG BANG THEORY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and many others are in this club - few of them command the Emmy attention or consideration that the boutique shows can offer. Of course, there are also the shows that were once must-see-TV that have lost a bit of their luster (and viewers) in later seasons - DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, DEXTER, GREY'S ANATOMY, ENTOURAGE, THE OFFICE and a host of others fit this bill - and last night did not show much favor to the old standards, emphasizing the TV new school. Truly, the most riveting competitions of all are the shows in the first and second seasons, battling it out for a slot in the contention, even if they don't manage to win - HBO's groundbreaking (and, in my opinion, genius) GAME OF THRONES and BOARDWALK EMPIRE being the most notable entities in this category and the latter walking away one of the night's biggest winners.
On the acting front this season, the sheer variety of performances in enough to leave one with mouth agape; awed - and what a list it is:
Kathy Bates,
Juliana Margulies (who won yet again),
Neil Patrick Harris,
Jim Parsons (ditto),
Michael C. Hall,
Jon Hamm,
Bryan Cranston,
Lea Michele and so many more have left an indelible impression in just a few short years and we won't soon forget their excellent work or their unforgettable characters, whether or not they were awarded last night (or ever).
Gwyneth Paltrow's Guest Star win for GLEE continues the trend of A-list Hollywood stars - in this case, a relatively recent Oscar-winner, no less - crossing over with much success to the TV platform and utilizing it as a means to reinvent and reinvigorate their careers. It really works - and how. While
Glenn Close is never recognized enough for her work on DAMAGES - nor, for that matter, is
Rose Byrne - one hopes that following the searing and stupendous fourth season that just wrapped last week it will spell Emmy gold for them come this time next year. The women's categories are always treacherously tight and this year was no exception, though it was a pleasure to see some stalwarts take the big prize - and a newcomer or two, too.
Melissa McCarthy and
Juliana Marguiles certainly fit that bill.
The Lonely Island - led by SNL's
Andy Samberg - fronted a triptych medley of their 2011 hits, featuring, among others,
Michael Bolton in his Captain Jack Sparrow mode, as well as
Ed Helms as
Justin Timberlake,
John Stamos as Samberg and
Maya Rudolph as
Lady Gaga in a reprise of their "Threeway", in addition to Akon leading what turned into a "One Day More"/LES MIZ-esque finale of "I Just Had Sex" complete with banner and stage-wide American flag. A marvelous merging of verse, content and production value - with some nice vocals, too, thanks to ageless Bolton and always fabulous Rudolph, the latter of whom returns to network TV and NBC with this fall's UP ALL NIGHT, co-starring
Christina Applegate and
Will Arnett.
Justin Timberlake himself took home Best Guest Star for a comedy with his sensational hosting of SNL last season. The memorial montage, almost always a maudlin affair, and this was decidedly no exception - especially with "Hallelujah". It seems as though many fail to really grasp what
Leonard Cohen's song is about, no matter the context it is shoe-horned into, as it was here and is far too often. Yet, the Lonely Island number - without even making mention of the opening number and interspersed Emmytones respites - more than merely made up for it, so in the end it's a wash.
The biggest winners of all were without question the cast and crew of MODERN FAMILY - which took Comedy Actor, Actress, Directing, Writing and Series - as well as a somewhat less substantial number of statues going to BOARDWALK EMPIRE - which took Drama Directing for the pilot thanks to Oscar-winner
Martin Scorsese and some technical prizes handed out at the Creative Arts ceremony - with more than one ceremony's fair share of surprises. The MODERN FAMILY sweep was a somewhat stale turn of events given its prominence last year, yet it stands as one of TV's sharpest comedies so thus deserves its vociferous praise. Although, let us all hope that in the future at the Emmy Awards rewards for daringness and ingenuity will be more prevalent in writing and directing categories, as well as in the best series categories, and, most of all, that the hosts will hopefully continue to show fantastic talent the likes of
Jane Lynch, who won the night by head and shoulders. And, a little bit of leg.
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