God, last night’s Emmy Awards were super-sad, right? The Emmys tried to mix things up with their extended “In Memoriam” section by basically spreading out the sadness throughout the evening with special tributes to people like James Gandolfini, Cory Monteith, Jean Stapleton and more. While it was nice to see those lives and careers honored, it was also super-depressing. And you know how I love Neil Patrick Harris? I do love him. But I feel like he was phoning in the first half of the show. The dance number in the middle of the show was okay, but that should have been the opening number.
You can see the list of winners here – basically, every person who was supposed to win last night did not win. This was the least predictable awards show in a while. Who had money on Jeff Daniels winning Best Actor for The Newsroom? Who had money on Merritt Wever from Nurse Jackie? While I thought Claire Danes had a decent chance of winning Best Actress for Homeland, I guess I thought there would be more angst about it.
It was nice seeing Breaking Bad win for Best Drama, and Modern Family picked up their 20-millionth Best Comedy award. Jim Parsons picked up his millionth award too.
Some of my favorite moments…let’s see. I liked when Stephen Colbert swept the variety show prizes – usually The Daily Show wins everything, so it was good to see Colbert have his moment. I loved Michael Douglas’s naughty speech when he won Best Actor for Behind the Candelabra. He LOVES Matt Damon.
I also loved the Best Choreographers bit – I hope that they do this again, because it was really cool.
Yeah. There were good parts, for sure. But overall, it was extremely depressing.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
One of the dubious advantages of living 8 hrs ahead of EST, is that I get to sleep thru all those evening awards shows (which I love) and then have a cornucopia of results and fashion when I wake up.
This time, the ‘advantage’ was that I didnt have to sit thru that painful show, which I would have done in the US. So, so disappointing. If I were jeff Daniels, I’d give the award back.
Oh, I passionately DESPISE awards shows, so I get up the next day and look at the dresses. Easy peasy.
Why should Jeff Daniels give his award back? If he didn’t want to win, he wouldn’t have submitted his name for nomination (you can’t be considered for a nomination unless you self-submit your name). While I think he was the least deserving winner, perhaps voters had Bryan Cranston fatigue, or thought Ian Richardson’s Francis Urqhart was better, or hate Jon Hamm for being so damn good-looking… Or maybe those three split up the majority of votes, opening up the path for the ultimate dark-horse winner. Who knows?
Back in 1983/84, Paramount took out an ad in the New York Time the day after the Oscar nominations were announced, congratulating “Terms of Endearment” nominees Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson and Jeff Daniels… only Daniels was passed over in favor of John Lithgow, who was not mentioned in the ad. The advertisement deadline at the time was early – before the nominations were public – but Paramount assumed Daniels was a shoo-in, and so the ad became a bit of an embarrassment for them (and him). Much as I hate “The Newsroom,” I liked seeing him finally recognized with a major award, especially after the flub with his first major role.
And he still hasn’t scored an Oscar nomination after all these years.
Best part of the whole show was Amy and Tina’s couple minutes in the audience. Other than that, a crapfest.
At least Breaking Bad won drama. As they should have, I dare say.
ETA: Stephen Colbert can do no wrong. Ever. He’s perfect, I says.
This.
Also, I expected Claire Danes to win hers. I was surprised Cranston and Paul didn’t win in their categories though. And I was really hoping 30 Rock would win – and Jane Krakowski. I’m kind of sick of modern family and BBT.
This.I must also add I hate Carrie Underwood,I love Kevin Spacey,Robin Wright was my best dressed,Claire Danes won for overacting and really no writing award for GOT?Pfff.
I Know It was their last year, id thought itd be a no brainer to give it to Bryan and Aaron
This. I thought for sure Bryan and Paul would get an award and was really upset when they didn’t. I thought the show was really terrible. Do they always have dance numbers? I found it really hard to watch.
im actually ill that jane krakowski has 0 emmies for 30 rock (she one prev for ally mcbeal).
@QQ, it’s not Breaking Bad’s last year, they’ll be eligible next year too when I guess they’ll sweep everything.
God I hope so. The acting this season has been superb.
Anna Gunn NEEDS to win one for her work this season. That moment she’s screaming for Walt to stop and running after him damn near broke my heart. I love her so much. She needs to get more love.
I heard about it this morning and am so glad I missed it.
I watched the first hour and it was pretty boring – spreading out the sadness was kind of a bad idea. Heard that Larry Hagman’s death wasn’t even mentioned? If true that’s a travesty.
Not true, it was mentioned.
Thanks Tammy, I’m glad to hear that!
The man brought to life one of the most memorable and brilliant tv-villains of all time and all they do is show his picture!?
Not just that, he was on I Dream of Jeannie too!
Two iconic shows!
I am pretty sure there had to be some campaigning for the In Memoriam slots,which is pretty disgusting, even for Hollywood.
Oh, that’s disappointing. I don’t get why Cory Monteith got more attention than Hagman on the show. Cory’s death was tragic but Larry Hagman was on two great shows and had a 40+ year career.
The same with Jack Klugman aka Oscar Madison aka Quincy MD. I think JK’s son went to the press and said it wasn’t fair that the Emmy’s was pandering to the youth movement and giving Cory Monteith a special tribute while his father, who pretty much grew up with TV, got a picture.
Yes. I thought that was a slap in the face. I guess the producers can say they opted out on Klugman because Tony Randall is gone but there’s still Penny Marshall (Myrna) and Garry Marshall (the producer). If you’ve read their bios, they are one helluva story teller.
The local news here in Southern California asked the Emmy producers why Cory Monteith was getting the special treatment and not Larry Hagman and the producers said something to the effect that Monteith and Glee touch younger viewers and his death has had an impact of those viewers and they were not going to change their minds.
Just like the Oscars, they were going after a younger audience.
cory monteith realy didnt deserve to be singled out over klugman or hagman.
and bringing up monteith in the middle isnt going to get young people watching the emmies.
Jeff Daniels should give his award back. He is decent in an otherwise laughably dreadful show, but he isn’t even in the same universe as Cranston, Hamm, Lewis or Spacey. What a joke. And, I know I’m going to get hammered for this, but I have never understood the appeal of Neal Patrick Harris. He has always bugged me to no end. There, I said it. Flame away.
You’re not alone Kate, I don’t get it either.
I couldn’t agree more,@Kate. I really wanted Spacey to win, although I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I was prepared for someone else, but Jeff Daniels? Whuuuu? Any of the others would have been a more deserved win.
The only thing I can think of is the Academy was enamored of Newsroom because it dovetails with their politics so neatly, and they wanted to reward it in some way.
If there is two showrunners the Emmys cannot resist in rewarding somehow it’s Aaron Sorkin and David E Kelley.
Jeff Daniels is good on the Newsroom and I do think his win was a combo of being the best thing on that show in it’s first season (I think the second was a huge improvement with the exception of the finale which just seemed cobbled together), Aaron Sorkin love and the fact that they realized the other half of the Dumb and Dumber Duo can act.
But I cannot say he was better then Hamm and Cranston for their seasons. I think it is a travesty that Jon Hamm has never won as Don Draper. At this point, if I were Hamm, I’d stop submitting. They are not going to award him. He’s the next Hugh Laurie and Steve Carrell.
I forgot to add: Bryan Cranston is terrific and he won over Jon Hamm last night, I could not argue that one. But at least he’s won a few for being Walter White.
Also, WTH Emmys with Bobby Cannavale over Aaron Paul or Jonathan Banks? Bobby is a good actor but the character of Gyp Rosetti was terrible last season.
@mom2two, agree with you completely about Hamm. He’s always been great on MM but he was unbelievable as Don Draper this past season.
That being said, I’m sure they all know how political it is. I was thinking how they all have to play nice, whether they like it or not, if they want to stay in the industry.
Keep in mind that AMC is dragging out the last season of Mad Men into 2015 so Hamm still has time.
I, of course, have never seen the show so I can’t say if he deserves it or not.
NPH will always to be Doogie Houser and that kid from Clara’s Heart,but I don’t why he’s become the go to host for every award show.
No flames required. I can’t say that I hate him, but I’m definitely beyond tired of him and that Eric Braeden episode was just tiresome.
He’s going to be Billy Crystallize himself, that’s beyond dispute.
How did my comment land here? Unsolved Mysteries, or something silly I did.
Here, here. Touche. I have tried to get through an episode of the Newsroom and just cannot do it. Bryan has won before and I believe Kevin has too. I’m torn I don’t know if Jeff should have given the award to Bryan or Kevin.
I forwarded through a lot of it, but agree the memorials mixed through changed the whole tone. Bad idea I think.
I like Modern Family, but they wouldn’t have even been on my nomination list this year. And I’ve never understood the award love for Big Bang Theory.
Someone mispronounced Bryan Cranston’s name as Jeff Daniels. I am REALLY glad BB won best drama, but it should have swept everything, as there’s no other show even coming close to its brilliance.
It was pretty rough. And I was surprised… I thought we’d gotten past a lot of the schticky stuff they did last night. And, dear Lord – they’re there to honor the actors and then cut the winners off 10 seconds into their speeches, just so we can watch some stupid pretaped “host disease” psa?
They need to bring it back around to the actors a bit, imo.
That “psa” was little more than CBS trying to promote their own show. Kind of tacky.
Completely tacky and SO long. It seemed like it just went on and on. And on.
Terrible show, at least as much as I could bring myself to watch. Like anyone with the right cable package I switched to Breaking Bad the minute it came on. They should have just preemptively given Cranston, Paul, and Gunn next year’s awards (oh my GOD!) and saved time in next year’s sure to be boring and overlong show.
Just have to ask, how good is House of Cards? I have netflix and started watching the first episode–but got distracted and never finished. Now I am in love with Spacey, so I’ll finish it eventually–but how good is the show?
I’m just finishing up watching it now. I think it’s a very good show, but viewer enjoyment depends on personality. There’s not a lot of action, per se, and a big focus on the psychology of political machinations. In many ways it’s more character driven than ploy focused. But I really liked it. I know a lot of people who didn’t find it to their taste.
I do like character driven shows–I just finished the first season of Breaking Bad…and I saw on youtube the scene ” I am the one who knocks”–good God. I grew up watching Bryan Cranston on Malcolm in the Middle. Never in a million years would I have thought he could’ve became a character like Walter or, rather Heisenberg.
But I’ll definitely finish it now.
@Virgilia Coriolanus – It’s funny you mentioned “Breaking Bad.” I’ve been considering whether to start watching it for a while now (I think back seasons are on Netflix). It’s so hyped that I’m almost afraid it’s overhyped. It sounds like you think it’s worth the time investment?
Faye, it’s not overhyped. It’s incredible.
My husband and I enjoyed it very much. Faye’s assessment is good. It’s not action-packed, but it’s suspenseful. The acting and writing is good. It’s worth watching, in my opinion.
I agree with KB. I held off on watching Breaking Bad for a long time too just because of the hype, but I finally started it on Netflix and I really would recommend it to anyone. It’s just absolutely incredible in every way. Nothing else on tv right now comes close IMHO.
Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are fabulous in it. The show is a bit uneven. The first 4 episodes were fantastic, but I felt like it fell off a little in the middle and at the end. A lot of WTF moments, and not in a good way.
How does Jim Parsons keep winning?! The show is one cliche crapfest after another. Well, humor is subjective so I should shut up.
Glad I skipped it. Glad I watched Breaking Bad instead. Anna Gunn’s win was a happy surprise.
I was happy to see her win. She was long overdue.
Two dimensional characters are all the rage at the Emmys.
I don’t get BBT either. I find it superiorly unfunny. I was shocked to hear they film in front of a live audience. It sounds like a laugh track. And yes, I was happy for Anna Gunn but sad for Robin and Kerry. I was really rooting for HOC because what it would mean to the industry. Although we the public are “open arming” the Netflix model it puts pressure on the normally network produced series.
I dunno. I’ve seen Jim Parsons on talk shows and it’s pretty obvious that he is nothing (or not much, anyway) like his character. The fact that he is definitely acting may be why he wins. Then again, if that’s the motivating factor for giving someone an Emmy, Emily Deschanel from Bones should have won by now.
I didn’t like the show last night. The actors weren’t given the respect they deserve with cutting them off so quickly and using up that time for extraneous stuff in a three-hour show. I liked the opening. I felt the winners were mostly lackluster and many not deserving. And some people couldn’t even be bothered to give a good speech. I was kind of shocked by Soderbergh’s speech. He had a project he was passionate about and won and he could have said a little more than just thanking Michael and Matt and off he goes.
Michael Douglas was my favorite speech.
No, Jim Parsons didn’t deserve to win.
I really liked how Douglas mentioned Catherine and his kids-even Cameron. It was sweet and refreshingly honest. What I didn’t like was the top/bottom joke. It just seemed a bit insensitive and frat-like. “Haha! Gay people have sex!”. Especially since the movie treated the subject with much more respect.
matt damon is so hot!! i loved that video!
Glad I missed it. I think even Jeff Daniels was surprised that he beat Bryan Cranston. What beats me is Hamm not winning a single best actor drama for Mad Men so far. Bummer. Also, why can’t they wind up Modern Family already?
And how terrific was last night’s episode of Breaking Bad? I can’t wait for the finale.
Last night’s episode was epic. Best show on tv imo. I will miss it terribly!
I’m already on Breaking Bad withdrawal. I’ll probably re-watch all seasons after the finale on Sunday. Homeland season 3 and The Walking Dead will restore some balance, hopefully. Which reminds me, the first episode of Homeland season 3 is already available online. I saw it today. Apparently it’s been hacked. It’s a full episode but I’m not sure if there will be any changes when it premieres on the 29th.
Breaking Bad season 5 part two–face melting , will cause your hands to shake & the urge to hide under the bed. Intensity of each episode now leaves you unsafe to operate machinery, drive a car or sign any legal documents. Every Monday I wake up worrying about Jessie.
Next year–Emmy sweep for sure. This year there may have been split votes at work that led to Daniels and possibly Canavale who is just gross. Thinking BB vote split between Aaron & Jonathan Banks.
Jeff Bridges. Dumb and Dumber. Enough said.
Daniels. He’s actually quite talented if you watch him in some of his dramatic roles, though I don’t know if he deserved an Emmy.
You couldn’t pay me enough to watch any of these awards shows. I liked them better when I was a kid. They seemed shorter, to the point and not everyone seemed so full of themselves.
The two best parts were Tina and Amy and the choreography. The rest just kinda sucked. NPH needs to disappear from hosting for a bit.
I don’t think it was right to give Corey Monteith his own memorial. There were some other actors who had more prominent careers and who had been in the business longer. He had been on one well known show. What about giving that slot to Dennis Farina? Larry Hagman? Annette Funicello? I think Corey should of been in the video montage instead.
Yeah I really didn’t understand it. I am not hating on the guy but he was only on Glee. Or at least that was what he was famous for with regards to acting. I feel shitty for saying it but it was not like he was Heath Ledger who died after giving some truly awesome performances in movies.
Not saying that those actors that only do t.v. are less than those that do movies either.
Sadly it was for ratings, an appeal to bring in younger viewers. I’m deeply uncomfortable with the obviousness of that in the guise of paying tribute to an apparently very nice young man.
When I heard that Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black wasn’t nominated, I didn’t bother to even consider tuning in. Criminal. If you’ve seen the show (and if you haven’t, DO) then you know she puts even Claire to shame.
Amen @Kat. Phenomenal and could have/should have beat the actresses nominated last night.
The trickle of blood on the top of NPH’s head. Am I the only one that sees it? (last two photos used in the story). How did that happen?
I saw it also during the show. It was gone during the segment that followed.
It’s his mic. Its common in the theater to hide it in hair/ wig hairlines.
Jim Parsons deserve every one of those awards and MORE.
Yeah, the memorials were handled badly; add in the memorial to the Kennedy assassination and what little steam the show had fizzled away. NPH is perfect for hosting the Tonys, but this was just not good. And Carrie Underwood singing Yesterday was atrocious.
If you think Carrie’s singing was bad wait until you hear her twang through the Sound of Music. Yes the same bozos that gave us a Tony-like Oscar ceremony is producing the Sound of Music with Carrie as Maria von Trapp.
I’m not watching this. I’m going to pretend it didn’t happen.
The choreography segment was really cool (and makes me think I should start watching one of those dance shows). And I did like Michael Douglas’s speech. I also thought Will Ferrell at the end was kind of cute. I liked seeing Conan at the beginning… But everything in between was blah. If Jon Hamm had won I would’ve said this was the best Emmy’s ever – but, well – maybe next year…
Choreography would have been good if they were on schedule. As it was, it made the whole show drag too long. Plus a major downer, that little troll Derek Hough won an award. This will only encourage the DWTS producers to keep giving him the best partners. Should rename that show as DWDerek. I can’t see any other pro winning this.
It was bad, yet I can’t help but love some upsets. Merritt Wever is brilliant on Nurse Jackie, it’s definitely an underrated show. Jeff Daniels though…*snicker.*
@ Mira. Not true. Jon Hamm has won a Emmy for Mad Men in 2008. It was after the first season. It was during the no-show Emmy Awards over the writer’s strike. He was actually one of the few that actually showed up that might and IMO some hold it over his head. Silly I know but its Hollywood where they give out artificial awards that are meaningless.
So it fits.
Karen81: I am almost certain Jon has NOT won an Emmy for Mad Men. He won a Golden Globe in 2008 but not an Emmy.
Emmie is right, Karen. Hamm has not won an Emmy for Mad Men. He won a Golden Globe in 2008.
I don’t watch much TV so am not familiar with a lot of the shows nominated but I felt like Jeff Daniels must be one hell of an actor to be Bryan Cranston! And even Jon Hamm!
I thought the opening monolgue of the awards was hilarious. I really enjoyed that even went back and watched it a second time.
The in memoriam thing was awful. I cried every single time. Not necessary!!!
I like NPH and can definitely see him hosting the Oscars one day.
Jim Parsons and Modern Family did not deserve to win for the 5000th time. And they’ll just keep beating more deserving nominees until both shows are cancelled
I don’t even watch Game of Thrones, but I was hoping Peter Dinklage would win. He’s just so handsome and I love him.
Can’t stand adult Neil Patrick Harris. Utterly grating.
His whole persona is the poor man’s David Hyde Pierce.
^ This it’s like he at home watching reruns of Frasier.
He just works my nerve in everything he dose.
Same! I never have understood the obsession with him. He’s a decent actor but nothing to write home about.
Wow I must have watched a different show than half the people complaining and the other half complaining that didn’t even watch it. I felt the in memoriams created a nice balance to the triviality of an award show. I personally love NPH in how I met your mother and Dr. Horrible so couldn’t get enough of him or Stephan Colbert last night. I’m fine with people being bitchy on this site but the constant whining is getting old.
I didn’t even watch it but upon hearing that Jack Klugman’s death was overlooked in favor of the kid from Glee is downright insulting. Younger audience or not that was wrong. Putting the guy from Glee in the show I HIGHLY doubt did anything for ratings. I won’t be tuning into the Emmys ever again with that issue.
Stunt Queens.
It should have gone, hands-down, to the brilliant Bryan Cranston. Or if not him, the almost equally deserving Kevin Spacey.
Jeff Daniels? Really? I mean, I like the show and all, but HIM????