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• 1. jesse  |  September 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 am

  RE: NPH, that supporting actor thing is kinda nutso. I have to admit, the Emmys have been better over the last few years about (a.) rewarding deserving people and (b.) spreading out the awards a bit. I remember when I followed them as a teenager, people or shows would win two, three, five, whatever years in a row. There was a decade where pretty much only David Hyde Pierce and Michael Richards had won Supporting Actor in a Comedy, and they’re both brilliant on their respective shows, but come on! How myopic do you have to be to reward Kramer over and over, and George never?

  So I had been impressed over the last few years of half-watching the Emmys, how Arrested Development, The Office, and 30 Rock all won despite relatively low ratings, and during times when they actually were the best comedies on TV. Sure, Everybody Loves Raymond winning was kind of dumb, but at least that made it (I think) four different shows in four years. 30 Rock repeated it this year, but it absolutely deserved it.

  But sometimes with certain actors, they still get in these crazy ruts. Was this Piven’s second Emmy? His third? How many episodes of Entourage even aired during the eligibility period? Like five? How is it still exciting to cast that vote for the same damn guy?! At least no one from Boston Legal won anything major this year.

  RE: hosts, the arrogance on display was just stunning. I’ve noticed whenever reality show hosts pick these gigs up and get interviewed about them beforehand, they always say something vaguely deragatory about comedians beforehand — under cover of saying “well, we’re not comedians so we’re not really going to do a lot of jokey stuff,” but also kind of saying/implying “not everyone likes how those mean comedians sometimes make fun of people; we’re a little classier.” I swear Seacrest has said as much at least once. If I wasn’t at work I’d try to go find the source.

  On the plus side, they were probably the most-maligned on-air hosts I’ve ever seen (I lost track of how many presenters all but said “I really hate those guys, don’t you?”), so that was at least somewhat satisfying.

• 2. Marisa  |  September 22nd, 2008 at 11:33 am

  I’ve thought about it and, in my memory, I can’t recall an awards show that was as poorly run as this year’s Emmy. That opening endless–and it felt endless. Who opens an award show by going on and on about how they have nothing to say? It doesn’t accomplish either of the two measly tasks that an awards host has to do: be funny, and keep the show moving. I feel like everything got on the wrong foot from the opening moments and never recovered, leaving the wrong people with the impression that they’re free to blather on about nothing. So NPH got robbed twice, once for the statue, and once for having his bit cut for Don Rickles.

  I say next year they get Tina and Amy to host! I’d also be happy with someone snippy and British. I thought Russell Brand did a good job at the VMAs, or Ricky Gervais would work, too.

• 3. sara  |  September 22nd, 2008 at 12:19 pm

  I think at this point even Jeremy Piven knows it’s ridiculous. His mom wouldn’t even come to the show—he brought his TV wife as his date. And yes, those “hosts” were awful. I would like to impose a moratorium on people at awards shows talking about how they’re running long—in the time it takes you to say it, the show gets longer. And seriously, how is it fair that every year Louis Horvitz directs the Emmy show and every year he wins a damn Emmy for directing the Oscar show seven months earlier? That shit is rigged.

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