- Jane Lynch hosted the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
After a two hour a capella rehearsal, a quick dinner of celery sticks and bread bowls, and the glories of Sunday night football (for those interested, the Pats won), I quickly flipped the channel on the large HDTV magically wired to satellite in my boyfriend’s upper campus dorm room to Fox. I settled on the gray futon we assembled together, homework splayed about so I could be somewhat productive during commercials, and concentrated on the screen. I was half an hour early for the award ceremony, but I saw plenty of interviews – from Melissa McCarthy from “Mike & Molly” to Greg Kinnear from “The Kennedys” miniseries. I was impressed by some people’s outfits and appalled by others. But this mindless banter and critique of ensemble was not what I had come to watch. Finally, the show started.
A drawn-out introduction video featuring Jane Lynch, the host for the night, commenced. Leanord Nimoy, who stated after working with Fringe that he would not act on screen anymore, starred as the “President of Television,” presenting to Jane the house where every television show lives, from “The Simpsons” to “How I Met Your Mother”. Many familiar faces appeared, such as Eric Dane from “Grey’s Anatomy” and Randy Jackson from “American Idol,” as Jane danced from one show to another. Finally, Jane Lynch encountered her TV persona Sue Sylvester who expressed her hatred for television. Jane Lynch dramatically pushed her off the stage, and was suddenly on stage at the Emmy’s, dancing and singing in person.
Here are five highlights of the show that followed!
- Lonely Island – The featured musical performance of the night was Lonely Island, a band largely celebrated for its features on “Saturday Night Live”. Michael Bolton led the team in their first number, “Jack Sparrow,” and after a fantastical chorus in which Bolton’s wig and mustache were askew, Akon entered the stage, singing, “I Just Had Sex.” Finally, Lady Gaga and Justin Timerlake impersonators danced and sang to “3-Way (Golden Rule).” Somehow, the whole performance ended on a patriotic note, as a humongous American flag became the backdrop of the performance and fireworks exploded on stage. A very rousing performance, but I’m sure the older members of the audience were very, very confused.
- Ty Burrell’s Speech – We know him as Phil Dunfy of Modern Family. Ty Burrell concentrated on his father during his speech for the Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He elegantly spoke about how proud his late father would be of his son if he had lived to see his success. He also cleverly inserted jokes about how concerned his father would be that he had to wear full make-up for every scene, which really powered the speech and generated a very positive reaction from the audience. “In the end, he’d feel like, ‘Couldn’t you just wear a little powder? Why do you have to look like a harlot?’ I would say, ‘Just think of me as a very masculine lady.’ And he would say, ‘I do, son. I do.’”
- Peter Dinklage’s Joke – When “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage received an Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, his first words on the stage were “Wow, I followed Martin Scorcese. My heart is pounding!” I know Peter Dinklage not from “Game of Thrones” but from a canceled show from 2006 called “Threshold” about aliens, and he was great. He also still has great comedic timing: “I would like to thank my dog sitter, whose name is Kitty, for taking care of my dog Kevin back in New York while I’m here.”
- Lead Actress in a Comedy Pageant – Amy Poehler was the first to take the stage. I was confused, of course: all the other Emmy presentations had been preceded by a snippet of videos featuring each of the nominees. But now they were on stage, giggling and jumping up and down.I expected a showdown between Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, but surprisingly Melissa McCarthy from “Mike and Molly” won the award! She was presented with a shiny tiara and a bouquet of flowers, a lovely touch, and then she gave a shout-out to her hometown Plainfield, Illinois in her speech
- Charlie Sheen – Charlie Sheen stood alone as a presenter for the Lead Actor in a Comedy category, what he referred to as “my old category.” In my opinion, Charlie deserves his own Emmy for his short performance. He took the two minutes he was designated to graciously wish the cast and crew of Two and a Half Men good luck in the coming season. Carefully worded and slowly spoken, there is no way anyone can mistake this declaration as anything but sincere. It was really a great move on Sheen’s part.
Actually Allie 
I thought the show was poorly produced and a total snore. And that has nothing to do with my age. While I heard only a short part of Sheen’s speech I do agree that it was well done and appeared to be sincere. Two and a Half Men on Monday night was a half-hour major win over this three-and-a-half-hour piece of junk. Note: Jon Cryer was interviewed by someone – Monday? Matt Lauer? He gave Sheen major credit for THM’s success and his own and said he hoped they could find a way to bring him back – like a ghost or in someone’s memory – can’t remember exactly. But a good idea! Enough. Aunt Kakie.
I think it’s really hard to make an awards ceremony extremely exciting. & There were definitely a lot of lowlights from the show, but I didn’t really want to include them on my blog. I actually left during the middle of the show to get a bite to eat (during the Miniseries awards), so I didn’t see the entire thing either! I also considered reviewing the first episode of THM (loved John Stamos’s cameo!), but I’m working on changing this article to fit the character limit for an article for the Wheaton Wire! Haha, nice to hear from you Aunt Kakie. See you this weekend!