2010 Emmys: Shockingly Good!

"Who took the Emmy awards away and replaced them with this? I have no idea, but we'll keep it," writes James Poniewozik in Time, echoing the sentiments of reviewers everywhere:

The broadcast "was a night of refreshing twists and unexpected surprises," Poniewozik continues, "leavened throughout by the guitar-comedy stylings of Jimmy Fallon. (Which were welcome, if not surprising.)" Presenter Ricky Gervais gets the award for line of the night with his crack about Mel Gibson.

"Ambitious, energetically hilarious, and, most important, almost seamlessly constructed," last night's telecast was the best awards show in recent memory, writes Mary McNamara in the Los Angeles Times. Fallon pulled off his hosting gig "with sheer nerve and terrific personal stage presence," and announcer John Hodgman of The Daily Show offered "deadly wry commentary."

"The best method for energizing an awards show is the one thing producers can't engineer: upset victories," writes Andrew Wallenstein in the Hollywood Reporter. "Jaw-droppers"—like Top Chef unseating The Amazing Race in the reality category—made "anything seem possible." He also appreciated Modern Family's "laugh-riot pretaped skit" (watch at left).

Everyone loved Fallon's opening skit (watch at left), which took the place of an opening monologue. The "fast and quite funny musical number," set to Bruce Springsteen, "squeezed in self-mocking star turns for Jon Hamm, Betty White, and even Kate Gosselin," writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times.

EMMYS: Mad Men, Modern Family Snag Top Honors

Well, Neil Patrick Harris did not win the Emmy for supporting actor in a comedy but with two already at home, he seemed to be in terrific spirits during the telecast.

Neil also managed one of the funnier lines of the evening when he said: “I’d like to thank the Academy for allowing a gay man to host show two years in a row. Congratulatons Jimmy [Fallon] you’re doing a great job!”

It was a pretty wonderfully gay Emmys starting with that glorious opening musical number where cast members from Glee including Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Lea Michele and Amber Riley were joined by Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, Joel McHale, Jorge Garcia, Kate Gosselin (nooooo!) and a hilarious Betty White.

The first award went to Eric Stonestreet who plays one-half of the gay couple on ABC’s Modern Family followed by a win for openly gay Jane Lynch for role of straight cheer coach Sue Sylvester on Glee. Archie Panjabi, who plays lesbian law firm investigator Kalinda Sharma on CBS’s The Good Wife won for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series.

Openly gay Glee creator Ryan Murphy won the Emmy for outstanding writing in a comedy series and said: “I’d like to dedicate this to all my teachers who taught me to sing and fingerpaint.”

In the outstanding drama series actor, there seemed to be utter shock when Michael C. Hall was, once again, inexplicably passed over so the Academy could give Bryan Cranston his third consecutive Emmy for Breaking Bad. In another threepeat, Mad Men won for outstanding drama series. I’d be happier for the show if its only gay character, played by Bryan Batt, not been written out. (Surprised to see Batt standing up for Matthew Weiner.)

But Modern Family, winner of outstanding comedy series, has two very prominent gay characters in Cam and Mitchell who are an equally vital part of the show as any straight characters. I sincerely hope the TV networks will see how rewarding it can be to be more LGBT inclusive.

It was a year for newbies at the Emmy Awards, with freshman series Modern Family taking home a leading six trophies and Kyra Sedgwick winning her first lead actress award after four previous nominations. Notable winners:

Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men
Outstanding Comedy Series: Modern Family
Lead Actor in a Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Lead Actress in a Drama: Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Lead Actor in a Comedy: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Lead Actress in a Comedy: Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
Supporting Actor in a Drama: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Supporting Actress in a Drama: Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Supporting Actor in a Comedy: Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Jane Lynch, Glee
Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Prime-time Emmy Nominations: Totally Gay!

A year ago, only a single episode of Glee had aired on Fox as a preview of the show’s fall kickoff. But it was clear from just that one episode that the show was something special.

Earlier today, Glee added to its solid ratings, gigantic music sales and critical acclaim by earning more Emmy nominations – 19 – than any other series on television.

Glee’s tally came close to the record 22 accumulated by 30 Rock last year.

In the guest acting categories, Neil Patrick Harris earned a nod for his performance as Will Schuester’s archrival from high school while Mike O’Malley was nominated for his performance as Burt Hummel, Kurt’s father.

Neil Patrick Harris earned his fourth Emmy nomination for his performance as Barney Stinson on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother. Plus being nominated for his guest performance on Glee!

If the out actor wins for the first time, he will have bested a field that included two other openly gay actors: Chris Colfer of Glee and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family.
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Jane Lynch, was nominated as outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series .

Also: In the outstanding lead actor in a miniseries category, Ian McKellen has been nominated for The Prisoner while Wanda Sykes’s HBO special Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me got a nod.

SOAP Q: 2010 Daytime Emmys: One of the Worst ever!

By Mike Webber

Before the Emmys even aired, I knew that it was in Trouble. After being in NY for over 30 years and held at Radio City and Madison SQ garden it made the switch to LA in 2004 and was held at the Kodak Theater (Home of the Oscars) to this year at the Las Vagas Hilton in Blazing HOT Las Vegas that has zero connection to daytime!

Also to have it on Gay Pride day for NY, Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco, etc you have lost your core audience. Believe me watching a daytime award show is the last thing we need (maybe the Tonys). I didn't know until after the fact, that the BET awards was happening, another of your core audience.

The 2010 Daytime Emmys telecast will be one that goes down in the record books. It should be acknowledge it was one of the worst produced awards telecast ever. The first half hour was taken over with an emotional tribute to Dick Clark and "American Bandstand." Sure, "Bandstand" was a daytime show almost two generations ago, but a more fitting tribute should be at the Primetime Emmys, given the scope and influence of Clark and the show. The tribute came too early into the show and took up nearly the entire first half hour. These kind of tribute usually happen in the 2nd hour. I can't believe they made Dick Clark cry!

When the Emmys got around to actually awarding daytime programming, the show clicked. But they should know that the fans want to see actual clips of the nominees, not just ther name and pictures. For those who never see daytime and want to promote daytime would be fitting if they showed these powerhouse performances.

The tribute to Anges Nixon, while appropriate and well done, was far too short but much better than the As the world Turns tribute that was just a cheesy music montage with a few classic clips. Showing the NUKE kiss was a welcome highlight. Last year's Guiding Light tribute was more credible with Betty White introducing and talking about the show's uniqueness and included some good clips. Afterwards the cast reunited and got a standing ovation. Last night nothing happened.

This was the worst sin this ceremony committed for show on the same network which is leaving the air after nearly 53 years on the air. (The last episode was shot last week and will air in September.) The tribute of this show should be the centerpiece of the evening. Instead, it was treated as a minor footnote and not worthy of anything more than a couple of minutes.

Michael Park and Maura West of ‘As the World Turns‘ were named best actor and actress in a soap opera, an emotional send-off for a show that is going off the air in three months. (The top picks were Y & R's Peter Bergman and GH/B&B's Sarah Brown.)

West brought her sobbing daughter onstage at the Las Vegas Hilton to celebrate the sweep in acting awards for the show, which was canceled by CBS. Its last episode will air in September. “I can’t think of a better way to say goodbye to a 13-year run on a 53-year-old show,” said Park, who plays Jack Snyder on the series.

Park noted the emotional scene when the show’s team recently filmed its final episode last week. “I pray that you never have to endure what we endured on Wednesday,” he said.

Another ‘As the World Turns’ cast member, Julie Pinson, was named best supporting actress in a drama. (It should have went to Carolyn Hennessey (Diane) from GH)

The wins made you wonder, your show sweeps the Emmys and the ratings are better then most of the other shows, but you are still cancelled? No Sense!

The sexy, Billy Miller of CBS’ ‘The Young and the Restless’ won the Emmy for best supporting actor in a daytime drama. Julie Berman of ABC’s ‘General Hospital’ won her second straight Emmy as outstanding younger actress in a soap, and Drew Tyler Bell of CBS’ ‘The Bold & The Beautiful’ was best younger actor. (his fellow nominees had bigger stories then he did)!

CBS’ ‘The Bold & The Beautiful’ won the Emmy for best soap opera for the second year in a row (Thanks to Betty White). ‘As the World Turns’ wasn’t nominated in that category. B&B was expected to win.

Surprisingly, Regis Philbin was an uncomfortable host. He wasn't easily jovial or particularly warm, which have always been Philbin's charm. Stand-up isn't his forte.

‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ was named best entertainment talk show. Both DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey did not submit their names for best talk show host, an award won by Winfrey protege Dr. Mehmet Oz for the first year of ‘The Dr. Oz Show.’

Somewhere in the second hour a virtual infomercial for a Las Vegas hotel is implanted. What in the world did this have to do with daytime TV? Nothing. This just proves how low daytime has gone with product placement. This was a total circus! From David Copperfield to the Blue man group to Don Rickles to Lion King to Jersey Boys! WTF?!?

There were no Children's show honored on the telecast.

My sugesstion is that it needs to go to the beginning and do the telecast during the day when your core audience is ready and you can focus on Daytime. This worked for the first 16 years of the Daytime Emmys.

Here is a list of winners:
Outstanding Drama Series: The Bold and the Beautiful

Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Maura West, As the World Turns

Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Michael Park, As the World Turns

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Julie Pinson, As the World Turns

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Billy Miller, The Young and the Restless

Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Drew Tyler Bell, The Bold and the Beautiful

Younger Actress in a Drama Series: Julie Berman, General Hospital

Drama Series Directing Team: General Hospital

Drama Series Writing Team: The Bold and the Beautiful

Talk Show Host: Mehmet Oz, The Dr. Oz Show

Game Show Host: Ben Bailey, Cash Cab

SOAP Q: Daytime Emmy Predictions For Lead Actor & Actress

There is one thing I have learned in my years covering the Daytime Emmys: I am terrible at making Emmy predictions. What strikes me as good writing, acting or directing often diverges from the Academy’s opinion. That said, with industrious fans piecing together what each actor submitted in each category and putting it up on YouTube, it is impossible to resist the urge to play judge. So, over the next three days I am going to offer my entirely subjective opinions. First up, Outstanding Lead Actress and Actor.

Outstanding Lead Actor

Peter Bergman (Jack,’The Young & The Restless‘ 5-26-09)

There is a reason why Bergman has racked up so many nominations and wins. He deserves them. He is simultaneously cold, heartbroken, angry and cruel as he lets Billy (Billy Miller) know that he is well aware that they are both potentially the fathers of Sharon’s baby then twists the knife by pointing out that she was sleeping with Nick (Joshua Morrow), too. Then he is all repressed rage as he pretends to Sharon that he has no idea she was cheating on him with his brother. This reel, which plays as a single long scene is effective. If Bergman goes home with another statue, he will have earned it.

Doug Davidson (Paul, ‘The Young & The Restless’ 9-2-09)

Paul confronts Victor (Eric Braeden) about giving Patty (Stacy Haiduk) plastic surgery and sending her to seduce Jack. He later learns Patty was kidnapped. Davidson gives consummate nice guy Paul as much hurt and sadness as he lets Victor have it for ruining his sister’s life. Arguably, Paul was more of a supporting character in 2010, but Davidson chose to submit himself as a lead and his peers agreed.

Jon Lindstrom (Craig, As The World Turns 6-12-09)Lindstrom could be any soap heavy as he threatens Rosanna (Cady McClain). He continues to be smug as he refuses Carly’s (Maura West) plea to forgive Rosanna from stealing from him. He’s smug again when Carly hits him with her car, when he decides not to tell Margo (Ellen Dolan) about Rosanna’s theft and when he tells Carly what he did. Lindstrom is a terrific actor, but he was boring in this reel. As I watched, I was far more interested in the alcoholic Carly’s struggles to keep it together.

Michael Park (Jack ‘As The World Turns‘ 10/29/09)

Now, this is an Emmy reel. Park has huge scenes as he grapples with moving on after accidentally killing his brother Brad and must tell his wife Katie (Terri Columbino) what happened. Then he pulls a gun on Craig when he suggests that Jack’s determination to be a hero led to Brad’s death. He avoids histrionics, giving a restrained,understated,realistic performance despite the stereotypically soapy situations. This is a serious contender.

James Scott (EJ ‘Days of Our Lives‘) 6/12/09

It is so refreshing to see an actor under the age of 35 who has never been nominated before competing in this category. Scott does not always get his due as an actor because A) he is so ridiculously good looking that he is thought of as merely a pretty face B) He is on DOOL which has a history of favoring campy performances over substance,C) His character has, at times, been written as a one-dimensional mustache twirler. Scott was actually rewarded for doing good work,not his reputation. This was a great Emmy reel. Scott is explosive without going over the top as he confronts Sami (Alison Sweeney) after finding out that Grace was his daughter then cries convincing man-tears as he visits Grace in the morgue. The most rawly charismatic, if not the most polished, nominee, he commands attention from viewers.

My imaginary vote: James Scott — because I like to see new blood keep the awards interesting. I will not be disappointed if Bergman or Park go home with the statue.

My prediction: Peter Bergman

Outstanding Lead Actress
Bobbie Eakes (Krystal ‘All My Children‘ 9-6-09)I never would have imagined that a talented actress playing a scene where she confesses to having sold one of her twin daughters at birth could be boring, but this reel proves that it’s possible. Thanks to staging that had Krystal pouring out her heart to Tad (Michael Knight) while sitting down in public at a restaurant, Eakes had to play these scenes in a low key, matter of fact manner that removed all the energy and drama. Uninspired, expository dialogue did not help. Though Eakes is a great performer who always sells the hell out of an often unlikable character, I am surprised this reel got her the nomination.
Maura West (Carly, ‘As The World Turns‘ 7/14/09)The intervention scenario is an Emmy-bait classic. But these were really good, with Carly going from so deeply in denial that she hid in a cabinet to avoid Craig (Jon Lindstrom) to desperately attempting to seduce him to avoid the intervention, to denial she has a problem, to accepting that she needs treatment. It’s the sort of tour de force that wins awards.

Sarah Brown (Claudia ‘General Hospital‘ 7/27/09)What if one of daytime’s best actresses played one of its most inconsistently written, unlikable characters? That was the dilemma Brown faced when selecting her Emmy reel. Wisely, she picked the scenes surrounding Claudia’s miscarriage, one of the few times that Claudia was sympathetic. Brown keeps up Claudia’s defensive wall through her scenes with Sonny, while allowing a hint of vulnerability to seep through in her scenes with her brother. Her decision to play Claudia as tough and angry throughout her ordeal, instead of the typical sad miscarriage scenes puts a unique spin on a common soap situation. Brown also benefits politically from potentially getting votes from performers on her current soap,’The Bold & The Beautiful‘ as well as GH.

Crystal Chappell (Olivia ‘Guiding Light‘ 4/14/09)Romance and optimism in an Emmy reel — now there’s something unusual. The scenes where Olivia confesses to Natalia (Jessica Leccia) that she loves her are downright inspirational. They are also a great showcase for Chappell, who gets a lengthy monologue at Gus’s gravesite before Natalia arrives and her emotional declaration of her love bursts out of her. For once, GL’s production model was effective. The outdoor graveyard set,coupled with an effective background song makes these scenes look contemporary, but it may be jarring for the judges because it is so different. Chappell also gets the double soap bounce because of her current role on DOOL.

Michelle Stafford (Phyllis ‘The Young & The Restless‘ 5-29-09)

I thought that Stafford might choose the episode in which Phyllis trashes Sharon’s (Sharon Case) hotel room, scrawling “I Hate You” on her mirror. In retrospect, that could have played over the top without watching the months of lead up that drove Phyllis to that point. Instead, Stafford opted for powerful but lower key scenes where Nick tells Phyllis that he may be the father of Sharon’s child. She is hurt and angry, yet eerily composed. Even someone who had never watched Y&R before would be drawn in and wonder what was going to happen in the next episode.

My imaginary vote: Crystal Chappell, for the romance and to see GL get some recognition, though I thoroughly enjoyed every reel except for Eakes.

My prediction: Sarah Brown

Soap Q: 'Daytime Emmys will go on'

"Daytime Emmys will go on, but on which network remains a question," says Variety. "The New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is in negotiations with at least two networks, according to sources. What is likely is that the ceremony will air June 27 (a Sunday) in the West, likely at the Las Vegas Hilton."That's good news because some cynics claimed that the award show might not find any telecaster after its precipitous Nielsen fall in recent years. Back in 2000, the awardscast drew 13 million viewers on ABC. In 2008, it drew just 5.4 million on the same TV network. When it moved to cable last year, landing on the CW, it was seen by merely 2.7 million. "The program didn't even manage a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49, squeaking out an anemic 0.6/2. Among adults 25-54, the show did just a bit better at a 0.8/2," adds Variety.