2009 Emmy Awards: Predictions, Results, and Reactions September 20, 2009

The 2009 Emmy Awards have come and gone. How did Neil Patrick Harris fare as host? Which stars were best dressed, and which ones were worst? And most importantly, who took home awards? This year’s Emmy Awards ceremony was Mad Men themed, from the opening images of the stars’ arrivals with voiceover narration, to Neil Patrick Harris’s old school opening number, to the comic book page set up of the various camera views before commercial breaks. They also had Jon Hamm be one of the first presenters, along with Tina Fey. This show isn’t shy about playing favorites!

Speaking of 30 Rock, it won for Best Writing in a Comedy Series, with Matt Hubbard accepting the award for the episode “Reunion.” The Office, not to be outdone, won in the Best Directing for a Comedy Series category (Jeffrey Blitz for “Stress Relief”). When the show shifted gears to Reality Programming, I was initially irritated to see two dancers from Dancing with the Stars, but then some of my favorite SYTYCD performers appeared on stage, including season four winner Joshua, in a routine choregraphed by Tabitha and Napoleon. It was also nice to see Hugh Jackman’s excellent opening number from the Oscars win for “Best Original Music and Lyrics.” After that, the show settled into a dreary sea of cliched banter between presenters, and boring acceptance speeches. The awards that pleased me most were all of 30 Rock’s wins and Michael Emerson’s win for Best Actor in a Drama. The most disappointing category was Jon Cryer beating out everyone else for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy.

As for the fashion, or lack thereof, my pick for Worst Dressed goes to Patricia Arquette, who appeared to be wearing a black “Hefty trash bag” as a dress. Vanessa Williams’ aqua blue dress was pretty unflattering as well. Gabriel Byrne was looking rather unkempt with his loosened tie and wrinkled shirt (at least by the time they showed him in the crowd late in the show). On the other hand, my picks for Best Dressed go to Kyra Sedgwick, Alyson Hannigan (who looked great in a classic black straplessdress), and Justin Timberlake. I didn’t pay close attention to all the dresses and tuxes, though, so I am sure there are other good and bad choices I could have gone with.

NPH didn't win an Emmy, but he was a fun host.

So how did Neil Patrick Harris do as host? Sure, there were some awkward moments, but also some funny ones. I liked how every presenter was introduced by naming some obscure show or movie they appeared in. I double-checked the authenticity of some of them on IMDB because they sounded so ludicrous. Best moment of the night, though: Dr. Horrible interrupting the token Ernst and Young “Emmy vote tabulation process” explanation to proclaim that television is dead and Internet is the new king of entertainment. It was a clever and creative diversion, with bonus points for appearances by Nathan Fillion and other Dr. Horrible cast members, and a few musical moments.

Read on for a list of nominees in the major categories, as well as my predictions about and reactions to the winners.

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy

Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock

Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock

Kevin Dillon, Entourage

Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother

Rainn Wilson, The Office

Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

• Who I wanted to win: Neil Patrick Harris – please, please, please let him win this year! He has totally deserved it for the past two seasons, so I am hoping that the third time is the charm, especially since, as host, he will already be up on stage to accept his award.
• Who I thought would win: Since Emmy voters tend to like over the top comedy, they might award Rainn Wilson, but I really think NPH has a good shot at it.
• Who actually won: Jon Cryer. That is just outrageous. There are no words. At least it provided ample material for a funny running bit for NPH.

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Comedy

Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies

Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds

Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live

Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

• Who I wanted to win: Kristin Chenoweth – Wouldn’t it be nice if Pushing Daisies could have one last moment of recognition? I don’t think it will happen, though.
• Who I thought would win: Elizabeth Perkins – I’ve never seen an episode of Weeds, so I can’t give an opinion on whether or not Perkins deserves the award, but she seems to fit the Emmy voter bill.
• Who actually won: Kristin Chenoweth! Hooray! What an excellent start to the evening. Her acceptance speech proved that she was totally surprised by the win.

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama

William Shatner, Boston Legal

Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal

William Hurt, Damages

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Michael Emerson, Lost

John Slattery, Mad Men

• Who I wanted to win: Michael Emerson – He was so perfect last season as Benjamin Linus that it almost causes me physical pain to imagine him not winning in this category. Well then, I guess I should plug in my heating pad, because my muscles and joints are bound to start aching when the actual winner is announced.
• Who I thought would win: If Emmy stands by its old, boring, and infuriating habits, William Shatner will win. If that happens, I will be furious. If the voters decide to mix things up, they might award John Slattery instead, since Mad Men is the trendy show du jour. (I’ve never watched it, so again, my opinion doesn’t really count.)
• Who actually won: Michael Emerson!!! I am so thrilled that he won. He earned it, and it gives Lost the respect it deserves. He gave a very sincere, if creepy, acceptance speech. (It’s that voice of his!)

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama

Cherry Jones, 24

Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy

Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy

Dianne Wiest, In Treatment

Hope Davis, In Treatment

Rose Byrne, Damages

• Who I wanted to win: Back when I watched Grey’s Anatomy, I always liked Chandra Wilson’s performance, so I guess I’d be happy for her to win. Even though 24 is the only show in this category that I watch, I don’t think that Cherry Jones’ performance as the President makes her deserving of the award over these other women.
• Who I thought would win: Dianne Wiest – Just a wild guess, but she does arguably have the most impressive track record among these nominees.
• Who actually won: Cherry Jones. Ok. Good for her.

Outstanding Actor, Comedy

Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Steve Carell, The Office

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords

• Who I wanted to win: Alec Baldwin – He is always pitch perfect as Jack Donaghy and so is completely deserving of this one. It’s also nice to see Jemaine Clement nominated for his hilarious work on Flight of the Conchords, but he’s up against some heavy hitters in this category!
• Who I thought would win: Alec Baldwin – Amazingly, Baldwin seems to be as popular with Emmy voters as with the viewing public. As long as Charlie Sheen doesn’t win, I’ll be happy.
• Who actually won: Alec Baldwin. I’m mainly just relieved that Rob Lowe didn’t call Charlie Sheen’s name. Alec gave a very polished and efficient acceptance speech.

Outstanding Actress, Drama

Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters

Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Glenn Close, Damages

Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Holly Hunter, Saving Grace

Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

• Who I wanted to win: I don’t feel strongly about any of these nominees.
• Who I thought would win: Glenn Close – She plays a powerful character on a risk-taking show, and that makes her quite a one-two punch to Emmy voters.
• Who actually won: Glenn Close. Predictable.

Outstanding Actor, Drama

Simon Baker, The Mentalist

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Hugh Laurie, House

Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

• Who I wanted to win: Michael C. Hall! This is an extremely strong category, and it is highly doubtful that the Emmy voters will reward someone for playing a serial killer over some of the more noble characters represented. However, I think he does an amazing job as Dexter Morgan, and beyond that, that Dexter more accurately represents the human psyche than many of the other nominees.
• Who I thought would win: Hugh Laurie. He’s always an Emmy favorite, but then there’s the trendy choice of Jon Hamm. As much as I love Simon Baker, he seems out of his league in this group. But I am setting all my hopes on Michael C. Hall winning. Fingers crossed!
• Who actually won: Bryan Cranston. Come on, Emmys, how about letting someone else win? Then again, maybe I need to check out this show.

Outstanding Actress, Comedy

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine

Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Toni Collette, United States of Tara

Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program

• Who I wanted to win: Tina Fey
• Who I thought would win: Tina Fey. She and the whole cast, as well as the writing, have been so good. They deserve to sweep most of the comedy categories (except for NPH’s category, of course).
• Who actually won: Toni Collette. I’m okay with this. Spread the love a little beyond 30 Rock. Strangely, I know absolutely nothing about the show she was nominated for, United States of Tara. Perhaps I should check it out.

Outstanding Series, Comedy

30 Rock

Family Guy

Entourage

The Office

Flight of the Conchords

Weeds

How I Met Your Mother

• What I wanted to win: 30 Rock
• What I thought would win: 30 Rock. Like I said above, it’s the funniest, most consistently well done comedy on tv right now.
• What actually won: 30 Rock. Yeah, this show’s gonna be on for many seasons to come.

Outstanding Series, Drama

Breaking Bad

Damages

Dexter

House

Lost

Mad Men

Big Love

• What I wanted to win: Lost or Dexter, but I think Lost’s ship sailed a long time ago. Even though it just had its best season ever, I think the Emmy voters have already forgotten about it. I also think that season three was Dexter’s best season yet. So fascinating and well executed (pun intended – can’t help myself).
• What I thought would win: House? Well, I wouldn’t award this medical drama for the uneven season it had, but then the Emmy voters don’t judge a show by an entire season so much as the one episode that is submitted. I don’t know much about the other four shows that are nominated, but if I were to pick one of them as the winner I would go with Mad Men.
• What actually won: Mad Men (Excuse me while I roll my eyes. Then again, maybe I need to see what all the fuss is about with this show.)

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program

Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

Tom Bergeron, Dancing with the Stars

Heidi Klum, Project Runway

Jeff Probst, Survivor

Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race

Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio, Top Chef

• Who I wanted to win: Well, I wanted Cat Deeley to win, but she wasn’t nominated.
• Who I thought would win: Jeff Probst. But do I care? Not really. I don’t watch any of these shows. As long as it’s not Tom Bergeron…
• Who actually won: Jeff Probst

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series

The Colbert Report

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Late Show with David Letterman

Real Time with Bill Maher

Saturday Night Live

• What I wanted to win: The Colbert Report
• What I thought would win: The Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert is so great on that show.
• What actually won: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program

The Amazing Race

American Idol

Dancing with the Stars

Project Runway

Top Chef

• What I wanted to win: Don’t really care
• What I thought would win: The Amazing Race (doesn’t it win every year?)
• What actually won: The Amazing Race

Outstanding Reality Program

Antiques Roadshow

Dirty Jobs

Dog Whisperer

Intervention

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

MythBusters

• What I wanted to win: Dirty Jobs. I do love that Mike Rowe. He should be rewarded for what an easygoing, entertaining host he is.
• What I thought would win: I honestly have no idea. Maybe Intervention, since it’s the most serious on the list?
• What actually won: Intervention

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Brenda Blethyn, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Carol Burnett, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Ellen Burstyn, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Sharon Lawrence, Grey’s Anatomy

CCH Pounder, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

• Who I wanted to win: N/A
• Who I thought would win: Sharon Lawrence
• Who actually won: Ellen Burstyn

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Edward Asner, CSI: NY

Ernest Borgnine, ER

Ted Danson, Damages

Michael J. Fox, Rescue Me

Jimmy Smits, Dexter

• Who I wanted to win: Jimmy Smits, please! He was simply amazing as Miguel Prado, and I have spoken at length about it in previous posts.
• Who I thought would win: Jimmy Smits (wishful thinking, perhaps, but he really was that good!)
• Who actually won: Michael J. Fox

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Jennifer Aniston, 30 Rock

Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory

Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live

Gena Rowlands, Monk

Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock

Betty White, My Name Is Earl

• Who I wanted to win: Tina Fey
• Who I thought would win: Tina Fey
• Who actually won: Tina Fey

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Alan Alda, 30 Rock

Will Arnett, 30 Rock

Beau Bridges, Desperate Housewives

Jon Hamm, 30 Rock

Steve Martin, 30 Rock

Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

• Who I wanted to win: Jon Hamm
• Who I thought would win: Jon Hamm. He was terrific as Liz Lemon’s perfect guy, Dr. Drew.
• Who actually won: Justin Timberlake. How about SNL getting some recognition in the guest acting category?

So, what were you happy or disappointed about on this year’s Emmy Awards? Or, did you not even watch?