Win Vs. Fail: The 2009 Emmys Edition

The 2009 Emmy Awards are come and gone, and there weren't a huge amount of surprises, and no one came in a swan dress, and freaking Jon Cryer won for that stupid show with Charlie Sheen (more on that later,) so what were the Win! and Fail! moments of the Emmys? Let's delve into the awards and see what's shiny!

WIN: Our host, and MamaPop's OGB (That's Official Gay Boyfriend) Neil Patrick Harris was fantastic. He kept the show moving, he was self-deprecating without getting Un!Comfortable! when he lost the Best Supporting Actor award to mothereffing Jon Cryer, and he SANG! The winners, time after time, congratulated him on his performance, and it was well-deserved. UNLIKE...

FAIL: Jon Cryer wins for Two and a Half Men, a show I have seen exactly one time, and that was because my ex-boyfriend's mom liked it. Think about it. Ducky. Is better than Barney Stinson, Dwight Schrute, Kenneth the Page, Johnny Drama, and Tracey freaking Morgan. Does that make sense? No it does not. Does not compute. Total fail.

WIN: A nod for Pushing Daisies a much-lamented cancelled show, in the form of a win for Kristin Chenoweth as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. 

FAIL: Someone must have kicked her in the shins on the way to the podium, cause Kristin bawled through her entire speech. I know you're unemployed right now, honey, but chin up. It's the Emmys, not the Nobel Peace Prize. 

WIN: Toni Collette wins for Best Actress in a Comedy for The United States of Tara. She not only plays FIVE roles in the show (she has multiple personalities) but even more amazing, she beat Tina Fey! I love Tina Fey, but the 30 Rock juggernaut was getting a little boring with it winning every award. Speaking of...

FAIL: Alec Baldwin wins, AGAIN. I know, I know, he's hilair, but I'd loved to have seen someone else pick this one up. And by "someone else" I of course mean Jim Parsons, who is SO funny on The Big Bang Theory and would have been the dark horse. I have no quarrel with Baldwin, but a surprise win for Parsons would have ruled.

WIN: Jeff Probst Gets All Scholarly On Our Asses. Probst, who won for best host of a reality program, wore long pants, which was all I was hoping. But then! He busts this out: If you dream, dream big. Pursue it with a passion. In the words of the great storyteller Joseph Campbell, "the adventure you're ready for is the one you get." Life is short; go for it. Probst! Quoting Joseph Campbell! And here I was congratulating him for wearing big boy pants! 

FAIL: The Family Guy Torture Video. I haven't watched Family Guy since I stopped having male roommates, so...is it always so dark and violent now? And patently unfunny? Because seeing Stewie torture Brian with glass in his eyes isn't exactly Ha Ha material. Or maybe I'm just getting old. 

WIN: Michael Emerson is JUST as weird as Ben Linus. When Emerson won for supporting actor in a drama for his work on Lost, I wondered how different he was from Ben: The Weirdest Dude In All The Land. Surprise! He's just as intense and weird as the character. Which makes me question his win, cause if he's so weird by nature, he's not really acting, is he?

FAIL: Drew Barrymore's Come To Jesus Moment. When Jessica Lange and her facelifts won for Grey Gardens Drew was bouncing up and down next to the Mac Guy (they're back together!) with such fervency I wondered if she needed a wee wee pad. Seriously, Drew, this isn't a Jonas Brothers concert.

WIN: John Hodgman (The PC Guy on the Mac commercials) was the announcer. And what announcing he did. Hilarious semi-true and totally fabricated tidbits about each winner made the announcing something to recognize during the broadcast, and also was a tip of the hat to the writers, who were great this year.

FAIL: The Kanye joke is dead, people. When Timberlake tried to reach for it, he crashed, and if Timberlake, who won for his guest stint on SNL can't make the joke work, it's dead. Don't try it again. 

WIN: Dr. Horrible Takes Over The Show. A pre-taped NPH as Dr. Horrible, making a tongue in cheek speech about how the internet is superior to television was not only the biggest thing to ever happen to Joss Whedon, but the moment all the Whedonites and fan girls' (and boys) heads exploded from the awesome.

FAIL: Sarah McLachlan sings "I Will Remember You" over the Dead People Montage. What a way to end the Summer of Death than with that blasted song, live on stage, as we list through all the people who passed away this year. And man, seeing Natasha Richardson and The Swayze up there was rough enough, and Sarah sure didn't help. I kept expecting video of shelter dogs to be spliced into the montage. Emotional blackmail FAIL.

WIN: The show was TIGHT. It ran exactly three minutes overtime, which is unheard of, and it would have come in on time had Bob Newhart not stuttered in his Bob-way through his presentation. And I'll take Newhart over an on-time show any day. 

Comments

[AmyC65]

Ya know, for a nano second at the start of Chenowyth's speech, I felt a tear welling up. But then I realized she was seemlessly flipping from sobby to giddy - and there were no tears. And then I remembered she was accepting an award for ACTING. And she lost me.

Hate 2.5 men. NPH got robbed.

[Jill]

Definitely the best awards show I've seen in a while. NPH can do no wrong. Even when a joke didn't work (the globetrotters) he made it funny by saying it was funny. That made me giggle. Also, during the Family Guy bit, I kept looking over at my friend and saying "is this funny? is this supposed to be funny? Why is everyone laughing?!" Glad I'm not the only one who was thinking that.

[danish]

I totally think Kristen Chenowith was fake-crying/sobbing. I looked closely and didn't see one tear falling out of her eyes.

Love her as Miss Noodle on Elmo's World tho!

I also thought that Family Guy bit was way too over the top and violent, and I am a fan of the show.

[She Likes Purple]

Agree on all accounts. I cannot tell you how much I hate Two & A Half Men and WHY IS IT STILL ON TV? AND WHO IS GIVING IT AWARDS, MY GOD? Seriously, it's a sad world when someone deems THAT funnier than How I Met Your Mother or The Office.

[Suzy Q]

Agree with all of the above, including Kristen's fake sobbing. No tears, and she was smiling being led off the stage. What was funny was when she was standing next to Tina Fey, who is not a large gal herself, and made Tina look like a giantess.

I heart NPH. So the Awesome! He totally should have won over Jon Cryer. ANYONE should have won over Jon Cryer. I'm thinking maybe they got all kabobbled when counting the votes and actually gave the statue to the loser.

[dancing_lemur]

*Raises hand* My husband and I watch 2 1/2 Men. And although it is not my fave, he thinks it's hilarious. So maybe it's a guy show? I liked it better early on, when Rose was on all the time. And I do still laugh at Berta. So what I mean is, it's funny, and I do rather like Jon Cryer, but not as much as I like NPH.

Who did totally rock the awards show thing. Definite hat tip to the writers, too.

I...kind of love Kristin Chenoweth and just found her...display more awkward than anything.