According to the LA Times, since the creation of the reality award category at the Emmys, one program has dominated the past seven years. However, this year, perennial winner “The Amazing Race,” ended its winning streak losing to “Top Chef.” That surprise was one of many at the unexpectedly non-political 62nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
Hosted by late night’s Jimmy Fallon, the award show celebrated the best of television. As always, the Emmys had its share of expected victors, including “Mad Men’s” third consecutive win for best drama and Jane Lynch’s victory as outstanding supporting actress in a comedy. Many predicted a tight race for best comedy between “Glee” and “Modern Family,” with “Family” unsurprisingly prevailing in that category. Also, Bryan Cranston went home with his third consecutive win for “Breaking Bad” and Edie Falco won for best actress in a comedy for her role on “Nurse Jackie.” Despite these predicted winners and perennial victors, there were still some noteworthy surprises.
The most interesting upsets came in the acting categories as several new or previously overlooked performers went home winners. For instance, the best supporting actor and actress in a drama. Against tough competition, including her colleague Christine Baranski from “The Good Wife,” Archie Panjabi won for best supporting actress, and best supporting actor went to “Breaking Bad’s” Aaron Paul. In another surprise and after multiple nominations, Kyra Sedgwick won her first Emmy for best actress in a drama beating Glenn Close, who has won for the past two years for her work on “Damages.”
My favorite win of the night went to Jim Parsons as lead actor in a comedy for his performance on “The Big Bang Theory.” Parsons faced off against Alec Baldwin, who has won this award twice for “30 Rock” and Tony Shalhoub, who had won thrice for “Monk.” I only recently started watching Parson’s work on “Theory” and he is a tremendously funny actor who deserved this recognition.
One of the nicest and most unexpected surprises was how the winners focused on their work and not on their politics. This may have to do with the fact that Hollywood’s president, Barack Obama, is suffering in the polls. But whatever the reason, it was a relief to see things stay on course. I appreciated many of the non-political speeches, especially George Clooney’s thoughtful words as he accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
Overall, it was an enjoyable night. Although some bits fell flat, Fallon deserves credit for the way he handled his host responsibilities. He seemed ready and willing to try a lot of different bits to get a laugh. There were many opportunities for failure but Fallon overcame the lamer jokes and the weaker parts of the show (including the Twitter introductions of some of the award presenters). Fallon tried really hard to keep the audience entertained throughout the show and was mostly successful.
In a night that celebrated the effort that goes into telling stories that entertain and/or enlighten people, both Fallon and the stars succeeded admirably.