Live Blogging the Emmys 2008

In an experiment that may crash and burn due to a touchy internet connection and limited attention span on the part of, well, me, I'm going to try live blogging the Emmys. So if you're on the West Coast, beware of spoilers. And if you're reading this post on a reader/aggregator/RSS feed like Google, you'll probably need to head over to the site itself to see the rest of the updates as I'll be updating this post.

Unfortunately, this means my other posts on Lakeview Terrace, Ghost Town, and the fall TV season so far will have to wait until later this week, since I was going to work on them while watching the Emmys, because I'm not the kind of person who can devote full attention to an awards show. So yeah, here goes!

8:02 - Cute opening montage, but not super inspired or anything.

8:04 - Why is Heidi Klum in a suit? A really ugly suit? And why are Ryan Seacrest and Jeff Probst following Oprah on a major primetime awards show? This is really painful to watch.

8:08 - Really, really painful.

8:11 - Jeremy Piven (Entourage) for Best Supporting Actor/Comedy! Fantastic! Neil Patrick Harris deserved it as much (if not more), but I love JPiv.

8:14 - Commercial break. Just got an invite to watch a rental of The Scorpion King 2. Thank god I had a legitimate excuse to decline. Also, I just checked my Tivo in the other room, and once again it was recording the wrong channel. The channel changing is so hit or miss on that thing.

8:20 - Jean Smart (Samantha Who?) for Best Supporting Actress/Comedy. Vanessa Williams was ROBBED. I'm just glad no one from that godawful dreck Two and a Half Men has won so far. Jean Smart's a good actress at least. What a classy speech. I don't watch Samantha Who? though I probably should. But when it comes down to it, there are more shows worthy of my attention than there is time in the week.

8:21 - Oh, so we're doing commercials after every award now? Lame, ABC.

8:27 - The Housewives look lovely. I covet Marcia's dress. Eva's dress is a little weird, though. It looks like a bunch of shiny arrows pointing to her ladygarden.

8:29 - Zeljko Ivanek (Damages) for Supporting Actor/Drama. Okay. Zero thoughts on this one. I don't watch most of those shows nominated. At least it wasn't Shatner.

8:32 - Ricky Gervais! Love that man. These montages get worse and more irrelevant each year. Cut out some of these stupid montages and give the time to the winners for speeches that don't get cut off by music so quickly. Oh wait, we're back to Ricky Gervais! And Steve Carrell! This is awesome.

8:35 - Louis Horvits (2008 Oscars) for Directing for a Variety. Welp, that's nice and incestuous. I really am waiting for someone to create a primetime televised awards show for awards shows. Then, someone can create a competing awards show for awards shows, which will lead to an awards show for awards shows for awards shows... (Also, Lonny Price was robbed. Not that I saw the show he was nominated for - it's been mouldering on my Tivo for months now, but I saw him play the lead in A Class Act on Broadway a few years ago and he was awesome.)

8:43 - Conan! Making a Katherine Heigle joke!

8:44 - Dianne Weist (In Treatment) for Supporting Actress in a Drama. Meh. I wanted Sandra Oh or Chandra Wilson.

8:45 - Hayden Panettiere (19) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (29) look like they're the same age. Is that good for JLove or bad for Hayden?

8:46 - Many people from The Colbert Report for Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program. Letterman had the best intro, followed by Colbert. SNL's was kind of lame.

9:03 - Josh Groban doing a montage of theme songs. Seriously painful.

9:06 - Laura Linney (John Adams) for Lead Actress in a Mini/Movie.

9:14 - I am so over these blasts from the past and lame skits. How about celebrating what happened this year? I know they're probably light on material after the strike earlier this year, but seriously.

9:17 - The Daily Show for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy. Not exactly an upset.

9:19 - Heidi Klum: "And from The Bones, David Boreanaz!"

9:20 - Tim Conway (30 Rock) for Guest Actor in Comedy Series and Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives) for Guest Actress in Comedy Series. Woo, Mrs. McCluskey!

9:23 - Barry Sonnenfeld (Pushing Daisies - Pie-lette) for Outstanding Directing for Comedy Series! Woo, Pushing Daisies!

9:24 - Tina Fey (30 Rock) for Outstanding Writer for Comedy Series. I am so torn. On the one hand, a woman winning a writing award! Yay! On the other hand, I want anything Pushing Daisies to win because that show needs love. On the other, other hand (am I now Vishnu?), Fey said "Never go with a hippie to a second location," which, hee. Okay, I'll put this in the personal win column.

9:35 - Christina Applegate looks ravishing. Her dress is beautiful, and she looks like she's glowing - just gorgeous.

9:36 - Recount for Outstanding Made for TV Movie! I haven't seen it yet, but man, it was written by Danny Strong, aka Jonathan from Buffy! That is so made of win. I wish he was doing the speech. Or at least on stage. Bah.

9:43 - Oh god, Laurence Fishburne is slumming it on CSI? That's so upsetting. He is too good an actor to be on a procedural that is way beyond long in the tooth and totally irrelevant. Anyway, Tom Wilkinson (John Adams) for Supporting Actor in a Mini/Movie.

9:45 - Can we write in Stewart/Colbert for President/Veep in November?

9:47 - Jay Roach (Recount) for Outstanding Directing for Mini, Movie, or Dramatic Special.

9:48 - Kirk Ellis (John Adams) for Outstanding Writing for Mini, Movie, or Dramatic Special. Man, I was pulling for Danny Strong. Oh my god, they flat out cut off Ellis' speech by going to commercial. Because god forbid we take any time away from remembering TV shows from 30 years ago in favor of letting a current winner thank people and say some pertinent things about the current political climate. Also, wow, that was a very political five minutes on the Emmys.

9:55 - I love Sandra Oh. I love Sandra Oh's dress. Dame Eileen Atkins (Cranford (Masterpiece)) for Supporting Actress in Mini/Movie. At least it wasn't Audra McDonald. She already has enough awards.

9:56 - Kathy Griffin's dress is pretty, but her hair is scary. It's like Farah Fawcett meets Dolly Parton meets split and stringy ends. Oy. No, wait, now that I've seen the full dress I don't love it, either. The band of tulle around the middle is odd, though I still like the brocade material and bodice. Oh, hey, crowdshot of Adrian Grenier! That reminds me, I should be watching Entourage right now. Thank god HBO repeats.

9:29 - The Amazing Race for Outstanding Reality Competition. I would have preferred ProjRun, but last season was weak (the opposite of fierce), so I can understand not giving it to them. TAR is yet another show I don't watch but know I probably should.

10:01 - I like Sally Fields' earrings. John Adams for Outstanding Miniseries. Eh. Tin Man was robbed, that movie was fantastic. The Andromeda Strain was godawful, how was it even nommed? Tom Hanks' hair has not yet recovered from The Da Vinci Code, I see.

10:05 - Congrats, ABC, you fooled me - I just Googled "National Stay At Home Week" to see whether it was real or whether you'd invented it. (It was the latter, natch.)

10:07 - Heidi Klum does comedy! In a pretty blue dress!

10:09 - Don Rickles (Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project) for Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program. I expected more from Neil Patrick Harris' presentation. He was muted, totally didn't bring it like he usually does. For shame, NPH. [ETA: Wait, nevermind, apparently their bit was cut out because they were running behind thanks to the unfunny ramblings of Howie Mandel and the other reality show travesties.]

10:13 - Kate Walsh looks fantastic! Glynn Turman (In Treatment) for Guest Actor in a Drama Series and Cynthia Nixon (Law and Order: SVU) for Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Go Cynthia! That was a fantastic episode.

10:14 - Greg Yaitanes (House - House's Head) for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. Nice! That was an amazing episode and very well-directed. That's a win I can wholly stand behind.

10:16 - Matthew Weiner (Mad Men - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes) Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Yup, yet another show I probably should but don't watch. I would have liked to see Battlestar Galactica get some love here.

10:18 - Gotta admit, I kinda love this Verizon commercial.

10:23 - Paul Giamatti (John Adams) for Outstanding Lead Actor in Mini/Movie.

10:25 - Eek, what is Candice Bergen wearing? She looks so frumpy! Rage, rage against the dying of the light, Candice! You're still a saucy lady who doesn't need to resort to frumpy jackets. Sad. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Sigh. I really, really, really wanted Lee Pace to win. At least he was nominated though. Shows I love are rarely even nominated. (See also: Buffy, Angel, Alias, Veronica Mars, etc)

10:28 - Glenn Close (Damages) for Lead Actress in a Drama Series. I wish they'd nominate fewer from the crime/procedural genre in these categories. Glenn said that this proves that older female actresses are "high entertainment and can carry a show" to which I say - hear hear!

10:33 - Erm, nice to see they went for "creepy and prescient" when selecting the clips for this year's In Memoriam segment.

10:38 - Ooh, Kiefer looks dashing. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Okay, obviously Hugh Laurie was robbed, but I'll consider this a way to make up for not giving Malcolm in the Middle enough Emmy love back in the day. Why is Bryan bald and mustachioed?

10:40 - Craig Ferguson: ...and I just want you to know that I respect you.
Brook Shields: Is that your hand on my ass?
Craig Ferguson: Yes, and it's respecting you.

10:41 - Tina Fey (30 Rock) for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. I would have preferred Mary-Louis Parker for Weeds, personally.

10:43 - Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality Competition Program. I can barely bring myself to acknowledge this category, I don't think I can live in a world where the words "Ryan Seacrest" and "Emmy Nominee" are paired together. Even the way they're announcing it is a travesty. And Jimmy Kimmel presenting is a travesty. And now they're going to commercial before actually presenting the award which is a trav...wait for it...esty.

10:46 - You know, I hated the trailer for Body of Lies all three times I saw it in theatres this summer, but the TV promos actually make it look appealing. Hm.

10:50 - Jeff Probst for Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality Competition Program. Ah well, at least they gave it to the guy who started it all.

10:52 – Wow, Betty White looks great! Mary Tyler Moore, not so much – too skinny!

10:53 - 30 Rock for Best Comedy Series. Again, at least it wasn't Two and a Half Men, but I was pulling for Entourage.

10:55 - Tina Fey: "We are all grateful to have jobs in this turkeyburger economy."

10:57 - Mad Men for Outstanding Drama Series. Boo, Lost and House both had stellar seasons.

Welp, there you have it! You can see a complete list of nominees and winners here. Maybe next year a show I love will actually win something. Hey, a girl can dream, right?