The Emmys, Live On Tape

I'm going to liveblog the Emmy's, but I won't post this till hours later.  And please note I won't be commenting on the show itself--not the jokes, not the tributes, not the acceptance speeches, not the big names (Mel Brooks, Tracy Morgan)--just the awards.

Supporting Actress in comedy.  A lot of good choices.  Eight, in fact.  Didn't it used to be just five?  Allison Janney wins--her seventh Emmy.  Enough already. And I don't think she deserved it.  I'd have picked Kate McKinnon, and after that, say, Anna Chlumsky or Mayim Bialik.  Janney is talented, but she's too much the TV Academy's sweetheart.

Writing in a comedy series.  The Veep guys win.  Fair enough.  I'll give them credit, at least, for the highest joke density, and a reasonable number of hits against misses.  (And it's British guys who mock American politics.) Is this a warning that Modern Family is not going to win best comedy for the first time ever?

Supporting Actor in comedy.  As always, a tough competition.  Tony Hale wins.  His second win for Veep--he trades off with the Modern Family guys.  Can't complain, but will a sketch artist, such as Keegan-Michael Key, ever win in this category?

Directing for comedy. Not as important as writing in TV (which is as it should be.) The winner is Jill Soloway for Transparent.  Some thought it might be this show's night.  We'll see, though right now Veep seems the one to bet on.

Best Actor in comedy.  Jeffrey Tambor is strongly favored.  And the winner is...Jeffrey Tambor.  Haven't seen the show, so I can't comment.  But I should note at this early point in the Emmys, Louis C. K. has already lost four times.  That's got to be a record.

Best Actress in comedy.  Some fine and venerable names. I think it's time that Amy Poehler finally wins for Parks And Recreation, but it goes to Julia-Louis Dreyfus, who's won for Veep four years in a row.  She's good, but she's not that good.  (I believe that once you win for a role in a certain category, the rule should be you can't be nominated in that category again.)

Best Reality show.  Guess we're done with comedy.  The Voice wins.  Who cares.

Writing for a limited series (or movie).  Most think Olive Kitteridge will win.  And sure enough, Olive Kitteridge wins.  Seems reasonable.

Now it's Supporting Actress for limited series.  Regina King wins for American Crime.  I haven't seen most of the nominees, but why not?

Directing for a limited series.  Lisa Cholodenko for Olive Kitteridge.  She was nominated for an Oscar once, but it's a long road to the EGOT.

Supporting Actor for a limited series.  Will the big name Bill Murray take it?  Some of the big TV names?  Or a nobody?  Bill Murray, sure enough.  Another EGOT in the making?  He's not there to accept--too big for TV?  I bet if they knew he wouldn't be making a speech, they'd have voted for Michael Kenneth Williams or Damian Lewis.

Best Actress for a limited series--can there be any doubt?--Frances McDormand for Olive Kitteridge.  She's already won an Oscar and a Tony!  I smell EGOT.  Start doing spoken word recordings or liner notes or something--they give out so many Grammys you'll probably win one by mistake.

Lead Actor in limited series.  Ricky Gervais is up for it--any chance?  The winner is...Richard Jenkins.  Nothing can stop the Olive Kitteridge bandwagon.  (Spoiler) He dies before the show ends, but it was enough to win for male lead.

Best Limited series.  No suspense.  The winner is Olive Kitteridge.  (American Horror Story gets shut out of the big awards.)

Best Writing in a variety series.  Is it Colbert's people?  Jon Stewart's?  Hot new movie star Amy Schumer's?  Key And Peele?  Or John Oliver's?  It's Stewart, yet again.  How tiresome. (Should have been Oliver.)

And now best Variety Sketch Series (as opposed to talk).  The winner is Inside Amy Schumer.  Really?  SNL has won enough, but what about Key & Peele?

Now Variety Series Directing.  The Daily Show wins. The regular love for this show is bad enough, but for directing?  It's a guy at a desk!

For best Variety Talk Show, we've got Fallon, Stewart (last chance), Kimmel, John Oliver, Letterman (last chance) and Colbert (last chance).  Stupidly and predictably, The Daily Show wins.  I'm not sentimental--John Oliver should have won for beating Stewart at his own game.

Now is the drama section of the evening.

Best Writing for drama.  Benioff and Weiss finally win one of these for Game Of Thrones.  They take it for the Walk Of Shame episode.  Shame they never won it before.  Does this mean GOT is going to take it for drama?  Mad Men was the favorite coming in.

Best Supporting Actress in Drama.  Goes to Uzo Uduba, the overrated character from Orange Is The New Black (which is considered a drama, apparently).  Sorry Christina Hendricks, it's never gonna happen.  Sorry Lena, having a body double walking naked won't do it, either.  Sorry Downton Abbey, no one cares any more.  The age of streaming is here.

Best Directing for drama. Two GOTs.  Will they cancel each other out? Also, Steven Soderbergh is nominated--TV loves movie people.  David Nutter wins for "Mother's Mercy"--another award for the Walk Of Shame.

Best Supporting Actor for drama.  Will Peter Dinklage win again?  Jonathan Banks, finally?  Makes sense to me. He hasn't won in a while, but he's always good on Game Of Thrones.  Looks like it's gonna be a GOT night.

Best Actor in a drama.  Tough competition, but also a tense moment, since this is Jon Hamm's last chance.  By all rights he should have a few of these already.  Don't see how he can lose this time.  Sure enough, it's Hamm.  About time.

Best Actress in a drama.  An anticlimax after Hamm's award.  I don't see Elisabeth Moss taking it.  Is it Empire's big chance with Taraji P. Henson?  Or the deserving Tatiana Maslany?  Or the much-awarded Claire Danes?  None of them. It's Viola Davis for How To Get Away With Murder.  A fine actress, but I don't think she deserves it for this dopey show.

Okay, time for the last two big awards, top comedy and drama.

Modern Family has won five years in a row, but it feels like it's time for the streak to end.  Veep would seem the most likely, winning so many awards already.  Though there's Silicon Valley and Transparent, also hot.  Not to mention the always-intriguing Louie and the last chance for Parks And Recreation.  Veep wins.  I don't know.  A good show, and Modern Family is getting a bit tired, but I'd rather have seen Silicon Valley or Louie or even Parks And Recreation take it.

Best Drama.  Based on what we've seen so far, you've got to go with Game Of Thrones, even if Mad Men ended strong.  The winner...Game Of Thrones.  About time--and some have noted it's George R. R. Martin's birthday.  Still, it's odd it finally won for what seemed to me the weakest season.