Emmys: 'Modern Family' wins Outstanding Comedy Series award

The 63^rd Emmy Awards started with a controversy at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. As Christina Hendricks arrived in a shimmering dress with a plunging neckline, news of Alec Baldwin’s recorded gig being canned started doing the rounds. Reports say that Baldwin’s routine poked fun at the News Corp hacking scandal and Fox (the network that aired the Emmys live) is owned by News Corp, didn’t want to patronize the scandal that is being taken rather seriously by the parent company. Well, tweeting about your joke which would air on a News Corp owned network? Not so smart!
 

The awards began with hostess Jane Lynch’s musical routine, but it fell flat on its face as it drew comparisons to Jimmy Fallon’s opening act last year. The witty actress struggled to keep the audience engaged, but we can safely say that this was not one of the most memorable Emmy ceremonies, save for a few fun moments which were mere co-incidences.

While the award categories were announced by a singing ensemble, the first set of awards for comedy series were swept of by Modern Family. While Julie Bowen won best supporting actress in a comedy series and Ty Burrell won as best supporting actor in comedy series. Melissa McCarthy, 41, won the award for the Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Molly Flynn in Mike & Molly. Jim Parsons won the award for the Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, for the second time.

 

While The Amazing Race won the award for the Outstanding Reality Competition Programme, Don Roy King won the award for Outstanding Director for Variety, Music or Comedy Series for Saturday Night Live.

 

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart won the award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series. Jimmy Fallon mocked sporting spirit by clapping in slow motion as his Late Night lost out to The Daily Show. Got to love his sense of humour!

 

Jason Katims won the award for Outstanding Writing in Drama Series Friday Night Lights. The show, with much heart and emotion, captures the life of middle America. Even though the show hasn't seen commercial success, the writing of the show has received much critical acclaim which makes this a deserving win.

 

A rather emotional Margo Martindale accepted the award for Outstanding Actress in Drama Series for her role in Justified. For those wondering where they’ve seen the actress before, remember Camilla in Dexter?

 

John Cryer and Ashton Kutcher presented the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series to Martin Scorsese for Boardwalk Empire. The pilot episode that cost an astronomical $18 million, was directed by the Academy award winning director. The horn-rimmed glass sporting director had a long list of thank yous. However, known for his witty reception speeches, his Emmy speech wasn’t one of our favourites.

 

Kerry Washington and Jason O'Mara dished out some Emmys gyaan before announcing the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series for Peter Dinklage for Game of Thrones.

 

Julianna Margulies' portrayal of The Good Wife bagged her the trophy for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Black, mauve and nude shade gowns ruled the stage as the award for the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series was announced by the brand new ensemble of Charlie’s Angels. Kyle Chandler won the trophy for his portrayal of Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights. The show being in its last season, this was his last shot to win the trophy for the role after being nominated thrice. Way to go Kyle!

 

Jane Lynch’s only memorable moment tonight was as she introduced the cast of Entourage saying, “A lot of people are curious why I'm a lesbian. Ladies and gentlemen, the cast of Entourage.” The boys announced the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries for Downton Abbey. Congratulations Julian Fellowes, we love that accent!

 

Barry Pepper won the Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role for The Kennedys while Maggie Smith won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role as Violet in Downton Abbey.

 

The Outstanding Direction for a Miniseries/Movie was swept by Brian Percival for Downton Abbey making it the third award for the miniseries!

 

The Academy for television arts and sciences, remembered those who passed away last year with a touching rendition of Hallelujah before moving to the performances awards in the miniseries category which were swept away by Mildred Pierce. First time nominee Guy Pearce was declared Outstanding Actor in a Supporting role for his role in Mildred Pierce, while Kate Winslet won the Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role for miniseries/movie on her second nomination at the Emmys for her role in Mildred Pierce. The Emmys were a British invasion!

Downton Abbey won the award for Outstanding Miniseries, taking their award count to four.

 

As for the best series awards, it was a major Déjà vu. While Mad Men won the Outstanding Drama Series category fourth time in a row, Modern Family won the Outstanding Comedy Series category second time in a row.