The Envelope - LA Times - Emmy Awards

2009 Emmy scorecard

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:10:53 -0700

At Emmys, some laugh to keep from crying (and some just cry)

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Gallows humor rules. Host Neil Patrick Harris dances as fast as he can, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus jokes that it's 'the last official year of network television broadcasting.'

Even before it was over, Sunday's Emmy Awards on CBS won raves for sprightly pacing, (mostly) classy jokes and emcee Neil Patrick Harris. There were predictable winners -- NBC's "30 Rock" won for the third time as best comedy, AMC's "Mad Men" won again for best drama -- but enough upsets to keep things interesting, including a big nod for Showtime's little-seen comedy " United States of Tara."

Keeping it real

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

When recipients open their mouths, there's no telling what'll come out. Thanks to Jessica Lange, Ken Howard, Michael Emerson and their like, we felt like watching.

Like every other award show on Earth, the Emmys, whose 61st edition became history Sunday night, is a staged event masquerading as news, or rather a staged event that contains nuggets of something that might be called news. It poses two intertwined but separate questions: Who will win? And will the show that delivers the answers be any good? Because it is unpredictable, the first question belongs to the real world; the second concerns something scripted, choreographed and scored, a show about show business.

Give Glenn Close a juicy role, and just sit back

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

'At any point in the game, you want her pitching,' says 'Damages' co-creator Todd A. Kessler of the actress.

Glenn Close should be a little bit scary. After all, she's made a career illuminating the dark side of humanity, whether boiling bunnies, fleecing Dalmatians or playing lovers who remove any association of endearment from the word. Her latest turn, for which she has already received an Emmy and may yet score another, seems no great stretch: starring as "Damages' " Patty Hewes, a formidable attorney who thinks attempted murder is nothing to come between friends.

Emmy outsiders: 'Family Guy,' 'Conchords'

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The rude cartoon and a bizarre account of two laid-back New Zealanders who sometimes erupt in song are in contention with some of TV's best-known comedies.

How did a habitually offensive cartoon with a villainous baby and an atheistic dog, and an absurd chronicle of two ultra-low-key New Zealanders who occasionally burst into song end up side by side in the Emmy race with some of the best-known comedies on television?

The genesis of 'Breaking Bad'

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A pal mentioned a news story to Vince Gilligan. It's now 'Breaking Bad.'

The best person to tell this story may be the man to Vince Gilligan's right. His name is Tom Schnauz, but on this day he's known as "New Guy." That is, the new guy in the writers' room of "Breaking Bad," the Emmy-nominated AMC drama about a terminally ill schoolteacher who raises money for his family's future by cooking and selling crystal methamphetamine.

Seven Emmy nods a good fit

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It was supposed to be six but it turned out to be seven, and you know what? Seven is better.

It was supposed to be six but it turned out to be seven, and you know what? Seven is better.

AMC's heady times

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The cable network gets a record 23 nominations, including top nods for its original dramas, 'Mad Men' and 'Breaking Bad.'

For the second year in a row, AMC made television history, earning more Emmy nominations Thursday than any other basic cable network. AMC, known mostly as a repository of old Hollywood movies, broke its own record of 20 nominations with 23 this year.

Farrah Fawcett's nomination 'would have meant so much' to her, friend says

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Farrah Fawcett, who had been nominated previously for three acting Emmys, did not live to see the nomination that one of her closest friends said would have made her the most proud.

'Weeds,' 'Rescue Me,' 'Dexter' are what exactly

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

They have to be given a label when it comes to Emmy consideration. They can make you laugh and cry. So what are they, exactly?

Which is funnier, "Weeds" or "Rescue Me"? "United States of Tara" or "Dexter"? "The Office" or "Boston Legal"?