Nph

[DKLA]

Is a good master of ceremonies!

So likeable!

[Scoops]

Harris is a prize as host of Emmy Awards broadcast


Sep 21, 12:16 AM (ET)

By FRAZIER MOORE

NEW YORK (AP) - Isn't it time to name Neil Patrick Harris to a Cabinet position as Secretary of Cool?

As host of Sunday's prime-time Emmy broadcast, he offered up persuasive evidence that he can bring new waves of cool to the stalest of institutions - like the Emmys.

Aired live by CBS from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, the Emmycast with Harris in charge not only was remarkably stylish, fun and brisk but could even make viewers forget last year's disastrous format with five hosts, none of whom could rise to the occasion.

Harris surely did, from the broadcast's first moments as he launched into an up-tempo welcome titled "Put Down the Remote." Lyrics included the requests, "Don't touch that dial. It's been quite a while since the dial was in style, but you know what I mean," and, "Don't jump online, cause this fine mug of mine needs a huge high-def screen."

Harris, who co-stars on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" among his portfolio of show-biz activities, took on co-producer duties for the Emmycast, which obviously contributed to his comfort level - and that of viewers.

The show seemed to fit him like his tailored dinner jacket, but without ever being about him.

Even when he wasn't smooth, he was smooth.

"It's not awkward, I won't let it get awkward," he told the audience at one point when a problem cropped up. "A change of plans: We're going to go a little bit faster tonight."

Not that there wasn't time to make fun of the TV medium, and its shaky status in the Internet age.

Harris briefly "hijacked" the broadcast for a sketch in his alter ego as Dr. Horrible, the mad scientist of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog," last year's online musical comedy in which he starred.

"Television is dead," sneered Dr. Horrible. "The future of home entertainment is the Internet. Why watch something like this (he spread his arms grandly) when you can see it like this," whereupon he snapped his fingers and the screen shrunk to postage-stamp size).

The broadcast was efficiently divided into five genres (including reality, drama, variety, and miniseries and movies), and got things off in frisky fashion with comedy.

On hand with Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" to present the night's first trophy, "30 Rock" star Tina Fey asked viewers "to linger in this magical time at the beginning of the evening when everyone is still a winner and ("Family Guy" creator) Seth MacFarlane is only pretty drunk." Cut to shot of MacFarlane in the hall, wearing a huge appreciative grin.

Speaking of "Family Guy," the Emmycast made one possible misstep. Playing off of the unlikely nomination of the Fox animation series in the best comedy series category (it lost), a film clip from "Family Guy" showed baby Stewie beating the family's talking dog Brian to a bloody pulp. Reason? Brian had confided to the demonic Stewie that he was voting for a rival show in that category.

"Family Guy" fans were probably amused at recognizing the scene repurposed from a classic episode of the series, with new dialogue inserted for the occasion. Everybody else, caught unprepared for all that cartoon blood and violence, was probably shocked.

As usual, a highlight of the broadcast was the category for comedy and variety writing - that is, the clever way each nominated show listed its writers. Comedy Central's "Daily Show With Jon Stewart" used a "Cash for Clunkers" theme; the writers for "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" appeared as Facebook friend requests; NBC News' Brian Williams recited the "Saturday Night Live" writers from his anchor desk.

Presenter Ricky Gervais was, as usual, helplessly hilarious. He razzed the Emmycast, which in recent years has had eroding viewership. After cracking an industry in-joke, he noted it was "just for the 5,000 people in this room - not for the 5,000 people watching at home." Ouch!

But the 5,000 (or however many) people who were watching at home Sunday surely had a good time.

"It was better than last year, anyway," Gervais said. Maybe the best ever. For that, thank Neil Patrick Harris.

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[Scoops]

Actually I think NPH was complimented during the broadcast about 3 or 4 times from other celebs on what a good job he was doing..jeff probst was the first one to say great job....(he hosted last year with the reality hosts).....all the critics are loving Neil!


By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY
Neil Patrick Harris? So. Much. Better.

Emmys Broadcast a Hit and it Starts With Harris

9-21-09


If Sunday night's CBS Emmy broadcast was the best in years — and it surely was — much of the credit goes to Harris, the show's dapper, constantly congenial host. Proving his Tony Awards stint was more than a flash-in-the-reward-show-host pan, Harris rescued the show from two years of reality-host miasma with style, grace and musical flair.

The tone was set from his opening number, a hilarious song salute to the TV season that was as well-written as it was performed. It was an intentionally elaborate shift from last year's infamously deadly start — the reality quintet confessing they had nothing prepared — and it did precisely what it was meant to do. It let the crowd at home and in the theater know they were in the hands of someone who took the job seriously and knew how to do it.

There were times when Harris seemed to be pushing harder than someone in a Rat Pack get-up should. But he never seemed desperate, and most of his effort paid off, starting with that opening number and including a clever defense of TV against the Internet onslaught.

Yet as good as Harris was, he has to share credit for the show's improvement with executive producer Don Mischer, who ingeniously restructured the show by grouping the awards by genre. It made the show seem speedier, more sensible, and — because it spread major awards throughout the evening — far more interesting.

Grouping the awards not only kept like nominees together, but it also kept similar clips together, which allowed them to build on each other and have more impact — well, outside of the movie categories, which continue to be a dead spot. It's becoming difficult to justify giving movies and miniseries equal treatment in the broadcast when that broadcast is almost certainly the first look most viewers have ever had at them.

I could have done without the attempt to make the voice-over bios of the winners amusing or the decision to introduce presenters with their least known credits — though if they ever want to give an Emmy for best presenter, start with Ricky Gervais. Otherwise, the show was as good as so many of the winners said it was.

As for those winners and their awards, they weren't perfect and never will be. (What can explain the Emmy voters' fondness for all things Oscar?) But they were by and large reasonable, and sometimes — as with Cherry Jones and Kristin Chenoweth — joyously surprising.

For an awards show known for recycling winners, there were a host of welcome newcomers, including Jessica Lange, Jon Cryer and Toni Collette.

But there were also some well-deserved repeaters, from Glenn Close and Bryan Cranston to MadMen, The Daily Showand The Amazing Race, which may be the most dominant show ever in any category. And while I'd rather have seen Jim Parsons win, it's impossible to complain about Alec Baldwin— or about much else from Sunday night's show.

That's not just a better Emmy. It ranks up there with the best.

[DKLA]

Yes and he's gay!

:)

DK loves her gay buddies.

[Jules]

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QUOTING FROM POSTER: DKLA;1904454 (Post Number)

Yes and he's gay!

:)

DK loves her gay buddies.

************************************************** *********

Me too! Some of my "besties" are gay!


Oh, and to comment on a few posts above...I LOVE Seth McFarlane...I think he is a comedic genius, and if you can stomach his humor, he will have you laughing so hard, you might pee a little. He is totally politically INCORRECT, he crosses the line, and his sense of humor is quite brazen....Perfect!

And he's not bad to look at ,either. He is also the creator of American Dad.