Give me the Emmy

'30 Rock,' John Adams clean house, while unexpected winner 'Mad Men' takes the big prize

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Posted: 9/22/08

History in the making

With 23 nominations and 13 wins, the HBO original series "John Adams" made Emmy history Sunday night, making it the most nominated and winning show in Emmy history.

HBO received 85 nominations in all, with productions like "Recount" and "Entourage" cleaning up, but "John Adams" was the star of the night.

Paul Giamati bested fellow HBO stars Kevin Spacey and Ralph Feinnes, both of "Recount," for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series.

"John Adams" also took Outstanding Mini-Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series (Tom Wilkinson) and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini-Series (Laura Linney).

'30 Rock' rocks

Tina Fey proved once again that she is on top of the entertainment world Sunday night. "30 Rock," Fey's own creation, racked up 17 nominations at this year's Emmy Awards.

Fey took Oustanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Liz Lemon in the NBC production.
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"30 Rock" also won Oustanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actor and Outstanding Comedy Series.

Alec Baldwin grabbed Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy series, letting "30 Rock" take every primetime award that the show was nominated for.

Reality bites

You're either in or you're out. And at the Emmy's, Heidi Klum of "Project Runway," with Jeff Probst of "Survivor," Ryan Seacrest of "American Idol," Howie Mandel of "Deal or No Deal" and Tom Bergeron of "Dancing with the Stars" were definitely out.

These five hosts at this year's Emmy's are all successful on their individual shows, but together fell flat with a lack of charisma and chemistry.

Choosing these stars to host together was a gamble by the ABC network because no one (except Mandel) has comedy experience.

Thus, they resorted to what they know best to attempt laughs from the audience: Mandel's irrational fear of germs, Klum's model physique, Probst's rugged persona and frankly, everything about Seacrest - he tends to be an easy target.

The underdog

ABC, FX, Showtime and FOX are scratching their heads in confusion, wondering how a television show from a cable network known simply for its classic movies, beat out their big name shows in Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series categories.

"Mad Men," a drama about a 1960s advertising company and "Breaking Bad," a show about a high school chemistry teacher turned criminal, beat out big network names like "House," "Lost" and "Boston Legal" to put AMC on the map as a television show network. "Mad Men" is the first basic cable show to win an Outstanding Drama Emmy.

The win was a surprise and regarded by critics as "facing a uphill battle" in the category. It was also nominated in 15 other categories.

Now, after two huge wins for AMC series, the only thing audiences are left to ponder is whether or not the cable network will capitalize on its new TV show fame, try its hand at more series or not.

Jack of all trades

Josh Groban, who is mainly known for his classical style ballads such as, "You Raise Me Up," stunned and slightly confused audiences by his medley of television theme shows singing everything from the "men, men" bass line of "Two and a Half Men", to "Thank You For Being A Friend," from "Golden Girls."

Groban started out singing "The Simpson's" in his signature opera voice but then transitioned into a multi-genre performance that only a real musician could do. Jumping from singing the fast paced theme of "South Park" to the gospel "Movin' On Up" from "The Jeffersons".

If that wasn't enough, Groban pulled a trick out of his pocket and rapped the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song to close out. One thing's for sure from this performance, Groban's songs are sure to top the most downloaded on iTunes this week.