Matt Zoller Seitz Live-Blogs the Emmys

Photo: David McNew/Getty Images

Is television better than movies? Is cable better than broadcast TV? Will Jon Hamm finally win an Emmy for Mad Men? Will Girls auteur Lena Dunham get a statuette to go with a solid year’s worth of critical kudos? Can we possibly come up with any more questions to fill out this paragraph welcoming you to Vulture’s live blog of the Emmys? The answer to that last one is “No,” so let the snark and random factoids begin. (And go take a look at tonight’s red carpet fashions right over here.)

MZS Live Blogs Emmys 2012

(09/21/2012)

  

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4:54	This is a test of my Emmy live-blog. Friday September 21, 2012 4:54

6:44	Welcome to the Vulture live-blog of the 2012 Emmys. All opinions are my own, especially those containing profanity and gratuitous snark. Sunday September 23, 2012 6:44

8:00	Welcome to the Vulture live-blog of the 2012 Emmys. All opinions are my own, especially those containing profanity and gratuitous snark. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:00

8:02	Jimmy Kimmel with faux-Botox Vulcan eyebrows looks just a little bit like Hugo Weaving in THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:02

8:03	I bet at least one of the actresses in this pre-taped opener has actually fantasized about punching out Kimmel. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:03

8:06	"Like being a Chick Fil-A sandwich on the snack table at GLEE?" There's a little bit of mold on that one. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:06

8:08	"I for one am shocked that you did not win tonight." Very good needling of Jon Hamm's win-lessn-ness, though maybe too close to prophecy? Sunday September 23, 2012 8:08

8:09	"The important thing is we get out of here as soon as possible so that you can go home and put on your fat pants." [Homer voice] It's funny because it's true. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:09

8:11	No matter how fast the cutting is, these "Year in X" montages always feel longer than the Cretaceous period. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:11

8:13	Eric Stonestreet wins for MODERN FAMILY, his second. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:13

8:14	The second Emmy win is always a little awkward for the winner and the audience. Can't fake being overwhelmed, but don't want to seem too blasé, either. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:14

8:14	Always reminds me of the CHEERS episode where Norm becomes an ax-man. Cries through the first firing, fakes tears from then on out. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:14

8:19	"Our next presenters are white people, very white people in fact." By all means, let's all be in on the joke. It's easier than making TV more diverse. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:19

8:21	Louis C.K. wins for actor in a comedy. This is his year, all the way around. Backlash starts in, like, five minutes. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:21

8:21	Writing, not actor. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:21

8:22	Watching this from the next room surrounded by boxes from a move. Somewhat auditorially challenged. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:22

8:22	This Breaking Bad/Andy Griffith parody is as perverse as something that would actually air on Breaking Bad. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:22

8:23	Supporting actress in a comedy up now. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:23

8:24	Julie Bowen! Sunday September 23, 2012 8:24

8:25	"An embarrassment of riches." Bowen. "To the people who edit around me and make it look like I have a clue what I'm doing." Repeat mention of "nipple-covers." "Sister-wives." Self-deprecation all the way around. Best default mode ever. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:25

8:28

"No one has won three consecutive Emmys as lead actor in a comedy since Michael J. Fox in FAMILY TIES. Will Jim Parsons break that record?" -- factoid-y announcer. My prediction is no. My predictions are always wrong, though, so don't make any bets between commercials. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:28

8:30	Normally I'd be all in favor of cleavage, but this years' designs conjure the image of hot water bottles flattened under a concrete block wrapped in velvet. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:30

8:30	Charlize Theron in that Dior ad just took four years off my life. Bronzer-induced mini-stroke. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:30

8:32	Matthew Perry, star of my least favorite new show GO ON, looks like he's made out of boiled ham. Is the makeup on this telecast terrible or is my TV out of whack? Sunday September 23, 2012 8:32

8:33

Emmys already won by Kathy Bates and Jimmy Fallon, who show up to present Best Comedy Directing. "What kinds of people make the best comedy directors?" is the topic of the next montage that's intended to "think outside the box" but that actually makes me pine for the rote, boring patter of olde. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:33

8:35

Steve Levitan of Modern Family takes it. Fourth win, six nominations. Fast becoming a juggernaut in this category on the order of Jim Burrows. "That is shocking," he says, even though it isn't. "I wouldn't be standing here if not for my faith in me," he says, in a very Ray Romano intonation, deadpan-perfect. "A complete idiot could direct a good episode of Modern Family, and I think we've proven that tonight," he adds. You don't have to fake humility if you're funny. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:35

8:37	Very, very faintly amusing fake-outtake reel for Modern Family burns airtime that could be used to move the show along. Can somebody please start a Facebook page demanding the elimination of allegedly creative and amusing interstitial material on awards telecasts? Sunday September 23, 2012 8:37

8:37	No? All right, I tried. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:37

8:38	Photographed head-on, Alec Baldwin's hair sweeps up like Tintin's. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:38

8:39	Larry David isn't even there? Sunday September 23, 2012 8:39

8:40	How the effing hell did Jon Cryer win for actor in a comedy? Sympathy vote? "I'm stunned," Cryer says, speaking for everyone. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:40

8:40	"It's been an incredible journey on this show," he says, pondering whether to add, "recently, through Satan's alimentary canal." Sunday September 23, 2012 8:40

8:42	Somewhere, Charlie Sheen is watching and...No, actually, he's not. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:42

8:43	The Academy should send all of its members little "Modern Family" rubber stamps and inkpads so they don't have to wast precious glucose molecules writing the title on their ballots every year. It's a good show, but come on. Some imagination, people. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:43

8:45	Has Stephen Colbert ever not been pitch-perfect on any program, ever? Sunday September 23, 2012 8:45

8:46	Julia Louis-Dreyfus wins best actress in a comedy for VEEP. She's (a) Emmy royalty and (b) awesome. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:46

8:47	Reading Amy Poehler's thank-you. Funny. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:47

8:47	"People say this show is a comedy, and yet I don't see anything funny about me being vice president of the United States." -- Dreyfus. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:47

8:48	Thank-you list includes New York Mag contributor Frank Rich. Full disclosure hereby dispensed with. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:48

8:48	Play her off, keyboard cat. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:48

8:50	Reality TV category's pre-taped intro is loud, glitzy, trashy, sentimental, obnoxious, phony-exciting. Maybe a stealth comment on the category by the Emmy telecast;s producers? Sunday September 23, 2012 8:50

8:51	Damon Wayans supplies Patriots-Ravens score instead of intro patter. Good man. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:51

8:52	Award for outstanding reality competition program goes to Amazing Race. They've won every year they've been on the air. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:52

8:52	How many people on that stage? Twenty? Sunday September 23, 2012 8:52

8:57	Nine awards handed out in one hour, including interstitial material and lame patter and Kimmel's introductory monologue. I have to give these people points for efficiency. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:57

8:59	Seth MacFarlane's mic snafu: "This is what happens when you don't come to rehearsal." Great ad-lib. I was in the process of writing something snarky about him, but he just made me take it back. Sunday September 23, 2012 8:59

9:00	Oustanding Reality Show Host goes to Tom Bergeron, DANCING WITH THE STARS. First Emmy win, fifth nomination. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:00

9:01	"This is particular satisfying since Betty White always kicks my ass in our mixed martial-arts class." -- Bergeron Sunday September 23, 2012 9:01

9:02	MacFarlane followed by Bergeron makes a weird kind of sense. The cognac-smooth, amusing/arrogant, "Go ahead and hate me, I'm rich" thing. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:02

9:04	The Year in Drama montage is making every one of these shows seem annoying. Must be the music. Too inspirational. What's it from? Help me, soundtrack nerds. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:04

9:05	Claire Danes presenting Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. Rather conspicuously pregnant, wrapped in vibrant yellow. Anybody winning would satisfy me. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:05

9:05	Aaron Paul for Breaking Bad! Sunday September 23, 2012 9:05

9:05	Crying on his way to the stage. Dude's a human mood ring. One of the reasons he's so effective on BB. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:05

9:06	Mentions Giancarlo Esposito first, as well he should. This was Fring's year, IMO, or should've been. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:06

9:08	Aaron Paul is so likable he could play a guy who slow-roasts live babies and I'd still go, "Ah, but he means well. There's good in him." Sunday September 23, 2012 9:08

9:10	Aaron Paul thanks Vince Gilligan for not killing his character off early in S1 of Breaking Bad. Amazing how one creative decision can make both a show and an actor's career. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:10

9:12	Emmy band apparently playing from inside Michael Mann's private tantric massage room. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:12

9:15	Tracy Morgan asks Kimmel to hold his nunchaku as he lies on the floor while Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere introduce drama writing. Montage shows drama writers being "funny." Tedious. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:15

9:16	Homeland wins for drama writing. No complaints here. One of the subtlest, strangest, least audience-pandering dramas on TV during the last Emmy qualifying season. No hand-holding, ever. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:16

9:16	Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon practically completing each other sentences. Not faking the partnership thing. They're like two cats born of the same litter. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:16

9:17	Nominees for outstanding supporting actress in a drama up next. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:17

9:18	Maggie Smith wins for Downton Abbey. She's not there. Presenters accept on her behalf. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:18

9:18	Announcer reminds us that Mad Men's Jon Hamm has never won an Emmy. Good thing, two, because that hasn't been a topic of discussion this week. At all. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:18

9:19	That ad for Skyfall was so macho it made the Charlie Brown figurine on my desk spontaneously grow a lumberjack beard and chest hair. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:19

9:24

Giancarlo Esposito acknowledges the already-awarded winners for guest actor in a drama series mere minutes after losing best supporting actor in a drama for his Breaking Bad costar Aaron Paul. He has a huge smile and sounds genuinely enthused. No outwardly self-deprecating but obviously bitter ad-libs about how disappointed he surely is. Impossible to know what he's feeling inside. This, ladies and gentlemen, is professionalism. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:24

9:25	Best directing Emmy goes to Tim Van Patten for Boardwalk Empire. Award accepted on his behalf by presenters. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:25

9:27	Tight category this year, but no complaints about Van Patten winning for "To the Lost." I'd put that ep on a short list of his finest work, and he directed some brilliant eps of series drama, including The Sopranos. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:27

9:28	Kimmel faux-in memoriam monologue with Josh Groban singing = win. Just the right time for a dose of silliness. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:28

9:28	Best actor in a drama goes to Damian Lewis for Homeland! Holy crap times 50! Jon Hamm, robbed, but by a master thief. Deserved. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:28

9:29	"I'm one of those pesky Brits. I don't really believe in judging art, but I thought I'd show up just in case." Witty, gracious but efficient (calling for a round of applause for fellow nominees rather than singling them out individually). Sunday September 23, 2012 9:29

9:31	Damian Lewis to his young daughters: "Daddy just won an Emma." Sweet but no sugar. How does he do it? Do British actors go to awards acceptance school? Sunday September 23, 2012 9:31

9:34	Lewis for Homeland is Showtime's first lead actor Emmy for a drama, ever. A milestone for the network that until somewhat recently was known as HBO's weak sister. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:34

9:35	Trailer for KEANE, low-budget movie starring Damian Lewis. Supposedly his performance in this was a key factor in his winning the male lead role on HOMELAND. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQH7_hHjEzQ Sunday September 23, 2012 9:35

9:36	"I think I hear some stomachs rumbling. Would anybody like to trade an Emmy for a hot pocket?" -- Kimmel Sunday September 23, 2012 9:36

9:38

Tina Fey and Jon Hamm present best actress in a drama. Hamm, mere moments after losing best actor to Damian Lewis in Homeland, is slightly less persuasive at masking disappointment than Giancarlo Esposito was while presenting the guest actor/drama awards after losing his category. Maybe they line up presenters and place them in the telecast assuming certain wins? Or banking on them? If so, maybe this is not a good idea. Or especially merciful. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:38

9:38	Claire Danes wins for Homeland. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:38

9:40	I still get a bit misty watching the opening credits of My So-Called Life when Angela very briefly cries. Feeling that affection now. What an actress, what a performance. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:40

9:41	Year in Variety Montage slightly less insufferable than Year in Reality montage. But still nothing for the editor or the producers to brag about. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:41

9:42	Super-heavy on Kimmel talk show moments. ABC promoting in-house, rather too obviously. "Hey, you guys! The host of this thing? He has a show! On this network!" Sunday September 23, 2012 9:42

9:42	Oustanding writing for variety, music or comedy special up next. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:42

9:43	"I feel like people take your acting more seriously when you're British." -- Danny Pudi, in a pretty amusing pre-presentatiion bit. He's American. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:43

9:45	Aziz Anzari. I'll never hear the end of that one. That's what I get for live-blogging with the TV in the next room. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:45

9:46	Ricky Gervais is up next. Expect more pretend-kidding complaints about how Steve Carell would have no career if not for him. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:46

9:47	In Memoriam section is coming up. Be respectful while you make a sandwich. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:47

9:48	So far this evening Showtime is ahead of HBO in Emmy wins. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:48

9:50

The more I stew over Giancarlo Esposito losing to Aaron Paul, the more wrong it seems. He played one of the few original gangster characters in a very long time, and did it brilliantly. A career-capping, first-line-in-the-obituary performance. Paul is wonderful -- very strong in S4 of Breaking Bad, particularly -- but I think the Emmy voters blew it here. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:50

9:50	Ricky Gervais and his baleful grin at the mic. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:50

9:50	Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special. Or as Gervais calls it, "the big one." Sunday September 23, 2012 9:50

9:51	"They're not even working. They just stay in the truck, probably." Sunday September 23, 2012 9:51

9:52	Ricky Gervais was funnier when he didn't look like George Michael's uncle. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:52

9:53	Glenn Weiss wins, accepting while directing the live telecast you are watching. For directing the 66th annual Tony telecast. Asks somebody in the control room to play him off. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:53

9:54	Nominees for variety, music or comedy special up next. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:54

9:54	Go Colbert. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:54

9:56	Winner: The Daily Show. "Not again," Gervais says. Cosign. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:56

9:56	Snark retracted. They have never won an Emmy in this category in ten consecutive years, announcer sez. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:56

9:58

But still: Colbert. [Wipes away tear.] Stewart's shout-outs to the other nominees, including Colbert, is gracious. Topical comedy, he says, "has the shelf life of egg salad," and ends with "Years from now, when the earth is just a burning husk..." Profanity bleeped out. Sunday September 23, 2012 9:58

10:00

Sorry, ten years in a row! Sunday September 23, 2012 10:00

10:00

Starting to flag here. Somebody zap me with EKG paddles. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:00

10:03

Kimmel introduces his father and mother in the audience. Apologizes for not winning an Emmy. Tracy Morgan interrogates them, asking why they told little Jimmy he could do anything he put his mind to. "you told him to put his mind around it! Totally unnecessary!" Kimmel: "Well, you know what, they have to learn somehow." Sunday September 23, 2012 10:03

10:04

Best movie or miniseries up next. Go, American Horror Story. Hatfields & McCoys, Hemingway & Gellhorn would make me happy, too. Sherlock is presumptive winner going into this. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:04

10:04

What is this score? Sounds like music to accompany a revolutionary leader's public funeral. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:04

10:06

Steve Buscemi reads the nominees. "Yay, Tim Van Patten," he says, acknowledging his Boardwalk & Sopranos colleague's win tonight. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:06

10:06

Supporting actress first category. Go Jessica Lange. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:06

10:07

And it's Jessica Lange! Blanche duBois from Hell. One of my favorite performances by anybody in this Emmy qualification period. She looks smashing, too. Show co-creator Ryan Murphy "made me, I must admit, more promises than any man I've ever met before, and they all came to pass." High praise. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:07

10:10

So, so glad she won this. Pure crazy joy in that performance. Grace Zabriskie on Twin Peaks-level emotional intensity, plus black humor/camp knowingness. Played that role like ... well, what instrument? A zither, probably. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:10

10:11

This, in musical form, is Jessica Lange's performance on American Horror Story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX4ylBvPPVU&feature=fvwrel A big, sinister smile. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:11

10:13

Ellen DeGeneres cannot make the Academy's board president non-boring. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:13

10:14

Kerry Washington of Scandal presents outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie. Go Martin Freeman! Though I'd be OK with Denis O'Hare, too. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:14

10:15

Tom Berenger for Hatfields & McCoys is the winner. He is terrific in this. The kind of performance Sam Peckinpah would have rewarded with an extra case of booze. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:15

10:16

"I think the Academy should have melted this down into ten or eleven teeny tiny Emmys...and handed them out to all the other members of the Hatfield clan," he ad libs, and brings "some of those McCoy boys" into the thank-you as well. One of the more original shout-outs to colleagues in an Emmy speech. I've always liked Berenger. Serious, smart, earthy. Wish they weren't playing him off right when he likened a relative to a cross between "a raccoon with rabies and a demented garden gnome." Sunday September 23, 2012 10:16

10:19

Ron Howard, aka Opie, introduces the In Memoriam section. Starts with a tribute to the late Andy Griffith, who gave him his start as an actor a half-century ago. My obit is here. https://truemac.vn/2012/07/andy-griffith-obit.html "Damned if he didn't make it look powerful easy while he was going about it, didn't he?" sez Howard. Damned if that's not spot-on. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:19

10:19

Theme to "The Way We Were" (misty, watercolor memories) is a bit much, but these segments are always a bit much. Almost impossible not to overdo them a little bit. So go ahead, pour it on. Tear cups at the ready. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:19

10:21

"Of all the things I've complained about, I can't complain about my life." The late Andy Rooney in the In Memoriam segment. Kudos to whoever chose that line to represent the 60 Minutes curmudgeon, though I would have been fine with a clip of him complaining about people who suddenly stop walking in the middle of a sidewalk. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:21

10:22

See all the red carpet looks at the 2012 Emmy awards, my editor commands me to say. Link is here. https://truemac.vn/2012/09/see-all-the-red-carpet-looks-at-the-2012-emmys.html Sunday September 23, 2012 10:22

10:22

Yes, that's right, I promoted Vulture content during the In Memoriam segment of the Emmy telecast. Poetically apt or unforgivably vulgar? Sunday September 23, 2012 10:22

10:22

Why not both? Sunday September 23, 2012 10:22

10:23

"The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Crack-Up." Sunday September 23, 2012 10:23

10:23

Yes, Matt is losing it. Hopefully Vulture's graphics department can devise a fun game where you help him find it. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:23

10:24

Standing on a window ledge now, naked except for a top hat and codpiece. Thank a wide array of deities that you can't see this. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:24

10:26

Kiefer Sutherland and Lucy Liu present outstanding writing for miniseries or movie. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:26

10:27

Danny Strong wins for HBO's Game Change. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:27

10:28

Good movie, but not much greater than other HBO political movies based on recent events. I would have preferred any other nominee in this category win -- maybe Hatfields & McCoys Pt. 2 above the rest, because it was so uncompromising and tonally exact. Remarkable. See it if you haven't already. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:28

10:28

Actress in a miniseries or movie is up next. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:28

10:29

Julianne Moore wins for a very, very good impersonation of Sarah Palin in Game Change. Yes, she was good, but come on. Connie Britton should've gotten this. She gave a horror film leading lady performance worthy of De Palma or Hitchcock. Yes, really. So much nuance in what might have been a scream-queen part. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:29

10:30

Vamping here because I don't want to write ten lines about what a mumbly, incoherent, Sarah Palin-esque acceptance speech Julianne Moore is giving. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:30

10:34

I'm live-blogging this upside down, hanging from a chin-up bar by my legs. My tribute to Bruce Wayne. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:34

10:34

Did Jon Cryer really win as best actor in a comedy, or did I hallucinate that? Sunday September 23, 2012 10:34

10:34

I'm sure he's a very nice man. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:34

10:34

But come on. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:34

10:36

Outstanding directing for miniseries/movie should go to Philip Kaufman for Hemingway & Gellhorn, but won't. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:36

10:36

Jay Roach wins for Game Change, which was aggressively just OK. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:36

10:37

Kaufman's directing was truly imaginative. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. Robbed. Robbed! Sunday September 23, 2012 10:37

10:37

Play Jay Roach off, keyboard cat. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:37

10:38

Oustanding lead actor in a movie or miniseries up next. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:38

10:38

If Idris Elba wins, millions of ovaries will detonate. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:38

10:39

And it's Kevin Costner. He was, in fact, quite good in Hatfields & McCoys, and his clout helped get a very bleak, grim, violent miniseries made. So kudos. But still. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:39

10:40

Costner looks like he just stepped out of a vat of turkey soup. What is up with the makeup, Emmy people? Did they change lights at the last minute? Sunday September 23, 2012 10:40

10:40

Drama categories up next. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:40

10:42

[Comment From Poushali Poushali : ]  He's incredible! But I also really liked the guy from New Girl! Sunday September 23, 2012 10:42 Poushali

10:46

Game Change wins miniseries/movie. The least interesting, least accomplished, least surprising of the nominees. Annoyed by this sweep. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:46

10:47

Tonight both Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton looks vaguely like Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:47

10:48

Kimmel introduces Julianne Moore as the other talented "Sarah Palin impersonator in this room." This is not intended as criticism but I choose to read it that way. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:48

10:48

Homeland wins best drama. This is a huge, huge night for Showtime. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:48

10:50

"I don't know when they're gonna cut me off, but this is the biggest night of my career, I'm gonna keep talking till they do." -- Alex Gansa, co-creator of Homeland. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:50

10:50

Showtime's first win for a drama. There will be meetings very early at HBO and FX tomorrow. No pastry will be served. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:50

10:56

Best comedy coming up. Michael J. Fox, impossible not to love, presents. You go, Girls. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:56

10:56

Modern Family. I'm. So. Shocked. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:56

10:57

Accepting the Emmy on behalf of the team is a sock puppet named Mr. Wonky. Because everybody else has already gone up there. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:57

10:58

Anecdote about space shuttle. "Suddenly we weren't important people making television anymore, because it was loud and the sound guy said we couldn't." When you keep winning almost everything almost every year you're on the air, humility is the way to go. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:58

10:58

Thank yo to everybody at ABC. Thank you to everybody at Fox. Thank you to everybody at Vulture. Thank you to everyone in the former Soviet Union. In former Soviet Union, Emmys live-blog you. Sunday September 23, 2012 10:58

11:01

Emmys finish their last award with two minutes to spare. This is a record, yes? Looking back over this live-blog I see myself straining to make jokes about how slow the thing is, how predictable, etc. This was all reflex. Truth: a tight telecast. Fatty TV made as lean as possible, yet leaving room for goofing around. Impressive, in its way. Sunday September 23, 2012 11:01

11:01

Goodnight, and thanks for listening/watching/reading/gerund-ing. Sunday September 23, 2012 11:01

11:05

On the other hand, if they'd gotten rid of all the interstitial stuff, they might have wrapped everything up by 10 PM eastern. Sunday September 23, 2012 11:05

11:05

All right, really and truly signing off now. G'night. Sunday September 23, 2012 11:05

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