Worthy wins, but plenty of duds at Emmys

LOS ANGELES - Well, the Emmys got it half right.

Trying to make up for some dreadful nomination omissions, the TV Academy gave the viewing public what they wanted in the big categories — “The Office” for best comedy and “24” as top drama.

Not to take away from the accomplishments of “The Office,” but the competition was extremely weak this year. It was, far and away, the only comedy generating buzz following the end of last season. For all its ratings triumphs, there was little chatter about the excitement of how “Two and a Half Men” is starting up its fourth season in a few weeks.

Speaking of fan enthusiasm, not even “Grey’s Anatomy” got as high marks this past year as “24.” Wins for both the show and star Kiefer Sutherland could’ve been diagnosed by even those working feverishly at Seattle Grace Hospital. It was Sutherland’s first win after nine noms and certainly well deserved.

While those two shows ended the evening on a high note, the first few awards of the night had many shaking their heads. After Conan O’Brien used one of Billy Crystal’s favorite Oscar tricks and incorporated himself into several popular series — the scene with Jorge Garcia of “Lost” was priceless — the next few minutes leered into a “Oh, no, here we go again” flashback.

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Megan Mullally is great, and her Karen Walker delivered some of the best one-liners from “Will & Grace” over its many years. But after eight seasons, the series had long worn out its welcome and new blood would’ve been nice (say, Jaime Pressly for “My Name Is Earl”).

Mullally’s rambling speech didn’t help her cause, either, and she was the first of many to be “played off” as the orchestra raised its volume for every second over the allotted time limit she continued to speak.

After Alan Alda and Blythe Danner won the next two supporting actor and actress awards for their roles in “The West Wing” and “Huff,” respectively, an ugly trend had surfaced: Each of their shows has been canceled.

If the networks were hoping that winning an Emmy might spike the ratings of the actors’ respective shows, it wasn’t the way to start off the night, considering these series will never be on primetime again. So much for all this great publicity to help capture new viewers. Maybe it’ll tweak DVD sales. Probably not.

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Jeremy Piven, long recognized as the soul of “Entourage” — actually, soulless might be a better choice of words, considering he plays an agent — was a popular choice and made viewers feel it wasn’t going to be one of those Emmys where Kelsey Grammer or John Lithgow wins again … and again … and again.

That “I can’t believe I won, even I wouldn’t have voted for me” moment came when Tony Shalhoub took home best comedy actor for USA’s “Monk.” Even he looked downright disgusted by the selection (and Charlie Sheen didn’t do all that much to feign his disappointment either). The only upside is that Shalhoub had brought his daughter and she was awfully proud of Pops.

Like he does on his late-night talker, O’Brien did a steady job entertaining and keeping the proceedings moving at a nice pace. When he takes over the “Tonight Show” desk in 2009 from Jay Leno, it’ll have been well-earned. This Emmys and the one four years ago proved that for all his boyish awkwardness, O’Brien is a polished pro. His comic timing is spot-on and audiences relish in his goofiness.

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