Worthy wins, but plenty of duds at Emmys

The two tributes of the night — to music icon Dick Clark and überproducer Aaron Spelling — had good intentions but failed to be memorable or particularly emotional.

Clark, who suffered a stroke in 2004, struggled with his speech but was determined and courageous to stand in front of not only the attendees at the Shrine Auditorium but millions watching at home. It was fitting that Simon Cowell, whose taste on the music scene today as a judge on “American Idol” can make or break a career, was able to introduce him.

But what executive thought following Clark’s speech with Barry Manilow singing the “American Bandstand” theme was a good idea?

Granted, if this was 1978, Manilow would be a rock-solid choice. Despite the fact that Manilow sells out the showroom at the Las Vegas Hilton, the Brooklyn-born pop artist didn’t do Clark any favors — and it was five minutes of the broadcast that could’ve been used for something far more entertaining.

Slide show   Emmy fashions Aubergine was the watch word as stars like Ellen Pompeo shined.

As for Spelling, after a series of clips it seemed a touching idea to bring out the original “Charlie’s Angels” — until you actually saw them. To put it mildly, Farrah Fawcett hasn’t aged well and, following her famed appearance on David Letterman’s CBS show a while ago in which she was incoherent and disengaged from conversation, she doesn’t do herself any favors by speaking in front of crowds, either.

Kate Jackson spoke first but seemed to ramble on and on, when fewer sentences would’ve have given more impact. Save for Jaclyn Smith, who looks like she could star in a new version “Angels” again tomorrow, Spelling’s legacy wasn’t well-served here and those in the audience not old enough to remember shows such as “Love Boat,” “The Mod Squad”  and “Starsky and Hutch” will not realize what an impact he had on TV. ABC wasn’t known as Aaron’s Broadcasting Company for nothing.

Somehow, “Amazing Race” continues to dominate the reality category, winning for the fourth straight year. “American Idol” may be the juggernaut when it comes to ratings, but Emmy voters aren’t swept up by the phenomenon.

Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) and Julia-Louis Dreyfus were solid choices in the drama and comedy actress categories while HBO, surprising absolutely no one, dominated the movies with “Elizabeth” and “The Girl in the Café.”

Credit director Louis Horvitz with not allowing the broadcast to go past its allotted three-hour timeslot — and letting Bob Newhart, who was kiddingly threatened with being suffocated to death if the show went long, to live another day.

As for winners and losers, call “24” the people’s champion and “Grey’s Anatomy” the series that still has to earn its stripes with the Academy.

For Fox’s sake, lets hope Jack Bauer doesn’t end up with a brain injury and Dr. McDreamy as his physician, with scalpel in hand.

Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Daily Variety. You can reach him at .

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