‘Mad Men,’ ‘30 Rock’ win again at Emmys

updated 12:36 a.m. ET Sept. 21, 2009

LOS ANGELES - "Mad Men" and "30 Rock" led a pack of Emmy winners who successfully defended their titles at Sunday's show, while Australian Toni Collette of Showtime's "United States of Tara" was honored as best lead actress in a comedy series for her role as a mother with multiple personalities.

"Wow, this is insanely confronting," said a beaming Collette. She thanked series creator Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "Juno."

AMC's glossy 1960s Madison Avenue saga "Mad Men," which last year became the first basic cable show to win a top series award, won the best drama trophy for a second time.

"It is an amazing time to work in TV," said "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner. "And, I know that everything is changing, but I'm not afraid of it because I feel like all these different media is just more choice and more entertainment. It's better for the viewers in the end and I'm glad to be a part of it."

NBC's "30 Rock," a satirical take on life inside a TV variety show, was honored for the third time as best comedy series, while star Alec Baldwin won his second award as best comedy actor.

"We want to thank our friends at NBC for keeping us on the air ... even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show," said "30 Rock" creator and star Tina Fey, referring to Jay Leno's new daily prime-time comedy show, which NBC likes to note is cheaper to produce than a scripted series.

Baldwin, accepting his acting trophy for "30 Rock" from "Brothers & Sisters" star Rob Lowe, joked, "I'll be honest with you. I'd trade this to look like him."

The BBC's Dickens adaptation "Little Dorrit," co-produced with PBS's Boston affiliate WGBH, won for best miniseries as well as for cinematography, art direction and costumes.

Ireland was well represented as Irish actress Dearblha Walsh won for directing "Little Dorrit" and Irish actor Brendan Gleeson won for playing Winston Churchill in the HBO miniseries "Into the Storm."

‘I'm a poor kid from the Valley’
Glenn Close’s performance as a ruthless trial attorney on “Damages” and Bryan Cranston’s turn as a meth-making teacher on “Breaking Bad” were honored with the top drama series acting Emmys, the second consecutive trophies for both.

“Oh my goodness,” exlaimed Cranston. “I’m a poor kid from the Valley. I don’t know what I’m doing up here. I feel like Cinderfella.”

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Close called it a “huge privilege” to be part of the entertainment community, then tweaked her show’s writers.

Her role is “maybe the character of my lifetime, depending on what they do this season,” Close said.

Michael Emerson, who plays the cruelly devious Ben on “Lost,” and Cherry Jones, the stalwart U.S. president on “24,” were honored as best supporting actors in drama series.

“Wowza,” Jones said. Emerson accepted his award for what he called “the role of my lifetime.”

Alec Baldwin of “30 Rock” and Toni Collette of “United States of Tara” were honored as best lead actors in comedy series at the award ceremony, which kept to a lighthearted, viewer-friendly tone.

“I’ll be honest with you. I’d trade this to look like him,” Baldwin said as he accepted his best comedy actor trophy from Rob Lowe of “Brothers & Sisters.”

Collette, who plays a mother with multiple personalities on the Showtime series, was honored as best actress in a comedy series.

“Wow, this is insanely confronting,” said a beaming Collette. She thanked series creator Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Juno.”

Collette’s victory deprived Tina Fey of “30 Rock” of winning a second consecutive award in the category. But Fey took the stage a few moments later to acknowledge a guest actor award she received for her Sarah Palin impersonation on “Saturday Night Live.”

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Kristin Chenoweth of “Pushing Daisies” and Jon Cryer of “Two and a Half Men” won supporting acting Emmys for their comedies and proved that acceptance speeches can be entertaining.

“I’m not employed now so I’d like to be on ‘Mad Men.’ I also like ‘The Office’ and ‘24,”’ said Chenoweth, alternating between tears and smiles as she accepted for her canceled ABC series. “Thank you so much to the academy for recognizing a show that’s no longer on the air.”

Backstage, the Tony Award-winning Chenoweth noted that she is appearing on an upcoming episode of Fox’s show “Glee,” has shot two movies and is doing a series of concerts.

Cryer, whose series is the most-watched comedy on TV, brought a wry tone to his speech.

“I used to think that awards were just shallow tokens of momentary popularity, but now I realize they are the only true measure of a person’s worth as a human being,” Cryer said.

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” won the trophy for best variety, music or comedy series, its seventh in a row.

“Grey Gardens,” the story of a reclusive mother and daughter who were relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the Dickens adaptation “Little Dorrit” won for best movie and miniseries, respectively.

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