Look, I didn’t want to have to run another photo of Ugly Betty’s Vanessa L. Williams on PopWatch this week — okay, that’s a blatant lie — but after she got snubbed by Emmy tonight for the Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy statuette, I had no choice but to vent. No disrespect to Jean Smart, who’s a terrific actress, but let me just say that Samantha Who? rhymes with "get a clue!" I know, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but I just finished four hours of grueling live blogging, my brain aches a little, and nothing makes sense in a world where the woman who has given us two seasons of Wilhelmina Slater awesomeness still doesn’t have a freakin’ Emmy! So yeah, Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams is my pick for the biggest Emmy snub of 2008. (First runner-up goes to Lost, naturally. The show’s total shutout on the Emmy telecast was completely screwy, though a well-dressed birdie tells me the ABC drama could still take home a little something from EWwy when those winners are announced right here on EW.com at 10 a.m. EDT today.)
It wasn’t all bad, though. I let out a little "squeee!" when under-the-radar (but totally worthy) Zeljko Ivanek took home the trophy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his work on Damages. When you look at this fine character actor’s IMDb page, you realize he’s been in pretty much everything, without ever managing to become a household name. And so a night that finds him taking home one of his industry’s most prestigious prizes can’t be all bad. Not to mention that shows with small (but passionate) audiences like Breaking Bad, 30 Rock, In Treatment, Damages, and Mad Men got the kind of recognition that — while it doesn’t always lead to increased audiences — can help to keep the Grim Reaper at bay for an extra season or two.
Anyhow, I’m wondering what you all thought of the 2008 Emmys telecast. What were the biggest snubs? Which winners had you cheering from your living room? Vent or celebrate or do a little of both on our message boards right now!
And if you’re hungry for more Emmy fare, check out EW’s complete list of Emmy winners, a groovy gallery of celebrity photos (that you can buy on eBay!) taken at EW’s Emmy party, a big, juicy lineup of Emmy red-carpet videos courtesy of Michael Ausiello, our PopWatch live blog of the Emmy ceremony and the painful E! pre-show, and much more coverage (updated all day Monday) at EW’s Emmy HQ. Plus, after the jump, see what happened when The Office’s John Krasinski and Lost’s Evangeline Lilly got together at the Emmys to talk romance on their shows. Fun!
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Other than poor Neil Patrick Harris and the continued ridiculousness of one-shot programs snatching Emmys away from The Daily Show and Colbert and the like, I’m a pretty happy girl right now. However, I STILL can not believe they snubbed Phil Keoghan. It doesn’t get any more understandable as the months roll by.
3 words: Neil. Patrick. Harris.
Hey guys!
Video captured behind scenes of Nokia center. It’s all that not show in the official ceremony.
http://tubedirect.net/index.php?q=Emmy-2008-best-moments
Everything just at a height! Highly recommended!
I love Micheal Emerson on LOST and I am sad he didn’t win BUT he did lose to Mr. Ivanek, who truely is a great character actor. Therefore all is forgiven.
My disappointments are for LOST not winning Best Drama, especially since they finally had another great season and for Neil Patrick Harris losing to Jeremy Piven. NPH is the only reason I watch How I met Your Mother and at this point I don’t think Mr. Piven has brought anything else new to his role.
Vanessa should have won last year Slezak. The best supporting actress comedy emmy should have gone to Kristin Chenoweth!!! SHE IS AMAZING!! SO HAPPY FOR MAD MEN AND 30 ROCK WIN!
Mad Men is such an amazing show. It brings a new level of quality to viewing audience in the same way that Soprano’s did. For Weiner to win best writing for the pilot episode of this series was sublime and best drama series is well deserved.
no people of color. ugh. tv is becoming too white.
i though the show was long and boring! the most excited thing of the whole show was buffy winning for one of the best moments on tv history! that is just amazing!!
When is Hugh Laurie going to get the Emmy he deserves for House? This season was especially good. He deserves it and has deserved it all the times he has been nominated. He still can’t get that award despite winning just about every other acting award he has been nominated for with the exception of the Prism Award.
I was probably most happy to see Cranston win for Breaking Bad and Ivanek for Damages.
Mar, last time I checked Emmy-winner Glynn Turman is black (he won for “In Treatment”).
And as for the Emmycast overall, I got 14 wins right! Anyone out there beat me?
martinPeru, where did you see that Buffy won for the viewer thing? I saw nothing of the sort. Help!
Good on Zeljko Ivanek. His performance was exquisite and heartbreaking. I’ll miss his character inordinately in the upcoming seasons.
I just finished reading the finer points of the winners tonight and was horrified to discover that Pirate Master WON AN EMMY. Yes, it’s true that it was for theme music but still…PIRATE MASTER???????? Pirate Master? Seriously? Does ANYONE remember the music from this craptastic show? How can this possibly be Emmy worthy? PIRATE MASTER WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS HAVING WON AN EMMY – HOW CAN THIS BE??????????
I just finished reading the finer points of the winners tonight and was horrified to discover that Pirate Master WON AN EMMY. Yes, it’s true that it was for theme music but still…PIRATE MASTER???????? Pirate Master? Seriously? Does ANYONE remember the music from this craptastic show? How can this possibly be Emmy worthy? PIRATE MASTER WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS HAVING WON AN EMMY – HOW CAN THIS BE??????????
I missed the Smothers intro – why did he alone get the honorary Emmy? Was that explained?
Sorry – didn’t mean to post twice – computer glitch
The Office didn’t win ANYTHING this year. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.
Which show got snubbed? How about The Wire? Or did some of us already know that? Seriously, what was hailed as perhaps one of the most groundbreaking and challenging shows ever to air on television got a total of only… that’s right, one nomination and no wins.
I guess a show featuring a majority black cast that you can’t simply laugh at, doesn’t sell.
I am so happy that Jean Smart, who always gives amazing performances, won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress!
I was ecstatic to see Zeljko Ivanek win. It was an exquisite piece of work and he so profoundly deserved this recognition. He seemed genuinely gratified by the award and I thought his speech was gracious and very humble. Was also really happy (but less surprised) to see “Mad Men” win for Drama Series. I adore that show.
I knew they wouldn’t win, but prayed I’d be wrong. David and Ed deserved that Emmy. Actually, they, the cast and crew and their show deserved several Emmys, but I guess they were just too brilliant for their own good. Proof that the Emmys dont’ reward the best, just the loudest. Ffifteen or twenty years down the road when they’re celebrating another Emmy anniversary, they’ll be up onstange discussing ‘The Wire’ and, hopefully, feeling like the idiots they are.
I knew they wouldn’t win, but prayed I’d be wrong. David and Ed deserved that Emmy. Actually, they,the show, the cast and crew deserved several Emmys, but I guess they were just too brilliant for their own good. Proof that the Emmys don’t reward the best, just the loudest. Fifteen or twenty years down the road when they’re celebrating another Emmy anniversary, they’ll be up onstage discussing ‘The Wire’ and, hopefully, feeling like the idiots they are.
LOST deserved to win this year. It deserved to win last year. It deserved to win 2 years ago… and so forth. The best show on television continues to be ignored. LOST is very much underappreciated by the mainstream hollywood elite, not just for its complex mythology, but also for its directing, writing, and music score! Its time for the emmy judges to crash land on a island for a change.
I love the Emmys but it was… so. boring. Here’s what they should do next year.
1) Cut all montages of actors who are not present IN THE AUDIENCE.
2) Cut all clips and montages of old shows – there’s enough good TV out NOW.
2) Cut ALL the TV-movie and miniseries awards.
3) Still have a 2.5 hour show. That way we can see our current favorite actors actually being spontaneous, or at least saying more than “The nominees are”…
I totally agree with u Slezak, Vanessa Williams was snubbed!! Jean Smart was good on Samatha Who, but not as good as the vicious Wilhemina Slater…..
“TV is becoming ‘too white’ ” – ??!!
COME ON, there’s been 24/7/365 of repulsive black rap filth on dozens of channels, for what, 15 years now? Maybe people are getting sick of that meaningless garbage and want REAL entertainment again!
This was one of the most awful Emmy shows ever! I’m glad Jean Smart won, she’s great. Vanessa Williams wasn’t robbed of an Emmy. She lost because Jean did a better job and got more votes. Period. Some of the most annoying segments were with Colbert and John Stewart. They are so self-important, considering themselves too precious for words. They are way overrated. Get these guys off the program, it will save time and they can admire themselves in private. I was so totally disgusted with the “statements” everyone had to give about voting in November, it was basically a political ad for Obama. (even the prune bit was off). The hosts lacked energy, and the presenters were so friggin serious. It was probably because of the humorless script they had to read. Some looked pained! I thought Josh Brolin was passing a kidney stone! Where is the creativity, fun and entertainment? I turned the channel and found it on the Discovery Network. It was about mixing concrete. MUCH more engaging!
It was great to see Stewart and Colbert get recognized this year! They each do remarkably funny, smart, and influential work. Both have taken the genre of current satire and elevated it to a level that makes them relevant to serious audiences.
Congratulations to Jon and Stephen!
He’s called Hugh Laurie, Academy. Hugh freaking Laurie!