Mad Men, Modern Family, Grandin, Jack Score Emmy Gold

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It’s official: The Emmys have finally figured out how to put on a great TV show! For the second year, the Awards telecast honoring the small screen’s best has actually turned out an entertaining evening. This year’s spectacle hosted by the comically agile and energetic Jimmy Fallon tops last year’s stellar performance by host Neil Patrick Harris. Moving at a brisk pace–and finishing on time–the three hour show featured Fallon’s forte: witty, often musical segues and kept the pre-fab presenter banter to a minimum. Last year’s edition wasn’t nominated for best Variety Special–an Award that was inexplicably picked up by an uncharacteristically lackluster Tony Awards show. This one should at least make the nomination cut.

As for the actual 2010 Emmy Awards, there were a few surprises in a year filled with tough competition and a slew of deserving contenders. I know “Lost” fans were expecting a parting prize for the mystical drama, but alas “Mad Men,” that little period drama which happens to serve up the best writing and ensemble acting-since the “Sopranos”  ” or “The West Wing” just could not be denied its third consecutive Best Drama Award. I’m not sure if the show’s clever creator Mathew Weiner planned it, but last night’s episode featured the drama’s slick complicated ad man, Don Draper headed to the  Clio Awards where he was up  for the best  floor polish ad. While Don won, Jon Hamm the actor who plays the matinee idol handsome rogue anti-hero walked away without a statue, losing for the third straight year to Bryan Cranston, who turns out a consistently edgy performance as a teacher turned drug dealer on “Breaking Bad,” another drama on AMC, a cable network that–with varying success–continues to  push storytelling beyond the safe and expected boundaries.

Coming off the buzz of the first superb season, I figured Julianna Marguiles would surely walk off with the Best Actress in a Drama Emmy for her brilliantly nuanced role on “The Good Wife, .” The statue instead went home with Kyra Sedgwick who after sitting with the plastered on also -ran smile four years running, finally got the win on her fifth try for the TNT’s popular police procedural, “The Closer.” I can’t argue with the choice. Sedgwick offers a witty turn as a personally hapless, professionally sharp Los Angeles detective and she’s surrounded by a winning cadre of supporting players. But besides being swept up in something resembling a cultural zeitgeist  ”The Good Wife” is a better show. It follows the post-political trauma travails of a woman publicly humiliated by her politician husband’s exploits with the scripted finesse and emotionally charged acting that garnered it a Best Drama nomination. The show did pick up a surprise win as newcomer Archie Panjabi won Best Supporting Actress in A Drama beating out fellow cast mate veteran Christine Baranski, Sharon Gless and ”Mad Men’s” Elizabeth Moss and Christiana Hendricks.

The comic kudos were spread around, too, with ABC’s break-out sit-com “Modern Family” beating Fox’s smash “Glee” for Best Comedy. Edie Falco was the surprise nominee and winner in the Best Comedy Actress category for Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie.” The Big Bang Theory’s” Jim Parsons won Best Actor and “Modern Family’s” Eric Stonestreet grabbed the Best Supporting Actor honors. I feared the same sympathy/ protest vote that fetched him a nomination, may have bestowed a dubious Best Comedy/Variety honor on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” but I was relieved when Jon Stewart and the crazy-genius brigade over on “The Daily Show” snagged their sixth Emmy.

HBO continues to dominate in the Movie and Mini-Series categories. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that a substantial swath of quality entertainment would be squashed if not for the cable juggernaut. The 15 part series “The Pacific” won a batch of awards, including Best Mini-Series. “Temple Grandin,” the captivating bio-pic about the pioneering scientist who battled autism and society’s low expectations to earn a PhD, revolutionize farm systems and become an outspoken expert/advocate for the autistic, picked up Best Movie, Best Director ( Mick Jackson), Best Actress ( Clare Danes) and Best Supporting Actress (Julia Ormand). Grandin herself was at the ceremony, standing up and collecting applause as each Award was announced. The most touching moment came as she took to the stage with the cast and producers, hugging a producer and lauding her elderly mother, also in the audience. ”I know you’re shy, but stand up, Mother,” she said.

The film, now available on DVD, is a must see. Jackson works his way through the tricky terrain of Grandin’s special mind through sensitive treatment and stunning cinematic techniques including quick cuts, graphics, dreamy fantasy flashes and heightened sound effects, all designed to give us a real sense of what it’s like to live in the mysterious grip of autism. Danes–completely transformed–captures Grandin’s awkward gestures, gawky posture, excitable speech, erratic emotional dips. She doesn’t offer a mere impersonation, but rather becomes Grandin here, infusing the portrayal with deep sensitivity, a being that feels authentic. Ormand is grand and determined as Grandin’s steadfast mother, undeterred in her efforts to help her daughter combat and overcome the obstacles of a disorder that back in the 1950′s was far less understood than it is today.

Since autism has become so widely diagnosed and talked about in recent years, this film will surely appeal to parents and educators coping with the disorder. But its quality warrants viewing by anyone interested in incisive character studies and superb acting.

HBO’s other big winner, “You Don’t Know Jack,” Barry Levinson’s inventive film homage to the maverick right-to-die advocate Jack Kevorkian fetched honors for Adam Mazer’s brisk script and Al Pacino’s tour de force portrayal. It’s also now out on DVD. For more read my NJP review:

George Clooney was awarded the fourth Bob Hope Humanitarian Award and offered a humble and succinct speech, imploring people to find ways to shine the spotlight on important causes and events long after the immediate impact and reporting zeal has past. Such a plea resonates in an era that increasingly celebrates bad behavior.

The 2010 Emmy Awards showed us there is, in fact, a quantity of quality programming on television. You just have to know where to look for it.

Check out the complete list of Emmy winners here.

Please follow Amy Beth Arkawy on Twitter.

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