Best: Andy Samberg nails binge-watch culture
Donning a scruffy beard, tattered robe and questionable personal hygiene, host Samberg opened the show paying tribute to the way many of us are watching TV these days. Missed 151 episodes of “Castle”? Back in the bunker you go!
Worst: What decade is it?
With jokes about Robert Blake, 1940s baseball player Jackie Robinson, and Dagwood from the newspaper comic strip “Blondie,” Andy Samberg’s uneven opening monologue often seemed like it could have been delivered by, well, Robert Blake back in the ‘70s.
Best: Amy Poehler & Amy Schumer
Setting the bar high for presenting, two funny Amys gave out the first award — and set social media ablaze with wishful thinking of a team-up comedy.
Worst: Anthony Anderson‘s deflated porn joke
Porn kind of sounds like “Portlandia,” see? That’s it. That’s the whole joke.
Best: Real life out “Veep”-ing “Veep”
“Veep” is in danger of getting out-satirized — by real life, as the HBO star hilariously pointed out in her win for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy. Who said it: “Veep” or Donald Trump?
Worst: Spoiler Alert!
Despite the good intentions of the montage paying tribute to all the shows that ended this season – from Letterman, Stewart and Colbert signing off from their late night shows to the last episodes of “Mad Men” and “Parks and Rec” – the package was still chock full of spoilers for every show you ever wanted to binge in the future.
Best: “Transparent” winners stand up for LGBT rights
Jill Solloway kicked things off by plugging TransEquality.org in her speech after winning Best Directing for a Comedy Series. Jeffrey Tambor picked up the mantle after winning Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series, dedicating his award to the trans community and saying: “Thank you for your patience, thank you for your courage, thank you for your story, thank you for your inspiration, thank you for letting us be part of this change.”
Worst: “Empire” chemistry fizzles
Their dynamic on Fox’s monster hit is explosive, but things got awkward when Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson teamed up to present an award. The most cringe-worthy moment came when Howard leaned over and laid a kiss on Henson’s cheek, which she clearly did not enjoy.
Best: HBO may regret letting people share passwords
Samberg took advantage of HBO’s lackadaisical attitude towards people sharing their HBO Go passwords by calling their bluff – and sharing his account and password, live during the Emmys. Sure it’s obviously fake, but don’t lie, you totally tried it.
Worst: Tatiana Maslany and Tony Hale‘s bizarre red carpet encounter
Two of our best actors, both with well-deserved nominations, somehow saddled with a pointless, unfunny skit that was a non-sequiter at best.
Best: Richard Jenkins fangirls over Lady Gaga
In the monotonous streak of “Olive Kitteridge” wins – great for the cast, crew and HBO, kinda boring for everyone else – Jenkins breathed some fresh air into the room when he took a moment to appreciate being handed his award by Lady Gaga As the singer-turned-actress covered her face and giggled over the attention, Jenkins continued to marvel. “‘So Dad, what did you do last night?’” he said, playing out the questions his family would ask him the following day.
Worst: Jon Hamm‘s Dull Emmy Acceptance Speech
You had nine years and seven nominations to prepare for this, and that was the best you could do? Don Draper was one of the coolest characters on TV, but Hamm’s speech was easily the most boring of the night.
Best: Uzo Abuda breaks records, captures hearts
“Orange Is the New Black” star Uzo Abuda is, in fact, now the new Ed Asner, becoming the second in history to win an Acting Emmy in both the drama and comedy categories — thanks to the Netflix series switch to dramatic competition for 2015. Breaking records wasn’t enough though, as the star also gave one of the most emotional, memorable speeches of the night.
Worst: In Memorium omissions
It’s impossible to include every notable TV personality who we lost in 2015, but how could the Academy possibly justify leaving out “Batgirl” Yvonne Craig, acting legend Christopher Lee, and pro-wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, among others?
Best: Viola Davis makes history
Actress Viola Davis made history becoming the first black actress to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for “How to Get Away with Murder. “ An emotional Davis thanked other actresses of color, including fellow nominee “Empire’s” Taraji P. Henson, “Scandal” star Kerry Washington, and Halle Berry. “Thank you for taking us over that line,” she said.
Best: Tracy Morgan‘s return
Tracy Morgan made a triumphant return to the Emmy stage on Sunday, and not just to show what good health he is in — but also brought laughs along with.
“God bless all of you and your love and your prayers,” he said, before sparking laughter from the crowd. “I recently started to feel like myself again, which means a whole lot of y’all are going to get pregnant at the after party.”
Best: Ending Right on Time
Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but timeliness is better than both of those things. The three-hour best-of-TV broadcast was long, but it ended right on time — not a trait usually associated with awards shows. Now, west coasters can make it to their parties by 9 p.m. and east-coasters can make it to bed by midnight. Give that director a raise and the keys to the Oscars, Grammys, as well as every other live TV event.
