"Where's my Emmy man? You got my Emmy? Huh?"

The 61st Annual Prime Time Emmy's were on tonight, and thanks in large part to host Neil Patrick Harris' charm and the decision to group the awards together by genre, it was quite the event.

I would usually classify the Emmy's as my second favorite awards show (tied with the Golden Globes, with the Oscars being number one...though the Tony's are catching up to that second place spot quite nicely), but like most awards shows television's biggest night tends to be a fairly inconsistent form of entertainment, with some broadcasts being better than others, and even the better ones having their off-balance moments. But in this particular case, the good far outweighed the bad. Let me break it down for you...

The Good:

1. DR. HORRIBLE HIJACKS THE BROADCAST! Well...not really. But the devious attempt by the titular super-villain to, rather ineffectively, tout the wonders of the internet over television was spot-on funny. Plus the whole Dr. Horrible cast was reunited, there was a little singing, and it was just the right length. Perfect. And on that note...

2. Neil Patrick Harris as Host - With a great opening musical number, nice zingers all through the night, obscure career references for each presenter, and being so put-out after loosing the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award to John Cryer, Harris was just about as perfect an award show host as anyone could be. Even Jon Stewart had to admit he was awesome. Plus the white tux was very sleek.

3. John Hodgeman as the Commentator - The perfect gravy to Harris' hosting, The Daily Show's resident expert offered some hysterical, and almost all fictional, comments on each winner as they approached the stage, livening up a part of the show that's often very dull.

4. Dividing the awards by genres - By keeping like-minded awards together, and still saving the two big series awards for last, the whole evening felt much more cohesive.

5. Family Guy getting in on the fun - A special Emmy version of Stewie beating up Brian (shouting "Where's my Oscar?" instead of "Where's my money?") acknowledged FG's unprecedented Best Comedy Series nomination and added a little irreverence to the festivities.

6. Tearjerker 'In Memoriam' - Sarah McLachlan singing "I Will Remember You" over the images of the people the television industry lost over the last year = not a dry eye anywhere.

7. The little things - Jimmy Fallon actually funny? Pokes at Kanye? A moving set that didn't look cheesy? Kristen Chenouweth's teary acceptance speech? We actually ended on time? Like I said, little things.

But no awards show is without it's flaws. Here's The Bad...

1. Those stupid "coming up in __ minutes" bullets under some of the acceptance speeches - What? The person speaking is so boring you have to remind the people watching that something else is coming up shortly? Come on, how rude is that?

2. Ricky Gervais is still awkward - Normally I love Gervais and everything he does (including that foray into pop music in the 80s, as I talked about in a previous post), but I've noticed the last couple of times he's been on the Emmy's I've been squirming due to jokes that fall flat and that whole thing between him and Steve Carrell. Maybe that's what they're going for, but still.

3. Repeat Offenders - Let me just preface this by saying I am very hypocritical in this sentiment when it comes to my favorite shows. The Daily Show should get every Emmy it can possibly get, and it got another one last night. But I hate it when shows I don't watch get Emmy after Emmy over shows I do watch. I just hate it! The ceremony really should scrap the Best Reality Show category if The Amazing Race is going to be the only show that wins it. And 30 Rock getting another gold statue when shows like Family Guy and Flight of the Conchords are waiting in the wings? But the real kicker for me was Brian Cranston getting his second Emmy in a row when Hugh Laurie, in that same category, hasn't won a single time for House even though he's been nominated again and again. Laurie does everything the other nominees do, and he does it while covering his accent and walking with a limp and a cane! Come on! Something's not right here!

Still, in spite of a few bumps, a good show overall. What do you think? Do you agree with my assessment or do you think I'm completely off base?