Watch the Emmy's handed out along with us!Jon Hamm or Bryan Cranston? "Mad Men" or "Homeland"? Liz Lemon or Leslie Knope? By the end of the night, we'll know.
Follow along with us as we recap the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards tonight, starting at 8 p.m. Unless we (I am live-blogging in the company of The Star-Ledger's resident fashion expert, Vicki Hyman) see dresses during the pre-show that simply demand comment.
And speaking of comments, please feel free to jump in and let us know what YOU think about the winners, losers and best and worst dressed.
7:50 The show hasn't even started yet, but already I'm happy: We've had starlets on the red carpet in bright orange, and Kelly Osborne matched her dress to her purple hair. I am entertained!
7:54 "That's a long sleeved yellow dress on a red head," Vicki Hyman just said, looking at a photo of Julianne Moore. In a tone that tells you: This is not a good thing. And January Jones? We're sorry, looks like someone grabbed the wig from off her head the minute before she arrived at the red carpet.
January Jones and her hair. Or lack thereof.7:55 On the other hand, Tina Fey looks lovely in her wine-dark red dress, Heidi Klum ditto in her "seafoam" chiffon (that's light bluey-green, for those who don't speak "Project Runway"), and how can you not love both Amy Poehler and Melissa McCarthy wearing shiny plastic rings from their kids' toy boxes?
8:04 And a star-studded entry schtick goes by so fast I barely have time to realize that, behind the pixie cut and the pixelated body, that's Lena Dunham! On the other hand, love the constellation of comedy stars -- all women!
8:06 Jimmy Kimmel on "Downton Abbey" : "It really gives you a sense of what it must be like to have grown up in Mitt Romney's house."
8:07 Speaking of pixie cuts, Liz Moss' looks amazing.
8:10 Louis C.K. looks killer in an all black tuxedo. And Eric Stonestreet wins best supporting actor in a comedy for "Modern Family." That's his second win, in three consecutive nominations.
8:22 Louis C.K. wins for writing a comedy series for "Louie."
8:24 Julie Bowen is on board with the neon-brights trend. She's also best supporting actress in a comedy series, for the second year in a row, for "Modern Family." She thanks her husband and nipple covers. Three times.
8:31 "But then I remembered: I like attention." Matthew Perry, on why he's announcing the already-announced guest-actor/guest actress in a comedy series winners. Kathy Bates and Jimmy Fallon, in case you hadn't heard.
8:37 Best actor in a comedy series, a hugely crowded category, goes to....Jon Cryer. Over a field just crammed with genius. Just sayin'. "I'm stunned," Cryer says. He's not the only one.
8:45 Montclair's Stephen Colbert announces lead actress in a comedy series: "Oh, it's one of the nice ones! Julia Louis-Dreyfus!" And proving she deserves it -- both the award and the compliment -- Dreyfus does a cute little routine with Amy Poehler, pretending they managed to accidentally swap acceptance speeches.
9:01 Tom Bergeron wins for best reality host, for "Dancing With The Stars." First win in five nominations.
9:03 And an intro to the drama series includes a favorite moment: The green exploding boats in "Game of Thrones." And the "I am the one who knocks" bit (well, part of it) from "Breaking Bad." Neat.
9:05 And best supporting actor in a drama series is coming....Peter Dinklage, Jersey guy, is nominated....
9:05: 30 Bah. Dinklage loses. But to Aaron Paul of "Breaking Bad," so, hard to complain. He thanks everyone except, unless I missed it, Bryan Cranston! Surely a mistake...
9:18 Raise your cup of tea to Maggie Smith, best supporting actress, "Downton Abbey." Who's not in attendance, alas.
9:20 And that thing Jimmy Kimmel did, telling everyone to tweet that Tracy Morgan passed out on the stage? Is, of course, happening. On Twitter, millions of people -- and plenty of more-or-less news organizations ( EW, etc) are tweeting that.
9:23 Also, while I was checking Twitter, "Homeland" won the drama writing award -- could they upset "Mad Men" at the end of the night?
9:24 Martha Plimpton and Jeremy Davies won the drama guest star awards. And they arrive to hand out the next award. Vicki Hyman's comment: "What is UP with his HAIR?" (Davies' hair, that is -- most of which is standing on end, thanks to some serious hair gel.)
9:26 Josh Groban sings along to a fake memorial montage to Jimmy Kimmel. Which is a lot funnier than it sounds, actually.
9:28 Shocker!....Damien Lewis snags the best actor, drama, out from under Bryan Cranston's shaved pate! A real upset for the prognosticators. He won for his performance in the debut season of "Homeland." "I'm one of those pesky Brits, apologies. I don't really believe in judging art, but I thought I'd show up anyway, just in case," he says.
9:29 In the Ledger offices, we are pondering how weird it is to hear him speak British, since we all known him almost entirely via "Band of Brothers" and "Homeland," during both of which he performs with a flawless American accent.
9:30 He also used an American accent in the drama 'Life." Throwing that in there for the other 14 people who actually watched "Life." (On NBC, 2007.)
9:35 And Jon Hamm has to come out and be gracious after losing again. Ouch.
9:40 And it's looking like a big night for "Homeland," as Claire Danes wins best actress in a drama. She thanks Mandy Patinkin ("Holla!") and her "baby daddy," Hugh Dancy. Very adorable speech, and she makes both being pregnant and wearing bright yellow look good. Not easy.
9:44 Okay, I want the Tony Awards to win the best writing for a variety show just for "Broadway, It's Not Just For Gays Anymore." That was a hoot.
9:45 Nope, goes to Louis C.K., who's having a fantastic night.
9:50 Kimmel: "Our next guest has....disdain for you and everything you stand for. Ricky Gervais!" Heh. Gervais: "They've flown me over for a big one, outstanding direction in a variety series."
9:52 I'm tickled that the guy in the control room is up for an award.
9:53 And the guy in the control room -- Glenn Weiss -- wins! And they bring his award up to the control room for him and he gets to give a proper speech, with his image in quadruplicate behind him. He takes great joy in telling his staff to have him "played off" mid-speech.
9:56 And "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" wins best variety series. For, if I'm counting right on the Emmy website, the 17th time. "Not again," moans Gervais, as Stewart and his team, um, crawl? up the aisle.
10:06: Jessica Lange wins supporting actress in a miniseries for "American Horror Story." Which I thought was a series?
10:10 You have to give the Emmy's this: They hand out a boatload of awards in a timely manner. The Oscars need to watch this show and take note. Especially of the lack of dance interludes.
10:12 The guy from the Academy comes out -- this time, he's with Ellen Degeneres, to prevent everyone from getting up and wandering out to see what leftovers might be ripe for the picking in the fridge. She still doesn't have pants, having loaned them to Kimmel in the opening skit.
10:14 Tom Berenger wins supporting actor, miniseries, for "Hatfields and McCoys." He gives a long rambling speech about Victorian dialogue and is played off, not quickly enough.
10:18 Ron Howard introduces the memorial montage: Marvin Hamlisch, Davy Jones, Sherman Hemsley, Phyllis Diller, Celeste Holm, Andy Rooney, Harry Morgan, Ernest Borgnine. What a year.
10:30 I'm sorry, but Julianne Moore, winner of the best actress in a miniseries, looks like the wife of the Man in the Big Yellow Hat from the "Curious George" books.
10:32 Also, Danny Strong won for writing in a miniseries, for "Game Change." And if you're wondering where you know him from, he was one of the three evil-plotting geeks who popped up from time to time on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" several hundred years ago. Hasn't aged a day, either.
10:40 And Kevin Costner wins best actor, miniseries, for "Hatfields & McCoys."
10:45 And HBO's "Game Change" -- the mini about Sarah Palin -- wins best miniseries. That's it's fourth or fifth major win of the night.
10:48 "Homeland" wins best drama! A sweep of actor, actress and series....and a total upset for "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," both virtually shut out.
10:56 And you've already left, haven't you, because you -- like everyone else in America -- knew that "Modern Family" was going to win best comedy series, right? This is its 12th Emmy overall, and third best comedy series award.
And that's it! Good night, everyone....
:
• Live blog: The 2012 Emmy Awards
• Emmy Awards 2012: Red carpet curry (gallery)
• Emmy Awards 2012: 'Modern Family' races to lead at the Emmy Awards
• Emmy Awards 2012: Julia Louis-Dreyfus wins best actress in a comedy
• Emmy Awards 2012: Aaron Paul wins again for best supporting actor in a drama
• Emmy Awards 2012: Damian Lewis wins best actor in a drama
• Emmy Awards 2012: Claire Danes wins best actress in a drama
• Emmy Awards 2012: Maggie Smith wins best supporting actress in a drama for 'Downton Abbey'
• 'Mad Men,' Bryan Cranston eye Emmy Awards records