A Few Remarkable Things About Tonight's Emmys

• It ended on time, even a few minutes early. Though it got a little annoying towards the end with every presenter reminding people the show was running late and that their jokes were cut. Worse? The jokes that stayed weren't that good. Watching Rickey Gervais blow a few minutes on a good bit was well worth it though.
• Just what were the hosts there for? They didn't even open the show (thanks Oprah!) and they only appeared once or twice the rest of the night. If this show is going to have hosts then they need to do something. It should be their job to move the show long. Otherwise, skip the whole job altogether.
• Other than an excellent Cartman impression the only thing Josh Groban did tonight was prove his voice only works with one style of music.
• My picks were pretty off for the better part of the night. Bad for me but great for some folks who surprised the oddsmakers and took home the awards. I definitely tip my hat to Bryan Cranston who foiled Emmy pools nationwide for his best actor in a drama series win over "sure thing" Jon Hamm. Here's the thing...I called Bryan Cranston's win not once but twice right here on this blog. I really should've double checked this thing before submitting my list.
• I really enjoyed the way they incorporated mock sets from old television shows. What a fitting tribute to some great programs. (And did I mention it was great to see Martin Sheen again? I just watched the finale of West Wing on Bravo last week and I realized just how much I miss it.)
• How much do I love that Tina Fey took home the biggies tonight? Almost too much. She's truly remarkable. I still don't quite get why folks aren't watching 30 Rock.
  
• Other than Tina Fey, the biggest winner of the night? Don Rickles. Funniest guy on stage. We need to welcome Old Hollywood back for these things every year.
  
• The Laugh-In folks can stay at home though. Laugh-In is usually much funnier, too bad that's the impression most young people will be left with after tonight. Check some of it out at your local media library folks. It was great 40 years ago.
  
• And briefly: Best Dressed: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Worst Dressed: January Jones...Yikes!
• Want a list of all the winners? Check 'em out here.
  

I'm already chomping at the bit for next year. I suppose the Golden Globes will have to tide me over.

Smart TV? Says Who?

Because they weren't too busy solving the worlds problems, the geniuses (geni?) over at Mensa released their list of the 10 Smartest Shows of all Time.

Chairman of Mensa International Jim Werdell told the NY Post, "They tended to be shows that dealt with issues in the world and, from my perspective, that's considered smart."

That's all fine and good until you check out the list.

1. "M*A*S*H"
2. "Cosmos"
3. "CSI"
4. "House"
5. "The West Wing"
6. "Boston Legal"
7. "All in the Family"
8. "Frasier"
9. "Mad About You"
10. "Jeopardy!"

I don't know how Mad About You cracked the top 50, let alone the top 10. That's coming from a fan of the show no less. West Wing and M*A*S*H are superb choices that make the list at least a little bit legit.

Let's dish about who they left off.

• Sports Night
  
• Lost
• The Office (BBC)
• Arrested Development
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
  
• The Mole

There are so many others but the post would never end. If anyone thinks of anymore, please leave a comment. Not to knock Mensa as I'm sure they quantified every show ever and made that list, but while they were compiling and computing they forgot to watch some of the good stuff.