Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      From the casts of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever  and The Walking Dead  to Chris Pine and Regé Jean-Page, see who dropped by EW's Comic-Con headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Read More
    • Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Go behind the scenes of Amazon Prime Video’s ambitious fantasy epic, which hopes to introduce J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation. Read More
    • Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be more to learn about the high-profile defamation trial, more than 6,000 pages of court docs were released over the weekend. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. Emmys: 2008's Best/Worst Moments

Emmys: 2008's Best/Worst Moments

The heartfelt, the funny, the political, and the agonizingly awkward: The high and low points of the 60th annual TV awards ceremony
By Gary Susman Updated September 17, 2008 at 09:00 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

1

Heidi Klum, Tom Bergeron, ...
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

1 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

FUNNIEST MOCK OUTRAGE: RICKY GERVAIS AND STEVE CARELL

Ricky Gervais, Primetime Emmy Awards 2008 | Presenter Ricky Gervais recalled his absence during his victory last year, when Steve Carell accepted the trophy on his behalf, then berated Carell, sitting in…
Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP

Presenter Ricky Gervais recalled his absence during his victory last year, when Steve Carell accepted the trophy on his behalf, then berated Carell, sitting in the front row, for not handing over the statuette. Carell sat stonefaced as Gervais upbraided him. ''I made you what you are, and I get nothing back,'' the Office creator told the star of the American version. ''I sat through Evan Almighty. Give me my Emmy.'' Finally, after Gervais started tickling him, Carell produced the trophy from under his seat. Can Gervais host next year, please?

2 of 12

3 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

BEST TRIBUTE TO 1968: TOMMY SMOTHERS' OVERDUE EMMY

Primetime Emmy Awards 2008 | Steve Martin, who got his start in TV as a writer for the Smothers Brothers' variety show, paid tribute to Tommy Smothers, who was awarded…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

Steve Martin, who got his start in TV as a writer for the Smothers Brothers' variety show, paid tribute to Tommy Smothers, who was awarded a comedy writing Emmy 40 years late. (CBS famously canceled the show for its overtly political content, and Smothers chose not to include his name on the writers list, Martin said, in order not to prejudice the Emmy voters.) Smothers, 71, dedicated his award to those who speak truth to power and refuse to be silenced. ''There's nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action,'' he said; clearly, time hasn't dimmed his firebrand outspokenness.

3 of 12

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WORST TRIBUTE TO 1968: THE STARS OF LAUGH-IN

Gary Owens, Ruth Buzzi, ... | If you hadn't seen the original Laugh-In , with its rapid-fire gags and puns, you'd never know it had been a breakthrough in TV comedy,…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

If you hadn't seen the original Laugh-In, with its rapid-fire gags and puns, you'd never know it had been a breakthrough in TV comedy, or that it had even been funny at all, judging by the creaky reunion of Lily Tomlin, Ruth Buzzi, Jo Anne Worley, and other stars of the late-'60s series. Their timing was off, their punch lines were shrill and unfunny, and the whole thing looked ghoulish and ghastly. Still, Comedy/Variety Series winner Jon Stewart was gracious enough to thank the Laugh-In old-timers for inspiring him to get into comedy. Guess you had to be there.

4 of 12

Advertisement

5 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

WACKIEST TIME-WASTER: JOSH GROBAN'S THEME SONG MEDLEY

Josh Groban, Primetime Emmy Awards 2008 | Channeling Bill Murray's old Saturday Night Live lounge lizard character, Groban sang snippets of about 30 familiar TV themes, including South Park (doing a surprisingly…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

Channeling Bill Murray's old Saturday Night Live lounge lizard character, Groban sang snippets of about 30 familiar TV themes, including South Park (doing a surprisingly good Cartman imitation), The Andy Griffith Show (that song had words?), The Tonight Show (with Ed McMahon himself shouting, ''Here's Johnny!''), and M*A*S*H (with a line of chorus girls doing high kicks to ''Suicide Is Painless''). Groban's a unique talent, but this medley was just plain odd.

5 of 12

6 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

MOST AWKWARD PAIRING: DAVID BOREANAZ AND LAUREN CONRAD

Lauren Conrad, David Boreanaz, ... | The veteran actor, who's the leading man in Bones (and not ''The Bones,'' as Heidi Klum called it in her introduction), and the reality starlet…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

The veteran actor, who's the leading man in Bones (and not ''The Bones,'' as Heidi Klum called it in her introduction), and the reality starlet of The Hills could barely make eye contact, let alone share a podium as they announced nominees for Guest Actor and Actress prizes and Best Comedy Writing. Boreanaz looked like he was dying inside as Conrad chided him for swiping one of her lines. Normally, gimmicky bits like the iPhone display of the Comedy Writing nominees' clips don't really add anything to the show, but at least they kept viewers from having to look at this uncomfortable duo.

6 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

MOST GRACIOUS WINNER: TINA FEY

Tina Fey, Primetime Emmy Awards 2008 | In her first trip to the podium, for Comedy Writing, 30 Rock 's Fey insisted that her nominated colleague Jack Burditt should have won for…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

In her first trip to the podium, for Comedy Writing, 30 Rock's Fey insisted that her nominated colleague Jack Burditt should have won for penning the line ''Never go with a hippie to a second location.'' In her second trip, for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy, she credited the defeated Julia Louis-Dreyfus as her inspiration, saying she gets through scenes as Liz Lemon by imagining how the New Adventures of Old Christine star would play them. By the time she made her third trip, for Best Comedy Series, you might have thought she'd take a little credit, but she was still spreading the wealth, citing, among others, mentor Lorne Michaels and the city of New York.

7 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

FUNNIEST POLITICAL BIT: STEPHEN COLBERT'S PRUNE ENDORSEMENT

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, ... | In a night full of pointed political references and get-out-the-vote messages, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart said they were going to eschew political talk. But…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

In a night full of pointed political references and get-out-the-vote messages, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart said they were going to eschew political talk. But then Colbert pulled out a bag of prunes and started snacking on them. ''Right now, America needs a prune,'' he explained. ''It may not be a young, sexy plum. Granted it is shriveled and at times hard to swallow, but this dried-up old fruit has the experience we need.'' We're not sure if a certain presidential candidate should be flattered or insulted.

8 of 12

Advertisement

9 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

MOST GRACELESS EDITING: KIRK ELLIS

Kirk Ellis | Accepting the writing prize for HBO's John Adams miniseries, Kirk Ellis thanked the producers for giving him an opportunity to write about ''a period in…
Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP

Accepting the writing prize for HBO's John Adams miniseries, Kirk Ellis thanked the producers for giving him an opportunity to write about ''a period in our history when articulate men articulated complex thoughts in complete sentences. They used words....'' At that point, the announcer cut him off and went to a commercial. It's not clear if he was being cut for time or for making an unflattering comparison to present-day politicians, but either way, during an Emmy ceremony that supposedly made a point of paying homage to great TV writing, it was a stark reminder of how little regard TV actually has for complex thoughts articulated in complete sentences.

9 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

BEST PAIRING: KATHY GRIFFIN AND DON RICKLES

Don Rickles, Kathy Griffin, ... | ''GET UP!'' bellowed Kathy Griffin, shaming the audience into giving a standing ovation to her presenting partner, 82-year-old comedy legend Don Rickles. The two of…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

''GET UP!'' bellowed Kathy Griffin, shaming the audience into giving a standing ovation to her presenting partner, 82-year-old comedy legend Don Rickles. The two of them went off-script, as she kept pitching him straight lines and he kept knocking them into the nosebleed seats. Later, he proved he'd earned the ovation by winning an Emmy for Best Performance in a Variety or Music Program for Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. Over the course of the evening, he insulted everyone from his wife (who was present, looking like she'd get her revenge later at home) to the cast of Ugly Betty (the apparent target of his remark comparing the front row to the O.J. Simpson jury), but he got away with it because he seemed genuinely moved to have won — and because he's Don Rickles, you hockey pucks.

10 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

BIGGEST UPSET: BRYAN CRANSTON

Bryan Cranston, Primetime Emmy Awards 2008 | The Best Actor in a Drama award could have gone to the long-overdue Hugh Laurie in House, or to Jon Hamm of AMC's newly crowned…
Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP

The Best Actor in a Drama award could have gone to the long-overdue Hugh Laurie in House, or to Jon Hamm of AMC's newly crowned Emmy darling Mad Men, or to repeat winner James Spader of Boston Legal. Would anyone have bet it would go to that other AMC star, Bryan Cranston, for playing a terminally ill crystal-meth dealer on Breaking Bad? It was a sweet and surprising victory for Cranston, who'd been nominated three times before without winning, for his role as Hal on Malcolm in the Middle.

11 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 12

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

BEST LITTLE SHOW THAT COULD: MAD MEN

Jon Hamm, Mad Men, ... | Established dramas like Lost and Boston Legal were upstaged this year by Mad Men , the drama about a 1960s ad agency that airs on…
Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

Established dramas like Lost and Boston Legal were upstaged this year by Mad Men, the drama about a 1960s ad agency that airs on AMC, a basic-cable channel that didn't even have a drama series on its roster before it started airing Mad Men last summer. The series ended up with six Emmys (four at last week's Creative Arts ceremony, and the Best Writing and Best Drama Series prizes.) The admen and adwomen of Sterling Cooper may be a cynical bunch, but series creator Matthew Weiner seemed genuinely moved as he and his cast and crew took the night's top prize for their labor of love.

12 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Gary Susman

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 12 1
    2 of 12 FUNNIEST MOCK OUTRAGE: RICKY GERVAIS AND STEVE CARELL
    3 of 12 BEST TRIBUTE TO 1968: TOMMY SMOTHERS' OVERDUE EMMY
    4 of 12 WORST TRIBUTE TO 1968: THE STARS OF LAUGH-IN
    5 of 12 WACKIEST TIME-WASTER: JOSH GROBAN'S THEME SONG MEDLEY
    6 of 12 MOST AWKWARD PAIRING: DAVID BOREANAZ AND LAUREN CONRAD
    7 of 12 MOST GRACIOUS WINNER: TINA FEY
    8 of 12 FUNNIEST POLITICAL BIT: STEPHEN COLBERT'S PRUNE ENDORSEMENT
    9 of 12 MOST GRACELESS EDITING: KIRK ELLIS
    10 of 12 BEST PAIRING: KATHY GRIFFIN AND DON RICKLES
    11 of 12 BIGGEST UPSET: BRYAN CRANSTON
    12 of 12 BEST LITTLE SHOW THAT COULD: MAD MEN

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    Emmys: 2008's Best/Worst Moments
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.