I watched just about a half hour of last night’s Emmy Awards on NBC before turning it off in exhaustion.  Like most everything on TV these days, it just was trying to hard.

The show began with host Jimmy Fallon (who I actually like) in a taped piece featuring the cast of Glee, Tina Fey, Kate Gosselin (-8), John Hamm (Mad Men), Betty White (where isn’t she these days?), Randy Jackson (American Idol) and Hurley from Lost. The fop sweat gushed.

But then it seems like every show currently out there is trying so hard to be “out there” that the connection to ordinary people and situations (remember Everybody Loves Raymond?) gets lost in a mad dash (literally acted out in the show’s manic open) toward supposedly sublime edginess. A montage of the season’s alleged high points in comedy only emphasized my point and was just plain boring — with not a LOL moment included.

About the only real laugh the first half hour got out of me is when Fallon joked about how NBC decided on him for the hosting gig — a New York-based talk show host asked to host a different show in LA. What could go wrong?  Cut to a Conan O’Brien reaction shot.  Apparently the not-nominated Jay Leno skipped the event — but, even if he were there, cutting to him could very well have elicited (unfair) boos from the crowd.

Regarding the winners, I was disappointed to see Lost lose. The show featured a great cast in a great story that actually took a serious try at exploring the subject of faith.   A classic.

Modern Family was the probably the best choice available in the comedy category but, as I said, in this viewer’s opinion, the field was extremely weak.

Jim Parsons, I think, deserved his win for his ultimate geek role on The Big Bang Theory (which, surprisingly, was overlooked in the Best Comedy category).

I was glad The Daily Show with Jon Stewart won in the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series category. I don’t usually agree with his politics but the show is often hysterical with jokes that (usually) at least have a legitimate point. Stewart knows the difference between sharp wit and being mean for the sake of being mean. 

Also, if Conan O’Brien won he’d only be encouraged to become even more insufferable about his alleged victimhood at the hands of NBC. He was no victim.  He could have kept The Tonight Show if he had only agreed to the slight half-hour time change. TV shows shuffle time slots all the time — and the guy had a great job. A funny guy but, in this instance, just another self-important whiner with a golden parachute.

I was sorry to see that The Amazing Race has ended its winning streak. It’s a truly excellent show with great production values and a lot of heart.  I’ve never watched Top Chef but I doubt it’s actually a better show.

In any event, may the new TV season be better than the last.