Jon Stewart and Louis CK Saved the Emmys

At this point, award ceremonies are as boring and predictable as the Democratic and Republican conventions. While Modern Family and Mad Men were entertaining at first, these and other programs that are routinely nominated and awarded have been jumping the shark for a while now. And, sooner or later, the same will happen to the new kids on the block: Breaking Bad and Homeland. It goes to show that, just as in politics, the entertainment industry also picks and awards the status quo. Thank god for cable television and social media, which are helping network television regain some of its fun and appeal (especially among younger audiences). 

This was evidenced at last Sunday's Emmys, where presenter after presenter and winner after winner predictably paraded through the podium wearing their red carpet-certified garments and reading canned jokes from the teleprompter. As English comedian Ricky Gervais, one of the few bright spots of the night, put it: "the next presenter has been in so many award ceremonies that by now he's probably sick of it."    

Gervais, known in the U.S. for playing Steve Carrell's role in the British version of The Office, also happened to present one of the funniest guys in television, double-winner Louis C.K., who during his second acceptance speech also broke protocol by saying, "I'm glad I won again cause ... I wanted another one."  

All time favorite Jon Stewart, from The Daily Show with John Stewart, was another highlight of an otherwise bland night. Stewart held hands with fellow nominees Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon, "beauty queen style," only to pretend he had to drag himself through the floor of the auditorium to reclaim his award as both Fallon and Colbert jokingly played sore losers. When Stewart finally reached the podium, though, he gave a standard acceptance speech where he acknowledged his fellow nominees with phrases such as, "if it weren't for this guys I wouldn't even be here," etc. Maybe this was due to the fact that, believe it or not, this was his 10th Emmy Award winning.