Emmy Awards 2011: Best and worst

Reuters

The Aussie actor, who won his Emmy for his supporting role in "Mildred Pierce," gave the best and sauciest acceptance speech. He cracked up his co-star by saying: "It was delightful working on 'Mildred Pierce.' I got to have sex with Kate Winslet many, many times and I didn't know it was going to result in this. So Kate, I share this with you … Thank you for allowing me to insert myself into your world of Mildred," he said. "And to my wife Kate, who had to listen to me talk about that every day when I came home from work, thank you my darling and I'm sorry." His wife was laughing.

Getty Images

The trio of "Saturday Night Live"--Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg—came along just as the show was slowing down in that wasteland of "awards no one cares about." The hilarious medley of their nominated songs they performed with Michael Bolton, Akon, Maya Rudolph, Ed Helms and John Stamos culminated in a chorus of "U.S.A." For a minute, I thought I was watching the MTV Video Music Awards.

Reuters

Overall, I thought the first-time host did a great job. I loved the opening sketch, and she was quick with a joke coming off events of the night. Her "gay agenda" stuff about calling Rachel Maddow and changing her car's oil was fun, as was the pre-taped skit where she played Donatella, who created "The Jersey Shore" and 113 other TV shows. She and Paula Abdul (above) were a good team spoofing the accountants who tabulate Emmy votes.

Reuters

I thought Amy Poehler mistakenly came up on stage when her name was called as a nominee. When eventual winner Melissa McCarthy followed her up, I thought she was helping to cover a major gaffe. Then Martha Plimpton, Tina Fey, Edie Falco and Laura Linney went onstage. When McCarthy won, she was crowned with a tiara and given a bouquet of roses. So much for the spontaneity, but it was still a clever way to make fun of the whole awards season craziness. There was a moment when I feared someone might dump fake blood all over McCarthy, a la "Carrie." Thankfully that didn't happen. Tina Fey, Martha Plimpton, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Poehler, Edie Falco and Laura Linney

Reuters

Sheen wished his former "Two and a Half Men" colleagues luck in their new season. Was he acting? Or was he sincere? And how much did he get paid to eat that crow?