Lessons Learned From the 2013 Emmy Awards

Most of us will never have the opportunity to plan a large-scale, televised event like the Emmy Awards. If, however, you are planning a local award ceremony, an event that has an awards portion, or any other event with a similar format, the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards telecast is a great example of what works and what doesn't.

The Host

What happened: This year's Emmy Awards telecast was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, star of comedy series How I Met Your Mother. People had high hopes for Harris, who won an Emmy for his turn as host of the Tony Awards. Unfortunately, he didn't quite hit the mark. It's not that he was a bad host - you can tell he took the job seriously and was having a lot of fun. The problem is that nothing really memorable happened. Harris started with a dreary opening sketch of him trying to binge watch every episode of every series that aired in the last year. He tried to keep the energy up with jokes and a number in the middle of the show called, quite fittingly, "The Number in the Middle of the Show," but everything seemed stale and didn't quite live up to his Tony performance.

What we learned: Just because someone is a great host one year, it doesn't mean they'll be great another year. Find a host who is passionate about the subject of the ceremony, will keep the ceremony on track, and who will bring something fresh and new to the table.

Entertainment vs. Time Constraints

What happened: An award show that runs at three hours long is by nature going to get a bit dull, but this year's Emmys were harder to sit through than usual. The usually fun banter between presenters felt strained. Many of the acceptance speeches were cut short by the 'wrap it up' music before the winner had time to say more than a few words. It seemed as though producers were so focused on keeping the show on time that they wouldn't give anyone room to breathe. The problem is that they cracked down on the parts of the show people love. It's one of the rare moments on TV where we get to see celebrities completely unscripted. Fans eat up stars' emotional reactions to their wins. Cutting all of this short brought an overall feeling of emotionless to the show that shouldn't have been there. It also took away the moments from the show that are the most talked about the next day.

What we learned: The Emmy Awards are a televised event, so of course the producers have to worry about keeping it within the designated time. The way to do that is to cut the fat from the show. Were the two musical performances that were only loosely TV-related really necessary? No. Do we really need Shemar Moore's weird backstage segments? No. Focus on the awards and anything relevant to them. The presenters and the award speeches will bring the entertainment. If you want extra entertainment then do a big opening number, but don't waste the audience's time with things that they don't want to see throughout the show.

Tributes to Those We've Lost

What happened: Modern Family creator Steve Levitan summed it up as he was accepting the award for Outstanding Comedy Series when he said, "This may be the saddest Emmys of all time, but we could not be happier." The "In Memoriam" montage is always a nice way to honor and celebrate those in the entertainment industry we've lost over the last year. The problem with this year's Emmys is that we were smothered with five individual tributes throughout the show on top of the montage segment that aired later in the show. While they were heartfelt and appreciated, they also made the evening a bit of a bummer. Any time the show had a good pace going, the somber tributes brought the mood back down. Many viewers were also a bit put off by the fact that certain actors received individual treatment, while other big names in TV industry, such as Larry Hagman, Jack Klugman, and Annette Funicello, were lumped into the standard group memorial. If you're looking to offend family members of the deceased, that's the way to do it.

What we learned: It's great to pay tribute to those who've been lost, but do it right. Do them all at once so as not to offend anyone and to keep the pacing of the event going. Having some lighter entertainment after the tributes will help bring the mood of the room back up.