Like movie stars and music moguls, television people like nothing better than an evening of expensive outfits, impressive golden statuettes changing hands, and beautiful faces all sitting around telling one another just how brilliant they all are at their jobs. It’s only a shame that such wonderful nights out don’t stretch into normal jobs.

We shall only ever dream of a day when undervalued stone masons and building site skivvies get to breeze around outside hotels shouting details of their suits/blouses to hysterical reporters. What a great day that would be.

Last night it was the 61st edition of The Emmy Awards, so everyone who couldn’t quite cut it on the big screen turned up, their skin soft and shiny, their hair just about achieving the perfection they demand. Embarrassingly, practically all of the males in attendance turned up in the same dinner-suit-plus-tie outfit. The women, meanwhile, shimmered and sparkled like fireworks at an eighteen year old boy’s impromptu bonfire night party in the back garden with most of his friends. Seriously. They looked that amazing. 

The big cock-punch of the evening went to the gigantic throbbing minds behind Family Guy, who were hoping to become one of the first cartoons to snaffle the Best Comedy gong. There’s a whisper that The Flintstones did it about sixty years ago, or something. But it wasn’t to be. Instead, the cheerful 30 Rock gang were awarded their third in a row, meaning that the show’s creator, Tina Fey, can now think about giving her Emmy’s a hilarious nickname – like The Bee Gees, or ZZ Top. Or any other band that consists of three members. She’ll have fun with that. She’s a creative woman. She loves challenges.

On the downside for Fey, she did lose out in the battle of the women with four-letter names beginning with T, when Toni Collette took the grand prize as Most Fantastic Actress Making Everyone Laugh in a Comedy. For those not up on these things, she stars as a bonkers maniac in a show called United States of Tara. Well done her. Luckily for the 30 Rock crew, Alec Baldwin did make up for the howling disappointment of it all by winning the male version of the same prize.

Elsewhere, Mad Men – the tale of men smoking at work, and the sexy ginger one convincing timid secretaries to have it off with their bosses – was declared Greatest Drama. Glenn Close, who will be forever remembered as the recipient of the full Michael Douglas tongue in Fatal Attraction, triumphed as a dramatic actor, as did Bryan Cranston, who was repeatedly overlooked for his stunning work in Malcolm in The Middle. The Academy – or whoever it is – is clearly making up for that now. He won for Breaking Bad.

Here’s what Jessica Lange said at one point during the evening:

“I can’t believe I’m standing here.”

You tell them, sister!

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Folded:

• Saturday Morning Watchmen cartoon (commission this now. This second. Now)
• Lifegoesonintehran.com (remarkable photographs, all taken on a camera phone no less)
• Internet banking (never waste another Saturday afternoon queuing up again. You will probably lose all your money when someone hacks into your account, but by the end of this year you won’t have any left anyway)
• Crumbs! (when did she get so hot?)
• Wheelman (awful graphics, awful dialogue, absolutely terrific fun. Airjack, dude!)

Creased:

• Misery (been one heck of a week for it)
• Fearne Cotton vomiting her way up Kilimanjaro (looks like those nights spent slumped at a glass table are taking their toll)
• Dresses over jeans (ladies, imagine your man wearing his dressing gown over his jeans. Imagine how pleased you’d be. There you go)
• Only thirteen episodes per season of Mad Men (makes us mad. And it’s unlucky)
• People who always want to make you a cup of tea (we don’t all drink it, you know? How about offering a beer instead? Can’t think of a better way to mark 9.30 in the morning)

The Emmys took place last night, and they were a special Emmys, too – the 60th anniversary of the ceremony. So which megawatt uberstar got to mark this prestigious moment? The fanny-faced bloke from Deal Or No Deal, that’s who. And Ryan Seacrest. Naturally.

But, hey, who won at the Emmys last night? Well, Mad Men picked up the most prestigious award! And 30 Rock scooped several others! And blah! And snore! And honk! And fleurgh!

OK, look, we have a confession to make. We didn’t actually watch the Emmys last night. It’s not that we didn’t want to, it’s just… no, actually it was entirely because we didn’t want to. If we wanted to watch three hours of TV people backslapping each other largely without merit, we’d just hang around for a morning at any TV production company in the world. At least that way we wouldn’t have to go through the soul-crushing rigmarole of seeing Jeremy Piven leap around clutching a shiny trophy for essentially playing Jeremy Piven for the 15th year running.

But, anyway, just because we didn’t see the Emmys doesn’t mean we don’t know what happened. For example, judging by the videos of the Emmys submitted to YouTube so far, the entire three-hour ceremony was given over to Josh Groban, who attempted to sing one line from every television theme-tune ever made in such a variety of irritating wacky voices that we’re surprised nobody clambered onto the stage and punched him to the ground about three seconds in. Here’s a five-minute excerpt…

But the Emmys being tedious and uncomfortably self-congratulatory isn’t news – the news is who won the Emmys. So here’s who won the Emmys.

Man Men won Best Drama and Best Writing for a drama series, which was probably deserved even though watching an episode of Mad Men feels a bit like watching an episode of The Sopranos in slow motion in the moments between overdosing on cough medicine and waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

30 Rock won Emmys for Best Comedy, Best Comedy Actor, Best Comedy Actress and Best Writing for a comedy series which, again, was probably deserved despite Charlie Sheen’s continued excellence at playing a monotone dullard who really looks like he’d much rather being doing anything else at all and who wouldn’t even be on this stinking show if it weren’t for the alimony he has to pay his bitch of an ex-wife on Two And A Half Men.

Other winners at the Emmys included John Adams, Don Rickles and Glenn Close. Other losers at the Emmys includes anyone who watched the Emmys.

Honestly, don’t the people behind the Emmys know that people only take award ceremonies seriously if Britney Spears turns up and wins a bunch of stuff she patently doesn’t deserve just because she’s got hair and isn’t crying for once? You’d do well to remember that for next year, Emmy people.