Jimmy Kimmel Emmy Host Stage - H 2012
Getty ImagesJimmy Kimmel’s opening clip for the Emmy Awards gave a little shout out to stars who had tried to host the Emmys before without much success. (Remember that terrible Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst and Ryan Seacrest year?) The question is, where will Kimmel’s turn as host go down in history?
Kimmel played it relatively safe in his opening monologue, joking about politics and Honey Boo Boo.
“Does it bother anybody else that President Obama said his favorite show is Homeland? I don’t think the president should be watching Homeland for the same reason Charlie Sheen shouldn’t be watching Breaking Bad,’” he said.
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One of the major highlights during the show was a prank with Tracy Morgan in which he told viewers to tweet that Tracy Morgan had just passed out on stage at the Emmys. This led to a boom of 25,000 tweets immediately after Kimmel made the request.
Kimmel also presented a fun clip starring the cast of Breaking Bad, re-imaging the AMC drama in the days before cable, and had an in memoriam spoof which was all about a living person – himself.
Overall, Kimmel kept the show moving at a brisk pace (wrapping it a few minutes before 11 p.m. on the East Coast, a rare early finish for an awards show), and wasn’t afraid to make fun on himself and the industry.
THR‘s chief TV critic Tim Goodman wrote: “I thought Kimmel navigated the Emmys best by getting out of the way for the most part. He put the emphasis on shows/actors.”
“The mischievous quality that Kimmel and his team — as well as the game nominees and winners, who kept things sprightly whenever they could — made the Emmys telecast much less of a chore than it could have been,” wrote Huffington Post’s Maureen Ryan.
“Jimmy Kimmel presided over a mostly very funny, fairly briskly paced, and quite surprising Emmy broadcast on Sunday night,” wrote Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly.
“Jimmy Kimmel was a perfectly smooth host for the Emmys, though not a perfect fit. One of his trademarks, prankish humor – he asked viewers to Tweet that Tracy Morgan had passed out – didn’t translate to an awards show. His other trademark, irreverently taking swipes at the self-importance of show busines, was oddly missing,” added Caryn James of Indiewire.
Ellen DeGeneres, who was part of Kimmel’s opening video, Tweeted her support to the host: “You’re doing a great job, @JimmyKimmel . It must be the pants. “
Lena Dunham, who got a special shout out during Kimmel’s opening monologue, was a fan of the host: “Didn’t @jimmykimmel crush it tonight? The perfect old fashioned host swagger, generous yet saucy. A pleasure to behold! “
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Voice host Carson Daly agreed with Dunham, retweeting her comment and adding a simple, “Yes.”
David Wain added: “Yes! He was awesome!”
Kirstie Alley also voiced her support: “Out of the park Kimmel!!!! perfect blend of classic and modern!!!!!“
“The joke’s on you, Kimmel. Tracy Morgan died during the Homeland writer’s speech,” wrote Damon Lindelof, referring to Kimmel’s prank.
