Emmys 2009 minute-by-minute live blog

The 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards is already guaranteed to be a must-see event with Neil Patrick Harris as host and definitely a more focused affair than last year's five-host monstrosity.

TV's biggest night will likely run three-plus hours, with or without a Kanye West/Joe Wilson-esque interruption. But even if you get sleepy or decide to switch over to "Mad Men," don't worry about missing that magical moment.

We're here to recap every buzzworthy or mundane highlight for you. (All times listed are Eastern.)

7:50 p.m. - This is Hanh Nguyen, taking the first shift in Zap2it's Emmy recapping adventure.

8:02 p.m. - Neil Patrick Harris is in the house with a white jacket. NPH starts it off right with a song, "Put Down the Remote." We're lovin' it already. Great references to TV, like Paula Abdul's exit from "American Idol" and a great compliment for "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm. Check out video of "Put Down the Remote."

8:06 p.m. - Harris thanks Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman ("Hairspray") for writing the opening number and facetiously laments the demise of TV show theme songs. Case in point: "Lost." Huh, apparently, the stage will shift a few times throughout the program, once for every genre like comedy, reality, etc.

8:13 p.m. - After an amusing montage of comedy shows on TV, Tina Fey and Jon Hamm arrive to celebrate the early hour when "everyone is still a winner and Seth McFarlane is only pretty drunk." They present the best supporting actresses in comedy award. For some reason, most of the nominees (not Vanessa Williams) sport some costume-y eyewear,  like an eye patch, monocle or nerd glasses. Ah, I see. Amy Poehler made 'em do it.

8:15 p.m. - Hooray for the late "Pushing Daisies"! Kristin Chenoweth wins for the best supporting funny lady. She's obviously overcome with emotion, but she keeps it together enough to crack a few jokes, dropping hints about what shows she'd like to guest star on now. She's also looking very sparkly tonight.

8:22 p.m. - John Hodgman (the schlubby PC dude in the Apple commercials) is tonight's color commentator, that disembodied voice who gives background info about the winners. I'm a PC person myself.

8:24 p.m. - Matt Hubbard wins the best comedy writing award for the "30 Rock" episode "Reunion." Hodgman is already earning his keep.

8:27 p.m. -  Jon Cryer's vest is somewhat Sgt. Pepper-y. Oh, and he also snags the supporting actor in a comedy category. We like him, but we expected one of the "30 Rock" dudes to get it. Or NPH.

8:33 p.m. - "It's not akward. I won't let it get awkward." Harris cracks us up, playing up his disappointment in not winning. Neil, you're such a trooper!

8:34 p.m. - Hey Justin Timberlake, you're like Homer Simpson. The glasses don't really make you look smarter, but they're fun all the same.

8:36 p.m. - Sarah Silverman is rockin' a major 'stache in the audience.

8:37 p.m. - Hey, Toni Collette gets the best comedy actress awards for "United States of Tara." She sounds so much better Australian. She hopes her daughter doesn't end up in therapy wondering why a strange man was breastfeeding her at three weeks old. You see, one of the "alters" she plays on the show is a dude.

8:38 p.m. - "In your face, Neil Patrick Harris." -- Jon Cryer's thoughts when winning. I sense a funnyman feud a-brewin'.

8:40 p.m. - First actual "Imma let you finish" quote by Timberlake. He and Fey already got their guest starring awards previously. I admit it, I will watch any live/sketch comedy program with Timberlake in it. Both he and Fey have helped save "Saturday Night Live."

8:42 p.m. - "Gossip Girl's" S & B are on stage. XOXO them both. Jeffery Blitz from the "The Office" wins for directing a comedy series for the episode.

8:48 p.m. - Rob Lowe, ever so smoothly tan, tries to prove he's got jokes. Eh, not really buying it.

8:51 p.m. - Alec Baldwin is the best comedy actor and gives props to Tina Fey. Good for him. He also dedicates the award to producer Lorne Michaels. Oh, how nice. I was waiting for a joke though.

8:53 p.m. - It never gets easier to see Stewie Griffin maul Bryan. "Where's my Emmy?"

8:54 p.m. - Reality show time! Ten years ago, who would have thought this would warrant its own segment in the program?

8:56 p.m. - Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff give us musical dance number. Her fringey pants are mesmerizing. Did you catch "So You Think You Can Dance"/"America's Best Dance Crew" Hok in there too?

8:58 p.m. - Jeff Probst proves he's the reality host extraordinaire by getting the Emmy for "Survivor." Love how he begins his thank you speech, "Neil Patrick Harris, this is how you host the Emmys. Nice job." Jeff, you're a good sport. Last year's hosting experiment was less than successful.

9:07 p.m. - Montage of reality shows being nominated. Bring back Fabio to "Top Chef"!

9:08 p.m. - And "The Amazing Race" wins best reality show ... again. We really do like the show, but we were hoping for some "Top Chef" love. But as NPH notes ironically, "upsets at every turn."

9:12 p.m. - Shohreh Aghdashloo wins the supporting actress in a miniseries award for "House of Saddam." She's got a sexy Kathleen Turner voice there.

9:14 p.m. - Quickly on to the supporting actor counterpart, Ken Howard for HBO's "Grey Gardens." He says he'll try to keep his speech brief so he won't be interrupted by a congressman or rapper. You know what'd be cool though? A rapping congressman!

9:18 p.m. - Okay, this is Hanh signing off to leave you in the capable recapping hands of my Zap2it colleague Rick Porter. Have at it, Rick.

9:19 p.m. - Thanks, Hanh.

9:22 p.m. - The diminutive Chandra Wilson and the rather tall Kate Walsh hand out the award for best actor in a movie/miniseries. Wilson: "You said you were gonna wear the flats."

9:23 p.m. - Brendan Gleeson wins for playing Winston Churchill in "Into the Storm." The movie was kind of a sequel to the 2002 HBO flick "The Gathering Storm" -- for which Albert Finney also won an Emmy for playing Churchill.

9:26 p.m. - The naming of obscure/embarrassing credits for the presenters is wearing a little bit thin.

9:27 p.m. - Best writing in a movie/miniseries goes to "Little Dorrit" and Andrew Davies. He's not there. Directing: Also "Little Dorrit" (which aired on PBS), Dearbhla Walsh.

9:29 p.m. - No, that name is not a typo.

9:30 p.m. - Dr. Horrible! He hijacks the accountants bit to tell us "Television is dead. ... No more lavish awards shows with luminous and athletic hosts." Check out video of Dr. Horrible taking over the Emmys

9:32 p.m. - Nathan Fillion as Capt. Hammer interrupts Dr. Horrible to say that like the music business and Zima, shiny, glossy TV entertainment is here to stay. Good bit to liven up the mid-show doldrums.

9:33 p.m. - Alec Baldwin presents the best actress in a miniseries/movie to Jessica Lange for "Grey Gardens." Which reminds me, I don't think I'm doing very well in my Emmy picks.

9:35 p.m. - Show of hands: Who's seen the "Grey Gardens" documentary? Caught it at a midnight show at the Virginia Film Festival two years ago. Very odd and not a little depressing. The fictionalized version, while still not exactly a happy story, was a pretty interesting extension of the documentary.

9:42 p.m. - Your best made-for-TV movie of the year is "Grey Gardens" (so sayeth the TV academy). No big surprise there.

9:44 p.m. - I always like it when the non-famous winners get emotional -- like "Grey Gardens" director Michael Sucsy just did. Somehow it seems more genuine when it's not coming from an actor.

9:45 p.m. - "Little Dorrit" wins best miniseries over "Generation Kill." No knock on that, but I now officially believe David Simon is on some kind of Emmy blacklist.

9:46 p.m. - Onto the Variety categories, which annually feature one of the best moments of the Emmy ceremony: the nominee videos from the variety writing staffs.

9:49 p.m. - And unfortuately, the Emmy ceremony itself can't win an Emmy, so NPH's hosting gig won't be eligible next year.

9:51 p.m. - "American Idol" consolation prize. Bruce Gowers (who also directed the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video for Queen) wins best directing for variety series.

9:54 p.m. - Writing for a variety series montage is a toss-up between Conan's Facebooking, BIlly Crystal singing the "Late Show" writer names ("Aren't you on at 10?") and Brian Williams reciting the "SNL" team ("or as they're known collectively, nerds"). The actual Emmy goes to "The Daily Show."

10:02 p.m. - Jimmy Fallon works the auto-tune before handing out the award for best original music and lyrics. Steve Carell and Glenn Close, to name two, are very amused.

10:04 p.m. - Hugh Jackman's Oscar opening number wins, sadly, over "Motherlover." But it's almost worth it for announcer John Hodgman's assertion that "This is apparently the first time a musical number has been written for a Wolverine."

10:06 p.m. - Ricky Gervais' mike isn't working, and then I think he cursed. Nice. "This is the greatest awards ceremony in the world. ... The thing about the Oscars and the Golden Globes is they've got film stars there, with their jawlines and chiseled looks. But in this room -- I'm probably above average. Steve Carell is considered handsome."

10:08 p.m. - Gervais handing out the award for best variety/comedy series is almost incidental at this point. It goes to "The Daily Show." Hodgman: "'The Daily Show' is celebrating its 76th year on the air. It began on Comedy Central Radio ..."

10:16 p.m. - Academy president John Schaffner hands Neil Patrick Harris an Emmy pin. "Yeah, that helps."

10:18 p.m. - Wow, those sure are a lot of CBS clips in the drama montage. And "Battlestar Galactica" fans everywhere are cursing their TVs at a clip from the show being the closest the show gets to sniffing an award in the drama categories.

10:20 p.m. - Supporting actor/drama is a stacked category. Pretty much all good picks, but Michael Emerson from "Lost" wins it.

10:21 p.m. - Emerson is amazing, but is it me, or is he coming off a little too Ben-like in his speech?

10:22 p.m. - Supporting actress in a drama: Cherry Jones from "24." That's a bit of a left-field pick; Chandra Wilson was the odds-on favorite. And per Hodgman, "She is now the front-runner for the 2012 Republican nomination."

10:23 p.m. - In what may be an awards-show first, we have a live performance for the obit montage. Sarah MacLachlan sings "I Will Remember You," and it's more than a little creepy.

10:28 p.m. - That's it for me, folks. Andy Grieser will bring you home for the rest of the drama awards and best comedy and drama series.

10:33 p.m. - Thanks, Hanh and Rick. Hunky vampires Stephen Moyer ("True Blood") and David Boreanaz ("Angel," though he's far more human now on "Bones") team up to totally ignore any chance at a "Twilight" joke and honor the winners for outstanding guest actor and actress (presented at the Creative Awards ceremony). Ellen Burstyn and Michael J. Fox were the winners for "Law & Order: SVU" and "Rescue Me," respectively, and the winners get to give the gold to the best director. Rod Holcomb wins it for "ER."

10:35 p.m. - We're moving right along now, with the award for best dramatic writing. Katy Gordon and Matthew win it for "Mad Men."

10:39 p.m. -- Glenn Close, so good as Patty Hewes on "Damages," wins the Emmy for best lead actress in a drama... just as she did last year for this role. She's gracious in repeating, and calls the other nominees her "category sisters" for also being repeatedly nominated.

10:48 p.m. - "Least desperate of all the Housewives" Dana Delaney presents the award for best dramatic actor, which goes to "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston, who also won the Emmy last year. Cranston thanks fellow repeat winner Glenn Close for being a woman, as well he should.

10:52 p.m. -- Comedy legend Bob Newhart hurtles us toward the end with a nice bit about pining for a kiss from Tina Fey. Newhart should get his kiss (though we don't see it): "30 Rock" wins the Emmy for best comedy series. Fey shouts out to NBC -- and gets in a nice dig at Jay Leno -- for keeping "30 Rock" on the air despite being "so much more expensive than a talk show."

10:55 p.m. - Do you care who America voted as the year's breakout performance? No? Well, it was Stephen Moyer as vampire Bill Compton on "True Blood."

11:00 p.m. - Sigourney Weaver declares us in a Golden Age of television, though it's funny that the winner is from the Silver Age: On a night of repeats for the top awards, "Mad Men" wins its second consecutive Emmy for best dramatic series. And that's that, television fans. Neil Patrick Harris throws us to the usual legal post-show legalese, just three minutes over three hours.

Related:

Emmys 2009 red carpet arrivals pictures
Zap2it's Emmy coverage
Dr. Horrible takes over the 2009 EmmysEmmys 2009 scorecard: Who won?