Boston at the Emmys

Did you catch the Emmys last night? Yeah, so did we. It was like watching a four-hour episode of The Office—it was awkward, nobody liked each other, and we didn’t even get a break for some cute interaction between Jim and Pam.

But even considering the endless air-kisses from Heidi Klum and political messages from entertainers who aren’t Matt Damon, it was a pretty good night for projects and actors with a local connection.

Silver fox John Slattery
The Boston-bred actor was best known for being the pee-fetish politician Bill Kelley on Sex and the City before playing Roger Sterling on the Best Drama-winning Mad Men. Slattery was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama, but lost to Zeljko Ivanek from Damages. Hey, it’s an honor to be nominated, right? And for being known for something other than a disturbing peccadillo.

John Adams scored big
The HBO miniseries was the best of the year, according to Emmy voters. Paul Giamatti won best actor for the category, Laura Linney was honored for her portrayal of Abagail Adams, and Tom Wilkinson got a nod for his turn as Benjamin Franklin. Kirk Ellis’ adaptation of David McCullough’s 1776 was also an Emmy-winner. Hope the staff at Adams National Park is ready for the post-Emmy bump in visitors.

Steve Carell didn’t laugh
In a bit only slightly less awkward than the opening dialog between the hosts, Ricky Gervais tried to reclaim his 2007 Emmy from the Concord native, who accepted it on the Brit’s behalf last year. Gervais tried to coax a reaction from Carell, even going to far as to tickle him, but to no avail.

It felt like a metaphor for the entire show—the producers were doing everything for a laugh, but nothing worked.