The Emmys were on Sunday, and a night of award winners, fashion do’s and don’ts, and heartfelt speeches quickly became a three-hour broadcast of cringe-worthy jokes and skits.

The Emmys and its host, Jimmy Kimmel, went for more shock than funny.

In the opening skit, a female ensemble made of Kathy Bates, Christina Hendricks, Zooey Deschanel, Connie Britton, Martha Plimpton and Mindy Kaling gave Kimmel a makeover after they caught him crying in a bathroom stall over his inability to host the ceremony.

That skit, where he poked fun at himself and actress, writer Lena Dunham sat in a bathroom stall eating cake naked (yawn), was possibly an allusion to the rest of the night because the rest of the comedic attempts by presenters and winners were anything but funny.

Melissa McCarthy played off of her character from “Bridesmaids” while announcing the nominees for best actor in a comedy, hitting on the actors and telling them how attractive they are. 

It was a forced attempt to rake in a few laughs, and only makes me wonder how long McCarthy will continue to milk her character from the hit movie, not that she isn’t funny. 

After receiving the award for best supporting actress in a comedy, Julie Bowen joked around about her role on “Modern Family,” saying that she gets paid to walk around wearing lipstick and make funny faces. 

The presenters and award winners must have come to the general consensus that everyone had to do and say something funny when they were on stage—how painful.

Though the ceremony lacked humor, it was fast-paced and skimmed through the awards quickly. That makes it sound like winners were cut off, but even a stadium filled with hundreds of stars can’t fend off the inevitable TV viewer flipping through the channels after several hours of boredom. 

“Modern Family” turned out to be the biggest winner of the night, taking home four of the awards major awards. Steve Levitan, the shows director, said, “I’d like to thank me for hiring me as a director” after winning the award for best direction for a comedy.

That’s where the Emmy’s got it right, honoring a series whose humor is so well crafted. Julia Louis- Dreyfus took home an award for best actress in a comedy for her role as vice president Selena Meyer in “Veep,” a third career win for the seasoned actress. That was another good decision on the academy’s part. 

However, I was heartbroken overLena Dunham, the creator of “Girls,” who has been touted as the voice of our generation by critics. She left empty handed after receiving four nominations. The Emmys failed to recognize a growing talent. Hopefully, at next year’s ceremony—yes, I’m already looking ahead to next fall—this blooming talent will be recognized for the amazing body of work that she’s crafted at only 26. But at such a young age, there’s still room for her to grow. 

At the Emmys, almost all of the awards were awarded to the right people, making up for host Jimmy Kimmel’s lack of humor and the half-hearted attempts to be funny from most of the presenters and winners. 

Jaime Lopez can be reached at 581-2812 or jlopez2@eiu.edu.