And she had a point. The show picked up five awards throughout the night, including the coveted Outstanding Comedy Series. For about the first half hour of the telecast, every envelope opened was a Modern Family envelope, including wins for both Dunphy parents, Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell, the latter who gave one of the best speeches of the night. Burrell talked about what his dad would say if he was still alive to see him act, maintaining a straight face when asking, “But why so much make-up?”

While Burrell may have had one of the best speeches of the night, the best award moment of the night came before the speeches even started. When the presenters for Outstanding Female Lead in a Comedy Series started listing the nominees, Amy Pohler triumphantly stormed the stage in what could have easily become the Kanye moment of the Emmys, but instead led to all six funny ladies taking the stage and standing united.

The award ultimately went to funny leading lady Melissa McCarthy for her role as Molly in “Mike and Molly.” The “Bridesmaids” scene stealer was just as shocked as a lot of people when she won, and gave quite an acceptance speech, giving quite the shout out to her hometown, Plainfield, Ill., which also just happens to be where this writer lives when not here at Rowan.

One of the other laugh-out-loud moments of the night came during the drawn out opening musical number. Lynch found herself on the set of “Mad Men,” explaining to the perpetually sexist Don Draper that not only did she not have to be a secretary, but she could marry a woman, much to the delight of the (possibly?) sexually confused Peggy. Lynch also breaks the news to the ad execs that by 2011, TV watchers are able to fast forward right through the commercial breaks, prompting Don Draper to tell her to get out.

Some of the other sketches of the night included a very orange Lynch as Donatella Alberghetti Mangiana D’Borgia, the TV producer who uses Cheet-o dust as make-up that is responsible for every Jersey related show on TV. The cast of “Jersey Shore” made cameos, talking about their love for Donatella, and how she got them their break. The skit wasn’t laugh out loud funny, but it was certainly entertaining to see Sue Sylvester don a long blonde wig and orange make-up.

It wasn’t the best awards show, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. Jane Lynch did quite well for her first time hosting. Her “gay agenda” jokes killed me, and in general, I found the show to be entertaining. It was certainly a good opener to what will hopefully be another great year of TV.

Let’s start with some of the new shows that will certainly be distracting students from their homework.

First of all on Monday nights we have one of the most promising new comedies of the season, “2 Broke Girls.” The show stars Kat Dennings (“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”) and relative newcomer Beth Behrs. “Girls” tells the story of, well two broke girls living in New York City and working as waitresses. The new comedy will premiere on CBS on Sept. 19.

Monday night also brings NBC’s “The Playboy Club,” a hotly anticipated and highly criticized show based on, you guessed it, the first Playboy Club in Chicago. “Playboy” stars Eddie Cibrian (“CSI: Miami”) and David Krumholtz (“The Santa Clause,” “Numb3rs”) and also premieres Monday Sept. 19.

Shifting gears into cable, and moving into October, the producers of everyone’s favorite high school songfest are at it again, but this time singing a much creepier tune. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck, executive producers of “Glee,” will be premiering their new creepfest, aptly titled “American Horror Story.” If you haven’t seen a promo for this one yet, stop reading this and go find it. Did you watch it? Are you creeped out? Good. “American Horror Story” premieres Wednesday, Oct. 5 on FX.

When it comes to returning shows, this season isn’t hurting for good material.

(Warning! Spoilers!)

CBS’s Monday night comedy block will kick off with “How I Met Your Mother” in a season that will be answering at least one very important question: who will Barney be marrying? This season will also give us a look at a pregnant Lilly, a jealous Robin and Kal Penn’s return to show business after a brief stop at The White House. In true “Mother” style, the show will probably open up just as many questions by seasons end as it will tie up.

Fox is set to bring back “Fringe” to Friday nights to answer the question, “What’s a world without Peter really like?” After last season’s finale, which brought the two universes together in one room, Fringe has many questions to answer, and plenty more things to discover.

Unfortunately, not all the best shows can make it in the first lineup, and a few of them have to be pushed back to spring. This year, two returning shows are waiting until spring to premiere, much to the dismay of loyal fans.

Fans may be shocked to see Emmy award-winning “30 Rock” missing from their TV lineup for quite some time, especially after last year’s bizarre ending with Kenneth on a hill. “Rock” had to postpone production due to the birth of executive producer and star Tina Fey’s second child. When the show returns in the fall, I’m sure we can expect the same kind of wacky antics we’ve come to expect.

Another show that was (unceremoniously) pushed back to the midseason break is “Cougar Town.” ABC seems to be totally mishandling one of their smartest comedies. The show got off to a rocky start due to an awful name and a somewhat gross original concept. Since its premiere though, “Cougar” has really come into its own as a show, and its three female stars–Courtney Cox, Busy Philipps and Christa Miller–have emerged as the funniest threesome on TV. When the show does return, expect plenty of pounding grape, Penny Can and over baring mothering (and if you don’t understand what any of that means, you have plenty of time to catch up!)

This is just a small sample of all the shows that will certainly be distracting you this semester so keep an eye out for new TV this fall.

Dance Extensions, a Rowan-based dance company is joining forces with a number of other area dance companies
to produce “A Dance to Remember.” Proceeds from the show will be donated to MyGoodDeed,
the nonprofit organization that founded the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.

MyGoodDeed was founded in 2002 under the name One Day’s Pay Inc. and has since joined forces
with other organization to promote the National Day of Service and Remembrance.
The organization continues to work towards organizing the largest day of community service ever on September 11th,
2011 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The show will take place Saturday, September 11th 2010 at Tohill Theater in Bunce Hall at 7:30. Tickets
cost $10.

The (school) year of entertainment started early, on September 9 when Glee premiered on FOX and quickly took over. The hit musical television show is still going extremely strong today and kicks off a live nationwide concert tour this summer.

The weekend after Glee premiered, Kanye West made sure that everyone knew exactly what he thought at the MTV Video Music Awards. With Taylor Swift on stage accepting her award for best video of the year, Mr. West, who a few weeks prior had stated that he was “the voice of our generation,” jumped up on stage and took the mic away from Taylor and ranted about how Beyonce’s video for “Single Ladies” was the best of the year. Since then we haven’t seen much of Kanye; he even pulled out of the tour that he was supposed to go on with Lady Gaga.

In early October, the people around the country found themselves glued to their television sets as we watched the drama of “Balloon Boy” unfold. We were terrified when we thought a 7 year-old boy was trapped in a helium balloon flying high above Colorado. We breathed a sigh of relief when we found out that he was not in fact inside the balloon, but hiding in a box in the attic. We went back to terrified, however, when we learned that this was in fact a hoax that the parents had put the kids up to.

Then, there was Tiger Woods, who was caught cheating on his wife with countless women, prompting him to claim he would retire from golf indefinitely. He made his long-awaited return in The Masters a couple weeks ago.

Of course I would be a fool if I failed to mention MTV’s breakout hit reality show, The Jersey Shore. The show sparked plenty of controversy around the country, and here at Rowan. Many claimed it portrayed both Italians-Americans and New Jersians in a poor light. These cries of outrage could not stop the show coming back for a second season, however this time, The Jersey Shore will be shot in…South Beach, Miami? Rumor has it that they will be back in Jersey soon though, so make sure to look out for Snooki and The Situation when you are on the boardwalk this summer!

Well that’s all the entertainment from this year that I have room for, although there was a ton more of course. Have a great summer, and see you next year!

“The Lion King” is just one example of why I love live theater so much. Theater is such a different experience than any other entertainment form. It is, in my opinion, one of the truest and purest forms that we have today.

It involves the storytelling aspect that we love so much in TV and movies, combined with reality and, in the case of ” The Lion King,” the music we spend hours listening to. When you put  all this together, you get one of the most exhilarating experiences ever, whether you are an audience member, an actor, someone on the crew or a musician in the pit.

As someone who has been both on the stage and in the audience for many performances of various plays and musicals, I can attest to the fantastic feeling that one feels on either end. When on stage, you get that fantastic energy from the audience; you can only get this feeling in that moment. This feeling makes your performance greater than any filmed performance ever could.

And when you are in the audience, you are able to connect with the performers in such a way that it makes you feel like they have really let you into their lives and that they are performing just for you.

It seems, however, that the allure of theater is slipping and becoming lost on so many people. Less people seem to be excited about the magic of the Broadway musicals, even though Broadway is something that is accessible to everyone.

Every person can find a story on Broadway that they can relate to, whether you are the odd person out like “Wicked”’s Elphaba, the teenager struggling to cope with life like “Spring Awakening”’s Melchior, or the daughter of the manic depressive mother like “Next To Normal”’s Natalie. These are all shows that have been on Broadway within the past seven years and have all used the stage to tell stories in a way that is unlike any other medium.

While it is obvious that theater isn’t exactly the cheapest form of entertainment, it is definitely an art form that should be kept alive. It’s one of the greatest forms of entertainment we have left.

Still, we not only have an entire channel devoted to it, but also countless cooking shows on many other networks. One such example is one of my favorite shows on television, “Top Chef” and it’s spin off show, “Top Chef Masters,” which premiered its second season last Wednesday on Bravo.

For those of you who are unaware of the show’s concept, “Top Chef” brings together chefs from around the country and pits them against each other in weekly challenges that professional chefs could often face in real life, such as cooking for a wedding or opening a restaurant. “Top Chef Masters” is a little bit of a variation of that concept. Instead of chefs who are just looking to break into the restaurant world, “Masters” brings together world-renowned chefs as they battle it out for the honor of being the winner of “Top Chef Masters” and $100,000 for their charity of choice.

I really have a love-hate relationship with these two shows. On one hand, as someone who really does love to cook, I  genuinely enjoy watching them prepare these meals. These people are some of the most talented chefs out there and they create some of the most fascinating dishes using some of the most bizarre ingredients out there.

On the other hand, that’s one of the reasons why I sometimes hate the shows. First of all, I wouldn’t say I am an extremely picky eater, but I can say with certainty that I would not eat most of the dishes that are prepared on the show (maybe I would try them, to be polite).

Secondly, the dishes that I do want to try seem so impossible to make that I can’t imagine making them in my kitchen back home, let alone in my apartment at Rowan.

And finally, cooking encompasses so many different senses that it is extremely hard to judge people based on only how it looks. Yes, you have what the judges say as well, but you would always want to taste it to be able to form your own opinion.

Don’t get me wrong, none of these reasons are even good enough to make me stop watching; they are just things to think about. Personally, I suggest you watch “Top Chef Masters.” I highly doubt you will be disappointed, although you will most likely be hungry by the end of the hour.

I thought that Martin came out years ago; you know, when people actually cared about him. The point is that Martin is now out and proud, and happily living with his boyfriend.

Martin’s coming out at this time does mean something important. It shows that the tolerance of the country is going up, and that people are kind-of okay with gay celebrities. I hesitate to call Martin a celebrity at this time, seeing as he hasn’t really been in the public light since about 2007.

Martin is not the only example of an out-and-proud public figure. Men such as Neil Patrick Harris, most recognized as Barney Stinson on “How I Met Your Mother,” Cheyenne Jackson, Broadway star and series regular on “30 Rock,” and John Barrowman, screen and stage star, have made it possible for Martin to finally feel comfortable and come out to the world as who he really is.

Why does it matter that these men and so many other men and women within the entertainment industry are coming out to the public eye? Because they are the ones who are leading the way for more people across the country to realize who they really are and come out as well.

A lot of people argue that it shouldn’t matter if a celebrity is gay and in the closet – that it is their personal life, and we should let them be. While I do agree that celebrities do deserve more privacy than they are often given, the fact is that hiding in the closet is not helping anyone anymore. We can clearly see people are becoming more comfortable with gay men and women.

At this point, staying in the closet is just something that in some cases can hurt people, both directly and indirectly. Reports of anonymous male celebrities and politicians cheating on wives or girlfriends with a man come out so frequently that it barely seems shocking anymore. Hiding in the closet is also giving off the illusion to those who see these closet cases that there is something wrong with being gay, which is not the message that we want to send to people.

All in all, what Ricky Martin did – while about five years too late – was brave and something others in the closet should look up to.

Can someone please explain to me how this has happened? Am I the only person that does not find washed-up “stars” dancing with professional dancers entertaining? Apparently so, since the show had 23.9 million viewers on Monday night, its biggest premiere ever.

I really just don’t understand everyone’s obsession with this show. Is it the dancing? Has the country suddenly become obsessed with ballroom dancing? I guess that would make sense with the success of other dance shows such as “America’s Next Dance Crew” and “So You Think You Can Dance?”

But I think there is something more. I think we love to see famous people do something with the chance that they are going to make fools out of themselves. Let’s face it, the past seasons of “Dancing” hasn’t exactly cast the most graceful celebrities. Obviously, this was done with the hope that they would make fools out of themselves in one way or another (Tom DeLay and Steve Wozniak) and this season is no different. Let’s look over the cast, shall we?

We have the resident old man, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who already got the lowest score. There’s the NFL star – which the show seems slightly empty without, since Emmitt Smith won in the third season – Chad Ochocinco. Of course, the Olympian, Evan Lysacek, following the footsteps of another Olympic ice skater, Apolo Ohno (although Ohno is speed skating, whereas Lysacek is figure skating, which I think may give him a bit of an advantage).

There are the actors and actresses, washed-up and otherwise, including Shannen Doherty, Aiden Turner and Niecy Nash. Pamela Anderson is in there too, credited as “former Playboy Playmate and actress.” I was unaware that we were now counting being in sex tapes as acting. Erin Andrews, ESPN sportscaster, found her way into the mix as well, along with Pussycat Dolls singer, Nicole Scherzinger.

The last two are my personal favorite cast members, and not because I like either of them, but just because I think it is ridiculous that either of them are on the show. First of all there is Jake Pavelka, who just finished his run on ABC’s “The Bachelor.” Apparently ABC was so strapped for celebrities that they decided to hire the first fool that walked in the door.

Last, and certainly least in my opinion, is America’s worst mother, Kate Gosselin. Because you know, between “raising” eight kids poorly, and divorcing one of the biggest douches in America, she certainly has time to star in another show. Seriously, who thought it would be a good idea to let this woman on TV again?

Whether you love them or hate them, this season’s cast is sure to create some entertaining television.

The first big aspect of the night: the fashion. Fashion is a part of the night that seems to sometimes overshadow the awards itself, but that is fine by me, and I think most people would agree. The best-dressed woman of the night was Sandra Bullock, winner of the Best Address award. Her simple and elegant dress was the perfect choice for the woman who, after years of acting, was finally awarded for her hard work.

Of course, there could be no best-dressed without the worst, and this year there was a tie between Jennifer Lopez and Sarah Jessica Parker. The two of them seemed to be wearing complete opposite dresses. SJP’s dress seemed to have no shape, looking like someone draped a garbage bag over her, whereas J.Lo’s dress – which I am pretty sure was made out of bubble wrap – had the biggest side to a dress I had ever seen. I don’t know how she really walked down an aisle of chairs.

Neil Patrick Harris, who appeared at the beginning of the show for a fantastic opening number, was sadly not seen again for the rest of the night. The actual hosts of the show, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, were consistent and hilarious. The two of them were perfect together, whether they were on stage cracking jokes about the audience, spending the night together or curled up in a two-person snuggie. If we could either get Steve Martin a regular guest spot on “30 Rock” or his own show, I would be happy.

Other highlights of the night included Ben Stiller presenting the award for Best Makeup in full Avatar garb, including speaking pretty fluent Na’vi. Dance was brought to the Oscar stage thanks to Producer Adam Shankman, which is no surprise considering Shankman was also the choreographer for the “Hairspray” movie, as well as a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance.” The dance troupe “Legion of Extraordinary Dancers” did some fantastically-creative dances to the scores from the films nominated for Best Score.

Unfortunately, even the Oscars couldn’t pass without a “Kanye Moment.” When “Music by Prudence” won for Best Documentary short, the director of the short film, Roger Ross Williams, got up to accept the award. But there seemed to be a lack of communication between him and Kanye wannabe Elinor Burkett about what would happen if they won. Burkett claims that the two are not on speaking terms due to “creative conflicts.”

Finally, the best news of the night didn’t come from the Oscars at all, but Elton John’s viewing party, where Betty White confirmed that she will be appearing on SNL, making many people very happy.