I’ll be along with a full list of winners and plenty of pictures from last night’s Emmy Awards in a bit, but until then here’s last night’s opening skit led by host Jimmy Fallon and featuring Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, Joel McHale, Nina Dobrev, the cast of “Glee,” and more. I could have done without Kate Gosselin and Randy Jackson, but other than that, it’s a solid opening to an awards show that wasn’t terrible. I mean, I didn’t watch all of it because “Mad Men” and preseason football were on, but what I caught was enjoyable.

Also, I feel compelled to say this… Jimmy Fallon: pretty good. I know the cool thing to do is still be mad about him breaking character in “Saturday Night Live” skits, but he left “SNL” six years ago. Seriously, people are still pissed about Fallon ruining skits that happened in 2002. I just don’t have the kind of energy it takes to hold a grudge like that. I get winded walking up a flight of stairs; there’s no way I can be mad about Fallon breaking character during George Bush’s first term.

(image via bohemea)

Ordinarily I’d save this for the Weekend Preview on Friday, but I like “Party Down” so much that I want to talk about its excellence with enough lead time for you to add Starz to your cable package in case you’re one of those fat cats with extra money to spend on things like premium cable and designer drugs.

I ended up watching Season 1 of “Party Down” On Demand well after Season 1 ended, and I couldn’t believe that such a perfect comedic gem was tucked away on Starz. And even though Jane Lynch has departed for “Glee,” Season 2, debuting Friday, delivers the same smart laughs according to the Chicago Tribune:

[T]his well-crafted show about caterers waiting for their big Hollywood break is set among the disillusioned, the disappointed and the dysfunctional. Much of the comedy comes from the characters realizing that they are waiting for opportunities that may never come.

[The show] remains light on its feet, thanks to its nuanced characters and its careful use of both irony and sincerity. Though it takes a while to integrate a new character played by Megan Mullally, Season 2 confidently builds on the successes of Season 1, and from about Episode 5 onward, “Party Down” takes its place as one of the most consistently entertaining shows on television.

A lot of people like “Entourage” because, they claim, it so perfectly captures the culture of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. Those people can go eat a gigantic helping of spotted dick, because “Party Down” is a much more realistic portrayal, featuring struggling artists who came to L.A. with a dream. Some of them keep their dream alive by being delusional, some have given in to cynicism, but everyone’s had a small enough taste of success to stay in L.A. — yet not enough to quit their catering job. Anyone who’s seen both shows and still prefers “Entourage” played lacrosse in high school.

For all you beady-eyed Canadians and other international readers who complain about Hulu’s stupid America-only video players, today you’re in luck: you probably don’t want to see this. Next week’s “Glee” is the much-talked-about (by gays) episode featuring all Madonna songs, and that’s why we have Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester in a scarily accurate recreation of the video for “Vogue.” Now, I don’t have any love or loyalty to the original song or video, but this is crazy disturbing. Jane Lynch is one of the funniest actresses on the planet, but I really don’t need to see her in a see-through lace shirt.

The most unsettling aspect is that Lynch looks just like Blonde Ambition-era Madonna, except with 20 years of decay. It’s like that scene in The Shining where Jack Nicholson sees the hot naked chick in the shower, and he starts making out with her, then he looks again and he’s holding the rotting corpse of a zombie. The only thing that could possibly be scarier than Lynch dressed as Madonna back then is Madonna today dressed as Madonna back then.

(Original video for “Vogue” is here — in case you wanna watch that, ya homo.)

“Glee” returns in three weeks, and this online promo offers the first glimpse of Lea Michele singing Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” That probably doesn’t sound all that incredible to you straight people out there, but trust me, there are people who have been obsessing over the coming Madonna episode for months. They like to call themselves Gleeks, but I prefer the term Glee-tard, which is still nicer than the “Fag!” they get in the halls of their high schools.

Anyway, the clip also offers little snippets of scenes to come, including Jane Lynch owning people, Matthew Morrison getting with the little redheaded OCD teacher, and a sing-off… at 5 o’clock… in the parking lot! Oh no! A sing-off in the parking lot is TWICE as dangerous, because there’s a better chance that the cool kids will see you.

“Glee” will soon be returning from its long midseason hiatus with excess fabulosity in the form of guest stars like Neil Patrick Harris, Adam Lambert, and Broadway star Idina Menzel (rumored to play lookalike Lea Michele’s mother; see below) — plus an entire episode featuring Madonna songs. And to stoke the flaming gay fires of excitement, here’s Jane Lynch as evil cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester ranting on the local news against “sneaky gays.” Jane Lynch is unfiltered comedic awesomeness. She’s easily the best part of the show. I mean, after all the dancing to Beyoncé, of course.