Sometimes you can teach an old, tired, dying dog new tricks: Emmy Awards host Neil Patrick Harris played the role of Dog Whisperer, giving last night's telecast a much needed boost of energy, class and humor.

The 61st annual Emmys began with Harris, dressed in a white tux, performing a rousing song-and-dance number with such lyrics as, "Don't touch that dial/Because it's been a while/Since a dial was in style/But you know what I mean."

The show was also helped from the start by funny comedy actress nominees donning eccentric eyewear for their close-ups and early wins by deserving, enthusiastic stars (Kristin Chenoweth, most notably).

The Emmy show also gave a sense of a love of television, something that's too often missing. You could hear it in Harris' use of ancient/slightly embarrassing credits to introduce presenters. (Harris welcomed Rob Lowe, saying viewers may remember him from his role as Charles Elderberry in the 1980 ABC Afterschool Special "Schoolboy Father.") Color commentator John Hodgman's bits of trivia (some real, some fake) were amusing and a clever way to fill time as winners walked to the stage.

Overall, it was a more entertaining Emmy telecast than we've seen in years and for that we must credit the enthusiastic Harris, a winning master of ceremonies who cut his teeth hosting the Tony Awards and TV Land Awards earlier this year.

Not every gag and attempt at humor worked but at least this year viewers could see executive producer Don Mischer and crew trying harder, even with something as simple as the often funny brief videos introducing many nominees, an expansion from the comedy/variety writer montages at past Emmys.

The telecast grouped awards by genre (but saved the best comedy and best drama wins until the end of the show), which actually worked pretty well and gave viewers opportune times for bathroom breaks (reality TV, my bladder thanks you).

A few awards to the show itself:

Best awkward E! pre-show exchange: Host Ryan Seacrest to "How I Met Your Mother Star" Jason Segel: "I don't want to go into your man cave."

"That just sounds dirty," Segel replied.

Best dig at the creator of "Family Guy": After he uttered the F-word on the E! pre-show (it got partially bleeped), Tina Fey teased, "Let's linger in this magical time in the evening where everyone is still a winner and Seth MacFarlane is only pretty drunk."

Worst spoil-sport? The supporting actress nominees all sported funny glasses at the suggestion of nominee Amy Poehler, according to winner Kristin Chenoweth. But Vanessa Williams appeared to refuse, shaking her head. Was this part of the shtick or did she really not play along?

Best job pitch: When Cheno­weth won for the canceled "Pushing Daisies," she pitched herself for other series, saying, "I'm unemployed now. I'd like to be on 'Mad Men.' I also like 'The Office' and '24.' "

Funniest winner speech: "I used to think awards were just shallow tokens of momentary popularity," said supporting comedy actor winner Jon Cryer. "But now I realize they are the only true measure of a person's worth as a human being, so, thank you."

Best mea culpa: "Survivor" host Jeff Probst who participated in last year's disastrous Emmy telecast, hosted by five reality show hosts, said, "Neil Patrick Harris, this is how you host the Emmys. Nice job."

Best accountant speech ever: The accountants got interrupted by Dr. Horrible, Harris' character from the Internet sensation "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," who claimed TV is dead only to be stopped in his tracks by a buffering Internet connection. Brilliant (for those who know "Dr. Horrible," anyway).

Best host audition: Once again Ricky Gervais proves to be a funny presenter. Why does no one make him a host? Too inside Hollywood? Too unpredictable?

Worst teaser: CBS ran a lower-third graphic alerting viewers: "In Memoriam 11 Minutes." Did they want viewers to flip to another channel? When the segment ran it omitted McKees Rocks native and TV pitchman Billy Mays.

Best Hodgman fake trivia: When Cherry Jones, a 1978 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, won a best supporting actress Emmy for her role as the president on "24," Hodgman said, "She's now considered the frontrunner for the 2012 Republican nomination."