Awards shows are just an lazy way for networks to eat up hundreds of minutes of airtime. They also sell big chunks of advertising that no one will see because the kind of people who watch every single minute of airtime either never leave their house or don't have the cognitive faculties to understand the concept of money.

The worst of the worst is the Tonys. They seem to go out of their way to make the whole affair uninteresting and over the heads of their viewers who are located outside of the Broadway area, give or take a few blocks. Why even air them? Is there a beet farmer in Bumblecrack, Ark. who just can't wait another night to find out if Hope Davis took home the Best Actress nod for 'God of Carnage?'

This year, an orange glow of hope came down from the heavens when the people behind the awards show offered the hosting job to Conan O'Brien, an honor he turned down just as fast.

If you had DVR'd the Tony Awards on CBS last night, or switched off the set after Elton John's Billy Elliot, The Musical won the final big award of the night -- Best Musical -- you missed the best thing in the entire show. In a word, Neil Patrick Harris.

At a few minutes after 11 o'clock, Tony host Neil Patrick Harris wrapped up the broadcast, but instead of just saying goodnight and urging viewers to go see a Broadway show, Neil did a musical number and it was the high point of the night. In true Barney Stinson style, the How I Met Your Mother star (and sure bet Emmy nominee), performed a song that was as good as any Billy Crystal Oscar opening. Funny, snarky and pointed, it really skewered the Tonys, almost like a Mad magazine parody.

She's an experienced host, an Oscar-winner, a Broadway star. But is Whoopi Goldberg hosting the 62nd Tony Awards the answer for the struggling annual broadcast? The Tony Awards, which honors the best in Broadway theater is considered one of the four major entertainment awards, along with the Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. But the Tonys have been losing viewership year after year despite the stars lured onto the broadcast. After having no single host the past two years, CBS has tapped Whoopi to be the emcee for the June 15 live broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in hopes that she'll make a difference in the Nielsens. The last single host was Hugh Jackman in 2005.

While this is Whoopi's first turn as Tony host, she is well regarded for her four stints as Oscar hostess. At the most recent Oscars, when Whoopi was left out of the host-highlight clip package of years gone by, she was ticked off and talked about it the morning after on The View. Perhaps doing the Tonys will be her way of sticking to the Oscars?
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