There was a buzz in the press tent at Sunday's (Sept. 19) 56th Annual Emmy Awards, which isn't uncommon. In past years, the Emmy buzz centered on how out of touch the Academy was, rewarding shows like "The West Wing" or "Frasier" or "Will & Grace" or "Judging Amy" for seasons or performances that weren't their best, acting purely on autopilot.

But this year, something very strange happened.

One award after another, the Emmys seemed to be going to the right people. There were surprising wins for "Arrested Development," satisfying and long-overdue wins for "The Sopranos" and predictable, but no less deserved wins for "Angels in America." On the bright side, honoring the proper people and shows prevents the media from getting testy and antagonistic, but on the dark side honoring the proper people and shows prevents the media from getting testy and antagonistic. Media people just aren't fun when they're happy and friendly.

Of the predictable and somewhat retrograde winners (your over-lauded Allison Janneys, Kelsey Grammers and David Hyde Pierces) only Janney made it back to the press tent, so the evening devolved into a long session of media genuflection at the altars of the winning shows. And the favor was even returned by trophy-holders like "Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz, who repeatedly thanked the media and critics for giving his show such a high profile (to offset its small audience).

The following is just a sampling of the backstage love-fest at the Emmys:

"I was wondering if I could make them rhyme. I knew there were certain things I had to say. It's hard to find something that rhymes with Gail Berman." -- Mitch Hurwitz reflecting on his attempts to subvert the Emmy band by singing the end of his acceptance speech.

"I think it's universal. I think we all have bad and good and hopefully we can contain our bad selves. But if you're an actor you have to tap into that." -- Michael Imperioli reflecting on living with his tough-to-love "Sopranos" character Christopher.

"I don't know if she's dead. I believe she is. And if she is, she'll probably come back and haunt them. She was the innocent and they killed her." -- Drea de Matteo reflecting on the possibility of a return for her seemingly deceased Adrianna.

"I've heard that before too, but, um, she's dead." -- Emmy-winning writer Terence Winter putting the kibosh on viewer fantasies of seeing Adrianna live again on "The Sopranos."

"We do think that this year is a watershed year for the Emmys because there are so many movie stars crossing over to do work in television and on HBO." -- Television Academy Chairman Dick Askin of a night that saw wins for such feature film legends as Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.

"What held true then holds true now, that silence equals death. I hope that piece like this just reminds us of the world that we live in." -- Jeffrey Wright on the importance of projects like "Angels in America" reaching a wide audience.

"It's having a baby I guess. I just eat all day long. I don't have time to work out. So just have a baby." -- Mary-Louise Parker explaining the secret to her award show body.

"I find that in acting, that everything I do, I really work for relief. I don't necessarily want to do a lot of the things I do, but I have to do them. And I'm not talking about money. I have to do them. It's an emotional need for me to perform." -- Excitable winner Elaine Stritch.

"I can categorically tell you how false that is. I'm very very happy here I am. Three cheers for basic cable. Huzzah. Huzzah. Huzzah." -- Jon Stewart reassuring the "Daily Show" team that he has no intention of taking over for Craig Kilborn on "The Late Late Show."

"I don't have a great touch with reality, so it's nice to visit there." -- Eternal "That Girl" and Bob Hope Humanitarian Award winner Marlo Thomas on the best aspects of reality television.

"I'm hoping I've been a graceful loser in the past and it's not been as awful as one might think. But it's very nice. It's a totally different feeling. It has surprising weight to me because of the time that it came in the life of the show, so to me it has actual gravitas." -- Sarah Jessica Parker on finally winning her first acting Emmy after many relatively graceful losses.

"Hopefully anybody who's been on the fence about trying us out may have more impetus to do it this year." -- " Arrested Development" co-star Jason Bateman, now entirely recovered from the resume splotch that is "Teen Wolf Too."

"My mother will be so angry with me, but I really didn't think I was going to win. I said on the red carpet walking up that there's zero chance that I was going to win, not because I don't think I'm a wonderful actress, but I just thought it was going to go another way." -- Allison Janney, whose outstanding actress drama win over the likes of Edie Falco and Amber Tamblyn was one of the evening's biggest surprises.

"Last year I really and truly was under the impression I was just visiting and I really didn't know for how long. From what I knew, they could be done with me after a few episodes and then it seemed to keep getting longer and longer." -- James Spader, who managed to turn a guest starring run on "The Practice" into a full season, into an Emmy and then into his own show.

"It's very hard to have an audience filled with people hoping to win something. It's not very often that happens at a nightclub." -- Garry Shandling on the difficulties of playing to the on-edge Emmy audience.