With Conan O’Brien at the helm of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards last night, the show had all the spirit of the host’s own show — Late Night with Conan O’Brien.If only it had more of the humor.

Presenters muddled through their jokes with stilted deliveries, but Mr. O’Brien, for his part, made a valiant effort with his sharp and succinct style. This year was Mr. O’Brien’s second turn as host of the show, and he kicked things off with a pre-taped spoof of several of television’s most popular shows. He crash-landed on a beach, a la ABC’s “Lost,” then climbed through a secret hole into NBC’s “The Office” and hid in an animated closet on Comedy Central’s “South Park” (only to find Tom Cruise already there).

Mr. O’Brien’s sarcastic humor was in full force, as he advised nominees not to complain that the Emmy statuette was too heavy — “because it holds the shattered dreams of four other people.”A musical number on the theme of NBC’s last-place position (one of his favorite jokes) among the networks was lively instead of bitter.

The ceremony buzzed along at a smart clip, beginning with the awards for outstanding supporting actor (Jeremy Piven in “Entourage”) and actress in a comedy series (Megan Mullally in “Will & Grace”).

Ms. Mullally’s win was the final farewell for the long-running “Will & Grace.” She shed tears for her last hurrah on a regular sitcom, but she’s not going away anytime soon: Her talk show debuts in September. Mr. Piven, a fan-favorite for his portrayal as hotblooded agent, Ari Gold, on “Entourage,” savored his win with a short speech and fine polka-dotted ascot.

Tributes turned out to be the highlight of the show. Aaron Spelling was honored with a montage of his shows, including “Dynasty,” “Charlie’s Angels,” and “Beverly Hills 90210.” The Spelling tribute included appearances by stars including Farrah Fawcett and Heather Locklear, who had appeared in his past shows. “American Idol” host Simon Cowell presented an equally lengthy tribute to commentator Dick Clark. The tribute glowed with clip after clip of fabulous performances from Mr. Clark’s music program, “American Bandstand,” reminding viewers of how cheerful music programming was before the advent of MTV’s “The Real World.” Mr. Clark made an appearance and presented a rendition of the “Bandstand” theme song performed, inexplicably, by Barry Manilow.

Mr. Cowell’s inclusion in the show was a quiet announcement for the sustained success of reality programming: “American Idol,” easily the most popular television show on air right now, was pitted against the (almost) equally popular fashion show “Project Runway” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

In one of the most energetically funny moments, Mr. O’Brien introduced representatives from Ernst and Young, responsible for collecting the votes of the academy.And who would wind up among the accountants? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But as with award shows of late, the most lively portion was the red carpet arrivals.This year’s color trends were strong on jewel tones: Actresses Cheryl Hines, Jaime Pressly, Evangline Lilly, and Leah Remini were decked out in differing shades of violet. As for accessories, necklaces are the new earrings. Bejeweled baubles were in full force, as well: Ms. Hines, from HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiam,” wore a dress outfitted with crystallized patterns that gleamed against sheer, nude-colored fabric on her back. “Grey’s Anatomy”actress Sandra Oh went heavy with gold and silver necklaces against her otherwise elegant Vera Wang gown. But once again, it was cleavage that ruled the carpet: Virginia Madsen and Katherine Heigl showcased more of their upper torsos than some viewers preferred to see.

As of press time, winners of the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards included:

Outstanding Drama Series
24 — FOX

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Office — NBC

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Elizabeth I — HBO — Jeremy Irons as Earl of Leicester

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
The Girl In The Café — HBO — Kelly Macdonald as Gina

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Entourage — HBO — Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Will & Grace — NBC — Megan Mullally as Karen

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Thief — FX Network — Andre Braugher as Nick Atwater

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Helen Mirren — Elizabeth I — HBO

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
The West Wing — NBC — Alan Alda as Arnold Vinick

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Huff — Showtime — Blythe Danner as Izzy Huffstodt

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
24 — FOX — Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — NBC — Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Monk — USA — Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
The New Adventures Of Old Christine — CBS — Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell

Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart — Comedy Central

Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
The Sopranos — HBO

Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
My Name Is Earl Pilot — NBC

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race — CBS

Outstanding Made For Television Movie
The Girl In The Café — HBO

Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
24 — FOX

Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
My Name Is Earl — NBC

Outstanding Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program
78th Annual Academy Awards — ABC