The 60th Anual Primetime Emmy Awards officially kicked off the ’08-’09 awards season on Sept. 21. The event had a slight change in scenery, taking place at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Hollywood.

Location was not the only new aspect of this year’s telecast. Rather than taking the traditional approach of having one person host the show, the Academy opted for five.

Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst and Ryan Seacrest each held the distinguished position of master of ceremonies.

Although on paper this may seem like a creative idea, I lost attention the moment E!’s red carpet coverage concluded.

On an extremely warm and humid afternoon in Los Angeles, the stars literally shined.

The bright dresses and sparkling diamonds seemed to complement the weather quite nicely.

While traditional black dresses were present on the red carpet, color was clearly a pattern among the attendees, with Mariska Hargitay and Teri Hatcher wearing stunning yellow dresses, Cynthia Nixon in pale green, Brooke Shields in fuchsia and Nicollette Sheridan in purple.

Although bright seemed to be the theme of the pre-awards show, my favorite dresses of the evening were the classic black dresses worn by Debra Messing and Kate Walsh and the black-and-white strapless gown worn by Jennifer Love Hewitt.

As the red carpet coverage concluded and Oprah Winfrey opened the show by introducing the evening’s hosts, the telecast began to spiral downward.

As the five hosts took center stage, they began their painful opening monologue.

I am not sure what was worse, the opening of this telecast or Britney Spears at the ’07 VMAs.

Jeremy Piven from “Entourage” made it clear in his acceptance speech after winning Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series that he too felt as if the opening was not the least bit entertaining.

Even though this year’s awards show was lackluster, we do have to remember that the reason for having the ceremony in the first place is to hand out trophies to deserving recipients.

“30 Rock” was the big winner in the comedy categories, taking home the award for Best Comedy Series, while stars Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey won Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series, respectively.

Best Actor in a Drama Series went to Bryan Cranston for his work in “Breaking Bad,” while Glenn Close took the honors for her role on “Damages.”

“Mad Men” rounded out the evening’s awards by bringing home the award for Best Drama Series.

Overall, this year’s telecast of the Primetime Emmy Awards did not measure up to those of prior years.

Whether it was the change in location, having five different hosts, the lack of comedy or just a lack of interest that made this ceremony a bust, here’s hoping that when the Golden Globes hit the airwaves in early 2009, there will be a much different reaction.