The 2013 Emmy Awards, Water Cooler Edition

See which five moments we'll still be talking about this morning

Photo: Phil McCarten/Invision for Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/AP

If you weren’t watching the Emmy Awards Sunday night, we don’t know what you were doing. (Actually, we do because we almost flipped the channel to Breaking Bad, too.)

Sure, we were disappointed when host Neil Patrick Harris chose tap over twerk, but there was plenty of action (and lots of dance) packed into the three-hour show.

We’re breaking down the five things you missed:

1. The dance that brought us all out of our seats

On a night decidedly validating the couch potatoes in us all, we immediately dropped our popcorn bowls when this year’s nominees were presented through the art of interpretive dance (to the tunes of ’50s classic “Luck Be a Lady” and Daft Punk’s summer serenade “Get Lucky,” no less). From American Horror Story: Asylum to Boardwalk Empire, Harris and a cast of dance pros sprang, sashayed and pirouetted into action. But sadly, no twerking this time around.

2. The tributes that warmed our hearts

A night dedicated to celebrating the best in television wouldn’t be complete without honoring the late stars whose legacies now live on through their greatest works. Tears were shed when peers took the stage to pay tribute to James Gandolfini, Cory Monteith, comedian Jonathan Winters, All in the Family‘s Jean Stapleton and Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg.

3. The shortest and sweetest acceptance speech of the night

It’s every award show honoree’s nightmare: You’re thanking all of your costars, mentors and second cousins when the orchestra kicks in to cut you off. Lucky for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy winner Merritt Wever, she was able to spit out her entire speech when she was recognized for her work on Nurse Jackie. “Thank you so much,” she told the audience. We were waiting for Wever to work her way down her family tree – or at least the show’s IMDb page – when she deadpanned, “I gotta go. Bye.”

4. Er, Modern Family‘s awkward acceptance speech

When the cast of the ABC sitcom claimed the best comedy series award for the fourth consecutive year, creator Steven Levitan made a comment that would have left the show’s endearingly quirky Phil Dunphy shifting in his seat. “Well, this may be the saddest Emmys of all time, but we could not be happier,” he told the audience. Um, maybe he should have pulled a Wever.

5. … Aaand that other acceptance speech we’re still talking about

Taking home the prize for his role in Behind the Candelabra, Michael Douglas had plenty of love for costar Matt Damon … and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose relationship with the actor is on the rocks. After making a few questionably raunchy references to Damon – “You’re only as good as your other hand” – he redirected his attention. “I wanna thank my wife, Catherine, for her support,” he said.

If you tuned in to Sunday’s show, tell us in the comments below: What was the most memorable moment of the 2013 Emmy Awards?