The 17th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held this past Sunday, Jan. 30 in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Calif. Broadcast simultaneously on TBS and TNT, the show finished on time – 10 p.m. – a rarity for awards season. It was an impressive showing, with only one winner not there to make an acceptance speech – Al Pacino for his role in the television movie “You Don’t Know Jack.”

Through the first commercial break, one might have thought we had a repeat loop of the Golden Globes on the television with one substitute: Steve Buscemi picking up the award for his performance in HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Julianna Margulies, who was previously snubbed at the Globes for an actress that was not included in the Guild nominations, took home an actor statue for her work in “The Good Wife.”, “Boardwalk Empire” made another splash earning an award for best ensemble in its first season. Melissa Leo’s speech after once again being selected as the standout in the best supporting actress category was one of the most poignant of the night, complete with tears and politics. “Unions made this country great, because it gives the voice to the working people,” Leo said.

She wasn’t the only one to express appreciation for the community that gave her the award. A very pregnant Natalie Portman was the first winner to be censored during her acceptance speech, but she did manage to share her gratefulness.

“I’ve been working since I was 11 years old, and SAG has taken care of me,” she said. “I’m so grateful to have this union protecting me every day.”

That is why we love awards shows. The spontaneity of what happens at the podium is exciting. When Christian Bale, who celebrated his 37th birthday at the awards, was on stage receiving his statue for best supporting actor in “The Fighter,” the man who he won a trophy for portraying, Dicky Eklund, came over for a hug.

This celebration and fellowship is not complete without the “In Memoriam” montage of those talents the community has lost in the past year. Notable among the deceased were Leslie Nielsen (“Airplane!”), Gloria Stuart (“Titanic”), Harold Gould (“The Sting”), David Nelson (“Cry-Baby”), Rue McClanahan (“The Golden Girls”), Gary Coleman (“Diff’rent Strokes”), Peter Graves (“The Love Boat”), and Pete Postlethwaite (“The Usual Suspects”). “The King’s Speech” was the big winner of the night and took home the award for outstanding cast Colin Firth was voted best actor for his work as King George VI as well.

Geoffrey Rush, who plays the king’s speech therapist in the film, shared an eloquent speech on behalf of the entire cast.

“It shouldn’t be called the SAG Award, it should be called the uplifting award,” Rush said, recognizing the success of “The King’s Speech” as the success story of a devoted Duke and his real friends, the commoners who help him master his stammer. The film has proved itself a front-runner for the Academy Awards at the end of the month, winning in the two categories the acclaimed opposition, “The Social Network,” was also competing for.    

Overall, the television portion of the awards was a mixed bag with every single category’s winner being a representative from a different show. Movies proved to be a close race, conflicting results with the Golden Globes. Now it’s time to wait until the end of the month for the Academy to have the final say about the best films of the year.

To see the complete list of nominees and award recipients, go to http://sagawards.org.

Margaret Clayton can be reached at [email protected].