He wanted to treat the Emmys like he would treat his own mom.
Emmy host and "How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris is just too nice of a guy to rip into the hundreds of stars set to gather Sunday night at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre for television's biggest night.
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"It is not Neil's style," said Emmy executive producer Ken Ehrlich. "He's a nice guy who cares all lot about the people that he works with.
"He loves television and wants to use this show to celebrate television," said Ehrlich. "And not as a bully pulpit."
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The show was set to be markedly different from the Oscars, which featured host Seth MacFarlane mocking the celebrities in attendance.
He also did a song parody called "We Saw Your Boobs!" that some critics called misogynistic.
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"Your show usually takes on the tone of your host," said Jack Sussman, who oversees CBS specials such as the Emmys and the Grammys.
"And Neil's personality and style is ... this show," he said.
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Highlights were to include Elton John performing a tribute to Liberace - who was the subject of the HBO's critically acclaimed film "Behind the Candelabra," and Carrie Underwood singing in a lavish musical segment about 1963.
Emmy producers said they created the sketch to honor the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination and The Beatles' arrival in New York just 80 days later.
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"Those events were very important milestones in television," Ehrlich said.
He added the connection between the country singer and the Fab Four was television - it played a key role in the rise of The Beatles while Underwood was one of the first examples of a modern reality competition show minting a megastar.
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The show also prepped a special tribute segment in which close friends of five recently deceased television greats praised them.
Edie Falco was the perfect choice to talk about James Gandolfini, just as Michael J. Fox would discuss "Family Ties" producer Gary David Goldberg; Jane Lynch would pay tribute to her co-star Cory Monteith; Rob Reiner would salute Jean Stapleton, who played his character's mother-in-law, Edith Bunker, on "All in the Family"; and Robin Williams would celebrate his mentor, comedian Jonathan Winters, who worked with him on "Mork & Mindy."
Several major awards were already presented last week.
After more than five decades on TV, Bob Newhart finally won his first Emmy for a guest appearance on "The Big Bang Theory" and against a tough field that included Kristin Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, Melissa Leo won for best supporting actress on FX's "Louie."
Carrie Preston, who guest starred on "The Good Wife," trumped heavyweight Jane Fonda, who appeared last season on HBO's "The Newsroom."
dkaplan@nydailynews.com
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