In the lead-up to last night’s Emmy Awards, the host, Nate Bargatze, explained that he wanted to keep the evening as tightly-run as possible, so that the ceremony wouldn’t exceed its three-hour timeslot. To enforce order, he intended to rely on a single bit throughout the show: For every second a winner went over their allotted time for giving an acceptance speech, he’d take $1,000 away from a planned $100,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. For every second someone saved, he’d add $1,000 back to the pot. This way, the Emmys would focus solely on celebrating the best of TV, and nothing else. “I need this to be a fun night,” he told Variety. “There’s enough of the other stuff going on.”

This probably seemed like a good idea on paper: Awards shows notoriously run long, and ac

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