By Stacy Jenel Smith and Emily-Fortune Feimster

From heavy drinking and pole dancing, to heartfelt remembrances and gratitude, to Paul and Paula -- McCartney and Abdul, that is -- winners at the 61st Emmy Awards dished on all kinds of topics backstage.

Jeff Probst, who won the Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Reality Program, was relieved to be sitting in the audience this year watching Neil Patrick Harris do the hosting duties instead of him. "Five people hosting a show is not a good idea," he recalled of his disastrous go as Emmy host last year along with the other nominated reality hosts. "It was just a failure."

Ever the gracious guy, Probst was quick to give his good buddy Harris a big thumbs up. "He can sing, dance, do magic tricks. I watch him and think, 'That's how you host a show!'"

While Probst couldn't be happier about his Emmy, he said he would like to see "Survivor" take home the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program some day, but so far, "The Amazing Race" has a clean sweep. "They've got it locked up.

"You can't argue against 'Race,' though. It's a big show," noted Probst. "I'm sure for the other shows that are nominated, it's frustrating. Maybe they should do what Oprah did and pull themselves out of the running. You know, say, 'We've got enough trophies. Let's give somebody else a chance.'" However, Bertram Van Munster, who created "The Amazing Race," responded soon after, "It is unlikely."

Even as the reviews were being written about the 61st Emmy Awards, the show was deemed a winner by winners themselves onstage and backstage. Besides Probst's props, Jon Cryer was quick to declare, "Neil Patrick Harris is, as you can see, killing it tonight." And, "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner told the press, "This network, CBS, has put on an amazing Emmys. I've been fortunate enough to have come to seven of these, and this was the best by far. Neil did a great job and it was really entertaining."

Surrounded by his gorgeous cast, including hottie John Hamm, the drop-dead lovely January Jones and Elisabeth Moss, Weiner said that the show had "over a million new viewers this year. People have been catching up with it on DVD and iTunes." He credits the critical kudos -- and the Emmys -- for helping boost interest in the oh-so-smart 60's period show about advertising execs on Madison Avenue.

The "Mad Men" group was asked whether they'd drink as much as their characters do on the show to celebrate. "We try, but we never quite get there," said the show's John Slattery. Weiner added that the characters' real-life counterparts of the time actually "drank even more," even in the morning.

Tina Fey insisted that her onstage comment that "30 Rock's" repeat win for Outstanding Comedy Series was "a nail biter" was legitimate, even though her show was highly favored to win. "The internet is always wrong," she said. "When we were deemed a favorite on the internet, I kept thinking, 'We're so dead.'"

Although Fey said that the emphasis in this year's shows will be on the "30 Rock" characters as opposed to guest stars -- "we'll be spending our time in our own universe this year, trying to focus on these characters" -- she did allow that her new dream guest star is Meryl Streep. (Lead Actor winner Alec Baldwin's picking Paul McCartney, who he reports is a very real possibility).

When E!'s Ted Casablanca asked Fey what she thought of the flap over Miley Cyrus pole dancing on the Teen Choice Awards, she got a huge response when she commented that "working the pole is kind of a rite of passage" for teenage girls these days. No ... she didn't see anything dirty about the teen star's dance, that it looked like she was just holding onto the pole for safety reasons, so she wouldn't fall off of the ice cream cart.

Jessica Lange said that winning the Emmy for her work in "Grey Gardens" couldn't have happened without her co-star Drew Barrymore. "As I very inarticulately tried to express when I received this, half of this is hers. You can't separate the characters and you can't separate the performances.

"I was so blessed I was given this award tonight, but it's Drew's, too, and she knows that," said a gorgeous Lange, who told reporters that Barrymore couldn't have been happier for her. "She's got the biggest heart in the world and I just love her. We worked beautifully together. We bonded in a way that you can't act, and I think that's what made the characters seem really close."

Lange seemed more amused than annoyed by questions outside the realm of her profession. She insisted she had never heard the term "cougar" and said she was the wrong person to comment about it. As far as the exercise regime she uses to keep her glorious shape, she again seemed baffled, and laughed, "I don't have any other kind of exercise routine. I garden, I walk, I swim. I never exercise."

Another legendary actress, Glenn Close, gave big kudos to her mom backstage and talked about her process of picking a good script. "I know in the first five pages, if it's something that grabs me, and it's in the elegance of the writing. You don't want anything that is too on the nose or too overwritten. You want characters that are interesting. It's hard to find, but when you find it, you know it immediately."

Asked about her beyond-ruthless character, power attorney Patty Hewes, on "Damages," she said she does not find her evil. In fact, she bridled a bit at the "evil" label. "If Patty were a man, would you be saying that?" she asked. She also said, "I don't feel irritated by my character at all. She has wit, cosmic wit, wit that actually informs about serious things as well."

Bryan Cranston and Alec Baldwin both said they were surprised to win Emmys two years in a row -- Cranston for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, for "Breaking Bad," and Baldwin receiving Lead Actor in a Comedy honors for "30 Rock." Baldwin told press he expected Jim Parsons of "Big Bang Theory" to win.

Jon Cryer, who finally took home Supporting Actor in a Comedy honors for "Two and a Half Men" on his fourth nomination, was quick to admit, "No, I did not think I was going to win. I stand in awe of everybody in my category -- an amazing group of guys."

Asked about his acceptance speech comment to Charlie Sheen that this Emmy "is yours" -- and whether he actually was going to give it to Sheen, he said, "I intend to keep it. I intend to get a copy made, and give the copy to him, and then I'll ask Charlie to put it some place prominent in his home, as a centerpiece on his dining table maybe, to always remind him of me."

He also said that he never partied with Charlie Sheen -- even back when they did "Hot Shots!" and Sheen was apparently at the height of his party boy ways. Now he's sober. "I am working with Charlie Sheen during the most boring time in his life and I hate it."

Cryer was asked about it being easier to be gay as a series star, like Neil Patrick Harris, than gay as a movie actor. "I don't think it was easy until Neil did it, you know? Neil Patrick Harris is blazing a trail, actually," said Cryer, also noting that he considers Harris brave. "I have to figure he made it easier."

He's glad that the world is different in terms of acceptance than back a generation. But, as far as thinking about gay or not gay, the twice-wed father of a young son said, "I just hope that's not what people think about when they're watching filmed entertainment."

Asked to what he attributed his win, Cryer said, "I attribute it to wearing a sweater vest on one of the hottest days of the year." Cryer's outfit was a copy of one he'd seen on a picture of a Moschino Uomo runway model. "There was a picture of this awesome-looking model on the runway, and I said 'I want to look like that guy!'" The guy, he said, was lots thinner.

Outstanding Supporting Actress winner Kristin Chenoweth tattled that it was "that little diva, Amy Poehler," who was responsible for all the actresses in her category wearing silly glasses when their names were announced. She and Poehler, Vanessa Williams, Jane Krakowski, Kristen Wiig and Elizabeth Perkins were at a party together the night before, she revealed and decided since they're the funny ladies they should do something funny. They passed on mustaches. Vanessa Williams' on camera refusal to join in was part of the plan.

"I have to say if I didn't win, I would have wanted it to be Vanessa because she gave four or five years of her life to that show," added Chenoweth, referring to Williams' "Ugly Betty" role.

She said she expects Jane Lynch of "Glee" to win next year -- and she was among the stars to comment on "American Idol's" change of judges: she'll miss Paula Abdul's sweetness, but she's looking forward to Ellen DeGeneres on the show.

The diminutive blonde, who had been tearful in her acceptance speech for the "Pushing Daisies," which is now, itself, pushing daisies, said she wasn't expecting to cry up there -- or to win. "I'm beyond thrilled that the Academy remembered our show. It was the most special experience of my career," she said.

She almost choked up again when she answered a question about her mother. "My mother survived cancer four times in her life, so I've seen her really be a fighter," she said, near tears again. "She's the person who gave me the most encouragement, and self-esteem is the most important thing we could give our children."

Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo of the miniseries "House of Saddam" was over the moon about winning an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie. "It's so delicious coming from our own peers. It means I'm surrounded by people who care about me, in a country who accepts me, and an industry that has been very good to me for the last five years."

The actress, who is also a non-stop advocate for human rights in her native country, gave an update on her relative who'd been shot in the eye during protests over the disputed presidential election results. She's all right, but did lose the eye and had to postpone her wedding, said Shoreh. She wore a green bracelet to show solidarity with the young protesters.

Winner Cherie Jones of "24," who rose to fame in the theatre, was still trying to grasp what had just happened. "Walking on that stage tonight, I'm glad I don't have to do a play on it," she said with a laugh. "It just dawned on me, though, that there were probably millions of people watching. It makes me speechless just thinking about that."