Best & Worst: MTV Video Music Awards 2010

The opening number with Eminem and Rihanna was fine enough, but the projected background of flames was something to behold. To quote MTV alumni Beavis and Butthead: “Fire is cool.”  (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

Credit goes to host Chelsea Handler for understanding the need to make a big entrance for the semi-enrapt crowd inside the Nokia Theatre. Her Lady Gaga parody costume, involving a house on her head and a caged dove under her dress, was ambitious and bizarre. Too bad the poor dove didn’t get with the program. It landed on the nearest backup dancer’s leg and perched there, to the obvious horror of the poor dancer, who muttered, “All right.”  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Last year’s VMAs were boffo for MTV thanks almost entirely to Kanye West’s showstopping interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. So host Chelsea Handler wasn’t shy about prodding her audience into rainmaking for another year. “Be on your worst behavior,” she pleaded. “Not some predictable girl-on-girl kiss.” She also said she was “Not opposed to the use of weapons.” If someone takes her seriously, it’ll make for an interesting trial.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

First shocker of the night: One of the Jackass guys pulled his clothes off, revealing some kind of anatomically correct underwear during their presentation of the best rock video award. Out of the respect to the winners – 30 Seconds to Mars – he kept his back to the audience during their acceptance speech.  (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

30 Seconds to Mars front man Jared Leto looks like Kiefer Sutherland in “The Lost Boys.” That’s all.  (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

Was Taylor Swift’s year-in-the-making, much-anticipated response to Kanye West’s awards-crashing worth the hype? It was if you were a fan of pompous ballads where one 20-year-old recording star acts as the emotional superior to another recording star a decade older. I think all have something to learn from young Taylor. In moments of tribulation, just ask yourself, what would Taylor Swift do?  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

They may not be as high profile as most of the acts on this year’s show, but Florence + the Machine performance was actually…classy?  (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

After some awkward banter between Katy Perry and Nicky Manoj about finding a man at the VMAs, they presented the award for best male video to an absent Eminem. Perry gave the award to Manoj, saying, “Here’s your man, Nicky. He’s stiff.” Did they bring in the writers from “Laugh In” for this year’s awards?  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Lady Gaga’s famed fashion sense may finally prove to be undoing. After a torturous trip to the podium in a massive black dress to accept the award for best pop video, Gaga admitted that her costume planning did not take winning awards into account. Standing on stage weighed down by her massiveness, Gaga described herself as “fashion roadkill.” It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.  (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

Meanwhile, MTV trotted out the “Jersey Shore” cast for a surprisingly tame bit of business in a Jacuzzi with Chelsea Handler. As weird as it feels to say this, it seemed like the kids from the Garden State deserved better than this.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Justin Bieber tried and failed to evoke early-era Beatles with his retro car and screaming-girls entrance. Every day this kid is looking more and more like a really juicy “Behind the Music” special in the making.  (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

We get it. Kanye screwed up at last year’s VMA’s when he was mean to Taylor Swift (see photographic evidence at left). But do we really need countless jokes about it throughout this year’s ceremony? Isn’t Kanye and Taylor’s new-song showdown enough? Maybe it’s time we had a toast for the scumbags.  (Jason DeCrow / Associated Press)

No, MTV! Bad MTV! Nononononononono! Bad MTV! Bad! Bad!  (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

Last year he did it unintentionally, but this year he closed out the show with a rocking response to Taylor Swift’s sanctimonious forgiveness ballad. Rather than being repentant, West chose to embrace every nasty thing said about him this year, and the result is one of the strongest VMA closers in recent memory. A toast for the scumbags indeed.  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)