Mariska Hargitay with guests at the Me&Ro Holiday Event Benefiting her charity Joyful Heart Foundation yesterday after the awards. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

Last Thursday, more than 1,100 people packed the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Midtown for the 32nd Annual Muse Awards of the New York Women in Film and Television. This wasn’t your typical ladies-who-lunch affair, as a dazzling gaggle of silver screen honorees were acknowledged for their “outstanding vision and achievement.”

The Observer  has attended many a high-powered New York City event, but at this one the atmosphere seemed a bit more genuine with enthusiasm and pride. And no wonder, given how deserving those honored were. Awardees filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson, Kim Martin of WE TV, Lucy Liu and Mariska Hargitay were all celebrated for being women who have persevered, not only having achieved professional success, but having demonstrated commitment towards improving the lives of others. For an industry famed for its self-indulgence, celebrating these women for the opposite was a welcome change.

Debra Zimmerman, executive director of nonprofit Women Make Movies, received the Loreen Arbus award.

Ms. Hargitay delivered a poignant speech and spoke of her late parents, noted body-builder Mickey Hargitay and film star Jane Mansfield. Tearfully, she told the assembled: “I miss my mom today. On the back of the chair she had on movie sets was not her name but her measurements: 40," 21," 35." That’s not all she was!

“I embrace a different kind of measurement. I’m a woman of dimension. I’m grateful for my muses who have made this journey possible. My role as Olivia Benson has helped me to do more: I founded the Joyful Heart Foundation to help address the needs of women who have been the victims of sexual assault and suffer deep trauma. Last year I went before Congress to urge the lawmakers to address the backlog of thousands of unexamined rape kits.” Her passion for the cause was clear, and the enraptured crowd soaked up every word.

Afterwards, away from the dais, we asked about her years in the role of the professional, yet sympathetic cop Benson. We were especially curious after The Observer’s recent "Law & Order SVU" feature, which discussed the show’s regular confrontations with sex crimes.

Laughing, Ms. Hargitay told us, “I look at early segments and am amazed I wasn’t fired back then!”

Assuming all good things come to an end, we prodded about future acting plans, intrigued to find out whether or not the actress was planning her next career step to be a little more PG13.

“I’d love to do Broadway!” was all we got from the gorgeous Ms. Hargitay, although her apparent penchant for singing and dancing seemed to suggest that a more lighthearted role might be in order.

We caught her husband, actor Peter Hermann, beam satisfactorily with approval.

Perhaps, after all, that’s all we needed.

Lucy Liu

We thought ladies’ lunches were the province of the warmer months—when you just can’t wait to sneak away from the office (or the manse) for a cool glass of white wine and some cursory salmon destined to be left uneaten—but the Muse Awards are proving us wrong. This ceremony honoring women in the entertainment industry pays tribute to, among others, Mariska Hargitay (Jayne Mansfield’s daughter who’s now more famous for investigating sex crimes for more than a decade on NBC’s SVU), Lucy Liu (the former Ally McBeal spitfire who’s now on surprise TV hit Elementary) and documentarian Lisa F. Jackson. Expect lots of air-kisses.

New York Hilton, Grand Ballroom, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, 12:30pm, tickets and information can be found at nywift.org.

The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion, which resides near Central Park, was originally placed on the market for a $11,495 million asking price. The place was bought anonymously last month, but the Post was on the case and ID'd the actress as the buyer.

In addition to enjoying its stark white palette, Ms. Hargitay, her husband Peter Hermann and their three children can now indulge in an 18-foot-wide home elevator, eat-in chef’s kitchen, double-height ceilings, a sun room and built-in barbecue grill. Did we mention it's all white?

sgrothjan@observer.com

• 30 Rock
• The Big Bang Theory
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Louie
• New Girl
• Modern Family

Sorry, guys: Girls skews a little young for this crowd. All of the shows on this list are essentially perma-nominees at this point, but for Louie, which is so well-regarded among the establishment that its nomination seems likely, and New Girl, which is youngish but is sort-of, kind-of an actual hit on broadcast TV (unlike possible nominees like Parks and Recreation).

Best Drama

• Breaking Bad
• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• The Good Wife
• Homeland
• Mad Men

The Good Wife sneaks in just so broadcast TV is represented somehow; the rest are the five TV shows (yes, Downton is a series now, not a miniseries) that combined critical acclaim with your co-workers asking if you were caught up yet. (Poor, not-quite-loved Boardwalk Empire.)

Best Actress, Comedy

• Laura Dern, Enlightened
• Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
• Lena Dunham, Girls
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

We stand by our prediction!

Best Actor, Comedy

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Louis C.K., Louie
• Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
• Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
• Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Now that perpetual bridesmaid Steve Carell is no longer on TV, there's a spot open, and perhaps it'll go to the guy who helped keep Two and a Half Men on the air, if in attenuated form. Mr. Cryer's already won an Emmy as a supporting actor, anyhow.

Best Actress, Drama

• Claire Danes, Homeland
• Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
• Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
• Jessica Paré, Mad Men

Lots of turnover in this category! But presumably Ms. Hargitay will remain, constant, impassive, immovable.
Best Actor, Drama

• Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
• Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Kelsey Grammer, Boss
• Hugh Laurie, House
• Damian Lewis, Homeland
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men

With the exception of Hugh Laurie (whose show just ended), this is a party of all the ill-behaved men of cable TV.

“I cannot wait to see Michelle Obama!” said the fit morning-talk-show host Kelly Ripa, adding that she was wearing fake eyelashes for the occasion. “I love her whole physicality—she’s so tall and statuesque and good-looking!”

Ms. Ripa was wearing a strapless navy Alberta Ferretti gown with a taut bodice. “I chose it because—I know this will sound silly—but I thought it made me look busty!” she said. Asked whether her bare arms were a sartorial tribute to the first lady, Ms. Ripa giggled. “Let me tell you about the arms,” she said. “It’s springtime, but it’s very cold tonight and it’s very hard finding anything with a sleeve. Trust me!”

The actress Lindsay Price arrived in a mermaid-style dress designed by Carolina Herrera, an honorary co-chair of the evening along with Ms. Obama, Caroline Kennedy, socialite Blaine Trump and actress Renée Zellweger.

“I’m over the moon!” Ms. Price said about the sheer possibility of being near the first lady. “I think I’ll be too shy to go out of my way to meet her, but I’m happy to just be in her company.”

Behind her, be-furred Vogue editor Anna Wintour, arms crossed and sunglasses in place, was being escorted inside. Vanity Fair’s Amy Fine Collins was close behind. “I’m very excited. Not only do we have ballet tonight, but we have politics, too,” said Ms. Collins, whose upper arms were also exposed.

Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa arrived with model Dree Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest, on one arm and socialite Amanda Brooks on the other, each outfitted in one of his minimalist dresses. Is he hoping to woo Ms. Obama?

“Why do you think I’m here? I bought a tuxedo for this!” Mr. Costa said. “She’s proven she has a great sensibility. She’s figuring her own way out and doing an amazing job.”

Actress Mariska Hargitay proclaimed herself above all this fashion flim-flam. “I’m not obsessed with what she wears, I’m obsessed with Michelle Obama,” she said firmly before ducking inside. 

Meanwhile, Lynda Carter, the original Wonder Woman, recalled the year she attended the ballet in the company of another first lady: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

“She was so chic,” Ms. Carter said. “I am excited to meet Michelle Obama. She’s just killer. And tall!”

As guests took their seats, Senator Chuck Schumer welcomed Caroline Kennedy to the stage. Ms. Kennedy in turn welcomed the much-awaited first lady, who (having snuck in through an underground entrance) appeared from behind the gold curtain in a sparkly black Azzedine Alaïa cocktail dress. A standing ovation ensued. (Real estate developer Janna Bullock even put her BlackBerry away for a moment to clap.)

After a few gracious words about the importance of “learning through the arts,” Ms. Obama headed to a private box containing Jill Biden, Ms. Kennedy and the White House social secretary, Desirée Rogers.

During the intermission, the VIPs thronged a roped-off reception area. Ripa chatted with Caryn Zucker, wife of NBC president Jeff Zucker; Ms. Wintour greeted billionaire David Koch; and Ms. Rogers huddled with anchors Al Roker and Deborah Roberts.

“There’s just something kind of special about this night to begin with, and then you add Michelle Obama on top of that and …” Mr. Roker gushed.

“You’ll really stay awake,” Ms. Roberts said.

“Yeah, normally I look at this as a good shot at napping,” admitted Mr. Roker. “But I’m thinking this is actually something I should probably stay awake for.”

Wearing a formal belted black dress, Ms. Rogers told the Daily Transom that she and Ms. Obama were enjoying the show.

“It is a great night for America, really,” she said. “To see this lovely ballet, to see these children from the Jackie Kennedy Onassis school perform for the first time, it just brings everything full circle and we’re just delighted to be here.”

Alas, there was no sign of the first lady at the glitzy intermission. And as Mr. Roker pointed out, it would be fairly difficult to clink champagne flutes with her anyway.

“There’s this little thing called the Secret Service that I think will keep everyone from flocking to her,” he said.

100 Questions

Actor Christopher Moynihan, last seen on NBC as part of the ill-fated attempt to bring Coupling to American shores, goes behind the scenes to executive produce this comedy about—wait for it—five single friends living in New York! And there’s a laugh track! We dare you to watch the four-minute extended preview and not want to immediately claw your eyes out and/or run and watch an episode of How I Met Your Mother to wash the bad taste out of your mouth. Seriously, why would NBC even bother with this?

Probability of a second season: 3%

Trauma

The first thing that has to go is the title: can you imagine telling your friends you watch something called Trauma? That aside, the series—about a group of first-responder paramedics—just feels like the kind that gets relegated to Friday nights and cancelled within a month. We love star Derek Luke, but he has to find a better use of his time.

Probability of a second season: 18%

Mercy

Not only can NBC save money with this show by recycling Grey’s Anatomy plots, they can also film it on the old ER sets. Win-win! Mercy deals with the lives of a trio of sassy/pretty nurses—played by Michelle Trachtenberg, Taylor Schilling and Jamie Lee Kirchner—as they navigate the troubled waters of Mercy Hospital. No truth to the rumor that the show was originally called Nurses.

Probability of a second season: 34%

Parenthood

Because the entire entertainment world is bereft of ideas, here comes a serialized version of Ron Howard’s Parenthood, a film that came out twenty years ago. We do want to like this show, specifically because Peter Krause—here taking what appears to be the Steve Martin role at the head of a large ensemble cast—deserves to be a gigantic star. Sadly though, everything we’ve seen thus far seems sorta dated. And even if the show turns out to be good, does anyone think it can survive in this economic landscape with such a big-name cast?

Probability of a second season: 49%

Community

Say hello to the one new show on NBC’s schedule that could be a legitimate success. Joel McHale stars as a former lawyer forced to go back to community college to get his degree. There, he meets a crew of misfits, headed by Chevy Chase. Community plays like a hybrid of Arrested Development and Stripes, and, best of all, there isn’t a faux-documentary crew or laugh track to be found. We’re making progress here, people!

Probability of a second season: 62%

Tuesday: Law & Order: SVU
Meanwhile, even NBC’s biggest successes are causing the network grief. Earlier this month, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reported that Law & Order: SVU stars Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay might not return to the show next season because they’ve priced themselves out of NBC’s budget. Thankfully the two charismatic and no-nonsense actors are still around to finish up this season, the series’ eleventh. In this “ripped from the headlines” sweeps episode, Hilary Duff guest stars as a mother accused of killing her daughter (think: the Caylee Anthony case). Three cheers for Ms. Duff, who has successfully navigated her way from tween starlet to believable twenty-something actress. Miley Cyrus should take notes. [NBC, 10 p.m.]

Wednesday: To Die For
The other night we stumbled upon The Invasion, the ill-begotten revamp of Invasion of the Body Snatchers that Nicole Kidman fronted two summers ago, and it got us thinking: remember when Ms. Kidman had a sense of humor? For our money, she was never better than her funny/deranged performance in To Die For. One of Gus Van Sant’s more mainstream directorial efforts, To Die For allows Ms. Kidman to play off her beauty (and her crazy eyes) to give a star turn that tows the line between camp and satire absolutely perfectly. Forget all those weepy period pieces! It’s time for some intrepid director to once again let Ms. Kidman loose in a dark comedy. [Encore Mystery, 6:10 p.m.]

Thursday: Southland Tales
At just under two-and-a-half hours, Southland Tales is an interminable watch. Still, there are some gems to behold in Richard Kelly’s confounding follow-up to Donnie Darko—Dwayne Johnson kinda crushes as the tattooed hero, while Justin Timberlake, under a mountain of disfiguring makeup and lip syncing to The Killers, is inspired. But the main reason to watch Southland Tales is so that if you ever bump into New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis on the street, you can ask her what she was thinking when she gave this thing such a rave review. [Starz Cinema, 12 a.m.]

Friday: X-Men
You could go out and spend $12 bucks on X-Men Origins: Wolverine on Friday—or illegally download the workprint right now—but we think you’d be best served by staying home and revisiting the first film in the series. Released in 2000, before it was commonplace to see comic book superheroes ruling the summer months, X-Men now feels almost quaint compared to the spectacles that these films have become. Give director Bryan Singer the credit: he infused X-Men with just enough pathos, subtext and reality—the mutants are treated like second-class citizens simply because they’re different from the majority—to allow for it to rise above the silliness of watching men-in-tights. [Outer Max, 6:15 p.m.]

But pity Ms. Hargitay.

It turned out that her 2-year-old son got into a school on the Upper East Side, a long schlep from her new 4,900-square-foot apartment, so she had to put the eight-room duplex--in the 1887 O'Neill Building--on the market.

A day after The Times insisted that celebrities' real estate isn't faring much better than everyone else's (the paper had a similar story in December, too), city records show that Mariska Hargitay just sold her $7 million Flatiron penthouse for $8.15 million, incredibly close to her asking price.

According to the deed, the buyers are Ewa and Maurice Laboz, a huge New York City landlord.

When I lived there in the late 70's and early 80's, the dearth of life-enhancing activities drove me to all kinds of barrel-scraping extremes. For a while, I was actually reduced to attending the weekly meetings of Jayne Mansfield's official fan club, of which I have more than a few haunting and surreal memories. A young and genial Mariska Hargitay-the current Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star who happens to be the late star's daughter-stopped by on Jayne's birthday to cut the pink heart-shaped cake for us fun-seeking members. I recall that Ms. Hargitay mingled indulgently with our odd little group while she toyed with some starchy cake on a paper plate. However, the entente cordiale came screeching to a halt when one of our members-an older gentleman who had clearly downed more than his share of the available Asti Spumante-decided to disclose to the assembled flotsam the reason for his profound empathy with the late starlet. With a slight quiver of emotion in his voice, he proudly told the group that he and the lovely Jayne shared the exact same cellulite configuration on their thighs. Exit Ms. Hargitay.

On a recent trip to the West Coast, I once again found myself desperately looking for kicks in all the wrong places. Once again I got more than I bargained for, this time courtesy of Lord Krishna. The current red-hot destination for those in search of glamour and excitement is nestled in the Hare Krishna Temple compound on Venice Boulevard and Watseka Avenue. It's a boutique called Govinda's (310-204-3263), named after the Hindu god "who pleases the cows and senses"-a major understatement, as I saw immediately upon entering.

The current lemming-like stampede of cognoscenti and celebs to this mini-bazaar is a cultural phenomenon. Every week, hordes of notables with varying levels of wattage (and cellulite) schlep to Govinda's to load up on forgiving dashikis, caftans, saris and Krishna paraphernalia. Actresses Chynna Phillips, Christina Applegate and Susan Sarandon have all made the pilgrimage, and Steve Tyler (Aerosmith front man and father to Liv) apparently buys his musk chez Govinda.

The prices are so amazing that even the most hard-core celeb klepto would be happy to open his or her purse. The best-selling item is the Lucknow, a transparent, embroidered, caftan-ish affair that sells for a heartwarming $19.99. The saris, which make fantastic curtains or bedspreads, start at $23. If the celeb cruising and rummaging gives you an appetite, then rama-rama downstairs to the café and re-energize yourself at the $5.50 all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet.

New Yorkers can avail themselves of Govinda's wares by logging onto orders@govindasimports.com. Spending thousands of dollars on Madison Avenue to look like a peasant-as per this season's neo-hippie trend-is embarrassing and silly. So stop it! And go Vinda! Go Vinda! Go Vinda!