You would think, this being a TV blog and all, that I'd be over the moon about the Emmy Award nominations, which were released today.
Well, I'm not.
I actually don't care all that much about the Emmy Awards. Four reasons come to mind:
1. I've generally only seen a small percentage of the nominated material. This isn't all that different from, say, the Oscars, but it seems to make a difference in this case
2. I don't root for actors. Really, I'd be happy if Hugh Laurie won for his work on House, but I don't have any personal investment in a possible win for him.
3. The repetitive nature of nominations, especially in the past when it seemed that the likes of Candace Bergen, Helen Hunt, and David Hyde Pierce would win every year. It probably wasn't that bad, but it only exacerbated my disinterest.
4. The awards show is on in the summer, when I'm less likely to watch.
Going back to point three for a second, the Emmy folks may be trying to balance repetitive nominations by adopting newcomers with buzz. Witness, for example, the 15 nominations for Desperate Housewives. Clearly, this was abetted by the show's consideration as a comedy, as there's not a whole lot of stand-out material in the sitcoms that usually populate the comedy awards. I'm not sure I agree that the show is a comedy; it has comedic elements, but I tend to think of the story lines as dramatic in nature.
Random observations:
* UPN got three nominations, all technical, and all for the same show: Enterprise. Whoops. No nod for America's Next Top Model in the reality category, and (not unexpectedly) no love for Veronica Mars.
* The only network show nominated in the reality category was Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which I find about as interesting as (with apologies) paint drying. Shows that did get nods here include Queer Eye, Antiques Roadshow and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. This is easily the strangest group of nomninees. Oh, OK, there is a separate "reality-competition" category with all the expected nominees (The Apprentice, American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race, and, surprisingly, Project Runway).
* Sticking with American Idol, I kind of want to gag that the finale got a directing nomination, given how the show is generally kind of a mess.
* While I'm OK with shows getting more than one nomination in a category, there should be a limit. Take best guest actor in a comedy, for example. Four of the five nominees are from appearances on Will & Grace. While you can make the argument that they're all deserving, to my mind it rewards stunt casting.
* This was not the year for The West Wing, as the only acting nods went to Alan Alda and Stockard Channing. It only got five nominations total (though one is for best drama, which helps). In a related note, Kathryn Joosten, who played Mrs. Landingham on the show, got an Emmy nod for her guest role as Mrs. McClusky on Desperate Housewives.
* Oh, yeah, neither Nicolette Sheridan or Eva Longoria got acting nods. Huh.
* Scrubs got a best comedy nod, which I'm sure NBC will be happy to tout... when the show returns in January.
* I feel less dirty now that Cold Case Files has a nomination for outstanding non-fiction series.
There's probably more later. But maybe not.
1 comment:
No matter how loud the demand, They Who Vote For Emmys will never give love to WB or UPN shows. If that were the case, *Gilmore Girls* would have been nominated for Best Comedy at least 2-3 times.
In regards to whether *Desperate Housewives* should be considered in the comedy category, I remember there being a similar outcry a few years ago when the Emmy folks ruled that *Ally McBeal* could be considered in the comedy category, and proceeded to win the Best Comedy Emmy in its first season.
Frankly, the Best Comedy category is so broad that shows "on the border" traditionally submit episodes for consideration to the comedy category, seeing it as a better chance for nomination than Best Drama. *Wonder Years* fell into this category during its entire run, as did *MASH* after Alan Alda took control of the show.
Somewhat surprised that the same people who vilify *DH* for being nominated as a comedy don't do the same with *Monk* which, IMO, is pushing it more than *DH* when it comes to labeling itself as a comedy.
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