The Emmy Nominations were announced this morning to much fanfare and … nah, I can’t keep a straight face with that. I slept right through ’em. And thank goodness I did, because once again, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences proved that much of the time it pays very little attention to the art or science of television when it is much easier to rely on popularity.
That’s not to say there aren’t some very deserving nominees among this year’s crop. But even briefly scanning the list, it is far too easy to find several titles that are questionable at best and downright offensive at worst.
Let’s take the Best Comedy Series category to start: The Office is much deserved, and very good arguments can be made for both 30 Rock (which consistently improved as the season progressed) and Entourage. I have some problems with Ugly Betty, regardless of its tremendous popularity: it’s a very good show but an uneven one as well. Two and a Half Men though? Is that like the People’s Choice Award selection? It’s a terrible, simple, cheap joke, standard-issue sitcom that inexplicably is one of the highest rated on network TV. It’s not even close to the best sitcom on CBS. It’s not even close to being the best sitcom on CBS on Monday nights! Both How I Met Your Mother and, to a lesser degree, The New Adventures of Old Christine are far more creative, interesting and laugh-out-loud funny than Two and a Half Men. And where the hell is Weeds? It’s not like Emmy voters hadn’t seen the show: they gave star Mary-Louise Parker a much deserved nomination (as they did for Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Christine).
If we move on to the Drama Series category, things don’t get much rosier. Obviously The Sopranos was going to receive a nomination, and while I am in the apparent minority who believes that the series finale was not just perfect but purely genius, I thought much of the season was relatively meh. Maybe better than a lot of other television, but not really that extraordinary. I’m also not surprised by Grey’s Anatomy although I still don’t get the show at all. And while I do get House, I hesitate to call it one of the top five dramas on television. Meanwhile, Boston Legal is a show that ran out of steam very early on because its entire success rests on the quirks of two characters. It has no business whatsoever being called one of the best-of-the-best.
I’m ecstatic that Heroes is being recognized. Whether or not it can keep it up, this season, it was easily one of the most impressive hours on TV. But where the hell is Friday Night Lights. Oh that’s right: it’s a show that struggles with its ratings even though it is consistently week-in and week-out one of the best pure dramas on the air. It certainly possesses way fewer eye-rolling moments than Grey’s. And although they are popular shows (within their cable universe), where are Rescue Me and Nip/Tuck, both stronger than Boston Legal (and, obviously, for me better than Grey’s too). I don’t miss the non-inclusion of 24 nor Lost; I’m actually pleasantly surprised that they managed to stay away.
[UPDATED: How could I forget?!?! Both Deadwood and Battlestar Galactica were eligible for this season, and both were more deserving than any of the shows I just mentioned other than Friday Night Lights. I sometimes get annoyed and the crappy dialogue often exhibited on Galactica, but the series overall is tremendous, and much more than just your average Sci-Fi story. It’s quite political and topical, exploring lots of fascinating subjects while also giving us broadly drawn characters literally trying to recreate a society.]
The biggest omission, however, is the continued neglect of what actually is the best drama on television hands down: HBO’s The Wire. HBO should be applauded for sticking with this series for so long even though it has never pulled down Sopranos or Sex in the City audiences. Season-after-season, The Wire has proven to be one of the most impressive examples of writing you’ll see on any screen anywhere: television, movies, computer, whatever. It’s a show that defies normal television: you have to actually pay attention to it. Every episode — every entire season, for that matter — is so intricately plotted that if you turn away for a few minutes, you’ll need to rewind. But at the same time, you’ll be rewarded for paying such close attention. The show is riveting, and if you’ve never seen it, start Netflixing now. You’ll find it very difficult to turn off the DVD player when you have episodes left to watch. It’s a flat-out travesty that Boston Legal is being called one of TV’s top five series when The Wire is missing.
Oh, if only that were all. More after the jump:
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Reality Competition Program: I know people don’t pay that much attention to this category, but I do. I also know that people love Dancing With the Stars, but I don’t. Now, I may just be a little off when it comes to my Emmy rules, but with only four nominees named, why is there no room for the incredible So You Think You Can Dance, a show that is actually much better than American Idol because the dancers are all tremendously talented. There are no Sanjayas in these groups; no karaoke dancers. And for that matter, what about Big Brother. Sure, maybe it is the pinnacle of everything that is wrong with the desire-for-fame culture in our society, but as far as “reality competition” goes, it’s downright riveting.
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Animated Program (less than one hour): WTF? No Family Guy?!?
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Nonfiction Series: While each of the nominated series deserve attention, the omission of A&E’s brilliant Intervention is an enormous one. I’ve actually been planning to write about Intervention for some time. It is truly an amazing series both in its subject matter and production. Moving, disturbing, occasionally inspirational but always very real without ever pandering to the home audience or its subject matters, Intervention isn’t just a great show (that many might simply find too difficult to watch), but it’s also an important show.
Another less-serious but tremendously inspirational series that either belongs in this category or (more likely) the “Reality” category is MTV’s Made. That’s right — I’m saying there’s a case for an MTV series to get an Emmy nomination! Made is a virtual public service and utterly antithetical to just about everything else MTV produces (aside from its documentaries that air under the True Life banner). Made is just plain uplifting, and unlike so much of reality television — especially on MTV — that focuses on gaining notoriety or celebrity status mixed with debauchery, Made is about teenagers pursuing their goals and dreams and, usually, achieving them to at least some degree. It’s a show about the power of positive thinking and action. I don’t mean to come off sounding prude at all: I enjoy a lot of reality TV as much as most (if not more), but I’m not arguing that Flavor of Love or Charm School should be getting Emmy nods. (Well …. no, no I’m not.) But for a channel dedicated to youth culture, MTV should be proud and hailed for producing a show like Made, especially when it also litters the airwaves with My Super Sweet Sixteen and Parental Control.
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Variety, Music or Comedy Series: I actually have no problems whatsoever with this category. I’m just baffled as to how I would make a decision. I’m also fascinated by what it means that Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Late Show with David Letterman are among the honorees but no Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In fact, this may be the one category where Emmy gets it right, utterly ignoring the most popular show of all — ratings-wise at least. What has Jay’s spot? HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Of course, my vote would go to either The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, but could I make a decision without a coin toss? Not sure.
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Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program: Last year, many of us were shocked to see Barry Manilow take home this award. None more so than Stephen Colbert who was also nominated. Of course, all it did was present Colbert a tremendous opportunity to take on Manilow regularly on The Colbert Report to great (hysterical) effect. This year, Colbert is nominated again along with Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Ellen Degeneres (for hosting the Oscars), and … wait for it … Tony Bennett (for his NBC special, Tony Bennett: An American Classic). I’m seriously considering placing money on Bennett winning simply because Emmy loves to repeat itself, especially when it can get away without necessarily duplicating itself. But if either Bennett or Degeneres wins, it just brings up (again) a bigger problem: why is there a category that combines performance in a one-time special with talent that has to produce at least four shows per week for roughly 35-40 weeks out of the year? Not exactly fair, methinks.
The Academy was finally smart enough to separate out the Supporting Actor/Actress awards between series and Miniseries/movies; why not create a separate category here too. There certainly are plenty of shows and specials on the air to choose from.
Out of Focus 