Boston Legal? I Object! And Other Problems with the Emmys
So, Boston Legal is a better drama than The Wire, Deadwood and Friday Night Lights. Battlestar Galactica and Lost are unworthy of recognition. Awesome! Seriously, thanks for clearing that up, Emmy! Glad we can move on now!
If you agree with those sentiments, you are welcome to move on and miss the annual installment of Another TV Critic Bitches About the Emmys. (Read the full Emmy nominations list here.) The problem with the Emmys is simple, and despite the regular changes to the voting rules and process, it's essentially the same every year: Too many of the people making the choices don't really watch TV.
The critique has already been laid out expertly by Tom O'Neil of the Envelope blog--I've disagreed with him in the past but am with him on this one--and EW's Mark Harris, one of the best pop-culture critics out there. In short, the current nomination process combines the worst of popular voting with the worst of "expert" voting. The shortlist of 10 semifinalists in each category was picked by popular vote among the academy, working against shows like The Wire, which have small audiences and don't get a lot of free media buzz. (Once again: there's already a popular vote in the TV business, and they call it the Nielsen ratings.) Then the nominees are chosen by industry, ahem, "veterans" who watch one episode. This again works against serial shows like The Wire, and most of the best dramas on TV now (as well as some of the best comedies).
As out of touch as Oscar voters may be, when they pop in a nominee's screener and watch it, at least they've done due diligence: they've seen the full work. That's far from true when you see an isolated episode of a show with a long-running story arc. ("The Dharma who? What the hell? Dammit, I miss Magnum P.I.!") So if the judges aren't up to speed, or simply don't like newfangled serial TV, they're going to be at a loss. (Ironically, this also means that a serial show like Heroes has a better chance of getting nominated when it's brand-new--because it can submit the pilot, which requires no prior knowledge--than when it's established.) For this reason, the Emmys do a little better with comedy than drama: TV drama today is just too demanding for Emmy judges.
The Emmys as set up are perfectly positioned to honor the best of television--in 1975. If you want to honor what TV does well now, though, you need to have judges who watch TV as it is watched now, intensely and with commitment. That may mean bringing TV writers, bloggers or critics into the process (and if you think I'm trying to arrogate power to myself, believe me, I'd rather not have the hassle), or at least a more diverse group of industry people who are actually conversant with the most acclaimed and buzzed-about shows on TV.
Am I being elitist? Yes. So what? It's an awards show. Awards are elitist by nature: you are judging one work or performance better than all others. As long as you're going to do that, you might as well be familiar with what you're judging.
* Let's be generous to Emmy and say some nice things first: Nice job honoring 30 Rock. Even if the famous-name effect probably worked in Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey's favor, I have no problem with the right show getting nominated for the wrong reasons. The nods for The Sopranos were obvious but no less well-deserved. As for the non-predictable, nice calls on Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Ricky Gervais and Minnie Driver.
* One well-deserved omission: at least Emmy didn't nominate 24 as Best Drama, which would not have surprised me. (I don't have a problem with the actor nomination for Kiefer Sutherland; there may have been more deserving choices this year, but he was practically in a deathmatch against season 6's scripts, and held his own admirably.)
* Heroes over Lost? Biting tongue. Hard. I already went there. No point going again.
* Seriously--The Wire, nothing. FNL, two paltry casting and directing noms. Just let that sink in.
* On a Lost-positive note, Michael Emerson did get well-deserved props as supporting actor (along with Terry O'Quinn). That almost makes up for the Best Drama snub. Except that it doesn't.
* Swap in How I Met Your Mother for Two and a Half Men and I'd be reasonably happy with the comedy nominees. (Although, not to dis Tony Shalhoub, but I'm starting to believe he will be nominated for years after Monk goes off the air. He's the new David Hyde Pierce.)
* Colbert Report vs. Daily Show smackdown in the Writing category! Whose side are you on? (I have to give this season to Colbert Nation, but I suspect that inertia gives the award to TDS--unless there's a split vote and Letterman walks home with the trophy.)
* Keep in mind--the Emmy eligibility season is summer through spring, meaning that, for starters, Big Love was not in the running. Otherwise, let the judging of the judges begin!
[Update: Also, Rome was zeroed out in all the major categories. Sorry--too many grievances, too little time. Also, Deadwood got a few token nods in technical categories, because, you know, it was the art direction and makeup that made the show, not those hacks Ian McShane and David Milch.]
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Oh, and I'll throw in another gripe: The Sarah Silverman Program had a far better season than Entourage. (Not that I would ever seriously expect the Emmys to nominate it.) I could go on all day.
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"The Wire" gets screwed every year. What is the real reason?
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@Gabriel: I think the main reason has been the same every year, whatever voting system is used--the people voting, by and large, do not watch it. A supplementary reason is that Emmy voters are only willing to give the love to one or two HBO shows a season. And call me P.C. but I don't think it helps that the cast is mostly black (or that it's mostly unknowns). Although being mostly white did not do much for Deadwood this year.
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Does anyone who takes good TV programming take the Emmy nominations seriously. They are usually behind on what quality shows people are watching or even if they don't have the huge ratings, take chances in writing, production, acting....Yeah the Emmy's have stopped being a gauge of anything worthwhile, haven't the numbers watching been steadily declining each year?
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I quit watching awards shows long ago. Each awards show seems to suffere from the same problems. Take the Grammys for instance. I've followed country music for years. Actually, I've been a devoted fan. Akin to all of those hard rockers who know every song on an artist's album, who wrote them, and which studio musicians set in on the session. Back in the day, I knew country music backwards and forwards. Each year the grammys come along and would recognize some piece of fluff that was on the outskirts of country. The Grammys simply didn't take the country music industry serious and only gave it a passing glance. I'm sure there were other genres of music that are treated the same.
All that being said, I take a lot of exception to the actual country music award shows too.
Like I said, I quit watching awards shows of any kind years ago. It was always an exercise in frustration that those morons didn't vote the way I wanted them to.
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Single best nomination....
Outstanding original song: Saturday Night Live, Justin Timberlake for "d1ck in a box"Seriously. That got nominated.
The failure to recognize Rome in the outstanding miniseries category -- or for any major awards -- is a travesty.
And would someone explain why "The Starter Wife" got so many nominations? PLEASE!?!?!
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It's not surprising that the categories the Emmys seem to consistently get right are the one-time shows like original movies (Longford should sweep, by the way). Procedural dramas and sitcoms seem to have an advantage over newcomers, even a semi-serial like Entourage. Its first season was its best by far, yet it gets more noms now that voters have seen a few episodes and know the characters. Of course, Hollywood types love Hollywood shows. But anyone who watched HBO the last year knows Extras was its best comedy. And sadly, the other worthy HBO dramas likely were overshadowed by The Sopranos' final season. I still hope it wins all the major drama awards.
I never knew there was a category for "Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup". You think Tell Me You Love Me will be nominated next year?
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Jeez, could they stack the deck any more towards the Sopranos for Best Drama? The only real competition is not-as-good-as-last-year House. On the other hand, I agree with your Best Comedy list - swap Men for Mother and that category would be spot on.
In Dramatic acting, Gandolfini and Falco look to be locks. And while Emerson getting a nod is awesome, I don't think he has any hope - between the Soprano effect for Imperioli and O'Quinn splitting the Lost vote, the odds seem low. You've got me on supporting actress.
The comedic acting awards seem to be wide open. While I can't give enough praise to Neil Patrick Harris, he has his work cut out for him.
But yes, no (or nearly no) nominations that matter for The Wire, The Shield, BSG, Rome, Deadwood, etc., etc., etc. Dear Academy, there's a reason that, aside from looking at the winners for five minutes the day after, your awards mean nothing to me.
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I thought the comedy nominees were pretty impressive. But the combination of usual Emmy nomination stupidity and The Soprano's going off the air made the drama nominees nothing short of a disaster. I blogged my full comments at http://www.mediaobsessed.com
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"Jeez, could they stack the deck any more towards the Sopranos for Best Drama? "
Speaking of stacking the deck for the Sopranos...
Anyone notice the "Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series" 3 of the 5 nominations for the Sopranos. There is the token we know how good Battlestar is so here is nomination in something that is not a technical category. But don't worry you won't win because we have firmly placed the odds in the Sopranos favor.I curse the gods of tv.
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And Dexter only got nominated for it's Main Title Design/music/editing? That's an insult. "So your show isn't good, but way to play you're opening credits are awesome!"
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Is it really HBO's fault that it has the a) freedom and b) budget as a pay cable channel to make better shows than the networks? (I'm not even sure b is right given the ad costs on the networks..) Is there some secret quota system that limits where the nominations have to come from? The Wire, Deadwood and "that Tony Show" are 1-2-3, in whatever order you choose, are the best dramas on TV and Rome is among the best historical mini-series you'll ever see. Is HBO being penalized because the can be more "real" on cable? Sure smells like it...
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As usual, I am disappointed by the Emmys. Of course, let's be honest everyone, are we really all that suprised that they would ignore shows like Dexter and the The Wire? They ignored Lauren Graham on Gilmore Girls for years, and it had some big support. I don't think we can act surprised by set ups like the Sopranos (the series finale disappointment alone is enough to not give it to them) until they get new people in who actually watch the shows.
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I started pissed off about Lauren Graham. Then I remembered how they've snubbed Kelly Bishop too. Then I saw that they'd nominated Tony Shalhoub *again*, when they could've jumped 1 time slot down and taken a chance on James Roday or Dule Hill on "Psych," who are *far* more entertaining than Shalhoub is on a regular basis.
And then...and then...I'll be in my bunk.
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Battlestar? Ugh... surely there has to be something better on TV. Christ, I'd prefer Barney and Friends to Battlestar...
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ROME once again scored multiple (7) nominations in tech categories, but was shut out of any major slots. Polly Walker? One of the best female leads on TV. She was brilliant, as was the rest of the cast. The Academy, however, did recognize another historical drama from HBO: BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE. The most of any production this year, 17 noms. I just hate to see ROME burn w/o any recognition. In many ways it was better than that original Roman TV epic, I CLAUDIUS. Once again the Emmys prove to be superfluous.
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Heroes over Lost? Biting tongue. Hard. I already went there. No point going again.
But like you said before James, the Heroes Pilot Episode is probably easier to swallow than any epsisode of Lost from season three.
My personal issues with Lost set aside for a moment, it does suck that Lost didn't get a nom but wait until the last season and I'm sure the accolades (if not the answers) will come pouring in.
Now Battlestar I have to chalk up to "But it's Sci-Fiii! Eeeew! I'll get nerd cooties if I vote for that!"
Or it could just be all of the voters are Cylons.
P.S. James? How does one go about becoming a tv critic?
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Rome was such an amazing show, not just in the technical categories but in acting quality, story lines...oh I'm sorry I forgot those things were irrelevant to Emmy votes. Though, Battlestar Galactica?? Um, I don't think so. Emmy voters need to get their heads out of their rear ends and actually pay attention to real television. So much of the media is fluff and nonsense, and the few instances of quality (THE WIRE!!!) are ignored. And yes, The Wire is ignored year and after year because of the diversity of its cast, though other quality predominantly white shows have been overlooked for other reasons. It's all ridiculous but unfortunately there is little prestige associated with People's Choice Awards. So sad...
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How to beccome a TV critic?
I think it has to do with eating copious amounts of cheetos and watching TV.
There might be a few other minor details I have not thought of.
Am I wrong James?
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I think you are right about it all. Some are really out of touch with what is really good drama. 24 and Lost are two of the best and Heroes doesn't even come close. For me, Heroes tries but it's boring! 24 and Lost I even bought on iTunes in order not to miss an episode. That's how good they were. Does it seems like "Washington out of touch politics" has hit the Emmys? I think so.
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@Keith & C Brown: Prefer Doritos.
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I whole-heartedly disagree with the author regarding Boston Legal's Emmy nomination. The series is thoughful, provocative, engageing, humorful and smart, all thanks to the masterful writing of David E. Kelley and his staff. Also well deserved are the nominations once again for James Spader and William Shatner, although unfortunately Candice Bergen was wrongfully overlooked. I thought this past season was their best yet. The writing and acting have never been sharper. There will always be those who get upset that "their" favorite show didn't get nominated, but perhaps the author should focus on the fact that it is much better to have so many worthy programs to choose from, instead of trashing a quality program such as Boston Legal to explain his frustration over his particular favorites not getting nominated.
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When "The Starter Wife" gets 10 noms, it's a sign that there are big, big problems for Emmy to deal with. I won't be watching the awards this year.
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I see the flacks for Boston Legal are on the job. Next time you want to suck up to your bosses try not to make it sound like a press release. How sad.
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Though, Battlestar Galactica?? Um, I don't think so. Emmy voters need to get their heads out of their rear ends and actually pay attention to real television. So much of the media is fluff and nonsense, and the few instances of quality (THE WIRE!!!) are ignored.
Doc2B...I'm assuming you've never seen that show. Fluff and nonsense? The only thing remotely ridiculous about that show is the name. It won a Peabody, for crying out loud! They just don't give those to anybody. (The Wire got one as well.) I was entirely too happy that BSG got the nominations it did. Four in all - including writing and directing?! Maybe next year they'll actually get some acting nods too...or a best drama nomination. Even with some of those uneven standalone episodes this season, the show deserves way more than it gets from the Emmys. It's awesome.
I must say I was surprised to see that Friday Night Lights got no love from the Academy. It's not my favorite show, but it deserved a lot better than that.
Not surprised about The Wire...unfortunately. Poo poo to the Emmys for that. Why is it so hard to nominate the best shows? Honestly!
- poniewozik Loved the season. Mrs Tuned In wd have put u on the main list RT @boredtodeath Thank u for incl us in Time's Top 10. We'll take hon mention. - 6 hours ago
- poniewozik @carr2n Virgin is the best, LAX-JFK - 7 hours ago
- poniewozik Did NPR interview abt multiscreen multitasking. After, automatically reached for iPhone in pocket. Like don draper wd have for cigarettes. - 8 hours ago
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