Emmy Nominations: Gripefest '10

I know I'm a few days behind with this, but there are a couple of factors in play: one, I do this mainly for my own amusement, whereas if I was getting paid to write about television, it would have been my duty to get my comments out there quickly; two, your intrepid blogger has acquired some new responsibilities at work, some of which occur weekly, so I've recently been a bit busier than usual. But even if I can't spend as much time on this subject as I'd like to, you know I have opinions about it.

First, I think it's important to acknowledge that, in general, the academy did a good job this year. Of course, there are still a few instances of legacyitis, the notorious affliction that causes the academy to nominate shows or actors that are past their freshness date, while ignoring other quality shows and talented actors--some new, some not so new--who deserved nominations.

Perfect example: Friday Night Lights. I don't even watch this show (I can only manage to keep up with so many shows at a given time), but I know that every critic thinks it's great and every year they say it should have been nominated. (Both its lead actors finally got nominated, so that's something.) It's absurd for the academy to continue to deny it a best drama nomination, particularly in light of the nomination of Lost after what, with a couple of months' distance, we can now see clearly was a mediocre final season. House also had a so-so season, and it was justifiably left off the list this year.

I would also say that True Blood falls more in the category of a guilty pleasure than a show that should be nominated in this category. Perhaps its slot could have been filled by Justified, which turned out to be much better than I'd expected. The rest of the nominees--Breaking Bad, Dexter, The Good Wife, and Mad Men--all deserve to be here.

Similarly, the best comedy category again has The Office. As much as I've loved this show, sadly it has lost its magic, and since Steve Carell has announced that he will be leaving after next season, I sincerely hope that NBC will realize that it's time to end the show. (Odds of that happening: very tiny.) Most critics feel its spot on the list should have gone to The Big Bang Theory, though I think you could also make the argument that if a freshman series like Modern Family got nominated, then maybe NBC's Community should have as well. After seeing the "chicken fingers"/GoodFellas spoof and paintball episodes again recently, I realized just how solid this show was all season, and how high points like these elevated it even more.

Mad Men submitted Elisabeth Moss in the supporting actress category (where I said last year she belonged), freeing space for January Jones to finally get her much-deserved nomination. Ms. Moss is keeping company with SAR fave Christina Hendricks, who also got nominated. Their characters may be unhappy, but all three ladies should be very proud of their work.

Of course, I have quibbles with the acting categories, too. I sure would have liked to see Anna Gunn get a nod for her amazing work on Breaking Bad; did Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay really need another nomination? I don't even think there were any "very special" (read: overacting) Detective Benson episodes this season.

And then of course there are the by-now perennial nominations for Tony Shalhoub for Monk (which thankfully has ended, so he can't get any more) and Jon Cryer for Two and a Half Men. I'd hate to think he's the reason Ed O'Neill was the only adult actor on Modern Family not to get a nod. I think it's a little curious that Aaron Paul got nominated as supporting actor for Breaking Bad instead of lead, but I'm sure it's so he doesn't get in the way of Bryan Cranston's chance of a third consecutive win for lead actor. I was very disappointed that John Noble didn't get noticed for the outstanding work he did as Walter Bishop on Fringe; I thought he was much more deserving than Martin Short, who got nominated for his work on Damages.

I've never watched Glee, and I never will. But I think maybe the academy just got a little over-excited about it because it's different from other comedies. Certainly no one is going to complain if Jane Lynch wins supporting actress, because she's just awesome no matter what she's in. But even before the nominations, there had already been some backlash floating around, a little surprising for a show that's just finished its first season. Remember one thing: the creator of Glee, Ryan Murphy, was also the guy behind Nip/Tuck, and when you consider where that show started, and where it ended, it has to make you wonder a little.