Comments on The Emmy Nominations

On Thursday, the Emmy nominations were announced. As with all award nominations, there are some that I feel were great, some that suck, and a lot that was overlooked. I’ll give my predictions closer to the show (like I did for the Oscars). Here are my thoughts:

-Best Drama Series: Same old, same old. No Nip/Tuck (my mom’s new show of choice). No The Shield. However, there is also no Law & Order. Not even a spinoff. They put Joan of Arcadia in its place. I have yet to see one episode of this show, but it always seemed kind of cheesy. Maybe that’s why I liked Wonderfalls.

-Best Comedy Series: There are a couple of surprises. For one thing, I’m very surprised that Friends didn’t get nominated. The show with one of the biggest hyped endings of the last 10 years doesn’t get nominated for best comedy? A show that has gotten nominated in the past? Wow. I knew they would nominate Frasier (the other great show that left the airwaves this past season). In fact, from what I saw, it got better this past season (from the low point a couple of years ago). Again, Everybody Loves Raymond gets nominated. Whoop-dee-do. And again, Scrubs is snubbed. Scrubs is a quirky show with a lot of heart that manages to be very funny. I was pleasantly surprised, however, that Arrested Development got nominated. It was my favorite new comedy of last season. It’s not your typical comedy series (shot documentary-style, no laugh track, plot that built upon previous episodes, narration by Ron Howard), but it’s twisted and hilarious.

-Best Drama Actor/Actress: Ehh, there isn’t much for me to comment on as I watched very few drama series last season.

-Best Comedy Actor/Actress: The best lead actor and actress categories are filled with a lot of the people you now come to expect. However, they also show that sometimes you aren’t honored until you’re gone, literally or figuratively speaking. John Ritter was nominated posthumously for 8 Simple Rules while Bonnie Hunt was nominated for Life With Bonnie...after her show was inexplicably cancelled. I never watched 8 Simple Rules, but I know Bonnie Hunt deserved her nomination. Her and her show were very funny, but ABC didn’t know how to treat it.

The real contest seems to be in the Best Supporting Actor category. It’s a real tough choice: Jeffrey Tambor from Arrested Development, Brad Garrett and Peter Boyle from Everybody Loves Raymond, David Hyde Pierce from Frasier, and Sean Hayes from Will & Grace. Every single one of them are great in their roles. With the exception of Jeffrey Tambor (who is just one funny part of a great ensemble), all of these actors manage to be much funnier than the leads they play against. Ray Romano isn’t all that funny, Sean Hayes (and Megan Mullally, who is also nominated) steals every scene, and David Hyde Pierce is consistently one of the funniest people on Frasier. It goes to show that a show is only as funny as its supporting cast. As for Best Supporting Actress...three nominees from Sex and The City? I think it’s Megan Mullally’s year.

The races for Guest Actor and Guest Actress are interesting as well, but I think the Guest Actress one has more firepower. I have two nominees I like: Cloris Leachman as Ida (the most vicious grandmother ever to be seen in a comedy) from Malcolm in The Middle and Laura Linney as Charlotte (the woman Frasier ended up with) from Frasier.

Comments on Other Categories:

-Chappelle’s Show got some love, with well-deserved nominations for the show itself, the writing, and the directing. However...no individual performance nod for Dave? I mean...the show isn’t funny without him. I hope it wins, but it has some tough competition from The Late Show with David Letterman, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

-I agree with my sister on this...I don’t think Lizzie McGuire should have been nominated over That’s So Raven for Best Children’s Program. As Bernie Mac would say, that’s some bull.

-Mos Def got nominated for Best Actor in A Miniseries or Movie and is in the company of the likes of Alan Rickman (his co-star), Al Pacino, James Brolin and Antonio Banderas. Given that his music of late has been kind of lackluster (with the notable exception of his appearance on Kanye West’s “Two Words”), maybe he really should stick with acting.

-I can’t believe that Two and A Half Men got nominated for Best Main Title Theme Music. Every time I hear it (with its sung refrain of “MENNN!”) I cringe a little bit. Not to mention that it sounds like it should be the theme for a cheesy gay soap opera.

-The Animated Program nominations are interesting and somewhat bittersweet. Futurama is nominated for the last time as the show was cancelled. The Simpsons is nominated again, and fortunately, it’s one of the better episodes of last season. In addition, both South Park and Spongebob Squarepants (both shows I like) are also nominated. The only show nominated I don’t watch is Samurai Jack.

-The Simpsons and Futurama always seem to compete against one another. In addition to the Animated Program category, they are nominated for Best Music and Lyrics from pretty good episodes of each show. Maybe the Emmy will go to Fairly Oddparents just for the heck of it.

-The Emmys got it right when it came to reality shows. Three shows I like (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Penn & Teller: Bullshit! and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy) all got nominated for Best Reality Program. They also nominated American Idol, The Apprentice (my kinda sort of guilty pleasure), and The Amazing Race (a show that looks good but I have yet to actually watch) for Best Reality Competition Program. Take that The Swan!