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« Roush Dispatch
Acting Up on the Awards Circuit
I guess actors don’t watch The Wire, either.
Today’s announcement of the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were a bit, well, “SAG”-gy with usual suspects (not to beat up on a woman whose talk show just got mercifully canceled, but one last nod for Megan Mullally for Will & Grace seems like such ancient history). The most aggravating snub, as it has been in the list of Producers Guild and Writers Guild nominations, is a complete shut-out for HBO’s The Wire. Tied for most disappointing is a lack of recognition by many of these artistic branches for NBC’s Friday Night Lights, a show that could really use this kind of spotlight. NBC’s small-town drama did earn a slot among the WGA’s new-series contenders. Another puzzling omission: It's as if FX (most notably Rescue Me and The Shield) didn't even exist this year.
Maybe because The Wire is filmed in Baltimore, and Friday Night Lights in Texas, these shows fall off the Hollywood radar. A real pity, because both of these excellent ensembles of naturalistic actors, boasting some remarkable performances by young unknowns, are far more deserving than, say, the broadly cartoonish mugging on display in David E. Kelley’s childish legal farce Boston Legal. That’s the odd show out in an otherwise distinguished list of ensemble nominees including 24, Deadwood, Grey’s Anatomy and The Sopranos. (Including Lost in here would have been nice as well, but I’m glad SAG didn’t rush to honor the spotty ensemble of NBC’s overrated Heroes or succumb to the glamour of Aaron Sorkin’s woefully uneven Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.)
The comedy ensemble nominees again betray the industry’s favoritism toward single-camera comedy. With Will & Grace finally having outlived its welcome, and CBS’s comedies (including the enjoyable ensemble work of How I Met Your Mother) perhaps unfairly ignored, we’re left with an intriguing list including Desperate Housewives (too bad Marcia Cross wasn’t singled out in the comedy-actress list), Entourage, The Office, Ugly Betty (yay!) and Weeds.
Among the fresh faces worth celebrating in the individual actor categories: Dexter’s mesmerizing Michael C. Hall, 30 Rock’s hilariously deadpan Alec Baldwin, Grey’s Anatomy’s spectacular Chandra Wilson, Ugly Betty’s adorable America Ferrera and The New Adventures of Old Christine’s feisty Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
In the movie/miniseries sweepstakes, only Robert Duvall of AMC’s majestic Broken Trail and Helen Mirren of HBO’s Elizabeth I need show up. (And where’s her dual nomination for Prime Suspect: The Final Act? Fear of overkill?)
Overall, the SAG nominations earn maybe a C grade. Coulda been worse. Coulda been better.
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Jan 4, 2007 2:20 PM
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That is too funny Matt. My husband always calls me to find out who got nominated for awards during this time of year. When I told him the SAG awards were announced today, he called me during his lunch and asked how they were, and my response: They are very SAG-gy. I could have guessed a lot of this. I agree there are a lot of blaring omissions (some one cut FNL a break, please!!), and one blaring inclusion (Megan Mullaly, really? I liked Karen too, but come on!).
Though the one major highlight for me: The Lifetime Acheivement award is going to Julie Andrews!! I love me some Julie Andrews!!!
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Jan 4, 2007 5:16 PM
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I've watched The Wire's third season and just didn't connect with the characters, which is odd since I do think the show has qualities I need and love in a drama but nope, it didn't make it to my must see list.
As for FNL, I've watched the pilot but being European the football background is a turn off. I like Chandler and Britton but I can't get over the football angle as slim as it may be.
I'm more appalled at the snub of Battlestar Galactica.
I know not to expect nominations for it but still...
And it needs the spotlight as well imo.
Here's to hoping for better ratings in the new time slot and awards later.
A girl can dream right?
But I'm quite happy for Michael C. Hall and K. Sedgwick in particular. They both gave tremendous performances and I wish they win for a job extremely well done.
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Jan 4, 2007 9:47 PM
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Unless I read incorrectly, Chandra Wilson is up for lead in Grey's Anatomy. I love Grey's as much as anybody and more than most people I know locally, and Chandra Wilson is absolutely BRILLIANT in her role. She deserves an award, surely. But I'm not quite sure how she can be considered a lead character? I know Grey's is still an ensamble piece, but to me the leads are the five interns, Derek and you could debate Burke. So...what is Chandra doing in lead? I doubt she has as much a chance if she's competing with people who are actulally leads and have much more material to work with.
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Jan 5, 2007 12:57 AM
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Innamorata, do yourself a big favor and check out The Wire's first season. I think you'll find it will draw you in and maybe give you a greater appreciation in retrospect for the third season. The first two spectacular seasons included some unbelievably well drawn characters and powerful performances from actors who are either no longer with the series or whose roles have been reduced. You won't regret it.
While you're at it, rent The Corner, the mini-series from the same folks. That one will knock you right out.
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Jan 5, 2007 3:52 AM
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The SAG Awards don't seem to make a distinction between supporting and lead roles. I guess that's better than lumping supporting players from every genre together like the Golden Globes.
I do think it's funny that Boston Legal is competing as a drama. Last year they competed as a comedy. I definitely think they should be in the drama category (and they are at every other awards show) but it just seems really arbitrary.
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Jan 5, 2007 10:13 AM
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The Wire at least deserved a nomination for Best Ensemble.
And how can they keep ignoring Edward James Olmos?
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Jan 5, 2007 1:20 PM
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Maybe the reason FNL was not included is not because it’s one of those great shows (Buffy, BSG, Veronica Mars, The Wire, etc.) that gets snubbed by mainstream awards shows but because it’s not that great of a show. That’s my opinion, at least. It’s not just the fact that it’s a show about football players and their coach and their “real” lives but the scenarios are trite, the writing is nothing compelling and high school dramas just don’t interest people (cue the OC cancellation news) because they lack interest.
I tried giving FNL a chance and watched all the episodes but I just don’t like it and so I’m not scratching my head at its poor ratings and lack of awards recognition. I think the show would have served better as a miniseries or a MOW because it started off good and lost steam very quickly.
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Jan 5, 2007 1:57 PM
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olomaya - I beg to differ. I find nothing of what you describe about Friday Night Lights to be an accurate assessment of the show. It's precisely about character, adversity and family, both immediate and extended community. It is not a high school or a football show at all. Those are devices used brilliantly to tell a greater story of what we expect, what we get, how we are let down by others and how we let ourselves down. It has characters to love: young men who give of themselves unselfishly or coaches who try to teach that winning first happens inside of them. It has characters you worry about who use their bodies as playgrounds or take enhancement drugs because they think they have to. It has characters you don't like so much, pressuring young people to be more than is humanly possible for anyone to be at such a tender age. Those are the reasons its one of the best shows on TV. It is brilliantly written and acted; I suspect not nominated because all of the award shows are popularity contests and political quagmires.
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Jan 5, 2007 3:43 PM
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I think your idea of accuracy is based on your opinion rather than actual facts. I don't think high school is a device of the show, it is the show. It's about high school kids growing up in a football town in Texas and the football coach and his wife and while the stories might be touching, it's not compelling television. It has your typical good-looking brooding teen with abandonment issues who all the girls pant after, your typical love triangle, your typical cute couple, it's just typical. The writing is not brilliant, it's above par writing for scenarios that have been done to death on many other shows and despite the "political quagmires" of the awards shows, I find good reason that FNL is absent from most of the lists. But like I said, it's all based on opinion and not actual fact.
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Jan 5, 2007 8:35 PM
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olomaya - sounds like you have watched every episode, which is odd since you don't like it. Otherwise, how would you know that much about the show? I have watched every episode but one and I stand by my assessment based on that fact. Maybe that one episode would change my mind, but I doubt it.
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Jan 7, 2007 2:29 PM
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I actually find Boston Legal to be incredibly entertaining and well done.
I only wish Shatner was nominated as well... just to put some icing on the cake!
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Jan 11, 2007 1:04 AM
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TOPDOG1001 I love Boston Legal too! I'm a huge David E. Kelley fan and have never seen an episode that didn't leave me looking forward to the next one. Allen, Denny, Shirley, the new folks and now Clarece? Entertainment at it's best. But I'm afraid we're alone.
PS - I don't watch FNL.
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Jan 11, 2007 4:13 PM
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