In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« Roush Dispatch
Lights Out at the Emmys
Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights by Van Redin/NBC Photo
Remember how Charlie Brown used to end up on his back every time he went to kick the football after Lucy pulled it away? Well, that was me, in the pre-dawn of Thursday morning at the TV Academy building in North Hollywood, as the first Emmy category (for best drama series) was read aloud. Amid a gaggle of impatient media crews and anxious publicists, I once again felt sucker-punched by the cluelessly inexplicable whims of the Emmy nomination process. (Go here for a list of nominees.)
The football analogy applies because, once again, the Emmy system dropped the ball, failing to acknowledge NBC’s critically worshiped freshman underdog Friday Night Lights, instead finding room for ABC’s cartoonishly lurid freak show Boston Legal (on the basis, so I hear, of a rare detour into quality with a post-Katrina episode). A chagrined Academy source tells me that Friday Night Lights came close, but speculated that it may have flown too far under the radar in a way overcrowded field. Heartbreaking, because FNL is precisely the sort of low-rated, high-quality series that could most benefit from an Emmy spotlight. Also missing: the sensational Lost, which had the most talked-about season finale next to front-runner The Sopranos and ended up snubbed two years in a row. Instead, we get the uneven, overrated Heroes in the mix, which at least refreshingly defies the usual jinx against fantasy/sci-fi shows. Still, with Lost out of the running, the Emmys might as well take place on some remote desert island for all I now care.
So here we go again, surveying the usual mixed bag of nominees. I’ve said before that I would judge the Emmys by how the Emmys judged Friday Night Lights. So the Emmys should be dead to me now. And yet... there’s an awful lot of fresh blood in the various categories this year, so it’s not entirely a wasteland. Merely aggravating.
If I resent anything, it’s the industry’s embrace of the too-often-sophomoric guilty pleasure that is Boston Legal. James Spader’s lead-actor nomination as the cloyingly quirky Alan Shore denied a slot to two much more deserving stars: Dexter's riveting Michael C. Hall (whose absence was a major surprise) and FNL's Kyle Chandler in a career-high role as the coach. William Shatner’s supporting nomination for hamming it up as Denny Crane (a comedy performance if anything, and even that’s a stretch these days) edged out far more worthy dramatic performances by the likes of The Shield's Walton Goggins and any number of the young ensemble members of FNL (Zach Gilford, Scott Porter, etc).
But enough of the hand-wringing for now. What makes me happy about this year’s Emmy field?
Ugly Betty, for one. The most-nominated new series with 11 nods, and it couldn’t happen to a more delightful or sweeter show. It’s up for best comedy, best actress (the wonderful America Ferrera, probably a shoo-in to win), best supporting actress (Vanessa Williams) and best guest actresses (Judith Light and Salma Hayek). (That guest comedy actress category is a doozy, also including Elaine Stritch on 30 Rock and Dixie Carter and Laurie Metcalf on Desperate Housewives.)
Despite iffy ratings, 30 Rock broke through with 10 nominations, including nods to Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. That’s good and somewhat surprising news, although this is the kind of humor you’d expect folks in the TV business to relish. (For the record: the failed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip did manage to snag five nods, including for directing and the guest performances of Eli Wallach and John Goodman.)
Among the other breakthrough nominees that tickled my fancy: the adorable Masi Oka for Heroes; T.R. Knight (surviving the media storm) and Katherine Heigl among the Grey’s Anatomy ensemble (with the wonderful Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh also in the running); creepy Michael Emerson joining Terry O’Quinn as Lost supporting contenders; Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths emerging from the Brothers & Sisters cast; Ricky Gervais from Extras finally getting his due; Minnie Driver from The Riches (whatever the show’s faults, the acting was great); fresh faces in the supporting comedy race, including Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother (he should have made the cut last year), Entourage’s Kevin Dillon and even The Office’s Rainn Wilson (though I would have preferred John Krasinski, I get that Dwight is a broader pure-comedy performance).
And finally, the one no-surprise no-brainer dominating the drama field is The Sopranos, leading the series pack with 15 nominations. As polarizing as the show’s self-consciously jarring go-to-black final moment was, there’s no denying the landmark nature of this one-of-a-kind psychological family drama, which hit a number of home runs in its final season. It filled three of the writing category’s slots, including for the episode in which Tony killed Christopher and for David Chase’s controversial series finale. (Other writing contenders notably include the shamefully underappreciated Battlestar Galactica for its tense season-opener and Lost for its terrific season finale.)
Going category by category, and reserving the right to change my opinion as I take more time to reflect and analyze, here’s a quick guesstimate of who and what I think is most likely to take home the gold on Sept. 16.
Drama: The Sopranos. Comedy: Ugly Betty or 30 Rock (that one’s tougher, and The Office could easily repeat). Drama actor: Hugh Laurie (he’s overdue). Drama actress: Sally Field. Comedy actor: Alec Baldwin. Comedy actress: America Ferrera. Drama supporting actor: T.R. Knight. Drama supporting actress: Lorraine Bracco (the first time she’s put herself in the supporting category, which could help her chances), though I’m crushed that Lost’s Elizabeth Mitchell isn’t in the running (I’m told she didn’t even crack the top 10). Comedy supporting actor: a toss-up between Neil Patrick Harris and Rainn Wilson. Comedy supporting actress: Vanessa Williams. Reality competition: no doubt The Amazing Race over American Idol again, but I’m jazzed that Top Chef joined Project Runway in the category this year. Sorry, Survivor.
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 12:13 PM
|
|
As much as it kills me to admit this, don't you think Ellen Pompeo was snubbed too?
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 12:32 PM
|
|
I won't be watching come September. While all of the new nominations you mentioned are noteworthy, the lack of respect shown FNL, Lost, and Dexter turns my stomach and makes it impossible for me to watch the Emmy's this year. While I enjoy Boston Legal I have never thought it Emmy-worthy, and House is so mannered, repetitive and tired these days that I cannot for the life of me understand that nomination- and I love Hugh Laurie! Good for Ugly Betty and Brothers and Sisters- I will be looking to hear about your wins by reading this column.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 12:53 PM
|
|
*Yawn* With few exceptions another ho-hum list of nominees.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:09 PM
|
I don't watch award shows anyway, so I can't say the emmy's are dead to me or anything like that, I really don't care about them. But I am happy to see some of my favorites nomminated:
30 Rock
Heroes
Mariska
And the snub for FNL is crazy. I saw them announcing the nominees this morning (i was a little late for work) and I told my dad people would be really mad about that.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:13 PM
|
|
How can anyone pretend that the Emmys have any kind of merit when shows like FNL and The Wire can't get significant nominations? How embarrassing for the nominees to know what a crock the entire thing is!
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:19 PM
|
My one word reaction to the Emmy nominations this year...would have my post deleted faster than you could say "Friday Night Lights is the best show on television!" Okay, that's not that fast, but you get the idea.
VOMIT! (That was the physical reaction I nearly had upon reading the list.)
The dead-to-me club just got a new member. Now The CW won't be so lonely. (Veronicaaaaaaaaaaa!)
If it were just the absence of FNL, maybe I could bring myself to watch the Emmys this year (doubtful.) However, the snubs of Lights, it's lead and supporting BRILLIANT actors/performances, The Shield's Walton Goggins (seriously...I can't believe he's not nominated...holy crap he was heartbreaking, genius, amazing!), to a lesser degree Lost's Matthew Fox, the consistently riveting The Shield...the shows and actors nominated in place of the aforementioned...it's way, WAY too much to stomach.
So yeah, Emmys, "YOU SUCK!" Way to absolutely obliterate, beyond a shadow of a doubt, any remaining crumbs of credibility you may have retained.
I am dumbstruck. You are dumb. I'd rather be me.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:28 PM
|
|
"Heartbreaking" is just the word I would use! To see FNL so ignored...Earlier this season when "Smash" was dealing with Waverly's bi-polar disorder I remarked to my husband that I hoped some of these young actors would get some Emmy credit. Sadly, it's not to be. Don't get me wrong I love, love, love my guilty pleasure of Boston Legal, but if you asked me which show should get the nod, it's FNL all the way. I'm so disappointed.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:32 PM
|
|
Where is Zach Gilford? He gave the single best performance by an actor or actress last year. He should have been a cinch. But, like the Emmy guy said, I guess that series was "too low under the radar". Whatever that means.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:35 PM
|
I am okay with Spader getting nominated especially since I believe he was nominated based on the Katrina episode which he did a fabulous job on. It's Kiefer getting a nod over Kyle Chandler that really irks me for some reason. Actually I am really surprised that the Academy thought Heroes was more deserving than Friday Night Lights.
I am very pleased that Jenna Fischer was nominated. All thought the supporting actresses from GA are probably quite talented, I do wish that Emmy's would enact a rule where a show can only get two nominations at the most in one category.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:43 PM
|
The football analogy applies because, once again, the Emmy system dropped the ball, failing to acknowledge NBC’s critically worshiped freshman underdog Friday Night Lights, instead finding room for ABC’s cartoonishly lurid freak show Boston Legal (on the basis, so I hear, of a rare detour into quality with a post-Katrina episode)
That's the problem with your critique, Matt. Did you watch this episode of Boston Legal to judge whether or not Spader or the cast was worthy of this recognition? It certainly doesn't look like it.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 1:52 PM
|
I love Boston Legal so I don't like it when you diss it. And the show has more episodes like the post-Katrina one that are serious and that make you think about things a different way. The thing about this show is that the drama is mainly on the trials.
Anyway, even loving this show I know that it's not that good to deserve an Emmy over other shows.
What still amazes me is all the nominations for Two and a Half Men. That show is one of the worst sitcoms on TV. Cancel it already!
I'm happy about 30 Rock. I hated the pilot, but I'm glad I kept watching because it rocks!
Also yay! for Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Dillon, Hugh Laurie, Kyra Sedgwick, Denis Leary and Michael Emerson.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 2:10 PM
|
|
Hey TOPDOG1001, I watched that episode of Boston Legal as well as every episode of both Boston Legal and Friday Night Lights this past season. Trust me, Matt is right.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 2:15 PM
|
|
That's cool monaco497. At least you watched it.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 2:20 PM
|
|
The nomination of Boston Legal is indefensible and outrageous. There is simply no way in which Boston Legal qualifies as an elite series. The notion that BL is better than The Wire, Rescue Me, FNL, The Shield, and even the uneven Nip/Tuck is beyond absurd. Boston Legal is one of Kelley's weakest shows. It certainly isn't LA Law, Picket Fences, and The Practice. The nomination of Heroes is also absurd. It is nothing more than fun escapism. Great escapism but it is the Harry Potter of movies. Everybody enjoys Harry Potter but no sane person would suggest that the movie deserves any oscar nominations. The same holds true for Heroes. Just like Harry Potter it is a fun fantasy but not serious or thought-provoking in any manner. Finally, I agree that the snubs of FNL, Chandler, and Britton are horrible. I have to draw the line though that the supporting cast was snubbed as well. Contrary to what people say these are still just kids, nice kids with passable performances but I would not equate either Zach Gilford or Scott Porter as the second coming of Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Michael Douglas.
|
|
Jul 19, 2007 2:25 PM
|
|
|
