Just finished my Emmy column, and my bosses said it was cool to post it at the tour blog. It largely duplicates stuff that's being discussed in the lower thread, but feel free to comment in either thread.
Just finished my Emmy column, and my bosses said it was cool to post it at the tour blog. It largely duplicates stuff that's being discussed in the lower thread, but feel free to comment in either thread.
Playing the race card on the recurring snubbing of The Wire by the Emmys?
ReplyDeleteDamn straight.
Not only is the cast riddled with African-Americans in prominent roles, but they speak in the patois of actual Bawlmore street corner dealers. The nerve! The gall! The brilliance!
The (Emmy-addled) fools.
good column alan.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm still slightly annoyed that Greys got a best drama nod (because the last thing Shonda needs right now is more air for her already inflated ego) I'm happy the show was left out of best writing category as the overall writing on the show was significantly under-par when compared to seasons 1 and 2.
I really believe columnists need to ask Shonda some serious questions come her time at the tcas and force her to break free of that squealing teenager mindset she so often conveys on her blogs and podcasts. I'd be interested to hear her admit maybe George and Izzie weren't the best idea and what their characters had ever done in the past to indicate they felt that way towards one another. I hope you won't be wearing the kid gloves for that panel.
Great blog. I agree with every one of those sentiments. (We had sort of a "jinx" moment there on the mention of Connie Britton's performance in the "I Think We Should Have Sex" episode.)
ReplyDeleteI am glad though that Jenna Fischer and Kevin Dillon got nods. Other than that, they suck big time.
ReplyDeleteBtw Alan did you get the first 2 episodes of Dexter and Brotherhood? Because they have been leaked online....I just love Dexter. So creepy and riveting.
20 years from now people will look back at The Wire, Dexter, FNL, The Shield and Battlestar Galactica as landmark television, not Grey's Anatomy, Heroes or Boston Legal.
My big complaints:
ReplyDeleteNo major nods for "How I Met Your Mother," not even Best Supporting for Hannigan or Best Writing for "Slap Bet."
No major nods for "My Name Is Earl" even though it was the winner for Best Writing and Directing last year, and was even better this season. Specifically, why don't Lee or Suplee ever get nominated when they are consistently great on the show?
No nods for anyone but Michael Imperioli in the Best Supporting Actor category. Last year, Vito wasn't nominated, and this year, Steven Schirripa, who submitted the season opener and was brilliant in it, wasn't nominated, nor was anyone else. For some reason, because of his work in the 5th season, the Emmys never nominate anyone besides Imperioli in that category, which is a shame.
No nod for Jack Coleman for "Heroes"? Easily the best actor on the show and submitted the best episode of the series,"Company Man," but got no recognition.
No nods for "It's Always Sunny in Philiadelphia" when it was one of the funniest shows of the year? Not even Danny DeVito.
No nods for "Veronica Mars"? Sigh.
For Guest Actress on a Comedy Series, no nods for Rashida Jones in "The Office," Emily Mortimer or Isabella Rossellini in "30 Rock."
Judd Hirsch's 5 minutes on "Studio 60" was the highlight of the series. How the hell did they give nods to Eli Wallach and John Goodman instead.
Alan, what is the last member of your group of all-time top 3 dramas on television (in addition to Deadwood & The Wire)?
ReplyDeleteENTOURAGE is pretty bad, but Dillon was long overdue for a nod, and Landau was very good on the show.
ReplyDeleteI agree--where's the love for Judd Hirsch's brilliant (and brilliantly written) STUDIO 60 turn?
MP: "Sopranos."
ReplyDeleteAt least the third HBO David is going to wipe the floor with the competition. "The Sorpanos", especially after the 15 nods, should probably win EVERYTHING.
ReplyDeleteRight? Right?
But of course I just realized. Gandolfini will probably lose to Spader, because it's the Emmys. And "The Sopranos" will lose to "Grey's Anatomy" because no american series has ever won the Best Drama award in its final year, and why should it now? It's not like the show had the best season of any show in the few years or so. Nah.
ReplyDeleteVote For Crane!
Alan, as jcpbmg said - I also hope you get the chance to ask Shonda those hard questions - about Izzie and George, and maybe also about the personality transplants Meredith and especially Derek have suddenly had this season.
ReplyDeleteThis is the woman who told us last year to trust her - so we did. And this is what we get??
(you can also educate her about Howie Mandell's afterlife on St Elsewhere, just for fun (I really though I had that on a tape somewhere))
Good luck. Even those of us who are still fans of Grey's want answers.
Pam (signing my post for a change)
Did I miss the part where they renamed best supporting actress in a drama category "most annoying women allowed on television"? Is this like the "get ugly, get an oscar" rule? Not that they don't do great work (pretty big fan of everyone but Heigl and that could just be the writing) but Sarah (easily the most obnoxious member of the Walker clan and the competition is tough, Izzy, this season's Christina, Dr. Bailey (okay, I love Dr Bailey but the way she was written this year did offend my feminist side), Melfi and Janice?
ReplyDeleteOther than that bravo for Kevin Dillon, NPH and Jenna Fischer.
total delayed reaction, but Steven Weber got snubbed. He was without question the only actor from S60 that really excelled in his role (and as much as I love Whitford, aging-stalking and peach-fuzz hair is not his forte).
ReplyDeleteIf they were willing to hand out guest nods to Goodman and Eli Wallach, Weber should have definitely seen some love.
I'm glad to see Clemenson nomimated. I've been a fan of his since "Brisco County, Jr." and thought he should have been nominated for an Oscar for his work in "United 93." It's nice to see him get recognition from his peers.
ReplyDeleteSo, is H:LOTS in your Top 5? Top 10 at least?
is it okay to start arguing about the top 3 drama stuff yet?
ReplyDeleteis it okay to start arguing about the top 3 drama stuff yet?
ReplyDeleteIf you wanna, have at it. But as much as I love Homicide, NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, EZ Streets and some of the other usual suspects, I'm not going to be swayed away from that top 3.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia I love, but in a world where The Wire can't even get one nomination, I've stopped even pretending it could happen. That said, a writing nomination would be great (especially considering the multitude of shared writing/acting roles on the show).
ReplyDelete"Britton's performance in the episode where she has The Sex Talk with her daughter is the sort of thing show biz awards should be made of."
ReplyDeleteExactly. It's almost inconceivable that this show - and that performance in particular - were ignored.
No nods for "Veronica Mars"? Sigh.
ReplyDeleteIt was really bad this year.
The Emmy voters should just create a special category for "The Wire" called "Best TV Show Ever Made," make it the only nominee, and have it win that.
ReplyDeleteI don't know--maybe it will finally get some recognition after its final season, sort of like "Return of the King" ended up representing the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy at the Oscars.
K
Every year they promise reforms and every year they still mess up. I think it's high time that the Academy admits that the insane volume of television programming makes it impossible for industry folks to truly get a grasp on what is out there. I propose that they let TV critics such as Alan into the nominating process since they actually watch the shows. Then they can let the "peers" vote on the finalists.
ReplyDeleteAlan, why do some categories have 6 nominations and others 5?
ReplyDeleteFrom Todd at South Dakota Dark:
ReplyDeleteOne of the peculiarities of the Emmys is that they let in additional nominees not in the case of an exact tie, but in the case of shows being within a certain number of votes of the top five. This is why you'll see categories with six, seven or even eight nominees, unlike at the Oscars or the Tonys, where you need an exact tie for the fifth spot to make it in (something that the Oscar nomination process makes very difficult indeed).
"But as much as I love Homicide, NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, EZ Streets"
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of those shows so I can't comment (a bit "old" for me), but I definitely agree with Alan's top 3 dramas. In order:
1) The Wire.
2) The Sopranos.
3) Deadwood.
Alan, being that I'm a Wire fan since the first season, year after year the frustration of the snubbing never gets old. This show will never get the acting nominations it justly and rightly has earned, particularly for last season.
ReplyDeleteIan MacShane deserved a nod for his work on the last season of Deadwood as well.
I've never been one of those people who thought The Sopranos walked on water. I enjoyed the hell out of the first season, but the longer it went on the less I liked the characters and the more bored I got with the extraneous storylines. Like, I don't mind seeing Melfi with her shrink, but I don't give a damn about Paulie's mother's old age home, y'know?
ReplyDeleteI've also never liked the way everyone involved in the show behaves at awards ceremonies, as though they're positively entitled to everything they're up for. I hope they do win everything this year so they'll stop whining about it. All that said, they are the most deserving of the nominees in their category.
Not getting HBO I've never seen The Wire or Deadwood, but the recommendations here and elsewhere have prompted me to put them on my Netflix list. I'll see if either of them manage to knock the first two seasons of The West Wing out of the top spot on my all-time best drama list. It's too bad it had to go ruin it with the next five years.
Alan,
ReplyDeleteDid you vote in the Television Critic Awards? Do you think The Wire will win that award, or will it go to The Sopranos as well?
Alan, while mentioning Homicide, Blue, EZ Streets, etc, don't forget
ReplyDeleteBrooklyn South. I really liked that show.
Do you guys think television was invented in 1985?
ReplyDeletePLAYHOUSE 90
THE DEFENDERS
TWILIGHT ZONE
EAST SIDE WEST SIDE
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
LOU GRANT
HILL STREET BLUES
NAKED CITY
FAMILY
THE ROCKFORD FILES