The official Emmy grousing thread

I'm on vacation, and hopefully doing my best to avoid all manner of entertainment news, so I have no idea who got snubbed in the Emmy nominations, who was a pleasant surprise, etc. But those of you who want to praise or complain about the nominations (which, in theory, should be available by now at the official Emmy site), have at it.

UPDATE: In a wi-fi/smart-phone world, it's hard to get completely disconnected, so I saw the full nominations list earlier today and have a few brief thoughts after the jump before I return to relaxing.

First of all, I never had any hope that "Battlestar Galactica" or "Friday Night Lights" had a prayer of any kind of serious nominations. The former is sci-fi, which the Emmys don't know what to do with. The latter is low-rated, films in a non-industry town (and therefore doesn't employ many Emmy voters) and features a cast that's terrific but too low-profile for anyone to notice. So their snubs, while irritating, weren't a surprise.

I probably shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for "The Shield," given that the Academy has for years acted like Michael Chiklis' win in the first season was the most embarrassing award they've given in the last 20 years. It's just a show they refuse to acknowledge the existence of, unfortunately, but the final season was so amazing that I briefly deluded myself into thinking Chiklis or Walton Goggins or CCH Pounder at least had an outside shot. Instead, bupkes. And that stinks.

Now, of the people/shows who I thought had a realistic chance at nominations but didn't, I'm disappointed about the lack of nods for Christina Hendricks, John Mahoney and "In Treatment" as a series. ("Big Love" and/or "Breaking Bad" appear to have taken its spot, and those shows are good enough that I can't complain too much. I'd take it easily over "House" or "Damages," on the other hand.)

On the pleasant surprise front, after I chose his picture as a sign of what I assumed would be a whole bunch of irritatingly predictable nominations, Jeremy Piven was snubbed. I'd like to think it was karma for me picking that photo (it'd be like a weatherman pre-taping a forecast for sunny skies and getting a torrential downpour instead), but I suspect Piven's abrupt departure from "Speed the Plow" (and the lame sushi excuse that went with it) had more to do with it. And his non-nomination hopefully clears the field for a long-overdue Neil Patrick Harris win. (Though, knowing the way the Emmy voters roll, it'll probably go to Jon Cryer or Kevin Dillon.)

Jemaine Clement getting a nomination for "Flight of the Conchords" was unexpectedly awesome, and while I still think it's fairer to nominate him and Bret as a team, if I had to pick one as even slightly funnier (or, at least, asked to carry more of the comedy on the show), it'd be Jemaine. And Aaron Paul is wonderful, and absolutely deserving of his nomination.

As for the people upset that "Family Guy" was nominated for best comedy when "The Simpsons" never has, keep in mind that "The Simpsons" annually submits itself only in the animation category, so it isn't eligible. (I'm on vacation and therefore don't want to take time looking it up, but I vaguely recall they submitted themselves for best comedy once or twice in the early years, were ignored, and went back to the animation categories for the rest of time. But it's entirely possible that they never bothered.)

Anyway, back to my book, then the swingset. Catch you all on Monday.