Dana Rowader:
The 2006 Emmy nominations are more apt to frustrate avid TV viewers than to please them. I’m glad to see The Office get nominated for Comedy Series and Grey’s Anatomy and House get nominated for Drama Series. I’m pleased that my favorite reality show, Project Runway, has been nominated again for Reality-Competition Program, as well as the very fun and entertaining Dancing With the Stars. And it’s nice to see Candice Bergen and Jean Smart, who both brought a lot to their respective shows, Boston Legal and 24, this past season, get nominated for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
But I’m very disappointed that the best new comedy series of the season, Everybody Hates Chris, has been completely ignored in all categories, and that the final season of Six Feet Under, which contained some of the most moving episodes of television in recent memory, was not recognized in the Drama Series category (though the acting nominations for Frances Conroy and Peter Krause are well-earned). I’d accuse the Academy of making this a popularity contest, in that they often ignore great shows with smaller viewership, like Veronica Mars, but they’ve also managed to almost completely ignore one of the best and most popular shows on television, Lost. How Terry O’Quinn, for example, can be passed over in favor of William Shatner (Boston Legal) or Gregory Itzin (the whiny, though evil, president on 24) in the Supporting Actor in a Drama Series is beyond me.
It’s clear that the Academy struggles with the issue of who to recognize when it comes to great shows with talented ensemble casts. Thought it’s nice to see Steve Carell get nominated for The Office, it’s frustrating to see the work of the rest of the cast, especially Rainn Wilson and John Krasinski, get ignored. And, when it comes to Grey’s Anatomy, it’s hard to understand how Katherine Heigl, who arguably had the most moving storyline of the season, and for whom the two-part finale was basically a spotlight on her talents, has been overlooked in favor of Sandra Oh, who was already nominated last year. However, it’s great to see Chandra Wilson, who plays one of the show’s most consistently entertaining and interesting characters get a nod. It’s clear that the Emmys could really do with some ensemble acting categories, like the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards. The only way to properly recognize the talented casts of so many shows on television is to admit that TV is, very often, a medium for ensembles rather than just individual stars.
I’d also like to question the Academy’s general overlooking of many great cable shows, especially Deadwood, Rome, Big Love, and Weeds. Weeds did get a nomination for Elizabeth Perkins‘ supporting work, but Mary-Louise Parker was just as, if not more, deserving, and the series itself could have been nominated.
Overall, this year’s Emmy nominations are rather baffling. With their focus on a lot of departing shows, I’d hope that many more deserving series and actors will be nominated next year, now that many historically over-nominated shows like Will & Grace (which has grown stale over the years) and The West Wing (which has become somewhat irrelevant by now) have vacated the airwaves.
Nathan Southern:
Arrested Development may have a few seasons and a handful of past Emmys under its belt, but the 2006 nod for Outstanding Comedy Series fits the bill. The series continues to stretch the boundaries of what’s possible within a sitcom format, on the twin levels of content and style. Some commentators compared it to Seinfeld when it debuted in 2003 (doubtless because of its manic willingness to try anything) but its über-hip, pseudo-documentary setup bears closer comparison to the Norman Lear-produced Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (and its Fernwood spin-off) from the late ’70s, as well as Martin Mull’s White People specials from the mid to late ’80s. It’s an approach that almost, at times, seems to be kissing off the ludicrous reality trend that continues to sweep the airwaves.
Curb Your Enthusiasm was fresh and funny when it debuted in 2000, but it became repetitive, redundant, and dull two or three seasons in, and despite minute flashes of brilliance in a handful of episodes from recent seasons, this program has quickly worn out its welcome, as has Scrubs. Arrested may draw fierce competition from The Office because of that program’s similar documentary-style approach (and lead performance by Steve Carell) but should still win, hands down.
Matt Tobey:
With all due respect, Nathan, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Scrubs were both in top form in their most recent outings, even if they, like any given sitcom in history, can’t touch the sheer brilliance of the late great Arrested Development. Admittedly, Curb hit a relative slump in the fourth season, but in season five it fought back and pushed the envelope harder than ever. For proof, look no further than the episode that found Larry befriending a registered sex offender (played with skillful restraint by The Daily Show’s Rob Corddry). As for Scrubs, it’s consistently hilarious and charming while somehow remaining fresh episode after episode.
If I have any gripes with the comedy nods, it’s the snubbing of both newcomer My Name Is Earl and Entourage, a show that clearly hit its stride last year. Nominating Two and a Half Men and passing over those shows is baffling and stupid. It’s also dumb. And asinine. And obtuse.
As for the dramatic nominations, I’m with Dana. It’s great to see 24 recognized for what was probably its best season to date, but by overlooking Lost, Rome, and Big Love, the Emmys flushed all of their credibility down the toilet. That said, I guess you do have to give them credit for flushing an intangible down a toilet. That’s kind of impressive.
Perry Seibert handicaps the Emmys:
Drama Series: House is here because academy voters thought they were voting for Bleak House. Odds 50:1. The West Wing’s nomination is from the voters who just got around to watching the first three seasons on DVD. Odds 200:1. The Sopranos continues to make network television producers jealous, meaning it probably won’t win the big prize. Odds 25:1. Grey’s Anatomy is well-written, well-acted, very popular, and totally female-oriented. They are in a dead heat with 24, which is likely to win if Keifer Sutherland pulls McDreamy’s fingernails out one at a time while electroshocking female academy members into submission. Odds for the chick doctors: 3:1, same as the odds for the sleep-deprived alpha male.
Comedy Series: Curb Your Enthusiasm won’t win because it’s on cable. Odds 50:1. Arrested Development won’t win because it’s a network show that should have been on cable. Odds 100:1. Two and a Half Men didn’t win any Emmys the first time it was on — when it starred Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan and was called My Two Dads — so why start now? Odds 250:1. Scrubs is a nice, solid, well-written program that is content to be exactly that. Odds 30:1. The Office managed the impossible by becoming in its second year more thematically and dramatically rich than the series that inspired it. The characters are well-rounded, deeply flawed, and the relationships develop at a perfect pace. It’s the best show on television. Odds 1:1.
May 2
Every year when the Academy Awards roll around, the hardworking staff of the All Movie Guide gets together to nominate and vote on its own version of the best films of the previous 12 months. We call this little ceremony the AMG Awards, our own little alternate Oscars. Winners are presented in boldface.
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