Emmy Thoughts '06

I can't let today pass without going into full-on Wasteland Fan mode. Today the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the 2006 Emmy nominations. A list of the major nominees is here.

To avoid that same old, same old feeling that seems to plague the Emmy nomination process, the Academy changed the voting rules. In a nutshell, the original ballots went out to the Academy membership for nominations. From the returned ballots the Academy culled the group of highest vote-getters (15 for awards for performances, 10 for awards for shows) from which "blue ribbon panels" would choose the final 5 nominees. So, it would be possible this year for a nominee to have gotten the 15th most nominations from the membership. The hope was to recognize excellent and cutting-edge work happening beyond big and/or established hits on the major networks and HBO. (Not that there isn't some excellent and cutting-edge stuff on the networks and HBO, but even some of those shows and performances (for instance, the stars of Scrubs on NBC) are often overlooked because they're not ratings behemoths. The basic cable networks like USA, TNT, the SciFi Channel, and FX and the netlets like UPN and the WB were particularly hobbled by the Academy membership's apparent collective blindspot for anything not on ABC, NBC, CBS, or HBO. (One need only look to the appalling lack of recognition by the Academy for Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- probably the best written and acted and most satisfyingly realized television experience of the past decade . . . seriously! -- to illustrate the point.)

The prevailing wisdom was that critical darlings like Veronica Mars and its star Kristen Bell; Battlestar Galactica and several of its stars, including Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos; and Gilmore Girls and its stars Kelly Bishop and Lauren Graham would stand a better chance of making it through the nomination process and a few of them would show up as the ultimate nominees. For goodness sake, they called the rule change "the Lauren Graham Rule" because its accepted knowledge that she's been criminally overlooked by the Emmys for five straight years.

I've made no secret of my admiration of Lauren Graham. She's just flat out awesome. So, I'm far from "neutral" on the matter. But, Tom O'Neil of the LA Times said it best: "If [Lauren Graham] doesn't get nominated this year ... TV critics of America will torch the academy."

As well they should.

So today was put-up-or-shut-up time for the Academy. What happened? Well, some surprises found their way onto the nominations list. How about the craptastic Two and a Half Men and its star Charlie Sheen? Or the nominations for Stockard Channing on the DOA Out of Practice and Kevin James on the what?-that's-still-on King of Queens?

Of course, the Academy couldn't let old standbys Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, and The West Wing go off the air without multiple undeserved nominations.

Furthermore, there were a number of snubs that don't fit the "overlooked" theme from above, but are perplexing nontheless. Whither my beloved Lost? And, while Desperate Housewives did basically blow big smelly chunks this year, Marcia Cross was amazing and deserved to be recognized. (While we're on the topic of the Housewives, what is up with the nomination for Alfre Woodard? I mean, I think she's a fine, fine actress. And there was probably no worse case of wasted talent in Hollywood this year. But, Betty Applewhite's story was so poorly conceived and so inconsistently written and played that I can't fathom what the Academy members or, especially, the blue ribbon panel could have possibly been thinking . . . or smoking.) Finally, did someone forget to submit the tape of Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano in the episode "Join the Club"? Because that had "winged statuette" written all over it.

I should end on a few positive notes. There is some justice: Jaime Pressly, who plays poor white trash whore-with-a-heart-of-gold-plated-iron Joy to utter perfection on My Name Is Earl, was nominated . . . and better win. I was also pleased to see that 24 raked in a number of nominations, especially for Jean Smart's portrayal of bad ass -- but this close to a nervous breakdown -- First Lady Martha Logan.

Oh, WTF, who am I trying to kid? I can't end on a positive note, becuase LAUREN GRAHAM WUZ ROBBED!!!