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Emmy Reactions
Oh, Emmy voters. Even when you make sense, you still perplex me.
Sunday (Sept. 16) night's 59th Primetime Emmy Awards (blogged about in minute detail here) offered the usual reasons to approach the Television Academy with both admiration and confusion.
On one hand, how could you be so hip and savvy to give 30 Rock the outstanding comedy series prize? How could you be so open to new shows that you'd welcome actors from Brothers & Sisters (Sally Field) and Ugly Betty (America Ferrera) into the winners' circle? How could you very correctly identify award-worthy work from people like Terry O'Quinn and Ricky Gervais?
How could you do those things right (or close to right) and still push the default option so many times? In short, how can you just keep giving Emmys to The Amazing Race?
Don't get me wrong. I love The Amazing Race. At times I've loved The Amazing Race like a celebutard loves a diminutive purse-dog, or like those guys from Carls Jr. love flat buns. In a general sense, it's absolutely one of the very best reality competition shows on TV. But last year was not the best of year's for The Amazing Race, as the show combined a lackluster fall season with a spring all-stars campaign. If ever there was a year for some other show to beat The Amazing Race in the reality competition category, it was this once. American Idol gave tens of millions to charity. Top Chef and Project Runway added Bravo's patina of quality. And Dancing With the Stars had people dancing with the stars. But no, another win for The Amazing Race.
And there's another win for The Daily Show in the variety, music or comedy series category, even though The Colbert Report has been reliably funnier for over a year now. And there's another win for James Spader, just because he gave a long, impassioned speech at the end of his submission episode, even though James Galdolfini was an utter titan on The Sopranos this season (and Hugh Laurie and Denis Leary eventually deserve Emmys too). And as much as we used to love Jeremy Piven's Ari Gold on Entourage, wouldn't Rainn Wilson, Kevin Dillon or particularly Neil Patrick Harris have been more deserving supporting actor winners, particularly given how bad Entourage has been lately?
Complacency doesn't always make things wrong. For example, will anybody ever regret an award vote cast for Helen Mirren? Well, yes. I suspect anybody who tries to get her recognition for the upcoming National Treasure 2 will look a little silly, but you can't go wrong with Mirren and Prime Suspect. And even if Judy Davis already has two Emmys (and Samantha Morton was unbelievably good in Longford), giving her another won't cause any harm.
The winner in the night's biggest category, outstanding drama series, was a foregone conclusion. Yes, it might sound a wee bit hypocritical to criticize Emmy voters for complacency, while also taking no issue with yet another win for The Sopranos. The funny thing is that thanks to the long-term tyranny of The West Wing in the outstanding drama series category, The Sopranos only had one previous series win. The final season of The Sopranos came in two halves and while the first half may have been disappointing, this year's episodes delivered (even if you're one of those resolution-needy people who hated the finale).
Oh sure, the Emmy voters tried to make it look like that Sopranos win wasn't so inevitable at all. Smart money had both Gandolfini and Edie Falco has favorites as well and they both had to clap for other people. Those upsets could have set the stage for an even bigger surprise, for a win for... What? Grey's Anatomy for a season in which the show's soapy misadventures were even clunkier than usual? I was happy to see Katherine Heigl win, even if she probably could have taken the high road and not made a joke about the announcer blundering her name. No, even as TV's second most watched scripted show, Grey's just wasn't going to stop the HBO juggernaut. Once the Emmy voters weren't smart enough to nominate The Wire or Friday Night Lights, how could they beat sending one of finest shows in the medium's history off into the ether in the manner to which it has become accustomed.
What'd you think of this year's Emmy winners? What did the voters get right? And what did they get wrong?
No nominations and thus no awards for HBO's The Wire, a far better show than The Sopranos. Why is that? Is it just too "hard" to watch for the folks who vote on the awards? Too depressing? Not escapist enough? I am really baffled.
George Burdell | Sep 16, 2007 10:21:28 PM | #Who the heck votes for the winners? They barely got any right!
Kevin | Sep 16, 2007 11:12:43 PM | #The Colbert Report was absolutely robbed, although I'm thrilled for The Daily Show, which I also adore. I'm more disappointed that they lost the writing Emmy to Conan.
On the other hand, just think of all the comedic mileage Colbert is going to get out of losing to Tony Bennett! *And* 2006 Emmy thief Barry Manilow's set to be on the Report this week!
Jess | Sep 16, 2007 11:14:11 PM | #It seemed to me that The Office cast stole the show. How desperate did Fox have to be to look towards an NBC show to get laughs?
George | Sep 17, 2007 12:15:20 AM | #Why has Spader won three times? He's won no other awards for TV drama.
Fred | Sep 17, 2007 12:15:26 AM | #Maybe it was Neil’s role on this show as a Canadian Necropheliac that kept him from winning?
http://www.powerloafing.com
I'm sure she enjoys the plaudits, but my comment is essentially the following: she's DAME Helen Mirren, get it right.
Hannah | Sep 17, 2007 4:37:02 AM | #America, yay. James Spader, boo. Giving Gervais's award to Steve Carell and commencing with the three-man hug? Awesome! 30 Rock, even better. All in all, the Emmys had some good moments, but the whole weird seat thing and whole Seacrest thing made it just...strange. And someone tell Katherine Heigl to seem less mean? Is it just me?
Shirley | Sep 17, 2007 6:38:50 AM | #Dear Zap2It:
WE DON'T FREAKING CARE ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!!!! STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!!! WE DON'T CARE IF IT WAS ROBBED, IGNORED, BADLY SCHEDULED, OR WHATEVER. I'M REALLY SICK OF HEARING ABOUT IT. NO ONE WATCHES IT FOR WHATEVER REASON, SO JUST DROP IT OKAY?
SICK OF FNL | Sep 17, 2007 6:40:05 AM | #two and a half men got robbed, how have they not won anything they are the highest rate comedy on tv. Charlie sheen, jon cryer, and the show should've won. They are so underappreciated. Even the supporting actresses are so funny they didn't even get one mention in the recap. Same thing with Hereos 10 times better than sopranos come on masi oka and heroes should've won it was the highest rated new show.
Men and heroes fan | Sep 17, 2007 7:10:16 AM | #James Spader??? Is this a joke. It makes me sick. He had no business even being nominated!!! What a huge disappointment!
TJ | Sep 17, 2007 7:25:11 AM | #Daniel, I think you're (sadly) right on both The Amazing Race and The Daily Show, which are frustrating wins that, unfortunately, I can't really argue with. Even as TAR went through some rough patches, and even as the Daily Show has been eclipsed by Colbert by a fair margin, their long-term goodwill is too powerful for me to dislike the choices. Clearly the Emmy voters feel the same.
I think it's also important to note that ABC took half of the Big 8 Acting categories (O'Quinn, Field, Spader, Ferrera). After getting snubbed out last year in the post-Housewives/Lost era, it is clear that ABC is back in Emmy's good graces even without an Ugly Betty Comedy win. Which, of course, deserved to go to 30 Rock in every possible way.
Myles | Sep 17, 2007 8:01:23 AM | #I think the whole tv industry is a mess. Young people have tuned in on the internet to such an extent that it really doesn't matter who wins or losses.
tv viewer | Sep 17, 2007 8:22:57 AM | #James Spader completely deserved the Emmy. His character doesn't make just one impassioned speech to submit for awards, he is out there every week on Boston Legal making statements that are compelling enough to deliver a political/social message from the writers that coming out of almost anyone elses mouth would put the majority of people to sleep. Instead he stands up there and delivers messages about the war and other current events in a way that make him earn every one of those awards.
I know that not everyone has to agree with my point of view, but at least get your facts right that on Boston Legal his character performs consistently and NOT just for one submission tape.
agree with tj on the amazing race and the daily show... don't forget heigl in the ABC wins either... 5 of the 8 wins went to ABC.
victorious | Sep 17, 2007 8:38:45 AM | #I'm not qualified to speak about most of these shows, but I think it's truly unfair that Stephen Colbert didn't win anything. I'm also a big fan of Jon Stewart, but the Daily Show has increasingly relied on lowball humor - and segments similar to the ones it's been using for years - to get laughs. And although it's fantastic to see a real musician win public recognition for once, Tony Bennett's work on his NBC special (which already won two awards by the way) wasn't even close to what Colbert brings to the table on a 4-nights-a-week basis. Colbert's energy and comedic gifts are too great to be overlooked. Methinks Tony owes Stephen a duet on the Report!
sean | Sep 17, 2007 8:40:38 AM | #I wasn't very surprised or baffled by the winners at last night's Emmys. It seems that most award shows are predictable. The winners are the ones with the most hype, not necessarily the ones who deserve the award the most.
However, I was pretty shocked that Spader won for Best Actor. I thought for sure that Gandolfini had a lock, or maybe Hugh Laurie would be the dark horse. The Emmy voters certainly do love to give awards to David Kelly's projects, even if I think his shows are overrated!
Paige | Sep 17, 2007 8:56:41 AM | #James Spader's win was certainly deserved, he consistently delivers dramatic & when called for comedy on the turn of a dime. The other actors in the category are pretty one-dimensional, a thug, a one-note cranky doctor, recovering alchoholic firefighter, all of whom perform the same every week, just different words.
Karen | Sep 17, 2007 9:41:02 AM | #Who cares - no nominations for Lauren Graham in 7 years of Gilmore Girls - the awards are a joke.
Steve77 | Sep 17, 2007 9:52:56 AM | #I agree with most of what you said Daniel. In some respects I wish these actors could not be nominated again if they won the year before. I really wanted to see Neil Patrick Harris win. His Barney on "How I met you Mother" is great - he is the reason to watch. Finally, Katherine Heigl....really? She is one of the reasons I stopped watching "Greys...." she is just plan annoying.
Tom | Sep 17, 2007 10:06:40 AM | #Not the Amazing Race AGAIN! I realize that its a hard show to film but encouraging American's to go out and act like ugly American's maybe shouldn't be rewarded.
As much as I hate to say it Idol has changed the fabric of American music, Go look at the charts and see how many past contestants are there. TV changing a whole industry. (oh yeah and Paula's HOT!)
Ben | Sep 17, 2007 10:19:54 AM | #Won't argue w/the Daily Show win (Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert BOTH need a host Emmy one day...), but The Amazing Race... really?
And it was just time for Jaime Pressly to win, and I'm very happy for her.
Fred V | Sep 17, 2007 10:43:50 AM | #I'm disappointed Kyra Sedgwick lost to Sally Fields in the Best Actress in a Drama.
Not a fan of Grey's but you are right about Katherine Heigl taking the high road with the bad pronuciation.
DG | Sep 17, 2007 11:39:43 AM | #I am tired of people griping about the Amazing Race. It's not about encouragin g people to be ugly. It's about overcoming fears and obstacles to win the race. American Idol is just a crappy karoake variety show with too much cheese to digest.
James Myers | Sep 17, 2007 12:17:17 PM | #Classless Katherine "Hi-jull" needs to just shut it. Mariska Hargitay's name is mispronounced all the time, but being the class act that she is, she lets it go. I am starting to wonder if she went to T.R. Knight's defense because she is a good friend or because she just can't keep her trap shut.
Dee | Sep 17, 2007 12:23:51 PM | #
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