TV Nods

The latest Emmy nominations are out.  Mostly predictable.

Best drama series: Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights, Dexter, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Mad Men

I guess it's nice to see Game Of Thrones, but the rest seem to be automatic, and are hardly all worthy.  I like Mad Men, but it might be nice to see something else win (though not on this list).  Too bad Breaking Bad took the year off.  Best news--no recognition for the unwatchable Treme.

Best comedy series: Modern Family, 30 Rock, Glee, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation

Some decent choices, but we've seen all these before.  Where's Louie?  Community?  Family Guy?  I still don't know what Glee is doing here.  At least there's no Nurse Jackie.

Drama actress: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men; Mariska Hargitay, Law &; Order: SVU; Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law; Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights and Mireille Enos, The Killing.

Haven't seen all these, though I have to wonder is Kathy Bates here because of her name.  No January Jones.  Hmm, is that because the Emmy people watched her movies?  No Kyra Sedgwick either.  Didn't she win last year?  No Desperate Housewives, or was that a snub in the comedy category?

Comedy actor: Steve Carell, The Office; Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock; Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory; Matt LeBlanc, Episodes, Louis C.K., Louie; Johnny Galecki, Big Bang Theory.

I guess everyone on Modern Family is supporting.  Carell didn't have a great season, but it was his big finish.  Baldwin is always fine, as is Parsons, but Johnny Galecki has never stood out so much--is this a pity nod?  Glad to see Matt LeBlanc, who was suprisingly good as a version of himself.  (Hey, he got nominated for once--a couple of his pals from Friends had shows and there's nothing going on for them.).  Interesting to see Louis C. K., who also is doing a version of himself.

Drama actor: Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire; Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights; Michael C. Hall, Dexter; Hugh Laurie, House; Timothy Olyphant, Justified

The Emmy people continue their insane love for Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights and Dexter.  I'm a little surprised not to see Sean Bean of Game Of Thrones.  And isn't it time for Hugh Laurie, who's done the best job on TV bar none in the past decade, to win one of these?

Comedy actress: Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation; Laura Linney, The Big C; Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope; Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly

Not sure if I approve of any of these.  Not sure who else I'd pick, but none of these are that impressive, and some are in shows (like Nurse Jackie and The Big C) that are comedies without laughs.  Surprised to see Plimpton as a lead (not that she deserves a nomination in any category).  Surprised not to see Lea Michele, though I guess it wasn't her year.  Wonder if McCarthy will be helped by Bridesmaids--TV people love to kiss up to movie people.

Supporting drama actor: Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age; John Slattery, Mad Men; Alan Cumming, The Good Wife; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Josh Charles, The Good Wife; Walton Goggins, Justified.

Good to see John Slattery again.  There were a lot of supporting players in Game Of Thrones, but I guess Peter Dinklage stood out.  Good to see nothing for Boardwalk Empire (though if it did deserve any acting nomination, it'd be here for Michael Stuhlbarg--though not any of the many other Michaels on the show).

Supporting comedy actor: Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Ed O’Neill, Modern Family; Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family; Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men; Chris Colfer, Glee

Nominatinon domination from Modern Family.  It's a good show, but it's not head and shoulders above everything else.  I am thinking it Ty Burrell's year, if the votes don't split too harshly, but they've mock-blocked any nominations from Community, Parks And Recreation, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Big Bang Theory and a bunch of other worthy choices.  Of course, we've got Chris Colfer, who was merely annoying in season one of Glee, but now that they've made him a super-perfect human being is perhaps the most irritating character on TV.  I wonder if Jon Cryer got nominated because everyone feels sorry for him?

Supporting comedy actress: Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Jane Lynch, Glee; Betty White, Hot in Cleveland; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live; Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

I love Betty White, but that doesn't mean she should get nominated every year from now on.  It always seems odd to nominate SNL players here, who are doing something different, but I guess there's nowhere else to put them.  With all the predictable nods, there's no room for Community. (There's no room for Community in general, actually.)

Supporting drama actress: Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife; Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire; Christine Baranski, The Good Wife; Michelle Forbes, The Killing; Margo Martindale, Justified; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

The love for The Good Wife continues.  Didn't think much of Kelly Macdonald, but then I don't think much of anything on that show.  Nice to see Christina Hendricks get another shot.

Movie or miniseries: Mildred Pierce, HBO; Downtown Abbey, PBS; The Kennedys, ReelzChannel; Cinema Verite, HBO; Too Big To Fail, HBO; Pillars of the Earth, Starz

Less competition here, so most big projects have a shot at nominations.  Interesting to see The Kennedys.  Didn't watch it, but Reelz must be thrilled to have a seat at the table.  Mildred Pierce was big and expensive, but beyond the look I'm not sure there was a lot going on.  Too Big To Fail was pretty well done--wonder if it's big enough to take on Mildred.

Reality competition: So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Project Runway

Or as it's becomne known, an Automatic Victory For The Amazing Race.  Its unbroken string of Emmys is the most amazing thing about the show.

Reality host: Jeff Probst, Survivor; Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance; Phil Keoghan, Amazing Race; Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars; Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

Maybe the silliest category of all.

Variety, music or comedy series: The Colbert Report, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, Conan, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Jimmy Fallon has risen quickly, and as a former doubter, I'll admit he's carved out his own niche.  Are people still feeling so sorry for Conan that they nominated him?  And isn't there usually a slot for Letterman?  (No Leno, of course, and I guess no Craig Ferguson either.)  Most of the rest of the nominations have the TV Academy on automatic, and maybe it's time they watched some of these shows again and asked are they really that good?