You do not cut off Patty Hewes in the middle of an acceptance speech.
Come to think of it, you probably shouldn't be cutting off Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, Tina Fey, Bryan Cranston, and the aforementioned Glenn Close, period.
But that's just what they did on last night's tedious Emmy telecast, focusing instead on the inane chatter among the five nominated reality series hosts and a plethora of pointless and unfunny filler material.
Sure, the 60th Annual Emmy Awards wasn't as big a fiasco as last year's circular stage debacle, though this year came close with the ridiculous time-waste that was the show's opening twelve minutes or so, cheap-looking on-screen graphics for each category, fruitless use of familiar sets, and awkward "repartee" between presenters and our so-called "hosts."
The few high points for me? Ricky Gervais, for one, whose painfully funny (not to mention cringe-worthy) reminiscing of his in absentia win last year for Extras was absolutely spot-on and brilliant; Tommy Smothers finally getting his writing award from Steve Martin; Kathy Griffin forcing the audience to stand up for Don Rickles; Tina and Amy; Colbert and Stewart's prunes vs. plums debate.
And, oh, yes: some actual love for series like 30 Rock, Mad Men, and Damages, all of which prove that television series don't need to be dumbed-down cookie-cutter programs and that there is a place for smart, compelling, and sophisticated programming on American television.
That 30 Rock (which, incidentally, is releasing its sophomore season on DVD on October 7th) managed to take home awards for writing, best actor in a comedy (Alec Baldwin!), best actress in a comedy (Tina Fey!), and best comedy made my evening (despite the uneven pacing and sub par hosting), as did the best drama award for Mad Men and its writing award for series creator Matthew Weiner and Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek (yay!) winning for Damages.
But let's face it: the rest of the awards ceremony was pretty awful. You don't waste time at the beginning by dragging out Oprah to make an introduction and then leave five reality hosts filling precious airtime with unfunny nonsense to then later cut off your actual A-list award winners. Who seriously thought that Cranston would win for AMC's Breaking Bad? I was pretty damn surprised, so I would have liked to have let the man actually finish his acceptance speech... instead of watch Jimmy Kimmel take ten minutes to announce the winner of the new best reality host category. (Yawn.) The less said about Josh Groban's musical montage the better.
But then again, maybe what scared the producers of the Emmys was the fear that network television (save, say, 30 Rock) is completely irrelevant to the Emmy awards any more, given that cable television (and not even HBO at that!) has usurped its position as the home for forward-thinking drama. And, no matter how many reality television hosts you serve up as window dressing (really, the best bit was to have Tom Bergeron and William Shatner strip Heidi Klum?), that's the real issue here?
We might be experiencing, to quote the inimitable Tina Fey, a "turkey-burger economy" right now, but I am thankful to Fey, Weiner, and all of the talented actors, writers, and producers out there who continue to create meaningful, challenging, and stimulating work that not only entertains us but also makes us think. I feel vindicated that series like 30 Rock, Mad Men, and Damages took home some statuettes rather than see some other series (I won't name names here) walk away with the top prizes.
But what did you think? Were you happy with the winners? Saddened by those who went home empty-handed? Bored by the entire proceedings? Talk back.
After weeks of leaked semi-finalist nominee lists, it's good to finally get a glimpse of which series and actors actually made it onto the ballots, instead of seeing yet another list that showed who could make it to the nomination stage.
The Emmy nominees were announced this morning and I have to commend them for showering such love onto diverse and unique series such as Mad Men, 30 Rock (17 nominations, no less!), and Damages... while also locking some repeat offenders--like Ugly Betty in the comedy category--out in the cold. (Yes, I watch Ugly Betty but should it be competing with such comedy series as 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or The Office? Hells no, especially when HBO's hysterical Flight of the Conchords didn't even get a mention.)
So which series and actors did land Emmy noms? Let's talk about the major categories.
Outstanding Drama Series:
Mad Men (AMC)
Boston Legal (ABC)
House (FOX)
Lost (ABC)
Damages (FX)
Dexter (Showtime)
I'm actually quite impressed with the selection here as well as the fact that it must be the first year in a long, long time that HBO didn't have a nominee for best drama series in the mix. (Though I do wish that Big Love would start getting some, well, big love from the TV Academy.) Damages and Mad Men made Emmy history as the first basic cable programs to receive nominations in the outstanding drama series category. It's a tough call for me between Lost, Damages, and Mad Men, all of which have had exceptionally good years. The TV Academy does love a comeback story and Lost managed to please on all levels during a season in which the producers creatively reinvigorated the series; Damages dazzled with deft plotting, overlapping storylines, and a dense, complex storyline; Mad Men ambitiously recreated the world of the 1960s, complete with sexism, racism, and the eternal battle of the haves and have-nots that percolated underneath the gorgeous costumes and set pieces. Forced to choose one, I give the edge to Mad Men in the end.
Outstanding Comedy Series:
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)
Is there really any doubt in your minds? I'm picking 30 Rock all the way.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
James Spader, Boston Legal
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Again, another tough race to call with some real power-players competing neck and neck here for the title. My money is on Jon Hamm for turning in a performance that was at once self-assured and completely vulernable. The scene at the very end of Mad Men's first season--in which Don Draper sits alone in his house, abandoned by the family he pushed away--was absolutely heartbreaking, powerful, and established Hamm as the one to beat.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
I'd be insane not to put my money on Glenn Close for her role as Damages' cutthroat attorney Patty Hewes, who gives new meaning to the phrase toxic corporate culture. Her tough-as-nails Patty is willing to do anything--from covering up a crime to having her associate murdered--in order to win her crusade against Arthur Frobisher. It's a performance that as rich and layered as any film role as Patty strips away the last vestiges of her very soul in order to defeat her nemesis.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Ted Danson, Damages
Zekjko Ivanek, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
John Slattery, Mad Men
Um, wow. I really don't know who I'd want to win this category but as long as Shatner doesn't walk away with the statuette, I'd be thrilled. Any of these guys would be an incredible win and represent the cream of the crop on the supporting actor side, from Danson's amazing turn as malevolent Arthur Frobisher to Emerson's turn as Machiavellian Benjamin Linus. Tough race to call.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Me, I'm just happy to see that Katherine Heigl isn't up for anything for Grey's Anatomy. That's almost enough of a present for me, though I do wish that the ladies of Mad Men--January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, and Christina Hendricks--would have ended up on this nominee list.
Oustanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Steve Carell, The Office
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
I'm thrilled to bits to see Lee Pace's name up here against such luminaries as Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, and Tony Shalhoub; his performance as Ned the Pie Maker on Pushing Daisies was a master class in understated comedy, deft wordplay, and simmering desire. Still, I have to say that it's Baldwin's star turn as Jack Donaghy that truly defines the words "lead actor," as he absolutely pulls the cast of 30 Rock to a whole new level.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Tina Fey.
Tina Fey.
Tina Fey.
Need I say more? Sure, Mary-Louise Parker has dazzled with her performance as Nancy Botwin on Weeds but I can't say that I've found Nancy to be particularly sympathetic these days and I'm finding I have a strong aversion to her character lately, while America Fererra's Betty Suarez is now grating on my nerves. Christina Applegate is absolutely adorable on Samantha Who, but she doesn't hold a candle to Fey's self-assured performance as Liz Lemon. What other actress could eat an entire sandwich (with special dipping sauce!) in one take in an outrageous sight gag that underplayed her character's insistent need to stop ex-boyfriend Floyd at the airport gate and still come off as entirely lovable?
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Kevin Dillion, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Rainn Wilson, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Hmmm... give it to Rainn Wilson already, won't you?
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
My money's on either Pushing Daisies' Chenoweth, whose Olive is a study in sublimated desire, or SNL's Amy Poehler, who will get her own scripted comedy series next spring on NBC. I'd love Pushing Daisies to walk away with an acting prize and Chenoweth might just find herself singing about the birdhouse in her soul on that Emmy stage.... Or Jean Smart will manage to walk away with the top prize. Hmmm.
Outstanding Mini-Series:
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
The Andromeda Strain (A&E)
Tin Man (Sci Fi)
If you haven't seen Cranford, you've done yourself a major disservice; the PBS mini-series featured a dream cast that included Dame Judi Dench, Philip Glenister, and Michael Gambon and deftly interweaves three novels into a glorious exploration of the war between technological progress and small town England as the railroad tries to make its way to the female-run village of Cranford. Along the way, beloved characters die, couples marry and spat, and a cold dowager discovers the beating of her heart, possibly too late. Brilliant and spellbinding.
Outstanding Reality-Competition Series:
American Idol (FOX)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Project Runway (Bravo)
Amazing Race (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
I have a feeling Amazing Race will walk away with the top honor but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Bravo's Top Chef, which has tranformed culinary competition into a cutthroat, edge-of-your-seat extravaganza.
So there you have it. Who are you rooting for to walk away with the top prize? Who got snubbed? And who do you wish the Academy would award the Emmy to? Discuss.
The shortlist for the 2008 Emmy Award nominees been announced and I am utterly confounded by the fact that Terry O'Quinn's name is nowhere to be found on the list of eleven supporting actor shortlist nominees.
Sure, Lost is represented with the inclusion of both Michael Emerson and Naveen Andrews, but I thought for sure that, after his brilliant performance this season on Lost as John Locke/Jeremy Bentham, O'Quinn would end up on that shortlist, if not walking off with a full-blown nomination, especially after a storyline that not only gave O'Quinn a chance to shine but also reasserted his character at the forefront of the series' labyrinthine storyline.
Hell, it was his bravura performance at the end of the series' fourth season as alternately fragile/strong Locke that made me fall in love with the character all over again and the man did win the 2007 supporting actor award with good reason.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Andrews and Emerson make it onto the final ballot but I can't help but feel stung after the exclusion of O'Quinn. Sure, I'm thrilled that Ted Danson, Zeljko Ivanek, Bruce Dern, and John Slattery on are on the shortlist, but Medium's Jake Weber? Really???
Color me confused.
It's that time of year again as the Television Critics Association has announced their nominations for the TCA Awards, which will be handed out on July 19th in Beverly Hills.
Making headlines: AMC's Mad Men has tied HBO's The Wire with the top number of nominations. (For those of you looking for a sign that critics are clearly behind the itty-bitty cabler and the recent Golden Globe winner for Best Drama, there you go.)
This year's group of nominees are quite exciting choices (as seen from the full list below), with some of Televisionary's favorite programs represented, including multiple nominations for Damages, 30 Rock, Lost, Pushing Daisies, and Flight of the Conchords, to name but a few.
The full list of nominees for the TCA Awards is as follows:
Program of the Year:
John Adams Lost Mad Men Ken Burns' The War The Wire
Comedy:
30 Rock The Colbert Report The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Flight of the Conchords The Office
Drama:
Damages Friday Night Lights Lost Mad Men The Wire
Movies, Miniseries, and Specials:
John Adams Masterpiece: Cranford Masterpiece: The Complete Jane Austen Ken Burns' The War A Raisin in the Sun
New Program:
Breaking Bad Damages Flight of the Conchords Mad Men Pushing Daisies
Individual Achievement in Comedy:
Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report)
Tina Fey (30 Rock)
Ray Wise (Reaper)
Individual Achievement in Drama:
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
Glenn Close (Damages)
Paul Giamatti (John Adams)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
David Simon (The Wire)
Children's Programming:
Curious George Hannah Montana Word Girl Yo Gabba Gabba
News and Information:
Alive Day Memories This American Life Frontline Nimrod Nation Ken Burns' The War
Heritage Award:
M*A*S*H Roots Saturday Night Live Sesame Street The Wire
Which programs are you rooting for to take home the top prize? And who do you think will win in the nomination showdown between The Wire and Mad Men... and who should? Discuss.
Get our your Dunder-Mifflin snowglobes and Dwight bobbleheads and prepare to celebrate.
Congrats to the cast of The Office, which took home the top prize tonight at the SAG Awards.
The gang from Scranton scored Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, beating out the Wisteria Lane ladies of Desperate Housewives, those spoiled Hollywood players on Entourage, the fashionistas at Mode on Ugly Betty, and those suburban potheads on Weeds.
It was also especially a good night for Steve Carell, who also managed to snag a win for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for his work in Little Miss Sunshine, along with Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, and Toni Collette. Congratulations, Steve. (I hope it makes up a little for getting passed over in favor of 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin AGAIN.)
TV winners included America Ferrera for Ugly Betty (take that, Felicity Huffman), the aforementioned Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock, Chandra Wilson for Grey's Anatomy, Hugh Laurie for House (beating out Kiefer Sutherland again), and Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons (deja vu) for HBO miniseries Elizabeth I.
Not surprisingly, Grey's Anatomy took home the prize for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Other winners on the film side: Helen Mirren for The Queen (hurrah!), Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (making an Oscar win for Whitaker a very real possibility), and Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson for their supporting roles in Dreamgirls.
What can I say? At least I'm happier than the results of the Golden Globes, especially given The Office's win for best ensemble. Happy days.
