Thursday, July 16, 2009

Emmy Awards: good news and bad news

For about five minutes this morning, I was really excited because I confused the Emmy Awards with the Oscar Awards and thought that the Emmy's were the ones that were doing 10 categories for best what-nots this year. For a brief moment, I thought, "Surely this means 'Battlestar Galactica' will get a best drama nomination now that there are 10 slots!" But then reality set in and I realized that no, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences had to keep their snooty pants on and ignore BSG so it could give yet another nod to a somnalent season of "House" which pretty much blew last year. (Sorry, Hugh Laurie, you know I still love you.)

Perusing this year's Emmy nominations, there were several bright spots on the landscape though. For example, "30 Rock" earned 22 nominations which means Alpha Girl Nerd Tina Fey should have a chance to make several more semi-surreal acceptance speeches this fall...which is awesome. And perhaps even more awesome, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" earned a nod in the Outstanding Special Class Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Programs category, which I think is a category they just made up so they could nominate "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" for something. Better yet, I just heard a rumor on Twitter that perhaps members of the "Dr. Horrible" cast might perform a number on the Emmy show itself. Let the prayers of the nerdy be heard!

Jim Parsons of "The Big Bang Theory" earned a nomination for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, a category which also inexplicably includes Charlie Sheen AGAIN. He -- and let's face it, Tony Shalhoub -- have to be sleeping with somebody important and doing a very good job of it to be getting these nominations year after year. Honestly. On a brighter note, Jemaine Clement got nominated for playing some guy named Jemaine Clement on "Flight of the Conchords" which means Bret McKenzie may well be crying himself to sleep somewhere right now. That makes me sad.

In other news, "Robot Chicken" got an Emmy high-five for its "Star Wars: Episode II." Stop-motion animators, you are mighty and you are loved. That guy who did "Clash of the Titans" would be totally proud.

Speaking of mightiness, the bad-ass cinematographers of "The Deadliest Catch" got nominated, too, in a category I think should be called the "Holy shit, there's a 40-foot wave coming at me what can I possibly hold on to besides the detachable limb of an angry crab oh my God I'm not getting paid nearly enough to do this" category. Maybe they could shorten it into some sort of acronym.

What did you think of this year's nominations? Any that made you particularly happy or were egregiously disappointing?

14 comments:

Lisa said...

Dr. Horrible, NPH, Mythbusters, Castle, Dirty Jobs, Big Bang Theory and Jim Parsons - it's a nerd-girls' fantasy!

Alyson said...

Mercifully, the Emmys have righted the egregious oversight from last year, and nominated Phil Keoghan for Best Reality/Competition Host. (actually, Phil would be another great Nerd Man nominee!)

In the current egregious oversight category:

No nominations for any of the cast of Chuck.

Jessica said...

I was fairly disapointed in them to be honest. And the reason why is what I've heard lots of people say- this years Emmy noms look like last years that look like the year before that.

There's only so many times I can see the same people get nominated for the same thing...and then the same people win inexplicably!

I love your blog but to be honest, I'm 100% not a 30 Rock supporter. I tried, but I just don't find it funny. And as funny as other shows on tv that were nominated and other actors/actresses nominated are I guarantee you come Emmy night Tina Fey will win best actress, Alec Baldwin best actor and 3o Rock best comedy. Its just gotten old with the winning I think. I think theres a lot of funnier other shows/ people who deserve a chance in the spotlight. Same thing happened with Monk a few years back winning everything for a few years (Tony Shaloub got nominated again- I didn't even know it was still on the air!) And on the drama side, same thing but with Mad Men. I just wish it wasn't so predictable not from a who deserves it perspective but more like "Well, who do we know they're going to give it to"

It breaks my heart to see NPH nominated for what, the 3rd or 4th year now? And as much as everyone loved Dr.Horrible, I bet it gets swept over. I hope I'm wrong though. Either way, him hosting will be fantastic so I'm looking forward to that.

Rebecca S. said...

I was happy that Kristin Chenoweth was nominated for "Pushing Daisies."

Unknown said...

You forgot to mention Andy Serkis getting nominated for some supporting actor in a miniseries spot.

I'd love to see Gollum finally get his due.

Anonymous said...

I can't argue with a Jim Parsons nomination, but I can't understand your dis of Tony Shalhoub. He does an amazing job with Monk and other roles he's played.

I don't think it's snooty at all to not nominate BSG. It may be an indulgence for some viewers, but in terms of quality drama, it doesn't really rank -- it's more of a soap than a true drama. It's also hardly a nerd stable. "House" wipes the floor with it.

Liz said...

Lisa, yes! I saw that nomination for Castle and thought, wow, that's the icing on the cake, isn't it?

Alyson, I heart Phil too. He's hands-down the best reality host.

Jessica, no worries -- you don't have to love 30 Rock to hang out at the Bench! :) As much as I love the show and even though it was the original inspiration for this blog, even I have to admit that I think it's first season -- the one no one watched -- was still its best. And I agree 100 percent on the repetition of winners. There's so much good stuff out there. I don't know why the same people have to get named each year -- like when the Sopranos just kept winning and winning when it very obviously was not as good as it had been.

Janey, I can't believe I missed the Kristin Chenowith nom. My brain must have gone dark for a second. That is great news (the nomination, not my brain shutting down).

ydtulsa, heck yeah for Andy Serkis.

Anonymous, I like Tony Shalhoub as an actor, but it's kind of what Jessica was talking about. He just gets nominated over and over and over again and even if he is outstanding, it sort of lessens the impact of his recognition just because it's expected every year.

Addie said...

No Chuck? That makes me sad. It's one of the best comedies out there right now. As for BSG - in my opinion, it was THE best drama on TV this past year. The acting alone should have given it Emmy status. They should have at least recognized Mary McDonnell. I find it hard to believe that the other actresses in the category were any better than her portrayal of Roslin.

Tina Fey, you are my only consolation. Sigh...

crone51 said...

I am sad that the BSG cast was overlooked again. Olmos should get something for all that drooling on himself this year, no? And Mary McAwesome is just so consistently wonderful and James Callis is my other imaginary boyfriend ( along with Nathan Fillion since Liz is using David Tennant). But I am thrilled that Dr. Horrible got a nod ( as did The Face Of My Enemy BSG webisode in the same odd category) and delighted , as always, for 30 Rock.

Anonymous said...

very proud of jim parsons and 30 rock in general.

Cara King said...

I'm very yay about the noms for Jim Parsons, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Emerson, and Lost! A bit disappointed that Big Bang Theory and Pushing Daisies didn't get show nominations, though...(but when I look at the complete list, I see that BBT got three noms and PD got 5 nominations, so that's cool.)

I do wish there were nods for Chuck, BSG, Lee Pace, and Supernatural (well, I can dream, right?) ;-)

Michele said...

I'm pleased to see Little Dorrit up there for miniseries nominations - not least 'cos it means more people will see my TV Girlfriend (Freema Agyeman) looking cute in a bonnet!

Michelle said...

Don't forget Kevin Klein's nomination for Cyrano - so fantastic!

Henry Killinger said...

"That guy who did 'Clash of the Titans.'" Really? You mean Ray Harryhausen? The "guy" who defined stop-motion animation for upwards of twenty-five years? Student of Willis O'Brien, the animator for a little movie called King Kong? You mean that guy? Park Bench, I am disappoint.