My Emmy thoughts

Was hoping to post this earlier, but I had to run out right after the Emmy nominations were announced this morning. But I did want to comment on them because, as you might imagine, I had some thoughts. Overall, I was fairly pleased with this year's crop of nominees (particularly the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences wise decision to recognize the excellent work being done by actors on FX shows -- something it arguably hasn't done since the early seasons of "The Shield).
However, I do have some criticisms. Below is my list of the best and worst of this year's Emmy nominations.
Best:
"Friday Night" Love: Got love all the love for the low-rated but critically adored drama "Friday Night Lights," which wrapped up its final season this year. The show got a best drama nod and nods for best lead actor Kyle Chandler and best lead actress Connie Britton. The actors were nominated last year, but I don't think the show's been recognized, so yay!
"Justified" Actors: OK, no one was expecting Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins to get nods for their uniformly excellent work on this season of "Justified." NO ONE. But, hey -- the Emmys got it right, and gave them credit. Much deserved, especially the nod for Olyphant. I'm a little cheesed that Goggins is getting a nomination for this show, when he never got one for "The Shield," but I won't dwell on that.
Less unexpected -- but no less deserved -- was the nod for Margo Martindale's work as this season's big bad, Mags Bennett. Extra credit for nominating Jeremy Davies for best guest actor. I don't know what got into the Academy's water this year, but I say double the dose.
Louis CK: I guess it's debatable whether the FX sitcom "Louie" is REALLY a comedy in the traditional sense. It's dark and unconventional and doesn't always have a lot of laughs. But it was one of the most daring, and intelligent shows launched last year -- and that's almost solely because of CK, the show's star, writer, creator, and driving force. So it's nice to see him get a nod for best actor in a comedy. Not sure what his chances are -- especially since Steve Carell is up for his final "Office" season, but sometimes it really is just an honor to be nominated.
Martha Plimpton: I only watched a couple episodes of "Raising Hope," but, from what little I saw, it was clear that Plimpton was the best thing about it and a lock for a best comedy actress nom. Kudos to the Academy for agreeing.
No nod for William H. Macy: I was almost positive that beloved character actor Macy would get a nod for his work as an awful dad on Showtime's "Shameless." I didn't think he would have been a good choice, as I find his performance overbearing and shrill most of the time. But come on -- he's got movie cred and Oscar noms. Surely Emmy would take the bait. But they didn't. Good for them in picking much more deserving performances, such as those by Goggins and Peter Dinklage.
No nod for "The Killing": Though two of its actresses -- Mireille Enos and Michelle Forbes -- got (arguably deserved) nods for their work, the show as a whole got snubbed. Yahoo! I think the Internet might have exploded had the show with one of the most hated season finales of all time received a nomination.


Worst:
As in most years, the "worst" category consists of two groups -- all the shows and actors that were snubbed and all the shows and actors that got undeserved nominations. So I broke them down accordingly.
Snubs:Maybe some of the most glaring snubs were in the best actress category. Not only was last year's winner Kyra Sedgwick omitted (I kinda understand that, actually -- she got her win, and she'll probably be back in this category before "The Closer" ends its run), but two other fine actresses from cable dramas failed to get a nod. To me, the breakout performance of the year came from Emmy Rossum on "Shameless." She was funny, moving, sexy and absolutely riveting. So, of course, she got snubbed so they could honor Kathy Bates's work on "Harry's Law" (more on that later). It's one of those moves that makes me want to slap the Emmys -- and that's not an easy thing to do in a year when I liked so many of the nomination choices. Also, while the third season of "Sons of Anarchy" was highly uneven, Katey Sagal continued to deliver strong work as Gemma Teller Morrow -- particularly in her scenes with Hal Holbrook, who played her dad. Sadly, she got snubbed for the third year in a row.
Other snubs occurred in the best supporting drama actor category, where not one of the excellent supporting actors named Michael from "Boardwalk Empire" got a nod (Michael Shannon would have been my choice). Also, as much as I hated what they did to his character in the season finale, Joel Kinnaman was often the best thing about AMC's "The Killing."
In the supporting drama actress category, I was annoyed, but not surprised, that the year's other breakout star -- Emilia Clarke of "Game of Thrones" -- didn't get recognition.
In the best drama series category, was surprised to see new hot thing "The Walking Dead" fail to get a nomination, and I was sad (but, again, unsurprised) that the otherwise honored "Justified" didn't get a series nomination.
As I don't watch many comedies, I can't speak as much to snubs there. However -- and I know I'm almost totally alone in this -- it totally bugs me that the Academy refuses to acknowledge Danny McBride's work as Kenny Powers on "Eastbound and Down." Yes, his character is abrasive, which turns a lot of people off. But McBride humanizes Kenny without compromising his nastiness -- a tricky thing to do. Also, he's hilarious. Why no love?
Undeserved nods: Though I'm one of the few people who actually kind of liked the fifth season of "Dexter," even I think it's ridiculous that the show got a nod, particularly since "The Walking Dead" and "Justified" got snubbed. Also, let's talk about Kathy Bates. I only saw one episode of "Harry's Law," so it's possible her performance got all deep and nuanced after the pilot and I missed it. But I don't think so. This seems like a clear case of the Emmys cozying up to an Oscar winner. Don't get me wrong -- I love Kathy Bates. "Misery" is an all-time fave of mine. But she didn't do anything I saw that approached the work being done by the likes of Rossum or Sagal. Also, let's talk about the nod for Jon Cryer as best supporting comedy actor on "Two and a Half Men," shall we? I like Cryer. He's funny, a good sport and acquitted himself well in some witty talk show appearances in the midst of Sheen-gate. But let's be honest -- he's not getting a nomination for his performance on his CBS sitcom. He's getting the nod for being an oasis of calm in a media firestorm caused by his co-star. That's not fair to other comedy actors, and it's not fair to Cryer.

What did you think of the noms? Let me know.

The Emmys air live on Sept. 18.

Some extremely brief thoughts on the Emmy nominations

Don't have much time to recap this morning's Emmy noms, so I'm going to do a brief break down of the things about the nominations that made me happy, the things that made me mad and the one thing I can't understand.
Things that made me happy: Well of course I, and everyone else in TV nerd world, was THRILLED to see Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton finally get recognized for their stellar work on the stellar "Friday Night Lights." It only took four seasons, but the academy finally got that right. So yay.
Also, I know a lot of people were polarized by the character of Jack on "Lost," but Matthew Fox was always excellent, so it was good to see him get recognized, along with this season's undisputed scene-stealer, Terry O'Quinn, who got a supporting nod for playing the Smoke Monster and John Locke.
It was nice to see another scene stealer, Andre Braugher, get a nod for his work on the surprisingly fine new TNT series "Men Of A Certain Age." A little disappointed at no recognition for his co-stars Ray Romano and Scott Bakula, but Braugher was obviously the stand-out and the male drama categories are always tight.
And a nice surprise nod for Sharon Gless for her excellent work as Jeffrey Donovan's mom on "Burn Notice!" She's a dark horse (I'm pulling for either "Mad Men's" Christina Hendricks or "The Good Wife's" Archie Panjabi to bring it home), but a lovely choice.
Things that made me mad:Surprisingly few of those this year, though I was upset to see that, once again, Tracy Morgan was passed over for his hilarious work on "30 Rock." Yes, his character is kind of close to his personality. So what? I'd rather see a nod for his fresh, crazy work than another nom for Jon Cryer (don't get me wrong -- I love Cryer. I'd just like to see a little fresh blood here). Also, it's a little sad that Ed O'Neil was the only major cast member of "Modern Family" not nominated.
And my other big pet peeve is kind of due to a high class problem over at "Lost." I love Michael Emerson's work as Ben, but he had only one real showcase episode this season. I would have liked to see that spot go to a "Lost"-ite with more screen time -- preferably the underrated Jorge Garcia, whom I don't think has ever gotten a nomination.
Thing that made me nuts:Look, I love "True Blood," but are they kidding with that Best Drama nomination? "Friday Night Lights." "Men of a Certain Age." "Justified." Even "Damages." All would have been excellent choices for that spot. I don't get it.
You can view a complete list of the Emmy nominees here. The Primetime Emmy winners will be announced Aug. 29.

A bigger Emmy breakdown

Though I already posted a few thoughts on yesterday's Emmy nominations, I wanted to take the time to write a longer, more involved post on the subject. This year's nominations were fairly unique, as there were seven nominees in the comedy and drama series categories, as opposed to the traditional five. That's due to a new rule allowing six nominees in these categories (a tie can lead to more, which seems to be what happened here).
At any rate, there were some odd picks this year ("The Family Guy" for best comedy series? Really?) as well as some refreshing ones (finally, a series nod for "Big Love" and for "Flight of the Conchords") and the usual horrifying oversights (I can't say it enough -- NO NOMINATION FOR "The Shield"?????).
Here's my rundown of the best and worst of the Emmy nominations. The entire list of nominees can be viewed here. And feel free to post your own thoughts/feelings/wails of anguish over the omission of "The Shield."
The Good: Let's start on a positive note, shall we? It was nice to see at least some fresh faces among the nominees this year, particularly Aaron Paul of "Breaking Bad" and Elisabeth Moss of "Mad Men." While both work with leading men -- Bryan Cranston and Jon Hamm -- who often get all the praise (and award nominations), Paul and Moss more than held their own this season, delivering sad, searing performance. Also nice to see was a nod for Jemaine Clement, of HBO's whimsical musical comedy "Flight of the Conchords." I agree that, of the show's two stars (Bret McKenzie is the other), Clement is a bit funnier, often selling a whole scene with one shrewd reaction shot or disarmingly dry line delivery. I also liked seeing the show get nominated for best comedy.
While we're on the subject of comedy, I was thrilled to see some "30 Rock" supporting players get some love. Yes, stars Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey are great, but this show has a deep bench, so I was thrilled that Tracy Morgan (maybe having his best season yet) and Jack McBrayer (always a daffy delight as Kenneth the page) got nods for their work.
Also, I don't watch Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program," but I enjoyed seeing the show's star, Sarah Silverman, get an out-of-the-box nod as best actress.
Other positive thoughts: liked that Emmy finally decided to start paying attention to "Lost" again. The show, which had its best season to date, deserved its best drama series nomination. And it's good to see Michael Emerson, whose work as the increasingly complex Benjamin Linus is never less than awesome, back in the supporting actor category. Despite strong competition from Paul and William Hurt ("Damages"), I'm going to go out on a limb and say this award is his to lose.
The Bad: Even with an increased number of nominees and an open-minded approach, there were still MANY glaring oversights. First, why does Emmy refuse to acknowledge the wonderful small town drama "Friday Night Lights" and its stars? Kyle Chandler's sweet, subtle work as Coach Eric Taylor is some of the best acting on TV; ditto for the performance of Connie Britton as his wife, Tami. But Emmy never looks at them twice. Why? I think Britton was far more deserving of a supporting actress nod than, say, Rose Byrne of "Damages" (good, but constantly outclassed by her co-stars) or Cherry Jones of "24" (good, but saddled with a somewhat thankless role). Granted, most of the guys who got nominated in the leading actor category are tough to argue with (except possibly Simon Baker of "The Mentalist," whose success in his role has more to do with charm and presence than acting chops), but I hope against hope they could find a spot for Chandler. He's too good to ignore. I'm also upset by the fresh choices who were overlooked in favor of stale old stand-bys. Did the Academy really need to nominate Charlie Sheen AGAIN for "Two and a Half Men?" I know the show is popular, but I would have much rather seen his spot in the leading comedy actor category go to a fresh face, like Danny McBride of HBO's new series "Eastbound and Down." The comedy category itself was a bit stale, save for the odd nomination of "Family Guy" and the encouraging nod for "Flight of the Conchords." I feel the Emmys are now just nominating "Weeds" and "Entourage" because they've managed to stay on the air for five seasons, not because the shows are so good. In fact, both shows are fading a bit, and I feel it's time to pass them by for some fresh blood.
And let's take a second to discuss that "Family Guy" nomination, shall we? Of all the animated shows on TV over the years, THIS is the one that the academy felt was worthy of recognizing in the comedy category, instead of just the animation category?
Think about it. "The Simpsons." "South Park." "King of the Hill." None nominated for best comedy. Look, I sometimes enjoy "Family Guy," but it can't compete with "The Simpsons" at its peak, or with any season of "King of the Hill." And while I admire "South Park" more than I enjoy it, it's hard to argue that it presents some of the most scathing satire on TV. So why "Family Guy?" Well, I guess we can be thankful they didn't nominate "American Dad" for best comedy. Yet.
The Downright Insane: You might have noticed that I haven't said much about the lack of major nominations for FX's drama "The Shield." That's because I feel this oversight deserves its own category. The last season of "The Shield" was possibly one of the greatest seasons of TV in the past 10 years. I don't even think I'm exaggerating. It was devastating, realistic and impossible to look away from. Nearly every performance was perfect, from Michael Chiklis's mesmerizing work in the lead role of corrupt cop Vic Mackey to Walton Goggins's lacerating performance as Mackey's shunned underling Shane Vendrell, to CCH Pounder's wonderful work as decent, doomed police captain Claudette Wyms. Yet it failed to get a single major nomination. And it will never have another shot. Why? Why didn't the academy recognize this show? Was it even a blip on their radar? Were they really able to convince themselves that there were SEVEN better shows on TV this season? Yes, "Lost," "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "Big Love" all had great seasons worthy of nomination. But "Dexter" got a nod for its third season, its weakest yet. And "Damages," while entertaining, isn't nearly as smart or penetrating as "The Shield." Why couldn't "The Shield" sneak in? And why didn't Chiklis, Pounder and especially Goggins make the cut for their work? We'll never know. It hurts to think about. I guess everyone involved with "The Shield" should view the show's excellence as its own reward. But they shouldn't have to.