Pop Vultures

The Emmy nominations were announced yesterday and, as usual, the list contained its fair share of expected names along with a few surprises. Here, then, are five utterly random thoughts about the nominations.

5. HBO’s John Adams led the pack with 23 nominations. Huh. Maybe I should have watched that, historical inaccuracies be damned.

4. While the Best Drama category (see below) highlights the Academy’s split between fresh shows and stale, predictable ones, the Best Actor category was an utter surprise. Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment) were all nominated for their work on non-network shows. Do you think network executives get together on the weekend, get hammered on cheap vodka and cry about the death of the Big Four? Certainly, this year’s nominees make it clear that being a network show no longer offers any sort of advantage when it comes to awards season. Unless, of course, you’re Two and a Half Men, whose presence in the comedy category is certainly a head-scratcher.

3. Here are a bunch for the “pleasant surprise” category: Michael Emerson (Lost); Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Flight of the Conchords (in the writing and song category). Michael Emerson is easily one of the most magnetic actors working in television today, but the Lost cast is so huge that it would have been easy for him to be overlooked or to be the victim of vote-splitting. Neil Patrick Harris is, of course, brilliant as Barney Stinson (is there a week when I don’t write something about Barney?), but the Academy has so far shown no love to HIMYM. And, despite the fact that everyone I know rightly loves Flight of the Conchords, it’s still considered a cult show, which is traditionally Emmy code for “Oh? Is that show on the air?” (On the plus side, if the Conchords don’t get it, there is a chance we will hear, “And the winner is…I’m Fucking Matt Damon!”) These nominees don’t entirely make up for the shut-out of The Wire and Friday Night Lights, but it’s a start.

2. Other than Damages, I don’t watch a single show in the Best Actress in a Dramatic Series category. The category is loaded with former film actresses who’ve since moved to the small screen: Glenn Close, Holly Hunter (Saving Grace), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), and Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters), with Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) representing for the television crew. Am I just showing no love for the women, or are these shows, as I suspect, not especially memorable? It seems that the Academy is still happy to reward former film actors at the expense of thoughtful work by Connie Britton (FNL), Mary McDonnell (BSG) or anyone from The Wire.

1. The Best Drama category perfectly summarizes the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences schizophrenia. Truly, nothing but a split personality could explain why such quality fare as Mad Men and Dexter sits beside David E. Kelly’s self-indulgent Boston Legal. Lost has had a strong season, and deserves its place on the list, but Damages and House? Not so much. They’re both good shows, absolutely, but Damages wrapped up the season with plot holes you could fly a 747 through and House rests far too much on the strength of Hugh Laurie’s performance and tends toward formulaic stories. In an ideal world, this list would have included Friday Night Lights and Battlestar Galactica, and there is absolutely no excuse for overlooking The Wire’s final season for Boston Legal. None. Start doing penance now, Emmy voters.

What did you think of the nominees? Which omissions would you like to complain about, and who will you be rooting for on the night?