Emmy Nominations: The Good, the Bad and the Controversial

Several weeks ago, the Emmy nominations were announced and many media outlets celebrated some of the great new programs that were nominated. For instance, USA Today’s Robert Bianco wrote that, “After years of recycling nominees and ignoring new shows, the Emmy voters produced a list that actively celebrates the joy of TV discovery.” However, along with highlighting some new worthy programs and bringing attention to some solid performances, the Emmy nominations did include some disappointments and also featured a few controversial choices.

The Good: Two of the best things about this year’s nominations were Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, who were nominated for outstanding lead actor and outstanding lead actress in a drama series for their work on “Friday Night Lights.” These actors have been in their respective roles for four years but have never received the recognition they deserved for their strong performances. “FNL” was also recognized in several other categories with nominations for “Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series” and “Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.” That latter nomination was specifically for a heartbreaking episode about a former quarterback coming to grips with his father’s death in Iraq.

In addition to recognizing the strong talent of often neglected shows, the nominations also brought more attention to some critically-acclaimed new programs. I still haven’t watched ABC’s new comedy hit “Modern Family” but in its first season, the show has received numerous Emmy nominations to go along with the rave reviews it received when it premiered. In fact, out of the twelve nominations for outstanding supporting actor and outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, “Modern Family” captured five of them in addition to other major nominations, including a best comedy nod. I am looking forward to checking this show out when it comes to DVD.

A couple of other freshman shows received some support from Emmy. “The Good Wife” received several high profile and well-deserved nominations, including a nod for outstanding drama series. The musical comedy “Glee” also received a lot of love, including a nomination for outstanding comedy series and a supporting actress nomination for Jane Lynch, who many predict will take home that award.

The Bad: I haven’t seen all of the programs nominated but I was disappointed that “24” received so few nominations in its final season. This season of “24” was clearly not its best but the show deserved some recognition for strong performers like Kiefer Sutherland. Even in its final season, the show had some great thrills this year and a strong series finale.

For all of my excitement over the “Friday Night Lights” nominations, I am disappointed that the show was not nominated for best drama. Also, like some other critics, I am disappointed that FNL’s Zach Gilford, who has been great on the show since it started, was not nominated. Gilford played the former quarterback accepting the death of his father in the “FNL” episode that was nominated for best writing.

Also, I was a little disappointed to see so many nominations for “You Don’t Know Jack,” a disappointing HBO film about Jack Kevorkian. “You Don’t Know Jack” received a whopping fifteen Emmy nominations. Although the movie did feature some solid performances, the movie failed to take an in-depth look at Jack Kevorkian and did not deserve so much attention.

The Controversial: This year, the Emmy nominations did create some interesting controversies. For one, David Letterman’s “Late Show” failed to earn an Emmy nomination for best variety show, but the man who attempted to blackmail Letterman garned one for an unrelated television project. Additionally, “The (short-lived) Tonight Show with Conan O’ Brien” received a nomination for outstanding variety, music or comedy series but “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” failed to garner one. (If O’Brien’s show wins, that acceptance speech will likely be one of the highlights of the evening).

However, the most controversial nomination should be the Emmy nomination for the politically incorrect South Park episodes that Comedy Central censored. As Washington Post columnist Lisa de Moraes wrote, the episodes that “merited consideration for Outstanding Animated Program… were censored because Comedy Central would not show what viewers were led to believe was an image of Muhammad disguised in a bear costume — but which in fact turned out to be St. Nicholas.” Moraes noted that “the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, publicly derided the versions of the censored episodes that were telecast, saying Comedy Central had wrecked them.” So the show is being celebrated even though Comedy Central was incapable of standing up for the show’s freedom of speech.

If the good, the bad and the controversial aspects of the Emmy nominations are not enough to make you want to tune in to the Emmy awards, there is an added competition that might make it worthwhile.

Betty White’s famous Snickers commercial will be going up against the charming Old Spice guy commercial in the outstanding commercial category.

If that’s not enough to make you want to tune in, I’m not sure what is.