Sunday September 20, 2009
Same old, same old
POPCULTURE VULTURE WITH ELIZABETH TAI
The nominees list for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards is almost interchangeable with last year’s.
AS one goes through the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards nominees list, a feeling of déjà vu is inevitable. Emmy favourites such as Dexter, House, Damages and Mad Men dominate many of the main categories, although there are a few noteworthy inclusions this year.
It seems that the usually conservative Emmy voters are going out of the box a wee bit by including a few surprises. For one, the cult favourite Flight of the Conchords and animation Family Guy are nominated for best comedy series.
The charismatic Simon Baker, with co-star Robin Tunney, in The Mentalist. But that’s about as far as the voters went. The Emmys have yet again said “Nah” to shows which enjoy mass appeal such as True Blood, which only got nominated for outstanding casting for a drama series this year. (True Blood fans are at least comforted by Anna Paquin’s best actress (TV drama series) win at the Golden Globes earlier this year. The show was also nominated in the best TV drama series category.)
As the US television business is still feeling the after-effects of the 2007 writers’ strike, TV networks have become more cautious in their selection of TV shows. “Safe” is the keyword in the 2008-09 TV season, and this has resulted in a rather bland crop of new television shows of which only one – The Mentalist – managed to get a nomination in a main category (Simon Baker for lead actor in a drama series).
Thus it’s unsurprising that the nominees for best drama in 2009 are mostly cable shows, which tend to push the envelope, creatively speaking. It seems like the glorious years when network TV was bold and adventurous (around 2004-05) with shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives exploding onto the scene are doomed never to happen again. Economics speaks louder these days.
Big Love (a series about a polygamous Mormon family) and Breaking Bad (a teacher becoming a meth-maker) break into the drama category this year. Dexter, Damages, Mad Men and House, nominated last year, are back. And although I love Hugh Laurie to bits, I feel House (a regular in almost every Emmy Awards) should not be on the list this year as its fifth season isn’t its strongest by far. It could’ve made way for a show that justly deserves the slot: Battlestar Galactica, one of the best dramas to ever grace a television set.
It is a travesty that a show which won a prestigious Peabody Award in 2006 is ignored by the Emmys since its premiere in 2004. The series deftly wrestles with controversial subjects such as suicide bombing, racism and religious fanaticism, and its final season was exceptional. It had some of the finest acting from the cast, especially from the leads, Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell.
It looks like the Emmys will never acknowledge the creative geniuses (such as showrunner Ronald D. Moore) of Battlestar Galactica since it ended its run this year. And that is criminal.
Battlestar Galactica has only won two Emmys for visual effects (a staple Emmy award for sci-fi shows, it would seem). This year, they are at least acknowledging the directing work behind its final, gut-wrenching two-part episode, Daybreak.
Speaking of snubs, why in the world is the hardly-funny Samantha Who? nominated while the always-funny Chuck criminally ignored in the best comedy series category? Season 2 of Chuck is its finest, and the show is greatly loved by fans and critics alike. Will another Subway campaign (which won the show a third season) convince Emmy voters, perhaps?
Like the best drama category, five out of six of the nominees for best actor in a drama series appeared in last year’s list. The new kid on the block is The Mentalist’s Baker. (James Spader, who won in 2004 for The Practice, and 2005 and 2007, both for Boston Legal, isn’t nominated this time around.)
I’m thrilled that Baker is on the list, not just because there’s finally someone new on it, but also because he’s one very charismatic actor. Without Baker, The Mentalist would’ve become just another humdrum procedural. It is simply due to Baker’s magnetic presence that the show is what it is – a hit for CBS in a dry TV year. He is amazing as the former TV-psychic who hides his grief beneath a veneer of affability and charm.
Still, it’s going to be a tough fight, and as much as I want Baker to win, Michael C. Hall surely deserves an Emmy for his role as Dexter, a serial killer who kills other murderers. This is the second year in a row that he’s nominated for the role (Hall was nominated in 2002 for his portrayal of David Fisher in Six Feet Under).
While largely ignored by the Emmys, Battlestar Galactica at least gets a nod this year for its final episode Daybreak (featuring excellent acting by Edward James Olmos, centre). Small consolation. Despite this tight list, I can’t help wishing that Jensen Ackles, from the cult favourite Supernatural, could get a nod from the Emmy folks. It’s such a pity that his excellent work as Dean Winchester, a demon-hunting vigilante, will go unheralded. Horror series truly are given short shrift by the Emmys.
The lead actress in a drama category is also monopolised by Emmy favourites. All but Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) was nominated last year. Moss is hailed by critics for her performance as the mousy but determined secretary in a male-dominated ad agency in the 1960s. You may also remember her from another Emmy favourite, The West Wing, where she played the First Daughter.
Another welcome new nominee is Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies), the Broadway singer-actress who made a successful transition to television. She is nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy series.
But will third time be the charm for Vanessa Williams of Ugly Betty in that category? Her performance as the conniving Wilhelmina Slater is one of the reasons why Ugly Betty is such a hit. Too bad America Ferrera (who plays the title character) does not join Williams as a nominee this year (Ferrera won best actress in a comedy series in 2007).
■ Elizabeth Tai is still smarting from the Emmy Awards’ snubbing of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘Chuck’ and wonders when the two will get their just rewards.
The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards takes place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles today (tomorrow morning, Malaysian time); Neil Patrick Harris is host.
Catch ‘Live from the Red Carpet’ on E! (Astro Channel 712) at 7am tomorrow (repeat: 7.50pm). Or, if you’re an awards show junkie, set your alarm clock to 5am for the ‘Countdown to the Red Carpet’.
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