2011-2012 Emmy Awards

[Big Magilla]

There were a few surprises - Damian Lewis, Jon Cryer, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss whose show I've never seen - never even heard of it until awards season. I guess Homeland could qulify as a surprise but I suspected it might win - Lewis' win clinched it for me.

[Sabin]

I enjoyed the Jon Stewart stuff. Couldn't agree more about the rest of it. Jimmy Kimmel has always struck me as accidentally ascendant. How he's hung onto this show for nine years is pretty stunning. He's entirely unexceptional and he hosted a very dull show. He's almost comes across as contemptuous of television. Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, and Neil Patrick Harris host a spritelier evening.

But while every Comedy winner was a repeat (Julia Louis-Dreyfus has now won an Emmy for three separate shows), it's hard for me to remember the night where Homeland and Damian Lewis won as predictable.

[Big Magilla]

The awards themselves were mostly deserved if predictable, but oh that show!

It was the most tasteless awards show yet. They should have flushed it down one of those toilets shown during the filmed opening and done something else with the three hours that followed. Jimmy Kimmel's In Memoriam tribute to himself was the low point during the live proceedings. Ricky Gervais hogging the spotlight during his presentation of two awards wasn't far behind. And that cutesy-poo stuff with Jon Stewart crawling on the floor and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Amy Poehler exchanging acceptance speeches made the whole thing look like a farce that would have embarassed the Three Stooges.

[Sabin]

Thoughts...

- One of my favorite jokes of the night was Jimmy Kimmel "congratulating" Jon Hamm on his fifth unsuccessful Emmy nomination at the start of the show. I think it went over because, I mean, this guy could lose ten Emmy nominations and how can you feel bad for him?

- Really gotta start watching Homeland. Every clip I see of it looks phenomenal. After watching Bryan Cranston's submitted episode where he breaks down crying in the basement and then starts maniacally laughing, I thought he had it in the bag. I'd argue that Breaking Bad has become something of a classic already and the fourth season was a truly incredible one. That it only won for Aaron Paul is a little surprising. With all the good will going towards it on its fifth [bisected] season, I thought it had a solid chance of upsetting Mad Men going into Emmy night. Paul is probably the best performer on the show and I expect him to win again this coming year if he submits the episode I think he will where he does some truly epic crying, and his victory tonight was testament to the truism that stoicism does not fare well at awards ceremonies be it Giancarlo Esposito or Jon Hamm.

- Can't really say anything about Jon Cryer's win because the only episode I"ve seen of Two and a Half Men was the one with Ashton Kutcher and that was more than enough for me. I think he won a "Good sport" award and he was clearly surprised by it. I don't watch The Big Bang Theory either. Neither show is anything I can really stomach, but to those who scream bloody murder that Jon Cryer just won another Emmy, I will say exactly who did he rob? Louis C.K. who won two Emmys tonight? Alec Baldwin? Best Comedy Series was just as vacuous a category.

- I think a few months ago I predicted Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen, but Eric Stonestreet ended up winning. I was rooting for Max Greenfield's hilarious Schmidt. Every time a clip of Modern Family is aired, I start suffocating on the self-congratulation. The bit with the girl being a bloody terror on set was pretty amusing, but everybody on this show seems to think so highly of their B+ comedy. It really is Frasier all over again. Nothing against either show, but how can it be considered groundbreaking in the era of Community and Louie?

- Good for Danny Strong. Amazing Jonathan indeed. Game Change kinda sucks though.

- Do I need to see The Hatfields & McCoys? I heard it was not good.

- Undoubtably the highlight of the night was seeing Jon Stewart win his tenth consecutive Emmy for The Daily Show. Watching the other hosts tackle him was great. I was kind of hoping The Colbert Report would win because Colbert's "Americans for a Better Tomorrow Tomorrow" Super-PAC is one of the most subversive things I've ever seen in my life. I won't act like he actually impacted the political structure, but he actually aired attack ads in primary states! It's still hard to argue with The Daily Show's consistent victories because it's not like they ever have an off-week let alone an off-year.

"Mitt Romney is a serial killer"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW0JTcYeKXg

[anonymous1980]

Final predictions!


OUTSTANDING MINISERIES or MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
Game Change (HBO)

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Mad Men (AMC)

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Modern Family (ABC)

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC or COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)

OUTSTANDING REALITY-COMPETITION SERIES
The Amazing Race (CBS)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES or MOVIE
Idris Elba, Luther (BBC America)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES or MOVIE
Julianne Moore, Game Change (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES or MOVIE
Tom Berenger, Hatfields & McCoys (The History Channel)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES or MOVIE
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story (FX)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes, Homeland (Showtime)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad (AMC)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Joanne Frogatt, Downton Abbey (PBS)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Louis C.K., Louie (FX)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family (ABC)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live (NBC)

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol (Fox)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING IN A MINISERIES, MOVIE or DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Kevin Reynolds, Hatfields and McCoys (The History Channel)

OUTSTANDING WRITING IN A MINISERIES, MOVIE or DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Steven Moffat, Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (PBS)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad ("Face Off") (AMC)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, Homeland ("Pilot") (Showtime)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Steven Levitan, Modern Family ("Baby on Board") (ABC)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Lena Dunham, Girls ("Pilot") (HBO)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Glen Weiss, The 65th Annual Tony Awards (CBS)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Louis C.K., Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater (FX)

[anonymous1980]

The Creative Arts Emmy awards have been announced.

[dws1982]

I'm working on a long post about the new landscape for the TV Drama. With the networks getting mostly shut out of the Emmy nominations on the Drama side, the networks are in a position they've never been in before. Their backs are against the wall, ratings are at all-time lows, and I could imagine some radical changes coming in the way networks try to compete with cable in the next few years.

[Reza]

David Strathairn did nothing special in Hemingway and Gellhorn. How is he a frontrunner?

Well I obviously missed something here which the Academy saw in his performance. Maybe he got nominated for shaving his head?

[danfrank]

ALSO WHERE THE FUCK IS JANE KRAKOWSKI?!?! Oh, that's right. She got shafted for some no-name on Nurse Jackie and the Emmys decided to nominate Kathryn Joosten because she died. Bullshit.

Have you ever watched Nurse Jackie? Because Merrit Weaver is consistently hilarious,

I concur with Tee on this one. Weaver consistently shows incredible creativity with her Zoey character, frequently going out on a limb but never quite falling off. She's a great physical actor. This nomination made me smile. I for one am very happy that "no names" occasionally get the kudos they deserve.

[Mister Tee]

ALSO WHERE THE FUCK IS JANE KRAKOWSKI?!?! Oh, that's right. She got shafted for some no-name on Nurse Jackie and the Emmys decided to nominate Kathryn Joosten because she died. Bullshit.

Have you ever watched Nurse Jackie? Because Merrit Weaver is consistently hilarious,

[ksrymy]

RE: RE: SPOILERS ABOUT MAD MEN & BREAKING BAD... SABIN

See, I love Breaking Bad but not as much as Mad Men. I think Jared Harris has to be very subtle in a role that did not get any attention until he got a story arc that allowed him to finally prove his talents. Esposito deserves a nomination, but his role is leagues easier to play as most villainous roles are. I think Aaron Paul's Jesse is much more interesting and gets all the best quotes ("MAGNETS, BITCH!!!")

So I see this race as the battle of the characters who won't be coming back.

[Sabin]

Yeah, I don't think stats have anything to do with it. I look at the actors who just start winning and keep winning and it has everything to do with whether or not the voters latch onto a character/actor they love amidst a lineup they routinely do not. That's why Jim Parsons seems pretty destined for his third victory in a row, which has not been done in this category since Michael J. Fox for Family Ties, although Grammer and Lithgow traded six wins between them over the course of six years in the mid-to-late 90s.


SPOILERS RE: MAD MEN & BREAKING BAD...KSRYMY

I had the ending of Mad Men spoiled for me a little while ago, but it appears that Jared Harris' character committed suicide and will not be back. Giancarlo Esposito's Gus suffers a far more explosive fate. I suppose it's possible that Harris has a shot, but his character is so restrained at all times that even if he's given a sterling goodbye showcase, I doubt it. Likewise, Esposito is my choice because he was such a fascinating portrait of cunning this past season, but even though he has a great episode where we see him possibly decades younger, I think he's too restrained a cunning presence to win. Peter Dinklage is a far more endearing portrait of calculation and manipulation. Aaron Paul had a fine season, but it's not quite on par with his work in the previous three seasons. I'm not current on Season Two of Downton Abbey, but the reason I'm sticking with Dinklage in this category is because there's no reason for them not to. It's the same reason that Jim Parsons is going to win again, why Mad Men is going to win again, why Modern Family is going to win again, why Maggie Smith is going to win again, why Julie Bowen is going to win again, and why Eric Stonestreet or Ty Burrell will win again.

[dws1982]

I hope Giancarlo Esposito wins, but it will likely go to Peter Dinklage again.

Actually, if you look into stats, there hasn't been a repeat in this category in over 16 years. So this favors Esposito.

That's not how stats work.

I don't see how anyone could say Damian Lewis was undeserving: You know how you spent almost the whole season wondering whether Claire Danes was or wasn't right about him? How our sympathies and suspicions kept shifting? That has everything to do with an actor fully realizing a character. His nomination is one of the great things about the lineup this year.

Glad to see Downton Abbey get several nominations--and in the correct category! Ridiculous that American Horror Story (which is coming back for a second season--albeit reformatted) and Missing (which was a one-and-done series, but meant to run longer) with nominations in the Miniseries category. Luther, too, really shouldn't be there--Idris Elba was nominated last year for the first season of the show. (I think the reason it's in Miniseries is because a show has to air six episodes to be eligible for Series.) Sherlock is a mixed case: It's the second season, but it only airs three each season, and the episodes are actually feature length. Plus, they submitted one of their episodes ("A Scandal in Belgravia") as a TV Movie.

[OscarGuy]

Don't forget that the cancelled show Missing was nominated in the Miniseries category...

One bonus to running a shortlist section to the OFTA awards is that I can correct wrong-headed placement (though, I apparently missed Missing on the list when I first went through). I moved American Horror Story to drama series where it should be. You don't get renewed for a second season and still count as a miniseries, though Sherlock's a bit of a puzzle since it's only three episodes long each year...

[anonymous1980]

I hope Giancarlo Esposito wins, but it will likely go to Peter Dinklage again.

Actually, if you look into stats, there hasn't been a repeat in this category in over 16 years. So this favors Esposito.

Too bad none of these supporting drama actors will stand a chance against Jared Harris. If he doesn't win, I will flip my kitchen table in a blind rage. I am not letting Lane Pryce die in vain. If Joe Pantoliano can come on The Sopranos for one season and die and win an Emmy then, by God, Jared Harris can do it too!!

Ummm.....Esposito got killed off too, y' know.