2011-2012 Emmy Awards

[Sabin]

The Emmys are long over. Having just watched Season One of Homeland, I have to say that they made the right call. While the cumulative effect of Breaking Bad Season Four is certainly incredible and Breaking Bad may be the better show, episode for episode Homeland is the richer experience and it walks an uneasy tightrope very well. To gain cliffhanger suspense from showing Brody enacting Muslim ritual for the first time is potentially in awful taste, but it's just one of scores of twists in this season. I am stunned that Mandy Patankin was not nominated. I have no idea what episode he submitted but it has to be chalked up to how quietly he conveys his principles. I am also pretty stunned that this is a Showtime program, a channel with a tradition for the lurid and sensationalistic. I've never been terribly impressed with Dexter or Weeds and I actively dislike Californication. What is Homeland doing on this channel?

[anonymous1980]

Maybe they've already paid tribute to him during the Sports Emmys (yes, they have an entire seperate Emmys for sports broadcasters).

[MovieWes]

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it troubling that they snubbed NFL Films founder Steve Sabol during the Memoriam tribute, but found room to include Steve Jobs, who had absolutely nothing to do with television? Sabol won 35 Emmys in his career in various categories, including for writing, cinematography, editing, directing and producing, and holds the record for most Emmys ever won by any individual. He also received the Lifetime Achievement award from the Emmys in 2003. Not to mention that he's also one of the main reasons why the NFL is so huge in the US.

[anonymous1980]

And, really, we have a man accepted an Emmy while he's directing the Emmys? We've officially reached maximum Hollywood self-congratulatory overload.

I think there is one more step to go, as I don't think anyone has yet accepted an Emmy for directing a previous Emmys while directing a current Emmys.

Official Emmy rules state that the Emmy show is not eligible for an Emmy.

It has happened before, FYI. Louis J. Horvitz has accepted an Emmy for directing the Oscars a few times WHILE he was directing the Emmys.

[Greg]

And, really, we have a man accepted an Emmy while he's directing the Emmys? We've officially reached maximum Hollywood self-congratulatory overload.

I think there is one more step to go, as I don't think anyone has yet accepted an Emmy for directing a previous Emmys while directing a current Emmys.

[flipp525]

As far as I'm concerned, last night basically amounted to the night Julianne Moore finally won a major award.

I agree. While she was giving her speech, I was like, what is this strange sensation I'm having? Oh, it's from watching Julianne Moore finally on stage accepting a major award!

The "Mandy Patinkin...Holla!" moment has really become iconic for my friends and me. Ever since Heather Thompson rebooted the phrase on "The Real Housewives of NYC" this season, we've been using it as an (ironic) greeting. The fact that Claire Danes pulled it out is clearly evidence that it's re-entered the zeitgeist.

This awards show was pretty awful. Jimmy Kimmel was not funny, his fake tribute was embarrassing and his opening monologue was a bomb. Is Tracey Morgan just a functional idiot at this point? That "prank" was just stupid and embarrassing (as well as distracting and disrespectful for actual winners taking the stage to accept their awards.) Also, why is Ricky Gervais famous at this point: he's obnoxious and quite hard to look at. Really just over his shtick. And, really, we have a man accepting an Emmy while he's directing the Emmys? We've officially reached maximum Hollywood self-congratulatory overload.

On another note, I love the "Homeland" theme. So enticing.

[Bog]

Thought:

- My favorite moment of the night was "....Mandy Patinkin...HOLLA!". I have never agree more with the sentiments of a winner. Danes recognizing his greatness makes his snub a little more bearable...though in any single year you could easily make a winning argument for Paul, Esposito, Harris, and especially Patinkin.

- Basically they just decided instead of passing the torch to Breaking Bad, a show on pay cable captivated them more...never mind the ramifications that soon and very soon they will miss their chance at honoring Breaking Bad on the whole.

- Second favorite moment and favorite joke was Jon Stewart's "and the aliens will see an entire box of these things with my name on them and know just how fucking predictable the Emmys can be...". I do have to also disagree with OG, sorry, if Cranston had never won before we would be having a different argument, but Lewis fully fully deserves every accolade coming his way! I'm betting with Cranston's 3 Emmys sitting at home, it was a landslide vote this year.

- Sabin, your comments make me think you've not watched Modern Family? Big Bang has some comedy, Cryer's show is all that's wrong with television (and CBS), but Modern Family is original, hilarious, and refreshing (IMHO). It also sticks with 6 supporting submissions in a pure ensemble. Alec Baldwin and Jon Cryer both got a taste of acclaim and immediately only submitted himself as lead, same with several of the "Friends", etc. Hell I love Community and Louie too, Moder Family is still a creative, laugh out loud program.

- the Emmys never split in the miniseries categories, we're they really confused? I saw Game Change but not Hatfields, my jaw dropped when the latter didn't win everything it sniffed.

- why do the Emmys punish certain folks like Jon Hamm or Steve Carell before him? Is it better to be nominated or is it better to be considered for an Emmy win? I know this is only a recent example...but here is how I envision the summer proceedings when the ballots are handed out
Best Actor -Drama
Hugh Laurie
Michael C. Hall
Jon Hamm
(potential winner)
(potential winner)

This same situation can be stated for Carell, Jason Alexander, John Goodman, etc. I find it so odd so many performers would be nominated (considered the best) so many times but no buzz or chance of winning exists.

[Okri]

I think that Homeland is essentially apolitical. Its writers come from shows that lean right (24) and left (Cold Case) and from shows that didn't really lean one way or the other (Homicide) and it's about, more than anything, how in the modern world of international diplomacy and warfare, enemies aren't so easy to identify. Most of all, it's really good, compelling storytelling. The episode "The Weekend" had enough surprises and re-aligning of plot threads to be a season finale, and it was in the middle of the season! Incredibly well acted too--still surprised Mandy Patinkin didn't get a nomination. He would've been my pick for the win.

I haven't finished the season, but "The Weekend" was a superb episode. Should've been a nominee for writing.

[The Original BJ]

As far as I'm concerned, last night basically amounted to the night Julianne Moore finally won a major award. (And, frankly, given the way the year is shaping up, I wonder if she could have won this year's Oscar with her performance -- a strong biopic role by a sorely overdue actress against a weak slate -- had Game Change been a theatrical release.) So, hooray for that.

I'm all for spreading the wealth, so I was fine that Mad Men relinquished its Drama Series crown...but will ANY of the actors on this show ever win an Emmy? Some pundits have theorized that the actors don't get obvious award-bait episodes...but I'm not sure I agree with that. "The Suitcase" was a stellar episode for Jon Hamm last year, and "The Other Woman" was a dynamite submission for Christina Hendricks. It's hard to feel bad for a show so otherwise showered in trophies and acclaim, but it's a little puzzling.

Even by Emmys' standards, we got a lot of repeat winners. Of the eight series acting winners, only Damian Lewis was a first-time winner (though at least the lead actresses were rewarded for new projects). That, combined with the really ho-hum nature of the show (I agree with Sabin -- Jimmy Kimmel to me is just wholly unremarkable) made for a pretty dull night.

One really bizarre moment for me -- the moment when the announcer advertised the next presenter as something along the lines of, the person for whom awards shows were practically invented, he's been recognized by so many. I assumed the presenter would be somebody like Tom Hanks. When out walked Steve Buscemi, an actor who has never won an Emmy and who experienced a pretty major snub the one time he was seriously considered for an Oscar nomination, it seemed a little ironic.

[FilmFan720]

Actually, the year was more "business as usual" than normal. Aaron Paul became the first repeat winner in Supporting Actor Drama since 1995, Jim Parsons "streak" was broken by a repeat winner who moved up a category and Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen both won their second Emmy for a show that just finished it's third season. To use your examples, at this point in Frasier's run, David Hyde Pierce had only won one Emmy and Kelsey Grammer two (they never won more than twice in a row, and both had to wait until season 11 to win their fourth). Modern Family also went 3-3 in Comedy Series, although that does pale next to Frasier going 5-5 in its first five seasons...at the rate it is going, though, it seems like it is lining itself up for a run at Frasier's record number of all time series wins. It now stands at 16 in three years. Perhaps the only shocking thing last night was that the Emmy's awarded previous winners more than expected (except for Homeland, which seems like the sort of show Emmy awards once and then keeps nominating but not awarding...Arrested Development, NYPD Blue, Lost, thirtysomething).

[dws1982]

I think that Homeland is essentially apolitical. Its writers come from shows that lean right (24) and left (Cold Case) and from shows that didn't really lean one way or the other (Homicide) and it's about, more than anything, how in the modern world of international diplomacy and warfare, enemies aren't so easy to identify. Most of all, it's really good, compelling storytelling. The episode "The Weekend" had enough surprises and re-aligning of plot threads to be a season finale, and it was in the middle of the season! Incredibly well acted too--still surprised Mandy Patinkin didn't get a nomination. He would've been my pick for the win.

[OscarGuy]

There may have been a few duplicates, but it seemed like they were making new way for different folks. None of the repeat winners were repeat winners for their show more than twice (at least other than Levitan whom I don't know about). Remember when Frasier won every year, Kelsey Grammar won every year. David Hyde-Pierce won every year, Bryan Cranston won every year, etc. These were people who made long streaks of wins. That there were so many changes in direction is why I think it felt like they weren't doing as much repeating as they have in the past. That Damian Lewis could take out the likes of Jon Hamm and Bryan Cranston among others seems rather astounding to me. Danes beat out a number of formiddable ladies, though I kind of expected that.

As for Cryer winning over anyone else in that category was a huge shock (even to him...look at the announcement, he was astounded. He didn't expect to win). And yes, I agree that Cryer's win was more for enduring the whole Charlie Sheen dust up and not coming off as a dick. Hell, he never said anything bad about anyone. A lot of people in the TV community see that as a strong trait. I don't expect him to ever win again, but who knows.

As for the political flag waving, I think it's just the disingenuous way conservatives do it that I find most egregious. Look at a film like Last Ounce of Courage. They go out of their way to make it seem like if you don't support their viewpoint, you aren't a patriotic America. It's that feeling of superiority that I don't really like about their shows. I haven't seen Homeland, so I can't speak to its liberal leanings. It just looked like a show that supported Republican talking points rather than admonish them.

[FilmFan720]

Actually, the opposite is true...Homeland is a fairly liberal show that fits right in with the other winners (and since when is flag waving a conservative thing?)

Also, this was an evening of repeat winners...Damian Lewis and the Homeland crew not withstanding, the list of previous winners was extensive: Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen, Steven Levitan, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (new shoe though), Jon Cryer (new category though), Modern Family, The Amazing Race, Aaron Paul, Maggie Smith (new category though), Claire Danes (new show though), The Daily Show, Tim Van Patten (new show though) and Jay Roach have all been on that stage before, many of them numerous times. It was a pretty same old, same old on the winners front.

[OscarGuy]

I thought a lot of the humor was funny even if the show seemed to plod. What disappoints me is that they go out of their way to use clips and support for the earlier categories then dump it all at the end. We don't know WHY Damian Lewis was better than Jon Hamm as they assume we've already seen their shows.

It also seemed like they were trying to AVOID records. The announcer mentioned before Mad Men's loss and before Jim Parson's that both would have set records with wins. It's almost like the Academy became risk averse. I also noted how few "repeat" winners there seemed to be. Bryan Cranston, Jim Parsons, Mad Men...I would have expected each to win again, that they didn't at least shows the Academy has a desire to do something different on occasion. Though, I wonder if all this Homeland rah-rahing was intended to counteract the heavily liberal selections of Modern Family, Game Change and Jon Stewart. I haven't watched Homeland, nor do I have any real desire to see it, but it seems like the kind of flag-waving patriotism that is unfortunately dominant these days.

[anonymous1980]

Two and a Half Men is a sophomoric show and Jon Cryer is the WORST thing about it. The fact that he now has TWO Emmys for it is an abomination.