The Good & Bad of this Year's Emmy Nominations

For the seventh consecutive year Emmy voters failed to give Nick Offerman a nomination for his inspired work as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, to say nothing of Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, & the rest of the cast, yet I feel like voters did a better job than they have in years. For one, they gave Parks & Rec its second nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series! There were still some weird choices–Jeff Daniels got another nomination for his OK work on the mediocre, at best, Newsroom–& I'm going to criticize those, but when the good outweighs the bad at the Emmys it's cause for celebration. Without further ado a breakdown of the best, & worst, of this morning's Emmy nominations. We'll start with the worst so as to end on a high note. For a full list of the nominations click here.

The Emmy Preview–Comedy: Who Got Snubbed, Who Should/Will Win, & When You Should Drink

The Emmys, the preeminent awards in television, air Monday night at 8p ET / 5p PT* on NBC. Seth Meyers figures to be the best host since Jimmy Kimmel** two years ago if not Conan a whopping eight years ago, but I'm more interested in who will/should win, who got snubbed, & how best to work drinking into the ceremony, so that's where my focus will be. You can read my thoughts on the nominations here, now though let me begin our journey by looking at the comedy categories.

*So for any timezone challenged Arizonans that's 5pm here.
**I like NPH plenty but I'll always take an actual comedian over a song & dance guy. 

Can Orange Is the New Black become the first TV show not on television to win an Outstanding Series award?

My Dream Emmy Ballot: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Don't look so sad Luke, you'd get my Emmy vote.

The Emmy nominations are once again around the corner (they'll be announced July 18) so I will present my thoughts on who should be nominated seeing as Emmy voters & I so often disagree. In fact last year we agreed on only 21 of 61 nominations, because of a tie there wan an extra Emmy nominee, last year & that gap was especially large in comedy where we found common ground on only 6 of 31. Maybe this year there will be more of an overlap but I'm not getting my hopes up. 

Before i get to my thoughts on our first category, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, it bears mentioning yet again that Emmy voters are people who work, or worked, in the industry (actors, directors, writers, etc.) hence many of them don't have the time to watch a broad variety of shows. I, on the other hand, have plenty of time! So much time that I managed to watch 42 shows last year & I added another 6 in 2013 (seriously). Thus their choices may get tons of publicity I'd argue mine may well be more valid. Of course really I think TV critics should be in charge, since it's their job to judge television, so here's a professional's opinion.*

*I freely admit that I'm ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy gimmick. As for any similarities between our picks I would merely say we both watch a lot of TV & have good taste.

It's important to also not that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry The Big Bang Theory*). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. Last year Emmy voters & I didn't agree on one nominee, come July 18th I encourage you to come back here & decide who did a better job.

*I'm not sorry. 

The Second Annual Super Way Late 10 Best Shows of Last Year (2012)

Walt, Jesse, & co. continue to cook up the best TV has to offer.

Once again I've managed to finally finish my top 10 shows of the previous year in April. I know, you're impressed, anyway here it is...

There's a prevalent myth in our society that watching television is bad. That it melts the brain. That it's really just a waste of time when you could be working, exercising, sleeping, or reading a book instead. When someone mentions they don't watch much television, or don't even own one, they usually say so with pride. It should come as no surprise I think these people are idiots. Now that's not to say parents should let their kids watch TV for 8 hours a day, that television can't be mind numbingly stupid (see: 96% of reality TV), or a complete waste of time (see: 92% of CBS programming), but that, if one looks in the right places, the medium of television is now providing more emotionally resonant, intelligent, & original stories that its cinema counterpart & much of modern literature. It is for that reason that I proudly say for the 21st consecutive year of my life I watched more television than the year prior &, as always, I'm thankful for that. Now here are the best* programs I watched over the last calendar year.

*"Best" is, of course, a largely subjective word when talking about entertainment. Certainly if one were to claim that "Two and a Half Men" were the best comedy of 2012 we could label that person an idiot but, there are dozens of shows that one could make a legitimate claim. Furthermore for as much TV as a watch I'm still a student who must occasionally study & go to class & not a television critic so there are plenty of shows I missed this year. Some of those shows (e.g. "Luck" & "Treme") I wish I'd at least watched a few episodes of because they might've made this list, others may be shows you love ("30 Rock," "The Walking Dead," "Dexter," "Sons of Anarchy," "Spartacus") that I'm sure I'd have enjoyed but didn't have the time or feel the need to watch, & others ("The Big Bang Theory" & almost everything else on CBS) I just don't want to watch but good for you for enjoying them (Actually that's not good at all. Why weren't you watching "Community" or "Parks and Rec" instead? You suck). My point here is this isn't a definitive top 10, heck I'll probably disagree with some of the shows I chose or at least the order I put them in minutes after I post this, merely my thoughts at the moment & a recommendation for shows you might enjoy if you haven't yet checked them out. 

If I ran the Emmys: Comedy

No matter what Emmy voters say the cast of Parks and Rec should
be happy, they're on one of the best comedies on TV.

Alas between school, football, & my general inability to manage my time we've arrived at the day of the 2012 Emmys &, like last year, I've only managed to post my supporting actor/actress in a comedy picks so I'm going to speed through the rest in 2 posts, sadly, without any videos. First let's finish off the rest of the comedy nominations.

As I've mentioned before I watch more television than most Emmy voters, who are busy actually making TV, so I'm catching some performances & shows that they may be missing out on, & of course actual TV critics see more than I do so here's a professional's take* on lead actress in a comedy, lead actor in a comedy, & outstanding comedy series. 

*Again these posts are indeed a rip off  of Alan Sepinwall's Emmy posts, & I encourage you to read his TV criticism if you enjoy reading such things.

It's important to also note that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. Now on to the nominees...

If I Ran the Emmys: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Community pulls a hat trick in my version of the Emmys. 

We're on to the 2nd round of my "If I Ran the Emmys" series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, which is designed to give praise to those performances & shows I consider most deserving of recognition. As I've mentioned before I watch more television than most Emmy voters, who are busy actually making TV, so I'm catching some performances & shows that they may be missing out on, & of course actual TV critics see more than I do so here's a professional's take.*

*Again these posts are absolutely ripping off Alan Sepinwall's Emmy posts. In fact we even chose 5 of the same actors in this category & the one we did disagree on we just chose different actors from the same show, & that ratio isn't really going to change. So yea... You could just read his stuff, & if you enjoy television criticism than I highly recommend you do, but I hope you'll read mine anyway. 

It's important to also note that like actual Emmy voters I'm restricted by whether or not an actor submitted themselves & where they chose to do so, so while I may think someone's a lead character if they submit in supporting I'm bound to honor that (I'm also not nominating anyone from shows I didn't watch at least a few episodes of, sorry Downton Abbey). Click here for the actual Emmy ballot. As for the actual Emmys two years ago voters & I agreed on two nominees, last year that number shrunk to one & now I'm afraid, as with the Supporting Comedy Actress category, we couldn't find one nominee to agree on. Once again I leave it to you to decide who did a better job of singling out the best performances.

"Parks and Rec" Watch-"Bus Tour"

Bert Macklin is back & ready for action! 

Parks and Recreation: "Bus Tour"

Leslie's campaign has hit into high gear the last 2 episodes and we have reaped the benefits as the show has been firing on all cylinders. 

NBC Comedy Watch

Paul Rudd on "Parks & Rec"

I'm back for week 2 of NBC Comedy Watch & this was an outstanding week.


Community-"Basic Lupine Urology"- Sure it wasn't as deep emotionally as the last few weeks but from a pure laughs standpoint that's the best episode since the Glee parody back in December. It usually is the parody/homage episodes that get the biggest laughs & as soon as I heard they were making a Law & Order episode I expected it to be amazing, & last night delivered from the opening scene when the study group's yam was found "murdered." 


Troy & Abed trying to each do the crime scene zinger was hilarious, as was their entire time as partners (& Shirley was great as their captain as well-a reversal from season one's "The Science of Allusion" when Shirley & Annie were partners attempting to solve a crime & Abed was their "African-American police chief"), & Annie & Jeff were unsurprisingly affective lawyers (another call back to season one when they proved to be a formidable debate team, & a little bit more). Having the eternally decent Todd be the primary suspect was inspired, though not as much as Michael Ironside's appearance (& did anyone else wonder if he was involved in killing Starburns to silence him as a witness?) as Todd's military lawyer, uncle, or anything involving the brilliant Michael K. Williams who was finally used to full potential here getting to deliver his, "A man's got to have a code," line that surely made all fans of The Wire shudder like the Dean around a man in uniform. It also set up another dark & interesting turn to the season with the death of Star Burns or, as he always made a point to tell everyone, Alex.*

NBC Comedy Recap

Annie & Abed in the Dreamatorium. 

Last night marked the return of Parks & Rec, meaning once again NBC was airing the 2 best comedies on TV in one night! Because of this wonderful occurrence I felt the need to give my brief, except in the case of Community, thoughts on the last night's episodes.

1. Community-"Virtual Systems Analysis"-By now it's cliche to say that an episode of Community is unlike anything else on TV, after all they did an episode as Ken Burns documentary only 2 weeks ago, but damn... That was definitely the weirdest thing they've ever done (Not to mention the weirdest, & funniest thing, the Dean has ever worn). I mean that neither as praise or criticism. Ok, maybe a little praise because it's ballsy to go that nuts even after all the other stuff they've pulled. Though being off kilter alone doesn't make a show good (If that were the case Glee would be sensational), what really made the episode work was that beneath all of the wackiness of Abed & Annie playing other members of the study group inside the dreamatorium there was real emotional resonance. 

The Super Way Late 10 Best Shows of 2011

Walt, Jesse, & Gus cooked up a fantastic season of Breaking Bad.

Now that we're entering the fourth month of 2012 I had two options with this:

1. Don't write it. It's not timely & no one cares what I think anyway. Or... 

2. Write it anyway! 

Obviously I opted for #2 because I spent too much time watching TV & thinking about this list last year not to write it & it serves as a good advisory for shows to Netflix. 

Before we get to the list here's a brief summary of shows that didn't make the cut.

Shows I didn't watch that never stood a chance anyway:

1. Anything created by Chuck Lorre (THM, BBT, & "Mike and Molly")-if you like his shows good for you but let's not confuse mediocrity with the best television has to offer.

Emmy Preview-Who Should, & Will, Win

The Emmys are tonight  & alas I have failed yet again to finish my major category preview (this time only getting through the comedic supporting categories). So now I’ll just list who should win & who I think will win.

My (faux) Emmy Ballot: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Now that's an Emmy worthy handshake.

The Emmy nominations were just announced last Thursday (see the list of nominees here) I thought I’d give my thoughts on who/what should have been nominated in the major categories. Last week I detailed my list of Outstanding Supporting Actresses in a Comedy, & today we move on to their male counterparts.

No category gave me more trouble to narrow down to six nominees, as you’ll be able to tell from my honorable mentions list, than Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy (For a look at a professional critic’s opinion click here, & for my picks last year go here). There are just so many great comedic actors & roles in television that you could pick at least a dozen different actors & be able to make a fine case that they should earn a nomination, however Emmy voters are restricted to six votes so I am as well. Without further ado here are my six picks (click on their names to see one of their highlights from this season)…