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Emmy's shuns 'Lost' and 'Housewives' |
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Written by asap
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Thursday, 06 July 2006 |
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Page 3 of 4
A FEW WHO DESERVE NOMINATIONS THIS EMMY SEASON
By Robert Philpot
McClatchy Newspapers
Originally, this was going to be a rant about how the Emmy nominations (which will be announced Thursday) always overlook deserving talent in favor of usual suspects like “Will & Grace” and “The West Wing,” regardless of whether such war horses were actually good during the eligibility period. Then The New York Times ran a story about how the Emmy procedures have changed this year in order to get some nods for less traditional picks.
The story was a convoluted attempt to explain even more convoluted rules, but here’s the meat of it:
“In past years, the whittling of the 4,500 entries to five nominees in each category was a two-step process. The members of each academy peer group ... voted on the eligible shows, with the top five vote-getters in each category being named as nominees. The winner was then chosen by smaller panels of peer-group members.
“This year, an interim step has been added. The first vote narrows the eligible shows to a list of 10 or 15 potential nominees, and a specially chosen committee then screens and rates an episode of each of those shows, with the ratings used to narrow the list to five nominees. Then a larger panel of peer-group members, numbering from a dozen to several hundred depending on the category, votes to determine the winner.
Like I said, convoluted. Essentially, performers will vote for performers, directors for directors, etc., as usual. Supposedly, the screening committees will help open the process up a little bit, providing for some new series and individual nominees. The conventional wisdom is that the Emmys lean toward the four big networks and HBO, to the detriment of other cable networks such as UPN and the WB. (But FX’s “The Shield,” USA’s “Monk” and Showtime’s “Huff” have all scored nominations and some wins during recent years.)
So I suspect we won’t see THAT many new faces. Sure, the “Everybody Loves Raymond” cast is finally ineligible, but don’t be surprised to see the aforementioned “Will & Grace” (which ended its eight-year run on fumes) and “The West Wing” (which at least had a creative resurgence) get nods. The Emmys, after all, aren’t like other entertainment awards; the same people keep getting nominated over and over (as the Times story pointed out) because their shows are on year after year, and it takes something with the buzz level of “Lost” to break in to the pack. And in an awards-show world that allows a series to have four lead actresses, don’t be surprised if more than one of the “Desperate Housewives” shows up in a best actress category, shoving some lesser-known actress to the side.
But if this does indeed open things up, here are some nominees whom I’d like to see — and that I’m betting the Emmys will overlook. It’s no coincidence that they’re all from series on UPN and the WB, both of which will morph into the new CW in the fall; these networks were perpetually snubbed by the Emmys.
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Tichina Arnold, Terry Crews and Tyler James Williams, “Everybody Hates Chris”: This trio, the stars of a show based on Chris Rock’s memories of growing up in Brooklyn, make up the core of TV’s best current sitcom family. Arnold and Crews have perfect yin-yang chemistry as Chris’ take-no-mess mother and overworked, frugal father, while 13-year-old Williams is amusingly put-upon, exasperated and yet ever hopeful as the hapless 12-year-old Chris. Fortunately, this is making the transition to the CW; it’s the best sitcom in UPN’s history.
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Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni and Jason Dohring, “Veronica Mars”: Critics often champion Bell for her witty, spunky performance as an amateur teen sleuth who is also vulnerable to the often-manipulative men in her life and who has a loving but not always obedient relationship with her father. The ever-underrated Colantoni (who helped make “Just Shoot Me” bearable) is a wise and affectionate dad whose gentleness belies a tough streak, both with his daughter and with outsiders. And as troubled rich kid Logan Echolls, Dohring mixes dry sarcasm and moral ambivalence to become one of TV’s best not-quite-good/not-quite-bad guys. One of the most sharply written series on TV, “Veronica Mars” has the odds against it because Emmy voters are likely to dismiss it as mere teen drama. It’s much more than that.
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Sarah Drew and Chris Pratt, “Everwood”: Drew and Pratt made up TV’s most romantic —and ultimately, most heart-rending — couple this year, as shy Hannah and blithe Bright, an unlikely duo whose love grew out of friendship and blossomed beautifully ... until Bright blew it with one act of infidelity. Drew, who would likely be up for a guest actress Emmy if nominated, nailed a specific type of teen and female insecurity that prevents a woman from seeing her attractiveness because she’s not “conventionally” beautiful. Pratt took a silly party-boy character and gave him layers of heartache and emotional depth. A midseason scene, in which Bright tells Hannah why she’s better than the other women he’s dated, is worthy of a nomination all by itself.
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Lauren Graham, “The Gilmore Girls:” Graham is the poster child for actors who have never received a deserved Emmy nomination. As hip mom Lorelai Gilmore, she rifles off TV’s most rapid-fire dialogue with a sense of timing that beats her equally motormouthed co-stars. But this season, Graham was at her best, as Lorelai’s glibness was leavened by her struggles with her estranged daughter (now reconciled); her reluctant fiance, Luke (Scott Patterson); and the revelation that Luke has a daughter from a previous fling. It’s time, Emmy voters; someone’s gotta fill the slot once reserved for Patricia Heaton.
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Michael Rosenbaum, “Smallville”: Forget Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey: Rosenbaum has given us the most interesting portrayal of Superman villain Lex Luthor in the past 30 years. It helps that he’s playing a younger Luthor, whose journey toward pure evil is more fascinating than Clark Kent’s journey toward pure heroism. Rosenbaum has spent five seasons shifting Lex ever so slightly to the wrong side of the moral line, with internal and external forces beating him down. While Hackman played up Lex’s flamboyance and Spacey turns him into a sociopath clown, Rosenbaum has had to rely on subtle change, a more difficult actor’s trick.
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Other people I’d like to see nominated:
“Invasion’s” William Fichtner
“How I Met Your Mother’s” Neil Patrick Harris
“24”’s Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart
“Scrubs”’ John C. McGinley
“My Name Is Earl’s” Jaime Pressly
“The Office’s” Rainn Wilson
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Robert Philpot: rphilpotstar-telegram.com
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