Thursday TV: Emmy reactions

The perils of working for a living: a twelve-hour delay in posting reactions to the Emmy nominations.

Things That Made Me Sad:

No love for Parenthood. It's one of my favorite shows on television, and I think both the writing and ensemble cast are exemplary.

No love for Community. Again. It's perhaps the most inventive comedy on the air (no disrespect to my other beloved 30 Rock and Modern Family, which are the two best comedies on the air.) Community is more original and almost as funny. It deserves a spot in the Best Comedy category.

No guest acting nominations for Law & Order: SVU. Looking back on this season, I struggled to think who should be nominated, but their one-time dominance in this category is gone, and it made me sad.

Kyra Sedgwick was shut out. I love The Closer, but I was more impressed by her perfect-until-now streak of being nominated for Best Actress every year for the Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award. Here's hoping the end of the show brings her one last nomination.

Things That Made Me Happy:
The dominance of my summer favorite So You Think You Can Dance in the choreography category. Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore, Travis Wall, Nappy Tabs, and Stacey Tookey were all (rightfully) nominated.

All six of the Modern Family adults were nominated this year. Yes, it likely kept out Community people, but it's the funniest show on television.

The Good Wife's scattered dominance: Julianna Marguiles for Best Actress; Josh Charles and Alan Cumming for Supporting Actor; Archie Panjabi and Christine Baranski for Supporting Actress; and Michael J. Fox for Best Guest Actor.

Cat Deeley finally getting some Emmy love. She and Phil Keoghan are the best in the business.

Friday Night Light. Sure, I have yet to watch an episode, but I own the first few seasons and know i will love it.

Degrassi getting much-deserved respect as Outstanding Children's Program nominee. It's still a great show, even though I've outgrown it. I miss the years of it being a great drama period instead of a great children's drama.

No love for The Good Wife's writing is absolutely bonkers. It's also a good reminder of how silly this category is. The pilot of The Killing made the cut, but it was an adaptation. There should be a category for original writing.

Why I Realized I Don't Really Care:
The nominations won't change my television habits. I'll still watch the shows I watch. I won't try (again) to get into Mad Men or Game of Thrones. I'll celebrate with the winners I like. I'm a huge follower of literary awards. I eagerly await awards list and set out to promptly read the nominated titles. It's a different conversation. I fell similarly about films. I can set out to see the nominees and become a sideline judge. With television, an episode simply isn't a fair measure of a show's greatness. The greatest episodes excel partially based on what came before. Imagine if every book nominated for an award were part of a series. The Emmys aren't the same kind of spectator sport.

Now tell me: what most surprised you about today's Emmy nominations?
 

As an affiliate, I receive a very, very small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!