Tag Archives: 30 Rock

June 25, 2008 · 9:58 am

60th Primetime Emmy Awards Preview: Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Achieving success in the Supporting Actress in a  Comedy Series takes one of three things: having a recognizable name, being on a popular show, or being on a show that has won Emmys in the past.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself why I would take the time to isolate these three categories since they should (by and large) encapsulate 90% of nominees. The reason is that this is a category where there are some great contenders that won’t be recognized in favour of those who are part of the Emmy elite, or part of shows that give them more exposure. I’m not saying that these are not worthy contenders, but rather that there’s a few others who did fantastic work this season who won’t be recognized for it.

Instead, this is a race designed for last year’s contenders: from the surprise winner to the resurgent veteran, all sides are staging a battle that could prove one of the toughest predictions of the night – if only predicting the Top 10 was just as challenging.

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June 24, 2008 · 2:48 pm

60th Primetime Emmy Awards Preview – Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

If there’s something to say about the Supporting Actor category for comedy series, it’s that it has far too many candidates, largely due to the nature of television comedy. There are just a lot of male comic performers who steal their respective shows, emerging from the spotlight of the “stars” if you will. When there are three of television’s biggest comedies with two contenders each, you know that the competition is going to be extremely difficult.

And yet, when it comes to narrowing the category down to winners, it’s been a bit too predictable in recent years: since 2002, only three people have won the award (Brad Garrett with 3, David Hyde Pierce with his fourth, and Jeremy Piven with two in the last two years). The result is that it’s not the kind of category that really opens itself up to new talent, even when like last year it had it staring in its face with nominations for Rainn Wilson, Kevin Dillon and Neil Patrick Harris.

But the hope is that history won’t repeat itself: with 30 Rock emerging with a few new candidates, a breakthrough comic role for a drama specialist, and a few fringe contenders, Piven’s reign might just be over as Emmy voters decide to go with something fresh and new. Or, if I know Emmy voters, Piven will walk with his third trophy, not undeservedly but unfortunately.

[Sorry for advance for a lack of YouTube links: Entourage clips are limited and NBC is uppity about clips thanks to Hulu, which I’d use if I could access it from Canada. My apologies!]

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June 19, 2008 · 3:54 pm

Emmy Nominations: How They Work and Who They Benefit (2008)

[The following is a post I wrote last year around this time, explaining how the Emmy Awards nomination process works. Tomorrow is the deadline for the first stage of the process, where the popular vote will be completed and the Top 10s will be tabulated. Look for more coverage here at Cultural Learnings of the various categories as the process continues, but in the meantime enjoy this updated explanation.]

Tomorrow, June 20th, the first stage of the Emmy Nomination process ends. Getting nominated for an Emmy Award is not an easy task, and the entire process was recently made even more complicated in an effort to create fairness. To help you follow the process as it unfolds over the next month, here’s a rundown on how the decision is made and who benefits from each stage.

Stage One: The Popular Vote

How it Works: Voters select their favourite candidate from all individuals who have submitted themselves for nomination. They read For Your Consideration ads, watch screeners, but in the end likely just pick who they like, allowed to vote for as many as Ten candidates who gets more points the higher they are on their list.

Who it Benefits: Shows that are either perennial nominees or extremely buzz-worthy, and actors that are well-known in Hollywood. Thus, voters don’t really even need to see what these candidates have to offer, they just assume they’re really good. Examples of shows that perform well at this stage are big winners last year like 30 Rock, current awards season sensation Mad Men, or highly rated shows like Grey’s Anatomy, while perennial Emmy favourites like Julia Louis-Dreyfus (New Adventures of Old Christine) or William Shatner (Boston Legal) will place highly based on their past acclaim.

Who it Harms: Ratings-deprived, critically acclaimed programs without any of the above, and actors or actresses who lack star power or past Emmys attention. Friday Night Lights and The Wire are generally the two best examples, shows that so few people watch that their unquestioned quality (Mostly unquestioned, anyways) goes unrecognized when they can’t make their Top 10. Performers, meanwhile, have an even tougher time even on hit shows; multiple Lost performers will make it onto the next part of the process, but for relative unknowns like Yunjin Kim standing out amongst over 100 other names is tougher. It also does nothing for fan favourite shows, as Emmy voters don’t tend to watch recently canceled shows like Jericho or Moonlight, and therefore they have very little chance of emerging out of this round.

Stage Two: The Top 10 Run-Off

How it Works: The Top 10 series from the popular vote are isolated and screened in front of a blue ribbon panel. Each show/actor/actress selects an episode that will be screened for the panel if it makes the Top 10. They also prepare a short written statement explaining their show and the episode in context with the show. For example, should Mad Men make the Best Drama Series panel (Count on it), they will be screening the shows’s pilot, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”

Then, each member of the panel will rank the shows from 1 to 10, and a final ranking will be decided.

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June 17, 2008 · 7:17 am

60th Primetime Emmy Awards Preview: Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

In the Emmy Awards’ smallest acting category, there’s not much in the way of wiggle room. The small numbers should mean more of a chance of grabbing a nomination for newcomers, like Pushing Daisies’ Anna Friel or Miss/Guided’s Judy Greer, but it’s also one of the most tightly contested of the major categories. This is because there’s a lot of forces at play here: you’ve got the power of the four Housewives, the heritage of Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and Married…with Children, and the credibility of awards-show favourites like Mary-Louise Parker or Tina Fey.

Combine all of this with last year’s winner America Ferrera, and you have a category where making the Top 10 isn’t enough; you need to have something special that’s going to make you overcome the logjam that could lead to the category’s five nominees. On the one hand, this shuts out a lot of good candidates who probably deserve a shot, as they won’t rank highly enough in the popular vote to have a chance.

However, the one good spinoff is that for the candidates who do have that name recognition, it’s going to be a race that is decided by who has the best tape. The seven or so candidates who have a chance of cracking that Top 5 will have to put forward their best material of the season, and the result is a race that’s going to be very close even if there’s so many “real” contenders.

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June 11, 2008 · 8:35 am

Emmy Awards Preview – Nominee Analysis: 30 Rock

While it certainly didn’t come out of nowhere, considering that it had nominations in both lead acting categories, 30 Rock’s Emmy win last year was still a bit of a surprise. However, it was a pleasant one, and signaled and onslaught of critical praise and accolades for a series that (at that point) seemed to be on shaky ground where it matters most these days: ratings.

But with a third season guaranteed and more hardware in the closet, 30 Rock has gone from the upset victor to the perennial frontrunner for the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. And with great power comes, well, great responsibility; in this instance, responsibility to pick the right submissions to reflect the season’s quality.

Outstanding Comedy Series

Submission: Unknown

My Suggestion: “Secrets and Lies”

It’s hard to pick a single episode to encapsulate an entire season: I think the show’s smartest segment has to be “Rosemary’s Baby,” for a lot of reasons I’ll discuss further below, while part of me gravitates towards “Greenzo,” featuring a fantastic David Schwimmer in the title role. However, I like “Secrets and Lies”: it has a great storyline featuring Baldwin and perennial Emmy favourite Edie Falco, a couple of great moments for Tracy Jordan, and the fantastic ending sequences as corporate republicans reveal their inner demons. Regardless of which they actually choose, however, the deal is sealed either way.

Chances: Definite Nomination.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Tina Fey

Submission: “Episode 210”

My Suggestion: “Sandwich Day”

In this instance, my suggestion isn’t hostile: the last pre-strike episode may have been rushed, but Fey knocked both her initial interaction with and her late-night phone call sessions to the co-op board of her new apartment out of the park. In particular, the image of Fey on the phone while walking on her treadmill and drinking a glass of red wine while proclaiming that she bought a black apartment stuck with me for a long time. However, “Sandwich Day” had Fey doing what she does best: being neurotic and eating on camera (plus looking really attractive in the dress on the left. An argument could also be made for “Succession,” as Liz goes corporate, but something about that episode didn’t sit right for me.

Chances: Definite Nomination.

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April 2, 2008 · 3:25 pm

An Open Letter to NBC, Re: Fall 2008 Schedule

Dearest NBC,

According to the trades, you have revealed your Fall schedule, which is one of those times when I head off to Variety to ponder what kind of stupid decisions you’ve made. Now, you’re right – you have occasionally made some good decisions, and there are some of them found within this year’s announcement. However, at the same time, there are some which frustrate me to no end, and which need to be discussed.

First, let’s discuss the good:

  • Friday Night Lights is definitely coming back, although not until the Winter. Through some sort of cost-saving measure (Hopefully not cutting out parts of the ensemble, although I could do with less Lyla in general), the show has been saved – long live quality television.
  • On the same front, unsurprising considering its buzz in critical circles, 30 Rock is returning for a third season. After such a creative push pre-strike, it should be interesting to see how it does in the post-strike period. Hopefully, like How I Met Your Mother, it will see a boost.
  • A smart network, “Thursday Night Live” will air for four weeks leading up to the Presidential Election following The Office on Thursday Night. This shall offer some strong comedy, which excites me.
  • NBC is officially not picking up Scrubs, a great decision in my books. Too bad ABC wishes to flog the dead horse a while longer.
  • Critical hit Life, even with low ratings, is renewed as previously announced, but might struggle for viewers on Friday nights in the Winter.

Now, based on this you’d think that I was happy with this upfront, that I wouldd have just posted about how great you were, NBC, and move on with my life. Well, let’s just say that I have some other issues – I won’t get into your new shows (Not much information is available, and what little there is doesn’t tickle my fancy to be honest), but there are a few decisions you’ve made that are potentially awful:

  • Airing after the Super Bowl, NBC is officially launching a spinoff of The Office. Now, this is only a potential evil: I haven’t seen the show, and no details are available as of this time. However, I’ll have more thoughts throughout the week on why I think this is a fairly volatile idea.
  • However, that’s not even the biggest concern with the Office – that belongs to the idiotic return to one-hour episodes in the Fall. I’ll rant more about this later too, but do we not remember those episodes? And how they were not up to the standards of the half-hours which proceeded? Did no one at NBC pay attention to the quality of the show in this decision? Clearly, they did not.

What these decisions represent to be is a shameless milking, a milking that goes against the quality of a television program. I think there is potential for an Office spinoff (I vote for Daryl, personally), but I don’t know if the show proper is at a place creatively where it will be able to excise part of itself. I guess that your confidence in The Office financially doesn’t quite jive with my own views of its relative quality this season, which is fine…I just wish you’d just kept it at a half hour. I could deal with spinoff, but the two combined just angers me.

I shall vent more anger tomorrow, so stay tuned. Plus, knowing you, you’ll have changed this schedule by then.

Sincerely,

Myles

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January 27, 2008 · 10:11 pm

Screen Actors Guild Awards – Television Winners and Thoughts

This will be brief, as I am entering an extremely hectic period in terms of work and the like, but I thought I’d react to this evening’s Screen Actors Guild Awards from a Television (series) perspective. It may only be an hour in, but all six major television awards have been given out, so let’s take a look at the trends.

Drama

Best Actor – James Gandolfini (The Sopranos)

Best Actress – Edie Falco (The Sopranos)

Best Ensemble – The Sopranos

Well, there’s not much room for analysis here: while the Golden Globes might not have been feeling the love for the departing HBO drama, the SAG was certainly feeling reflective when they handed out their awards. I hate to continue to see Michael C. Hall lose awards for his fantastic portrayal, but it’s hard to argue with any of these winners. The only thing I would have liked to see what some love for Mad Men, but the nominations alone indicate that people are paying attention. The series also recently picked up a DGA win for Alan Taylor’s work on the pilot, so its future remains bright.

Comedy

Best Actor – Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

Best Actress – Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Best Ensemble – The Office

It looked as if two series might be completing a sweep of the awards, but it was not to be: despite having the best male and female performers of the year, it was the expansive and diverse Office cast which took home their second straight trophy for Best Ensemble. I’m happy for them, honestly, as they remain an extremely good cast as a whole – however, I also hate to see 30 Rock, which is also a great ensemble, get hung out to dry just a little. Apparently Baldwin wasn’t even at the ceremony, which is a disappointment; Fey was, however, and was as self-deprecating as ever.

At a certain point, though, she’s going to have to drop the charade and fess up to being pretty damn good. She’s now won two major acting awards, so it’s not as if there is nothing to back up such claims. It is also telling that this is an award from actors; she is well respected in all guild circles, mind you, but for the actors to embrace her this fully demonstrates her genuine likability. It’s awards buzz like this which will ultimately get the show renewed for a third season, especially when you consider that NBC was the first network to ditch pilot season.

For the full list of Screen Actors Guild Award winners in Film, Television and TV Movies, click here. 

All in all, a decent set of winners, none of whom make me want to wretch. This makes for a good awards show, and I can sleep well tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll be back with some brief thoughts on Lost, and then watch for reviews of House’s first new episode in quite some time, ABC’s new drama Eli Stone, and of course Lost’s fourth season premiere. So stay tuned!

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January 14, 2008 · 1:45 pm

The “Winners” and “Losers” of the 2008 Golden Globes Awards

Last night, the 2008 Golden Globes were a ludicrous and fascinating experiment of NBC’s incompetence (Sepinwall tears them a new one here) and a sense that what we were watching was memorable not due to any of the winners but rather because it was just difficult to watch. I tried to LiveBlog it, which was a horrible mistake in every possible way, but it did get me thinking about something.

You see, usually we consider the concepts of Winners and Losers in terms of who won awards, but that really isn’t the question here. The real concern is that by not airing the awards, some of the Golden Globes buzz which could benefit these performers in their future award races or in their future ratings/DVD sales. The lack of hoopla actually hurt some of the winners, dampening the effect of what would have been an entertaining surprise victory.

So let’s look at a bit of an unconventional concept of “winners” and “Losers” after last night’s intriguing events.

Winner – 30 Rock

Yes, it lost Best Comedy Series. And yes, it also ludicrously lost Best Actor in a Comedy Series when David Duchovony beat Alec Baldwin. But Tina Fey’s victory shows that an American-made, New York shot comedy series with little to no connection to the international markets (Although Interrogation Bear might differ) is capable of winning even when it’s not Alec Baldwin, which may end up as all of the respect that the HFPA has to give.

Loser – Mad Men

I would have paid money to see the stunned reaction of the partying attendees to Jon Hamm’s win as Best Actor in a Drama Series, but instead we got Billy Bush’s quip about how it was humorous for an actor to have the name “Hamm.” The impact was entirely gone – it was a great endnote for critics and those who enjoy fine television, but the general population will easily shrug off both Hamm’s win and the series’ eventual triumph in Best Drama Series. Still, this is a qualified sense of loser – it’s a winner in my mind, certainly.

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January 13, 2008 · 12:55 pm

The 2008 Golden Globe Awards – TV (Comedy) and Film Predictions

At 9pm EST this evening, viewers across America will tune into NBC (Or E!, or TV Guide Channel) and enjoy the coverage of the 2008 Golden Globe Awards News Conference. Yesterday I covered the TV Drama side of things, and this afternoon I’ve got the Comedy and Film awards. I’ll be posting live from the press conference (aka Live from the TV Lounge where I’ll be watching the press conference) this evening, along with my thoughts on The Amazing Race. I’ll probably post tomorrow night about Sarah Connor Chronicles, which debuts post-Football tonight on FOX – you can read my thoughts on the pilot from August here, and I’ll have my thoughts on tomorrow’s second episode in its regular slot (Mondays at 9) sometime over the next couple of days.

Comedy Series

  • Californication
  • Entourage
  • Extras
  • 30 Rock [Myles Choice / Predicted Winner]
  • Pushing Daisies

There are some occasions where the Golden Globes’ focus on newness cannot possibly overcome the power of a sophomore series just getting its due. Considering that 30 Rock was left out last year in favor of Ugly Betty, now is the time for the Globes to honour its growing success and hilarity. Out of the two new series in the category, I’d say Pushing Daisies would have the advantage, and obviously it would also be a deserving winner. Still, I think that Tina Fey and Co. have this one, although this is in no way a definitive prediction.

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

  • Alec Baldwin, [30 Rock] [Myles’ Choice / Predicted Winner]
  • Steve Carell, [The Office]
  • David Duchovny, [Californication]
  • Ricky Gervais, [Extras]
  • Lee Pace, [Pushing Daisies]

He’s certainly the best actor in the category, even amongst a fairly decent crowd, but history is against Alec Baldwin picking up this trophy again – the Globes don’t tend to like repeat winners. In terms of other options, Duchovony has a certain mystique about him and Pace is starring in the “it” show of the moment. However, let’s not leave out Carell, who still does great work on The Office, and Gervais DID win the Emmy. I think it’s the gluttony of other options which convinces me that we can forget tradition – Baldwin is too great on 30 Rock, and too big a star, to lose this award.

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December 13, 2007 · 10:24 am

Because They Won’t Complain About Themselves – The 2008 Golden Globe Nominations

I won’t lie – there are many things that are capable of interrupting my academic productivity and resulting in a lengthy blog post. As of late, this list has been shrinking with the loss of original programming, and with some of that original programming just becoming uninteresting (Heroes, I am looking in your direction). However, there’s nothing like Award Shows to get my blood boiling, and my fingers typing – you can read Cultural Learnings’ other Award Shows coverage here, of which there is an extensive amount.

Cultural Learnings post-dates last year’s Globes (Which means our 1-year anniversary is coming up, so stay tuned!), which means that this is my first time to REALLY complain about the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. For the sake of this blog, I’m going to stick with the Television nominees from an analysis-standpoint, but I’ll probably end up offering predictions on both the film and television side of things come January (Ironically, when I will have even less time). Of course, this is all dependent on the WGA offering the Golden Globes a strike Waiver.

[Speaking of the WGA, their nominations were revealed last night: Mad Men, which you might see more of over the weekend, leads the way with three nominations in Drama, while The Office has four nominations on the comedy side of things. Pushing Daisies also grabbed two nominations, as did 30 Rock and Dexter.]

Anyways, onto the Globes!

Drama Series

  • Big Love
  • Damages
  • Grey’s Anatomy
  • House
  • Mad Men
  • The Tudors

Can I get a woot for Mad Men? It’s clear that the series will be getting some January Awards love, based on the WGA and Golden Globes love. I’m very pleased – the show is fantastic, and hopefully the Emmys remembers it as well. Otherwise, interesting that the other new series on the docket are relatively not new Big Love and the Tudors, along with Damages which…I liked enough, I guess. Missing is Lost and Heroes, which was the big new series last year.

Comedy Series

  • Californication
  • Entourage
  • Extras
  • 30 Rock
  • Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies and Californication are the new series, bumping The Office from the list. I don’t know how I feel about that, but I do know that Pushing Daisies and 30 Rock have an advantage in this category. 30 Rock is a rare show that despite being “new” last year, its star is rising – compare to Heroes, which has dropped off the radar entirely in its 2nd year. Ugly Betty, last year’s winner, is also no longer new, and thus no longer nominated.

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