Tag Archives: Emmys

June 9, 2010 · 12:46 am

Season Finale: Glee – “Journey”

“Journey”

June 8th, 2010

“Life only really has one beginning and one end – the rest is just a whole lot of middle.”

In his attempts to inspire his Glee Club to achieve despite the nearly insurmountable odds placed before them at the upcoming Regional championships, Will Schuester makes the above remarks. And while I don’t think this was intentional, there’s a wonderful meta-commentary about the show itself in this statement: sure, the fragmented nature of the first season means that there were really two beginnings and two endings, but at the end of the day everything else was just a whole lot of middle that was more middling than I would have desired.

But if the back nine of Glee’s first season saw the series flipping and flailing wildly as it flew through the air, “Journey” demonstrates that this series knows how to stick a landing; in fact, I’d go so far as to say that the show would be amongst television’s best if they did two-episode seasons made up entirely of premieres and finales. Sure, the episode more or less feels like “Sectionals 2: Electric Bugaloo,” following the same patterns as the fall finale, but there is an unabashed sincerity to its storytelling which remains grounded without having to be undercut at every turn. It makes the show feel like it has earned this blanket sentimentality, that it truly has taken these characters on a journey which has changed their lives.

Matt Zoller Seitz wrote a great essay earlier today about Glee’s radical sincerity, but when I think about it nothing about “Journey” felt radical: so embodying the resiliency of the series’ spirit, and unapologetically engaging in theatrics we might have rolled our eyes at just a year ago, Glee proves that even considering all of the hype and success there remains a confident, passionate, absolutely entertaining series about a glee club that, gosh darn it, refuses to stop believing in itself.

And while I’m still going to dock the series some points for its poor form in the air during its back nine, I’m willing to throw up a good 9.5 or so for its landing, as “Journey” is unquestionably a series high point.

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Tagged as Analysis, Any Way You Want It, Artie, Aural Intensity, Beth, Birth, Bohemian Rhapsody, Brad Falchuk, Brittany, Carl Howell, Dianna Agron, Don't Stop Believin', Emma, Emmys, Episode 22, Faithfully, Finale, Finn, FOX, Idina Menzel, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Jesse St. James, Jonathan Groff, Josh Groban, Journey, Kurt, Lea Michele, Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin', Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison, Mercedes, Music, New Directions, Olivia Newton-John, Over the Rainbow, Puck, Rachel, Review, Rod Remington, Ryan Murphy, Santana, Season 1, Season Finale, Shelby, Sue Sylvester, Television, Tina, To Sir With Love, TV, Vocal Adrenaline, Will Schuester

June 5, 2010 · 2:36 am

Handicapping the 2010 Emmys: Official Ballot Miscellany

Official Ballot Miscellany

June 4th, 2010

Earlier this evening, Emmy voting officially began; this isn’t particularly important to us non-voters, but it does mean that the official ballots were released (PDFs: Performers, Writing, Directing), which means that we know who submitted their names for Emmy contention and can thus make our predictions accordingly. In some cases, this simply confirms our earlier submissions regarding particularly categories, while in other cases it throws our expectations for a loop as frontrunners or contenders don’t end up submitting at all.

For example, Cherry Jones (who last year won for her work on 24) chose not to submit her name for contention this year, a decision which seems somewhat bizarre and is currently being speculatively explained by her unhappiness with her character’s direction in the show’s final season. It completely changes the anatomy of that race, removing a potential frontrunner and clearing the way for some new contenders (or, perhaps, another actress from Grey’s Anatomy). Either way, it’s a real shakeup, so it makes this period particularly interesting.

I will speak a bit about some surprising omissions and inclusions in the categories I’ve already covered this week, but I want to focus on the categories that I haven’t discussed yet, including the guest acting categories, writing, and direction, which are some interesting races this year.

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Tagged as 2010, 24, 30 Rock, Alan Cumming, Allison Janney, Amy Poehler, Andre Braugher, Ballot, Betty White, Breaking Bad, Carlton Cuse, Cherry Jones, Christine Baranski, Comedy, Community, Conan O'Brien, Cougar Town, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Damages, Damon Lindelof, Dexter, Directing, Drama, Elaine Stritch, Elizabeth Banks, Elizabeth Mitchell, Emmys, Friday Night Lights, Glee, Guest Actor, Guest Actress, Henry Ian Cusick, How I Met Your Mother, Jack Bender, Jared Harris, Jason Alexander, Jason Winer, John Lithgow, Jon Hamm, Julianne Moore, Justin Lin, Kristin Chenoweth, Lily Tomlin, Lost, Mad Men, Martha Plimpton, Matt Damon, Megan Mullally, Men of a Certain Age, Michael Sheen, Modern Family, Modern Warfare, Neil Patrick Harris, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Pamela Fryman, Rian Johnson, Ryan Murphy, Saturday Night Live, Shelley Long, Sons of Anarchy, Submissions, Television, The End, The Good Wife, The Office, The Pacific, Tina Fey, Titus Welliver, Treme, TV, United States of Tara, Viola Davis, Wheels, Writing, Zach Gilford

June 3, 2010 · 2:00 am

Handicapping the 2010 Emmys: Drama Acting

June 3rd, 2010

On the drama side of things, there’s fewer trends that we can follow through to the nominees than there are in comedy. There, we can look at Glee and Modern Family and see some logical directions the awards could take, but in Drama there’s really only one new contender (The Good Wife), and the other variables are much more up in the air in terms of what’s going to connect with viewers. Lost could see a resurgence with voters in its final season, or it could be left in the dust; Mad Men could pick up more acting nominations now that its dynasty is secure, or it could remain underrepresented; Breaking Bad could stick to Cranston/Paul, or it could branch out into the rest of the stellar cast.

That unpredictability isn’t going to make for a shocking set of nominations, but I do think it leaves a lot of room open for voters to engage with a number of series to a degree that we may not have, so it’s an interesting set of races where I’m likely going out on some limbs.

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Tagged as 2010, Aaron Paul, Analysis, Andre Braugher, Anna Gunn, Archie Panjabi, Award Show, Big Love, Bob Odenkirk, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Cherry Jones, Chloe Sevigny, Chris Noth, Christina Hendricks, Christine Baranski, Clarke Peters, Connie Britton, Damages, Dean Norris, Dexter, Drama, Elisabeth Moss, Emilie de Ravin, Emmys, Evangeline Lilly, Friday Night Lights, Fringe, Giancarlo Esposito, Glenn Close, Henry Ian Cusick, House, Hugh Laurie., January Jones, John Goodman, John Noble, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, Josh Charles, Julianna Margulies, Justified, Katey Sagal, Khandi Alexander, Kyle Chandler, Lauren Graham, Lisa Edelstein, Lost, Mad Men, Matthew Fox, Melissa Leo, Men of a Certain Age, Michael C. Hall, Michael Emerson, Nestor Carbonell, Nominees, Parenthoo, Peter Krause, Predictions, Ray Romano, Robert Sean Leonard, Scott Bakula, Sons of Anarchy, Television, Terry O'Quinn, The Good Wife, Timothy Olyphant, Treme, TV, Wendell Pierce, Yunjin Kim

June 2, 2010 · 2:47 am

Handicapping the 2010 Emmys: Comedy Acting

June 2nd, 2010

In comedy this year, a lot depends on what shows make it big: we know that Glee and Modern Family are going to make a statement (as noted in my piece handicapping the Comedy Series race), but is it going to be a statement of “this is a great show” or a statement of “this is the greatest show since sliced bread?” The difference will largely be felt in the acting categories: both Modern Family and Glee have multiple Emmy contenders, but it’s unclear whether some of the less heralded performers will be able to rise along with the big “stars,” or whether the halo of series success won’t help them compete against some established names already entrenched in these categories.

Ultimately, I’m willing to say that there’s going to be some pretty big turnaround this year in some of these categories, but others feature quite a large number of former nominees who likely aren’t going anywhere, so it should be interesting to see how things shake out on July 8th. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the four major Comedy Acting Emmys and see where the chips lie.

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Tagged as 2010, 30 Rock, Adam Scott, Alec Baldwin, Alison Brie, Amber Riley, Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Awards Show, Better Off Ted, Brian Van Holt, Charlie Sheen, Chevy Chase, Chris Colfer, Chris Pratt, Community, Cougar Town, Courteney Cox, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ed O'Neill, Edie Falco, Emmys, Entourage, Eric Stonestreet, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Hung, Jane Lynch, Jeremy Piven, Jim Parsons, Joel McHale, Jon Cryer, Julie Bowen, Larry David, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Merritt Wever, Modern Family, Monk, Neil Patrick Harris, Nick Offerman, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Parks and Recreation, Party Down, Patricia Heaton, Portia De Rossi, Predictions, Rainn Wilson, Rico Rodriguez, Rosemarie Dewitt, Sofia Vergara, Steve Carell, Television, The Big Bang Theory, The Middle, The Office, Tina Fey, Toni Colette, Tony Shahloub, Tracy Morgan, TV, Two and a Half Men, Ty Burrell, United States of Tara, Weeds

June 1, 2010 · 2:30 am

Handicapping the 2010 Emmys: Drama and Comedy Series

June 1st, 2010

What’s weird about predicting the Emmy nominations (which are on July 8th, for the record) is that it really doesn’t have anything to do with quality: sure, a bad season can certainly hurt your chances at getting an Emmy, and a good season is sure to be of some assistance, but the objective quality of a series doesn’t really matter until they’re nominated. Until that point, it’s one big popularity contest, combining old habits, much-hyped new series, and those nominees who seem particularly newsworthy.

This is why it’s possible to predict the nominees, or at least the long-list of contenders who could logically garner a nomination on July 8th, before the eligibility period even ends (which isn’t really that big a deal this year, as any series which aired the majority of its season before the deadline [like Breaking Bad] will still be able to submit their concluding episodes). And while it may seem a bit premature, I’m pretty Emmy obsessive, and wanted to take some time this week to run down the potential nominees in each category. In the case of the series and acting categories, I’ll single out some who I believe are guaranteed nominations, while I’ll likely be less able to do so with Writing and Directing (which are often much less predictable, outside of a few exceptions).

We’ll start with Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Comedy Series today, both because they’re a bit easier to handicap and because they’re the “big” races. They’re also the categories where I’m willing to put money down on a majority of the nominees, leaving only a few spots remaining for the other series to fight over in the months ahead.

And what a fight it’s going to be.

[Before we start, hats off to the great work of the Gold Derby forum members, especially moderator Chris “Boomer” Beachum, whose work continues to make projects like this a lot easier. Check out their Official 2010 Emmy Campaign Submissions thread for a full list of submitted nominees; you’ll end up there for at least a half hour before you realize how much time has elapsed.]

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Tagged as 2010, 24, 62nd Annual, ABC, Awards, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bored to Death, Breaking Bad, CBS, Comedy Series, Community, Damages, Dexter, Drama Series, Emmys, Entourage, Family Guy, Friday Night Lights, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Handicapping, HBO, House, How I Met Your Mother, Hung, Lost, Mad Men, Men of a Certain Age, Modern Family, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Parks and Recreation, Party Down, Predictions, Primetime Emmys, Sons of Anarchy, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, The Office, Treme, True Blood, Two and a Half Men, United States of Tara, United Syayes of Tara, Weeds

May 25, 2010 · 11:59 pm

Season Finale: The Good Wife – “Running”

“Running”

May 25th, 2010

A lot has been written about how The Good Wife is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, presenting itself as a combination of legal procedural and workplace drama on a weekly basis while at its heart remaining a serialized character study. The series’ pilot was one of those skillful bits of television where they presumably lay out all their cards and yet really tell you nothing at all. The clear “structures” of the season were put into place (the competition with Carey, the complications surrounding Peter’s trial, Alicia’s romantic tension with Will, etc.), but it couldn’t tell us that those structures would evolve, and that from their “resolutions” would emerge structures which offer greater complexity.

Ending where the series began, “Running” very purposefully asks us how much has changed since Alicia Florrick stood on stage with her husband one year ago, a cyclical conclusion which for some shows would seem a bit cute (and, admittedly, the ending eventually veers into that territory). However, when you actually consider that question beyond the rote cliffhanger that the episode provides, you realize how much more complex this environment seems, how much it feels like we’ve lived in Alicia Florrick’s shoes and understand the ways in which she’s trapped between different definitions of the series’ title.

And while its ending may be predictable when taken out of that context, I would very much argue that the series’ position heading into its second season is more impressive than even the strong pilot predicted.

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Tagged as Alan Cumming, Alicia Florrick, Amy Acker, Analysis, Archie Panjabi, Carey, CBS, Childs, Christine Baranski, Diane, Eli Gold, Emmys, Episode 23, Finale, Julianna Margulies, Kalinda, Karen Olivo, Matt Czuchry, McVeigh, Peter Florrick, Review, Running, Season 1, Season Finale, Sexuality, Television, TV, Will Gardner

May 10, 2010 · 5:26 pm

The Pacific – “Part Nine”

“Part Nine”

May 9th, 2010

Serialized television is more or less defined by consequences: while all television series feature actions and reactions, what defines a series as serialized is when those actions have consequences which extend into the following episodes. We’re meant to remember what happened in the past because it will affect what happens in the future, and the show revels in the ironies or tragedies which result from these remembrances.

The Pacific is effectively a meditation on the serialization of life, or the ways in which war erases one’s memory of anything but the drudgery these soldiers experienced in battles like Iwo Jima or Okinawa; we remember that Eugene Sledge started out as an innocent child because we’ve seen his story in a serialized form, but Sledge himself has forgotten his former self in ways that human beings are not supposed to. At the same time, though, “Part Nine” plays out like a terrifying series of actions and consequences, trapping these characters within an environment where one small mistake leads to a chain reaction of events that leaves men dead and dying.

The only way you can cope, perhaps, is to forget about what came before, to ignore the decisions that brought you to this point and focus solely on the nature of survival. However, as much as you might want to shut off the man you were before as you fight your way through a battlefield more terrible than you can imagine, you can’t help but remain haunted by who you used to be, and “Part Nine” presents a horrifying image of that futility which stands as a series highlight.

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Tagged as Analysis, Atomic Bomb, Civilians, Emmys, Episode 9, Eugene Sledge, Hamm, HBO, James Badge Dale, Japan, Jon Seda, Joseph Mazzello, Miniseries, Okinawa, Part Nine, Pecker, Rami Malek, Review, Serialization, Snafu, War, World War II

May 5, 2010 · 2:02 am

Glee – “Bad Reputation”

“Bad Reputation”

May 4th, 2010

It’s never good for a show about high school to raise comparisons to Freaks and Geeks, but by choosing “Bad Reputation” as the title for this episode Glee entered into that dangerous territory. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “Bad Reputation” was the theme song to that show, and it has to be said that there was an element of irony in its use. Deep down, all of the characters on that show cared about their reputations, but what set the show apart was that they cared about them for realistic and dynamic reasons that felt true to life. The show never felt like it needed to sensationalize high school to create conflict, and as a result is one of the best shows of the past decade.

I understand that the “point” of Glee is to sensationalize, but the show can’t have it both ways. The problem with “Bad Reputation” is that it wants to come to saccharine and emotional conclusions but it wants to get there through the sort of bombastic, over the top chaos the show enjoys so much. And while a few of the musical numbers nicely encapsulate the way the characters are feeling, the storylines the episode uses to crystallize and set up those qualities are so far off the mark that I never once believed what was happening on screen.

While the message of the episode seemed to be that people shouldn’t worry so much about their reputations in high school, I think we’re at the point where Glee should be worried about its own reputation as it heads into its second season.

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Tagged as Bad Reputation, Brittany, Emma, Emmys, Episode 17, Finn, FOX, Glist, Ian Brennan, Ice Ice Baby, Jane Lynch, Jesse St. James, Lea Michele, MC Hammer, Molly Shannon, Music, Olivia Newton-John, Physical, Puck, Puckleberry, Quinn, Rachel Berry, Rapping, Run Joey Run, Season 1, Stephen Tobolowsky, TV, Vanilla Ice, Will Schuester

May 3, 2010 · 3:15 am

Breaking Bad – “One Minute”

“One Minute”

May 2nd, 2010

On AMC Canada, Breaking Bad tends to run about thirty seconds long, and due to some scheduling conflicts I have to record the encore rather than the original airing – as a result (yes, there’s a reason I’m explaining this), my recording always begins with the last thirty seconds of the episode I’m about to watch. Usually I’m pretty quick at catching this particular problem, but other times I’m not so lucky; sometimes I get quick glances of what’s to come, which are often pretty innocuous and easily forgotten or ignored as the episode begins.

At this point in the review, anyone who has seen “One Minute” is hoping that this was one of those times where that didn’t happen, where I was intelligent enough to remember the potential spoilers and immediately close my eyes and fast-forward until it was safe to open them again. Unfortunately, I did see a brief moment from the stunning final sequence of this week’s episode, but in a testament to the ludicrous quality of this hour of television I didn’t even remember it by the time we came to the scene in question. “One Minute” has no complicated narrative nor does it rely exclusively on the sort of jaw-dropping scenes with which it concludes: rather, it tells the story of two men who face important decisions, in the process delivering the greatest Emmy duel since Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn.

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Tagged as Aaron Paul, AMC, Analysis, Bryan Cranston, Cousins, Dean Norris, Emmys, Episode 9, Family, Flashback, Hank Schrader, Jesse Pinkman, One Minute, Review, Season 3, Skyler, Supporting Actor, Television, TV, Walt, Walter White

April 19, 2010 · 8:46 pm

The Theme Song Lives: 2009-10’s Emmy Contenders for “Main Title Design”

The Theme Song Lives: “Main Title Design” in 2009-10

April 19th, 2010

There’s a lot of news posts out there today which are viewing the elimination of the “Outstanding Main Title Theme Music” Emmy Award as a long overdue decision, a logical move to reflect the “death” of the theme song in modern television. I understand this impulse, and certainly think that there is an element of lament and loss to this particular development.

However, my immediate thought upon hearing this news was that it was perfectly logical: however, it is perfectly logical not because the theme song is irrelevant, but rather because the theme song is no longer a distinct element of a show’s identity. Just look at the winners over the past three years: two went to theme songs to anthology series (Masters of Horror in 2007 and Great Performances in 2009), and the other went to CBS’ Pirate Master (which was a complete and total bomb). The fact of the matter is that these are probably very impressive compositions which have had absolutely no staying power as pieces of music due to their lack of connection with the role of the Main Titles, as I discussed in earnest a few months back.

Really, the award for “Main Title Theme Music” is now wrapped up in the “Outstanding Main Title Design” category – I would personally consider theme song to be part of the opening credits design, and I’m presuming that a good theme has played a role in past winners like Six Feet Under, United States of Tara and Dexter taking the award. While I don’t know if the Academy would go so far as to include composers within this category as a way to honour them for their work (for the record, I support such a motion), I do hope that the role of the theme song within these openings becomes more important. It’s always one of my favourites to predict in each given year, and I think that this almost makes that category more interesting as we see whether a quality theme song plays an even more substantial role in this year’s winners and nominees.

And so out of respect to the composers who continue to write main title themes, and due to my love for both main title sequences and Emmy predictions, I figured I’d run down the contenders for this year’s Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design (all of which feature effective use of music, albeit some using pre-existing musical soundtrack).

Predicted Nominees

HBO’s Hung

By cleverly combining the most buzz-worthy (the sex) and the most subtle (post-recession America) qualities of the series into a single set of images, the opening very clearly lays out both the tone and the premise of the show in an iconic fashion.

HBO’s The Pacific

I will be honest: I’m not a huge fan of this credits sequence. As impressive as the style of the piece is, and as strong as the theme may be in its own right, I think it’s honestly too long and has absolutely no sense of narrative or function beyond the stylistic flourishes of the charcoal. They’re guaranteed a nomination based on the strong technical work, but I haven’t watched them since the premiere.

FOX’s Human Target

While these credits deserve to be here stylistically, I think that the thematic value of these credits is perhaps their most important role: they very clearly place the series within the area of James Bond through the aesthetic choices, and the great main theme song from Bear McCreary informs us that this will in some ways be a throwback to something familiar and that some would consider to be old-fashioned. It really captures the tone of the series, which is something that any Main Title should strive towards.

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Tagged as AMC, Bear McCreary, Big Love, Bored to Death, Caprica, Credits, Design, Emmys, FOX, HBO, How to Make it In America, Human Target, Hung, Main Title, Main Title Design, SyFy, Television, The Pacific, The Prisoner, Theme Songs, Treme, TV