Tag Archives: The Big Bang Theory

August 29, 2010 · 11:05 pm

More “Not Boring” Than Usual: Surprises Elevate the 2010 Primetime Emmys

More “Not Boring” Than Usual:

Surprises Elevate the 2010 Primetime Emmys

As a whole, the Emmy Awards live and die on surprise: sure, there’s always favourites, but the idea that “anything can happen” is what keeps us watching a show which so often punishes us for becoming emotionally involved. For every pleasant surprise there has been soul-crushing complacency, and so we watch hoping that something will cut through the pain in order to give us some sense of hope for the legitimacy of these awards.

And while we eventually leave each evening lamenting numerous mistakes, comfortable in our superior knowledge of what is truly great in television in a given year, I don’t want that to obfuscate the moments of transcendence. Sometimes, moments come together that defy our cynical expectations, moments that find the spontaneity in the scripted or make the spontaneous feel as if it was planned all along. And while I remain the jaded critic that I was before the show began, any chance of carrying that attitude through the entirety of the show was diminished at the sight of Jon Hamm booty-dancing towards Betty White, and all but gone by the time Top Chef finally ended The Amazing Race’s reign of terror over Reality Competition program.

It was a night filled with surprises, whether in terms of who was winning the awards (with a huge number of first-time winners) or in terms of emotional moments which resulted from those winners – sure, there were hiccups along the way, and there were still a number of winners which indicated that the Emmys are still stuck in their ways, but there was enough excitement for me to designate these Emmys as “not boring.”

In fact, I’d go so far as to say they were more “not boring” than usual.

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Tagged as 30 Rock, 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, Aaron Paul, Analysis, Archie Panjabi, Awards, Betty White, Born to Run, Breaking Bad, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Colfer, Claire Danes, Connie Britton, David Mills, Edie Falco, Elton John, Emmys, Entertainment, Eric Stonestreet, Friday Night Lights, Glee, Green Day, HBO, Host, In Memoriam, Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jewel, Jim Parsons, Jimmy Fallon, Joel McHale, John Hodgman, Jon Hamm, Jorge Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Kate Gosselin, Kyle Chandler, Kyra Sedgwick, Lea Michele, Lost, Matthew Perry, Matthew Weiner, Michael Emerson, Modern Family, NBC, Neil Patrick Harris, Nina Dobrev, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Rick Gervais, Ryan Murphy, Steve Levitan, Television, Temple Grandin, Terry O'Quinn, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, Tim Gunn, Tina Fey, Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Top Chef, TV, Winners

August 25, 2010 · 8:00 am

2010 Emmy Award Predictions: Lead Acting in a Comedy Series

Lead Acting in a Comedy Series

August 25th, 2010

There is nothing particularly progressive about the Lead Acting awards on the comedy side: with Modern Family’s cast choosing to submit in supporting across the board, and with Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison both submitting poorly, the big comedy battle of the year really isn’t relevant here, which means that we’re left with less interesting battles.

Or, more accurately, some less heartening battles: the reality is that these awards are unlikely to go to new faces, with previous winners dominating both fields. I’d like to believe that someone like Amy Poehler or Jim Parsons could walk away with these awards, but only the latter really has a chance, and even then something big, boring, and potentially enraging stands in his way.

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Tagged as 2010, Amy Poehler, Awards, Edie Falco, Emmys, Entertainment, Glee, Jim Parsons, Lea Michele, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Matthew Morrison, Monk, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Parks and Recreation, Predictions, Television, The Big Bang Theory, Toni Colette, Tony Shahloub, TV, United States of Tara

July 15, 2010 · 9:20 pm

And Your Winner, by Submission…: Analyzing 2010’s Emmy Tapes

July 15th, 2010

Last week, I wrote a piece for Jive TV which described the next step in the Emmy Awards process, and the ways in which this post-nomination period is honestly more interesting for me than the pre-nomination period: as my Twitter followers have noted, I’m a bit obsessive about the submissions process, where the nominated series and performers choose episodes to represent their work over the past season.

It fascinates me because of how unnatural it is: performers can’t simply put together a reel of their strongest moments from throughout the season, they need to find a single representative episode (which, for supporting players, is cut down to only their scenes), and so what they choose is incredibly telling. For example, the cast of Glee have very clearly been instructed to submit episodes which feature big musical performances: Chris Colfer submitted “Laryngitis” because of the show-stopping “Rose’s Turn,” while Lea Michele submitted “Sectionals” based on her take on “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” These might not be their more consistent episodes in terms of overall material, but musically they are character-defining performances, and Glee has decided that this will be its Emmy focus. And yet, for Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch, their submissions don’t work as well when oriented around their most show-stopping musical performances, and so sometimes a series’ approach doesn’t match with each performer.

It’s a delicate balance, and one which I think best captures the equally maddening and addictive nature of this process, which is why I will now take a closer look at the submissions strategy from a number of series: for a look at how they look as categories, and for more submissions I don’t talk about here, check out Tom O’Neill post at Gold Derby.

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Tagged as 2010, 30 Rock, Aaron Paul, ABC, Alec Baldwin, AMC, Amy Poehler, Analysis, Andre Braugher, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Burn Notice, Chris Colfer, Christina Hendricks, Edie Falco, Elisabeth Moss, Emmy Tape, Emmys, Eric Stonestreet, FOX, Friday Night Lights, Glee, HIMYM, House, Hugh Laurie., James Tyler Ferguson, Jane Lynch, January Jones, Jim Parsons, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, Kyle Chandler, Lea Michele, Lost, Mad Men, Matthew Fox, Matthew Morrison, Men of a Certain Age, Michael Emerson, Modern Family, Monk, NBC, Neil Patrick Harris, Nominations, Nominees, Parks and Recreation, Sharon Gless, Steve Carell, Submissions, Television, Terry O'Quinn, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Tina Fey, Toni Colette, Tony Shalhoub, TV, Ty Burrell

July 8, 2010 · 12:18 pm

The Trick is to Actually Watch TV: The 2010 Emmy Nominations

July 8th, 2010

The Emmy nominations (which you can find in full here) are less a sign of what’s truly great on television and a more a sign of what the Emmy voters have actually been watching.

Series and performers are nominated for Emmys for one of two reasons: either the Academy members watched episodes carefully and saw them deserving of an award, or they looked at their ballots and chose a familiar name, a much buzzed-about series, or the first name on the ballot. And, frankly, most years the latter seemed to be their modus operandi, to the point where I’ve started to disassociate voters with any notion of television viewership – I’m not even convinced most of them own televisions.

However, for once, I’d say that the 2010 Emmy nominations seem to have been made by people who actually enjoy the medium, with plenty of evidence to demonstrate that voters actually watched many of the shows they nominated and discovered not only the most hyped elements of that series but also those elements which are truly deserving of Emmys attention. There are still plenty of examples where it’s clear that Emmy voters didn’t truly bother to watch the series in question, and all sorts of evidence which indicates that the Emmy voters suffer from a dangerously selective memory and a refusal to let go of pay cable dramedies, but the fact remains that this is the most hopeful Emmy year in recent memory.

It isn’t that every nominee is perfect, but rather that there is evidence of Academy voters sitting down in front of their television and watching more than a single episode of the shows in question, making them less like soulless arbiters of quality and more like actual television viewers – it might not stick, but for a few moments it’s nice to finally see some nominees that indicate voters aren’t so much different from us after all.

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Tagged as 2010, 30 Rock, Aaron Paul, Amy Poehler, Analysis, Andre Braugher, Andrew Braugher, Archie Panjabi, Bear McCreary, Big Love, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Burn Notice, Cat Deeley, Choreography, Chris Colfer, Christina Hendricks, Conan O'Brien, Connie Britton, Credits, Damon Lindelof, David Simon, Dean Norris, Ed O'Neill, Edie Falco, Elisabeth Moss, Elizabeth Mitchell, Emmys, Eric Stonestreet, Friday Night Lights, Glee, HBO, How I Met Your Mother, How to Make it In America, January Jones, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jim Parsons, Julianna Margulies, Katey Sagal, Kyle Chandler, Lost, Mad Men, Matthew Fox, Men of a Certain Age, Michael Emerson, Michael Giacchino, Mike O'Malley, Modern Family, Monk, Neil Patrick Harris, Nick Offerman, Nominations, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Parks and Recreation, Reality TV, Sharon Gless, Showtime, So You Think You Can Dance, Sons of Anarchy, Television, Terry O'Quinn, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, The Pacific, Tony Shalhoub, Tracy Morgan, Treme, TV, Vince Gilligan, Voters, Zach Gilford

July 8, 2010 · 10:28 am

The 2010 Primetime Emmy Award Nominations

July 8th, 2010

[For complete analysis of the 2010 Emmy Nominees, head to my full breakdown, “The Trick is to Watch TV,” here.]

Here are the nominees for the 2010 Emmy Awards (and, for added value, my gut feelings in terms of early favourites have been bolded): for all of the awards, click here to download the Academy’s PDF.

Outstanding Drama Series

True Blood
Breaking Bad
The Good Wife
Dexter
Lost
Mad Men

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Glenn Close (Damages)
Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: SVU)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
January Jones (Mad Men)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Hugh Laurie (House)
Matthew Fox (Lost)

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Tagged as 2010, 30 Rock, Aaron Paul, Andre Braugher, Archie Panjabi, Betty White, Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, Chris Colfer, Christine Baranski, Conan O'Brien, Connie Britton, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter, Elizabeth Mitchell, Emmys, Eric Stonestreet, Friday Night Lights, Glee, Hugh Laurie., Jane Lynch, John Lithgow, Julianna Margulies, Kyle Chandler, Lea Michele, Lost, Mad Men, Matthew Morrison, Michael Emerson, Mike O'Malley, Modern Family, Neil Patrick Harris, Nominations, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Sharon Gless, Terry O'Quinn, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, Tina Fey

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

March 5, 2010 · 12:44 am

Community – “Physical Education”

“Physical Education”

March 4th, 2010

This is going to sound like an insult, but every now and then my reviews of Community might as well be like a focus group response from small children. Every sentence would start with “I like the part where…” or end up devolving down to “It was funny when the _____ did that thing with the _____,” and that’s probably not all that fun to read.

However, it really does reflect my love for this show: while I might be able to analyze individual plots, I’m rarely that concerned about particular plots, as in I don’t learn what an episode is about ahead of time and fear that things might go off the rails. I have an inordinate amount of confidence in the show’s ability to turn just about anything into comedy, a confidence justified this week as Dan Harmon turned his own personal shame and billiards dress code into top-notch comedy.

And so some part of me truly would be entirely content to respond, in my best impression of a five-year old, that “I liked everything” and grin wildly while shifting awkwardly in my seat. However, since I was probably already long-winded and overly analytical at the age of five, let’s stick with some more detailed thoughts after the break.

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Tagged as Abed, Analysis, Bagel, Billiards, Brown Joey, Comedy, Dan Harmon, Danny Pudi, Episode 18, Jeff, Joel McHale, Naked Pool, NBC, Physical Education, Pool, Review, Season 1, Sheldon, Television, The Big Bang Theory, TV, White Abed

January 6, 2010 · 10:56 am

More than One Way to Steal a Scene: Thievery in Television Comedy

January 6th, 2010

Last night, when watching Better Off Ted, I tweeted the following:

When I made the comment, I was really only trying to say that while I enjoy Lynch’s work on Glee (for which she could well win a Golden Globe in under two weeks) I believe Portia de Rossi is doing some stunning work on Better Off Ted that is being comparatively ignored by the major voting bodies (I’m with James Poniewozik: we need to ensure she remains consistently employed on sitcoms for all of time). However, a few alternate suggestions for television’s best scene stealer made me realize that I was commenting less in terms of who is the better actor, and more on what precisely I consider “stealing a scene.”

The Chicago Tribune’s always spot-on Maureen Ryan made a case for Nick Offerman, whose Ron Swanson is an unquestionable highlight on Parks and Recreation. And my immediate reaction was that, as great as Offerman is and as hopeful as I am that he receives an Emmy nomination later this year, I don’t know if I consider him a scenestealer. Of course, as soon as I say that, she comes back with the example of Offerman simply raising an eyebrow and demanding your attention despite an only observational role in the scene in question, making me look like an idiot.

However, I’m going to argue that our differences of opinion on this issue are not simply the result of my poor memory or our subjectivity when it comes to what we enjoy on television, but rather the result of the various different ways one could define “stealing a scene.” Based on different intersections of acting, writing, and cinematography, I would argue that we all have our own impression of what this term means, as we all have our own readings of each individual show and who the scene in question actually belongs to.

Which is why I didn’t initially consider Nick Offerman a scene stealer, and why I don’t expect everyone to feel the same way.

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Tagged as Barney Stinson, Better Off Ted, Comedy, Dave Franco, Entertainment, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Jane Lynch, Jim Parsons, Neil Patrick Harris, Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation, Party Down, Portia De Rossi, Ron Swanson, Scene Stealer, Scrubs, Sheldon, Television, The Big Bang Theory, TV, Veronica, Zach Braff

December 19, 2009 · 8:00 am

The Best of 2009: Performers of the Year

Performers of the Year

December 19th, 2009

I am not capable of working magic, so I shall not attempt to rank every single amazing television performance of the past year and boil them down to only ten selections. It’s an impossible task that the Emmys are incapable of doing correctly even when they have numerous categories in which to highlight particular nominees, so who am I to try to cover all of my bases with just ten names?

The purpose of this list, rather than trying to represent every great performance, is to highlight those that had an impact on me, and to some degree to highlight those which might not be represented elsewhere on the list in terms of particular episodes or the series themselves (and since I limited it to one performer per show, in some instances I refused to make a decision and chose to represent them elsewhere). In some cases, this means singling out the one part of an ensemble that I enjoyed, and in others it means singling out obvious candidates because there may not have been room for their shows on other lists (although I could just be messing with your heads, who knows?).

Now, in selecting this list, I had two basic rules:

If they won an Emmy or some other major award, chances are I didn’t include them.
If I didn’t see it (e.g. Breaking Bad), I can’t award them for it.

The second rule is there for an obvious reason, but the first is a bit more complex. I know that someone like Toni Colette gave a great performance in United States of Tara this year, no doubt, but I also know that she already got an Emmy for it – I don’t really need to tell you she gave a great performance, and I am more likely to give her spot to someone who hasn’t won an Emmy, or who should have won an Emmy, or who might some day win an Emmy. This isn’t to say I’m avoiding all buzzworthy individuals, but rather to suggest that I tried to avoid the usual suspects (so, no Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, for example).

So, without further ado, let’s discuss the Top 10 Performers of the Year (in alphabetical order, by the way).

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Tagged as 2009, Alison Brie, Best of 2009, Community, Dollhouse, Elisabeth Moss, Entertainment, Enver Gjokaj, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Jane Lynch, Jeremy Davies, Jim Parsons, Katey Sagal, Lost, Mad Men, Merritt Wever, Neil Patrick Harris, Nurse Jackie, Party Down, Rico Rodriguez, Sons of Anarchy, Television, The Big Bang Theory, Top 10, TV, Year End List