Emmy nods: Some improvement, lots of tokens
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, July 5, 2006
HBO again led all networks for Emmy nominations, which were announced this morning in Los Angeles. But the fact that Fox’s drama “24” led all shows for nods with 12 speaks to a welcome change among in the doling out of these awards.
Emmy voters still allowed themselves to turn the annual awards into a string of recognitions of lifetime achievement. Shows such as “Will &Grace,” “The West Wing” and “Six Feet Under” received too many send-off nominations for the awards to be taken seriously in their mission to recognize the year’s best work.
But there was progress and we can only hope the, what I like to call, “honorary” nominations won’t extend to honorary awards.
* “Grey’s Anatomy” and “House” get well-earned recognition with nominations for best drama.
* “The Office,” “Scrubs” and “Arrested Development” all get bids for best comedy.
* Steve Carell got a nod for best actor in a comedy for his role as Michael Scott in “The Office.”
* Dennis Leary finally got an acting nomination for his role in “Rescue Me.”
* Stockard Channing scored a nomination for the too-quickly-dispatched sitcom “Out of Practice.”
* Geena Davis won a bid as President Mackenzie Allen in the equally short-lived “Commander in Chief.”
* Jeremy Piven earns a second consecutive nomination for supporting actor in a comedy as Ari Gold in HBO’s “Entourage.”
* A perfect slate, from top to bottom, for best supporting actor in a drama as William Shatner (“Boston Legal”), Gregory Itzin (“24”), Oliver Platt (“Huff”), Alan Alda (“The West Wing”) and Michael Imperioli (“The Sopranos”) all get nominations.
* An equally perfect slate for best supporting acress in a drama, with Candace Bergen (“Boston Legal”), Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Chandra Wilson (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Blythe Danner (“Huff”) and Jean Smart (“24”).
* “Two and a Half Men” is absurd choice in the best comedy series category while “My Name is Earl” is left on the sideline.
* “The West Wing” gets a send-off nomination for best drama series while “Lost” is nowhere to be found. “Lost,” in fact,” was nominated for outstanding directing, outstanding casting and outstanding writing, but was left off of the “best drama” list and only Henry Ian Cusick, who played Desmond, was nominated among the actors for best guest appearance.
* Kevin James and Charlie Sheen nominated for best actor in a comedy, especially when Jason Lee of “My Name is Earl” was left off the list.
* Martin Sheen (“The West Wing”) getting a nod for best actor in a drama despite appearing in just over half of this season’s episodes as the election storyline with Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits played out. It’s embarrassing that Sheen is on the list while Hugh Laurie of “House” is not.
* All the major players in “Desperate Housewives,” Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria were left out of the running after Cross, Hatcher and Huffman were nominated last year — and Huffman won.
