David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. Yet another Award you don’t care about
The Television Critics Association announced its nominees for the ultra-prestigious 2007 TCA Awards, and, well, hmm. It’s a list, to be sure. Doesn’t strike me as all that adventurous (and I voted in the thing), so where do critics get off complaining about the Emmys?
The biggest category, PROGRAM OF THE YEAR:
“American Idol” (Fox) “Friday Night Lights” (NBC) “Heroes” (NBC) “Planet Earth” (Discovery)
“The Wire” (HBO) “When the Levees Broke” (HBO)
Program of the Year is an interesting hybrid category – it’s supposed to honor the best, Zeitgeisty show of the year, but “best” and “Zeitgeisty” don’t always line up together. (The closest example of this amidst the nominees is “Heroes.”) Some critics apparently just think it means Most Popular Program; hence, the appearance of “American Idol” amongst the nominees. Other critics ignore the notion of the show having some sort of seismic pop-culture influence; hence, the appearance of “Friday Night Lights” on the list. Others (myself included) take it to refer to a production’s quality combined with social impact, real or imagined, so there’re your “Wire” and “Levees” nominations. And “Planet Earth” was a big, splashy, ambitious project, so that makes some sense.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY:
“30 Rock” (NBC) “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central) “Entourage” (HBO) “The Office” (NBC) “Ugly Betty” (ABC)
All worthy shows, but there’re a couple of funnier if less mainstream things snubbed here (e.g., “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) that you’d think critics, being critics, would want to champion over such obvious choices.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA:
“Friday Night Lights” (NBC) “Heroes” (NBC) “Lost” (ABC) “The Sopranos” (HBO) “The Wire” (HBO)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT MOVIES, MINI-SERIES AND SPECIALS:
“Broken Trail” (AMC) “Planet Earth” (Discovery) “Prime Suspect” (PBS) “The State Within” (BBC America) “When the Levees Broke” (HBO)
OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM OF THE YEAR:
“30 Rock” (NBC) “Dexter” (Showtime) “Friday Night Lights” (NBC) “Heroes” (NBC) “Ugly Betty” (ABC)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY:
Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”) Stephen Colbert (“The Colbert Report”) America Ferrara (“Ugly Betty”) Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) Jon Stewart (“The Daily Show”)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA:
Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”) Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”) Hugh Laurie (“House”) Helen Mirren (“Prime Suspect”)
Just in case you were wondering who was watching the low-rated “Friday Night Lights,” well here’s your answer: Critics. And about 18 other people.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING:
“Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon) “Johnny and the Sprites” (The Disney Channel) “Kyle XY” (ABC Family) “Lincoln Heights” (ABC Family) “SpongeBob Squarepants” (Nickelodeon)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION:
“Baghdad ER” (HBO) “Bill Moyers Journal” (PBS) “Galapagos” (National Geographic) “Planet Earth” (Discovery) “When the Levees Broke” (HBO)
I’m always amused when no actual newscasts get any love in this category. Not surprised, just amused. One year, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” was nominated in this category. Which gives you a pretty good idea of critics’ opinions of standard TV newscasts.
HERITAGE AWARD (long-standing program that made a lasting cultural or social impact): “M*A*S*H” (CBS) “Roots” (ABC) “Sesame Street” (PBS) “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS) “The Sopranos” (HBO)
Probably too soon to honor “The Sopranos,” and anyway, it’s not like David Chase’d show up anyway.
Comments
And, once again, "24" was left out of its rightful place in the nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.
Posted by: Suzy Q | June 6, 2007 5:18 PM