The Good, The Bad, and The Borderline Amazing
Wow. Looks like someone finally got the hint.
Granted, this year's lineup is nowhere near perfect. (And I really don't think we're ever going to have a "perfect lineup". People have different tastes. An oversight or two are bound to happen every year.)
But after countless complaints about how repetitive & boring the lineup is every year, I was pleasantly surprised to wake up and see THIS YEAR'S EMMY NOMINEES. When you compare it to the previous years, this year's set is a HUGE improvement.
Sure, some of the tired, old favorites still slipped through the cracks (Tony Shalhoub, William Shatner, etc), but it was refreshing to see so many new names pop up - names that totally deserve to be there too.
THE GOOD
-Nominations for almost everyone in the cast of "30 Rock".
(Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, and Tracy Morgan finally made it in, along with last year's champs Tina Fey & Alec Baldwin.)
-TRIPLE NOMINEE Tina Fey
(She scored a well-deserved nomination for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her stint as Sarah Palin on SNL!)
-DOUBLE NOMINEE Justin Timberlake
(He's up for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting SNL, and Outstanding Original Music & Lyrics for co-writing "Motherlover".)
-FIRST TIME NOMINEE Kristen Wiig
(SNL's female MVP finally made the cut after so many years of trying! Hope she wins!)
-DOUBLE NOMINEE Jon Hamm
(Nominated again for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for "Mad Men", Jon Hamm is also up for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for "30 Rock".)
-DOUBLE NOMINEE Kathy Griffin
(She's nominated for both her reality show & her TV special!)
-"Flight of The Conchords" soars
(FOTC is up for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Jemaine Clement is nominated as Lead Actor in a Comedy Series!)
-Jemaine Clement is also nominated for Outstanding Music & Lyrics, along with his fellow conchord Bret McKenzie!
-The underrated Rose Byrne & the dynamic William Hurt got Supporting Actor & Actress nominations for "Damages" .
-Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominee Toni Collette for "United States of Tara".
-Drew Barrymore & Jessica Lange will compete against each other for "Grey Gardens".
-A farewell Supporting Actress nomination for "Pushing Daisies"' Kristin Chenoweth.
-NO Katherine Heigl! Haha!
-4 out of the 5 nominees for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series are from "30 Rock"!
-Hugh Jackman's opening number from this year's Oscars is nominated for Outstanding Music & Lyrics!
THE BAD
-LIGHTS out
(Still no love for "Friday Night Lights"! Come on!)
-CHELSEA out
(No love for "Chelsea Lately" either!)
-SURVIVOR out
(After 2 back-to-back intense seasons, voters still think that "American Idol" is a better show? Seriously?)
-BLOOD out
(Save for some technical nominations, "True Blood" was virtually ignored.)
THE BORDERLINE AMAZING
-FAMILY GUY is up for Outstanding Comedy Series
(The first animated series to ever make the lineup! It's funny, yes, but did it deserve to get in over other shows like "Pushing Daisies"? I say NO.)
-NO JEREMY PIVEN
(I'm torn about this one. I love Piven. He's consistently excellent, as evidenced by his 3 consecutive Emmy wins. This year, he was snubbed..... in favor of the equally funny Tracy Morgan & Jack McBrayer from "30 Rock".)
-JENNIFER ANISTON for "30 Rock"
(This has nothing to do with my being on Team Jolie at all. I know the Emmy voters love Aniston, but she wasn't even that funny. OPRAH deserved that nomination by a huge-ass mile.)
-EMMY NOMINEE Julianne Hough
(She's nominated with her brother Derek for Outstanding Choreography for "Dancing With The Stars". I like her, but goodness gracious, she's everywhere!)
Granted, this year's lineup is nowhere near perfect. (And I really don't think we're ever going to have a "perfect lineup". People have different tastes. An oversight or two are bound to happen every year.)
But after countless complaints about how repetitive & boring the lineup is every year, I was pleasantly surprised to wake up and see THIS YEAR'S EMMY NOMINEES. When you compare it to the previous years, this year's set is a HUGE improvement.
Sure, some of the tired, old favorites still slipped through the cracks (Tony Shalhoub, William Shatner, etc), but it was refreshing to see so many new names pop up - names that totally deserve to be there too.
THE GOOD
-Nominations for almost everyone in the cast of "30 Rock".
(Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, and Tracy Morgan finally made it in, along with last year's champs Tina Fey & Alec Baldwin.)
-TRIPLE NOMINEE Tina Fey
(She scored a well-deserved nomination for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her stint as Sarah Palin on SNL!)
-DOUBLE NOMINEE Justin Timberlake
(He's up for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting SNL, and Outstanding Original Music & Lyrics for co-writing "Motherlover".)
-FIRST TIME NOMINEE Kristen Wiig
(SNL's female MVP finally made the cut after so many years of trying! Hope she wins!)
-DOUBLE NOMINEE Jon Hamm
(Nominated again for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for "Mad Men", Jon Hamm is also up for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for "30 Rock".)
-DOUBLE NOMINEE Kathy Griffin
(She's nominated for both her reality show & her TV special!)
-"Flight of The Conchords" soars
(FOTC is up for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Jemaine Clement is nominated as Lead Actor in a Comedy Series!)
-Jemaine Clement is also nominated for Outstanding Music & Lyrics, along with his fellow conchord Bret McKenzie!
-The underrated Rose Byrne & the dynamic William Hurt got Supporting Actor & Actress nominations for "Damages" .
-Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominee Toni Collette for "United States of Tara".
-Drew Barrymore & Jessica Lange will compete against each other for "Grey Gardens".
-A farewell Supporting Actress nomination for "Pushing Daisies"' Kristin Chenoweth.
-NO Katherine Heigl! Haha!
-4 out of the 5 nominees for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series are from "30 Rock"!
-Hugh Jackman's opening number from this year's Oscars is nominated for Outstanding Music & Lyrics!
THE BAD
-LIGHTS out
(Still no love for "Friday Night Lights"! Come on!)
-CHELSEA out
(No love for "Chelsea Lately" either!)
-SURVIVOR out
(After 2 back-to-back intense seasons, voters still think that "American Idol" is a better show? Seriously?)
-BLOOD out
(Save for some technical nominations, "True Blood" was virtually ignored.)
THE BORDERLINE AMAZING
-FAMILY GUY is up for Outstanding Comedy Series
(The first animated series to ever make the lineup! It's funny, yes, but did it deserve to get in over other shows like "Pushing Daisies"? I say NO.)
-NO JEREMY PIVEN
(I'm torn about this one. I love Piven. He's consistently excellent, as evidenced by his 3 consecutive Emmy wins. This year, he was snubbed..... in favor of the equally funny Tracy Morgan & Jack McBrayer from "30 Rock".)
-JENNIFER ANISTON for "30 Rock"
(This has nothing to do with my being on Team Jolie at all. I know the Emmy voters love Aniston, but she wasn't even that funny. OPRAH deserved that nomination by a huge-ass mile.)
-EMMY NOMINEE Julianne Hough
(She's nominated with her brother Derek for Outstanding Choreography for "Dancing With The Stars". I like her, but goodness gracious, she's everywhere!)