On Being A Member of the SAG Awards Television Nominating Committee
Now that the awards have been handed out, I can come out of the closet. I was a member of the SAG Awards television nominating committee. *ducking tomatoes*
There are some things you should know before I detail my experiences:
1) The TV committee gets screwed out of all of the cool movie screeners
2) The price of watching so much brain-melting crap has certain members *cough* lying in bed at night, staring at the ceiling in agony, moaning "WHY? WHY did some idiot think Animal Practice should have been released from pilot hell? WHY does anyone think Piper Perabo can act? WHYYYYYY?"
Starting in early fall, screeners came sluicing into my maibox like sewage. The best packaging award goes to TNT/TBS, who sent their shows in a white book-gift box, with each grouping of CDs bound like books. Some networks sent me cards with PIN numbers to log on to their sites, such as Showtime and Fox. All were marked "For Your Consideration."
SOOOOO, for days on end, I sat either in front of my television or my computer, trying to get through three episodes of each show. The deal is usually to give you last season's finale, current season's premiere, and then a Big Episode from the current season. And I did my level best to watch as much as possible. Even the itsy-bitsyiest show deserved one viewing. Sometimes Jeff joined me.
I discovered some wonderful shows: "The Mindy Project" "The Walking Dead" "Louie" "Breaking Bad" (yes, Bryan Cranston is that good) Kelsey Grammer knocking it out of the park on "Boss"--it is a great performance.
On the other hand, there was "Happily Divorced," "Animal Practice," "Ben and Kate," "Covert Affairs", "Franklin and Bash," etc. I gave the worsts show one and a half episodes, except for "Animal Practice"--10 minutes before my husband was driven out of the room.
Unfortunately I didn't get far with "Homeland." After a small portion both husband and self agreed that Claire Danes was too much for me to handle. The extremely unpleasant surprise was when I received my SAG ballot. Unlike the movies:
There is NO supporting character category!
Beatrice Arthur does not approve.
Best Leads, Best Ensembles, Best Stunt Work. What the fuck? That means that wonderful actors on many shows are competing with the inevitable Jim Parsons and Bryant Cranston. I had to make five choices in each category. I followed my conscience, and chose the actors I thought were the best, not the ones that would surely be nominated. (Sorry, Alec Baldwin, I want you in my bed but enough already!)
*PS "Supernatural" was in the Best Ensemble nominees, as was "House," of course.
When the awards were announced, sure enough, it was the usual, or shows that had already won tons of awards. It was disheartening, to say the least. Alec Baldwin, AGAIN. Tina Fey, AGAIN. Yes, I know it's the last season, but it's been suckage most of this year and don't they have enough fucking trophies on their mantelpieces???
As an actor, I think the television nominations are unfairly skewed to a tiny pool of actors. If they put in a Best Supporting category, the rest would have a sporting chance.
We don't have any part in the decision making, including the tribute to the amazing Dick Van Dyke. We're just the first responders.
I hope you've enjoyed this peak behind the curtain. I survived, and am thanking God I never have to lay eyes on Fran Drescher again.