The Emmys

I just happened to be looking over the Emmy winners from last year... This may be a bit belated, but the Emmy's are even more of a joke than the Oscars. The Emmy's Academy only ever nominates heavily lib-based shows (which could be tolerable except that they nominate MULTIPLE actors/actresses in the same damn category e.g. West Wing), or shows from the same two genres (e.g. med dramas, courtroom dramas--nominate one from each and force the other shows to compete with each other!!).

[TV EXEC: Hey, how about a new show?
CREATIVE: Okay, how about a lawyer struggles with a corrupt D.A. appointed by GW Bush.
TV EXEC: Hey, good idea! We could use another courtroom drama to go with the other half-dozen; maybe you'll get promoted to a hyphenated Law & Order some day! And if not, we'll add some medical material for season three and give you a shot at a CSI hyphen!
CREATIVE: Swell!!]

Meanwhile shows like Smallville, Herc & Xena, Firefly, Supernatural, Quantum Leap, Tour of Duty, and Highlander are (or were) all ignored... left to (hopefully) decompose somewhere without a second glance (if they even got a first); ditto on animated series like Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man (1995), X-Men (1992), Justice League Unlimited, and Teen Titans Go!...  And I'm sure fans of the Buffy and Stargate franchises have similar beefs.

Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor; Smallville), John Glover (Lionel Luther; Smallville), John Schneider (Jonathen Kent; Smallville), Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan; Smallville), Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod; Highlander), Jim Byrnes (Joe Dawson; Highlander), Peter Wingfield (Methos; Highlander), Roger Daltry (Hugh Fitzcairn; Highlander), Philip Akin (Charlie DeSalvo; Highlander), Peter Hudson (James Horton; Highlander), David Robb (Kalas; Highlander), Valentine Pelka (Kronos; Highlander), Nathan Fillion (Malcolm Reynolds; Firefly), Ron Glass (Shepherd Book; Firefly), Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester; Supernatural), Kevin Sorbo (Hecules; Hecules), Michael Hurst (Iolaus; Hecules), Lucy Lawless (Xena; Xena), Kevin Smith (Ares; Hercules, Xena), Bruce Campbell (Autilicus; Xena), Terence Knox (Zeke Anderson; Tour of Duty), Stephen Caffrey (LT. Goldman; Tour of Duty), Scott Bakula (Sam Beckett; Quantum Leap), Dean Stockwell (Al; Quantum Leap)...

ALL the above have denied nominations and wins in serious categories (not that techincal crap) over the last fifteen years. I'm not saying they should have won every year they should have been nominated, but to not be nominated at all?! It's total BS. This should be obvious: If a show wins one year, it should be HARDER for it to repeat because they've raised the bar on themselves.

The lack of competition... the Emmy's rewarding shows the industry critics and "experts" like... not looking at ALL the shows that viewers are enjoying is why TV in the U.S. is SO BORING and lacks complete originality. No, instead they can cancel original gems like Firefly, Joan of Arcadia, and Dark Angel without a second thought, or tweak debut hits like Tour of Duty for ratings and kill the show instead. (Consider yourself on notice Heroes!)