Clone War: Tatiana vs. the Emmys

The grotesque prejudice against so-called “genre” shows and performers reached its absolute nadir this morning when the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences declined to nominate Tatiana Maslany of BBC America’s Orphan Black for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama category. This snub is among the biggest (and most indefensible) in Emmy history, and renders the competition in that category meaningless.

This unfathomable hatred has meant that truly deserving shows and performances never received the recognition they were due — Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sarah Michelle Gellar (a Daytime Emmy winner), for example, were never acknowledged by the Academy despite the fact that BTVS is a genuine cultural touchstone of quality. More recently there was Battlestar Galactica and Fringe. And now, with just its first season under its belt, Orphan Black appears poised to be the latest victim of the genre ghetto.

65th Primetime Emmy Nominations Announced

Breaking Bad

The nominations for the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards contained the usual allotment of familiar names and past winners, as well the odd outrageous oversight — Tatiana Maslany ignored for playing multiple starring roles on Orphan Black, anyone? But that’s all par for the course for the Emmys.

The big “controversy” this year will probably be over the nods for House of Cards and Arrested Development, two series that are not even on broadcast or cable networks — they are only available from Netflix. Should they have been nominated for TV awards?

However the nominees were selected by the members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — and it would appear most voters just copy/pasted last year’s ballot, as usual — here they are:

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

Breaking Bad, AMC

Downton Abbey, PBS

Game of Thrones, HBO

Homeland, Showtime

House of Cards, Netflix

Mad Men, AMC

2012 Primetime Emmy Nominations

It’s an annual thing: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences releases its list of prime-time Emmy nominations, and the rest of world clutches its pearls and bemoans the injustice of Undeserving Show X getting a nod over Deserving Show Y. There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth, then the trophies are doled out, and we do it all again next year.

Here then, is the 2012 edition of Prime-Time Emmy Nomination Angst.

Once again, I am sorely disappointed in the laziness of the Academy. There are so many repeat nominations that it once again looks like Emmy voters sent in last year’s ballots with a couple of extra names penciled in. The entire cast of MODERN FAMILY again? Seriously? Nothing from The CW again? Seriously? No major nominations for genre shows other than GAME OF THRONES again? Seriously? (See? Mindless repetition is not always fun, is it?)

Soap Opera Weekly: 8/30/10

The 62nd Primetime Emmys was kind of like a horse race last night: It started out really strong, moved at a gallop, then faded badly in the final turn, before finishing with a favorite and a dark horse in the winner’s circle.

First of all, I have to give kudos to GLEE’s Jane Lynch for pulling off my favorite win of the night; I figured she was the only guaranteed lock of the night, and luckily it happened. It was fantastic to see her win for such a vivid character and performance.

Speaking of GLEE, I loved host Jimmy Fallon‘s opening piece, in which he teamed with GLEE regulars Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer and Amber Riley — as well as totally random guests Jon Hamm (Don, MAD MEN), Nina Dobrev (Elena, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES), Jorge Garcia (Hugo, LOST), Tina Fey (Liz, 30 ROCK), Joel McHale (Jeff, COMMUNITY) and AMERICAN IDOL’s Randy Jackson (as well as reality gadfly Kate Gosselin, whose 15 minutes is long past over) for a performance of “Born to Run.”

Fallon did a nice job keeping the show moving, even if he did rely a little too much on musical humor. The tuneful tributes to canceled series (like 24 and LOST) were clever, but I was less enamored of the audience-participation bits. Special kudos to Ricky Gervais for his hilarious segment, in which he complained about the ceremony not serving alcohol, so he doled out beers. (It was just a joke, and those waiters served non-alcoholic beer…)

My favorite wins: In addition to Lynch, I was really happy for THE GOOD WIFE’s Archie Panjabi, as she really brings to life a kick-ass character in Kalinda.

Least-favorite wins: Edie Falco in the comedy category (Since when is NURSE JACKIE a comedy?). And, as Falco herself noted, “I’m not funny.” Also, Kyra Sedgwick over Julianna Margulies smacked of a career-achievement award. And MODERN FAMILY beating GLEE just didn’t fly with me. MF’s absurdist humor strikes me as plot-driven “anything for a laugh” funny, whereas GLEE’s comedy feels more like it arises from character.

Tactically, I think it was a mistake to group the show by segments, but it did make it easier for fans to watch: saving the miniseries and movie category for the final hour was probably for the best; if it was going to be segregated, the-powers-that-be certainly didn’t want to lead with the HBO love-fest.

While it was tough to pay attention until the end, the two big categories were saved for last: MAD MEN won its third straight drama trophy (I thought last season saw a dip in quality, but it finished strongly, so that’s what voters must have remembered) and MODERN FAMILY unseated 30 ROCK. At least MF is funny, even if it’s no GLEE.

But I was quite happy with the Emmy ceremony as a whole.

Originally published on SoapOperaWeekly.com