Emmy nom nom noms

Something is seriously wrong with the Emmy nominations, but when isn't there?

How Justified could be completely shut out is beyond me.  Frankly, you are splitting hairs these days when you talk about which top tier drama is the best, but Justified certainly deserves to be in the conversation with Mad Men and Breaking Bad. 

Either male lead, Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins, could replace any one of three nominees between Kevin Spacy, Jeff Daniels or Huge Bonneville*.  And those are three actors who I enjoyed this past year.  But movie stars get a pass when they do television in the eyes of the voters. 

* There's a trend of anti-heros on television (obviously) where actors play characters who should be unlikeable but make them likeable.  I don't know if Hugh Bonneville decided to go for the exact opposite this year or that's just how it was written but Lord Grantham seemed both incompetent and unlikeable all season. 

Goggins could hypothetically submit as supporting and easily take out Bobby Canavale from Boardwalk Empire or Jim Carter from Downtown Abbey.  They did a good enough job in their respective roles, but none of the shake the Earth like Boyd Crowder, whether he's daring a preacher to use risk a snakebite or smart mouthing the Detroit hitmen who want to kill him.

Linda Cardellini gets a nomination for playing Don Draper's least interesting mistress.


Rupert Friend from Homeland gets a nod.  If he survives this series, I see no reason he can't get a spin off.  If he's killed on Homeland, I see no reason he can't get a prequel show giving us the origins of Peter Quinn, Season Two MVP.

The Emmy's need a catergory for best single episode.  Until then, the closest they have are the writing and directing categories.

For writing, going for a "smaller" episode, like a play*, is a good way to get in here.    Because voters aren't required to watch the entire series of shows they are voting on, season premieres and season finales are often nominated because they can be better understood by the voters out of context.

* Think "The Suitcase" from Mad Men Season Four where Don and Peggy have an adventure following their spat.

Homeland's "Q&A" (which also got a directing nod) contained one of the Peter Quinn MVP-esque moments when he fucking stabbed Brody in the hand.  Largely a play between the interviewer and the interviewee, it took us through the whole game that Brody and Carrie were playing.  Their conversation put it on both the big scale of the United States versus the terrorists and the small scale of Carrie versus Brody, and sometimes even examines the personal relationship between Carrie and Brody and all the messed up-edness they've slogged through.  And the viewer is unsure how much of it is Carrie being honest and how much of it is Carrie trying to get Brody's guard down.  How calculated could this mental case possible be?

Then there's "The Rains of Castamere" which.... just....

Breaking Bad has two nominations in this category for "Say My Name" and "Dead Freight" which provided the gut punch of 2012.  While "Dead Freight" has the single plot running throughout the episode making it a likely candidate for nomination, I need my memory jogged a bit on "Say My Name"

In the directing category, while it's hard to believe Game of Thrones didn't get anything for their annual ninth episode extravaganza, I want to pull for Breaking Bad's "Gliding Over it All" just for the use of "Crystal Blue Persuasion" which must have been hard to not use in each of the previous year's, waiting for the right moment.

"Episode 4" of Downton Abbey also received writing and directing nominations.  The episode included a plethora of significant moments in the season but knowing that characters bite it often because of the actors' other interests seems to cheapen it a bit.  Considering the episodes of television that did not receive one writing nomination or one directing nomination (like Justified * and **) it seems ridiculous to honor Downton Abbey with that distinction.

* Breaking Bad and Mad Men have some candidates that could be inserted here as well.  Just as Major League Baseball expanded it's playoffs due to the expansion in teams, the Emmy's need to expand the nomination slots due to the number of networks now in the game, programming year round instead of September-May.

** Any episode 9-11 of Justified could be inserted here to either category: "The Hatchet Tour" "Get Drew" and "Decoy".  "Decoy" should certainly be in the directing category regardless.

For best series, it's difficult to argue with most of the nominees, but again, Justified is head and shoulders above at least two of the nominees.  House of Cards, while good, is at least partially benefiting from Kevin Spacey's name and the novelty of Netflix.