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That often clueless bunch known as the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has a chance to at least partially atone for several years of ineptitude by plopping "The Wire" among the five nominees for outstanding drama in this year's Emmy Award throwdown.
Will the voters do it? Well, at least they're giving it some thought.
HBO's masterful crime series did indeed make it onto a preliminary list of Top 10 finalists that was released by the Academy a few days ago. That list will be whittled down to five with the help of a "blue-ribbon" panel, and those five will be announced, along with all the other Emmy nominees, on July 17.
It's hard to believe, but "The Wire," one of television's towering achievements, never has been nominated for top drama. And now, this is its last chance. The show concluded its riveting five-season run earlier this year.
Bone-headed omissions such as this make you wish you could hijack the entire Emmy process and write in your own choices. Unlike a lot of Emmy voters, after all, we happen to watch television.
So what would my dream Emmy ballot look like? I'm glad you asked.
First, let's look at the Top 10 finalists in the drama category, as determined by the Academy. In addition to "The Wire," the list includes "Boston Legal," "Damages," "Dexter," "Friday Night Lights," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Lost," "Mad Men" and "The Tudors."
We've got some tough choices in there (only
On the comedy side of things, the Top 10 finalists are "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage," "Family Guy," "Flight of the Conchords," "The Office," "Pushing Daisies," "30 Rock," "Two and a Half Men," "Ugly Betty" and "Weeds."
I'm a bit disappointed that "The Big Bang Theory" didn't make the cut, but we've got to play the hand the Academy dealt us, so I'd start off my group of five nominees with the two most recent winners, "The Office" and "30 Rock." From there, I'd toss in the whimsical newcomer "Pushing Daisies," and round things out with "Ugly Betty" and "Weeds."
The Academy did not release Top 10 lists for the acting categories, so, in terms of speculation, we won't go there. On the other hand, we're worried that Emmy voters might overlook some worthy newcomers and under-the-radar performers, so we won't hesitate to sound the trumpet for them.
In the lead comedy-actor category, for example, Lee Pace ("Pushing Daisies") and Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory") deserve consideration. And among lead comedic actresses, Dana Delany ("Desperate Housewives") and Christina Applegate ("Samantha Who?") would make our dream Emmy ballot.
Meanwhile, over in the lead-drama actor category, I'm hoping the Academy doesn't make the same mistake it did last year and overlook Kyle Chandler's remarkable work in "Friday Night Lights." Also, Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") deserve some Emmy love.
Finally, in the lead-drama actress competition, Glenn Close merits attention for her terrifying turn in "Damages," and Connie Britton — who, like Chandler, was inexplicably snubbed last year — deserves recognition for her outstanding performance in "Friday Night Lights."
PROGRAMMING NOTES: "Last Comic Standing" (8 tonight, NBC) airs its last two-hour semifinal episode from Las Vegas. That means they've mostly weeded out the pretenders and things should actually get funnier from here on out. "... The Fourth of July means fireworks, but it also means some serious gluttony. The world's top competitive eaters gather for the "Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest" (9 a.m. Friday, ESPN) from Coney Island. Can the Bay Area's Joey Chestnut hold off the great Kobayashi once again? Our advice: Do not try this at home. "... If you missed "The Simpsons Movie" on the big screen, here's your chance to check it out. HBO airs the amusing flick at 9 p.m. Sunday.
Reach Chuck Barney at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. Also check out his blog at www.ibabuzz.com/tvfreak.
