Media Maven Musings

Hey kids– After a trip to Israel and a crazy week in Philadelphia, Media Maven is settled for good back in sunny Los Angeles, and I am ready to get back to work here.

So let’s pretend that this morning, I had the distinct pleasure of filling out my annual Emmy Ballot (let’s also  pretend this is my third year voting for the Emmys).  And though I’ll certainly be doing my annual Dream Emmy Ballot in the coming weeks, I thought I would share with you what I actually voted for and provide you with an inside look at what Emmy voting is all about…if I, say, somehow had an Emmy ballot that the Academy may or may not like me discussing candidly here…

In an effort to stay green, the Academy of Television Arts & Science has put all the nominee lists online, rather than printing them and sending them out to the voters.  You can check out the main Program nominee list, the Host Reality/Reality-Competition nominee list, the Special Class nominee list, the VMC Performer nominee list (variety-music-comedy) by clicking on whichever list you’d like to view.  Each list of nominees comes with a corresponding scantron sheet that is physically sent to each voter and depending on the category, you fill in a certain number of bubbles that correspond with the numbers you see on-screen.

My voting philosophy is simple: I vote for the programs I love to watch, the programs featuring or developed by actors/directors/writers I want to support, and I DO NOT vote for shows I hate or shows I like but thought had a bad enough season that they don’t deserve recognition (cough, Heroes, cough).  Also, I’ve decided not to include any ballots beyond the Main Program because there are enough categories within that one ballot to fill this whole post, and I don’t want to put you all to sleep with dozens of extra cats beyond these.

And so, for your viewing pleasure, my official Main Program Emmy Ballot…if I had one (which I may or may not actually have):
Outstanding Comedy Series (vote for up to 10)

1. Californication 2. Entourage  3. Flight of the Conchords  4. Human Giant  5. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia  6. My Name Is Earl  7. The Office  8. Reaper  9. 30 Rock  10. Weeds

Entourage, Weeds, and Reaper are the least deserving of the comedies up here, but I felt it was important to use all my votes to block out the CBS, ABC and Fox crap on the ballot (you’ll notice all my votes are for cable or NBC, aside from Reaper).  Don’t get me wrong; I love Entourage & Weeds, but both had their weakest seasons by far this year, and Reaper is very hit or miss.  My favorites on this list, based on this season alone, are easily Conchords, Sunny, and Human Giant.  If you haven’t watched these shows yet, make them a top priority to catch up on this summer, especially Conchords since the new season in coming up soon.

Outstanding Drama Series (vote for up to 10)

1. Battlestar Galactica  2. Big Love  3. Dexter  4. The 4400  5. Friday Night Lights  6. Journeyman  7. Lost   8. Rescue Me  9. The Riches  10. The Wire

Hot damn, these are some great shows.  I didn’t actually watch Season 5 of The Wire (yet), but I love the series for the high quality of its production, storytelling and cast, and for the wholly unique opportunity it provides for African-American actors; plus, it sheds a light on an aspect of our country that no other series has ever even come close to doing.  The 4400, Battlestar, The Riches, and Friday Night Lights all suffered from poor seasons this year, but I love them nonetheless.  The most deserving up here are, without a doubt, Rescue Me, Lost, Big Love, and Dexter, all of whom are among the 10 best shows on television, hands down.  Again, you’ll notice that the majority of my votes went to cable shows, with only Lost, FNL, and the already-canceled Journeyman repping the networks.  

Outstanding Miniseries (vote for up to 3)

1. The Bronx is Burning  2. Five Days  3. John Adams

This is the category I knew the least about, so I voted based on some new criteria.  John Adams got my vote despite its inability to keep me hooked because I love HBO and I loved the MacCullough biography upon which the series was based.  I voted for Five Days because again, I love HBO, and I love any series that takes risks with its content and method of narrative discourse, as the unconventional series did.  And I voted for Bronx because it was about the 1977 Yankees and starred John Turturro.  Sweet.

Outstanding Made for TV Movie (vote for up to 10)

1. An American Crime  2. As You Like It  3. Bernard and Doris  4. Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale     5. More of Me  6. A Raisin in the Sun  7. Recount 

I also didn’t know much about this category, as the only one I actually watched was Extras, which I found to be the most depressing hour (though it felt like 4) of comedy I’ve ever watched.  I voted for it nonetheless because I loved the series and I love Ricky Gervais.  An American Crime, As You Like It, Bernard and Doris, and More of Me all got votes based on their casts, and Raisin and Recount got votes based on critical acclaim.  Not my most informed voting, but I do the best I can.

Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series (vote for up to 10)

1. The Colbert Report  2. The Daily Show with John Stewart  3. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson      4. Late Night with Conan O’Brien   5. Late Show with David Letterman  6. Saturday Night Live

This cat was easy.  5 of these shows are consistently terrific (if you’ve never watched Craig Ferguson, do yourself the favor and start), and I can’t not vote for SNL, in spite of its obvious downward spiral into unfunnydom.  I didn’t use up all 10 of my votes, but I didn’t want to take away from the shows I love by throwing extra votes on shows I don’t care about.  Besides, does Carson Daly really need an Emmy?

Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special (vote for up to 10)

1. AFI Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute to Al Pacino  2. The Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav        3. David Broza at Masada: Sunrise Concert  4. Ellen’s Really Big Show  5. James Taylor: One Man Band        6. Jazz at Lincoln Center: Red Hot Holiday Stomp  7. Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveShow  8. Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbook Concert for Autism Education 

Damn those colons are irritating.  I only actually watched the Flavor Flav roast and snippets of the JT concert, both of which were excellent programs.  The rest were all about support: I love Al Pacino, I love David Broza (his late-90’s recording, Live at Masada, is one of my favorite live concert recordings of all time), I think Ellen Degeneres is one of the funniest women in entertainment, I love James Taylor, I love jazz music/the holidays/New York City at Christmas time, and I love huge charity bashes overflowing with top comedic talent.  So now that I think about it, I suppose these votes were mostly no-brainers. 

Outstanding Children’s Program (vote for up to 10)

1. Degrassi: The Next Generation  2. High School Musical 2  3. Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: The Untouchable Kids of India 

Definitely one of the worst categories, but I did what good I could here.  Degrassi and Nick News are both excellent programs for children that aren’t afraid to expose kids to real, mature issues.  I couldn’t bring myself to vote for any of the mindnumbingly stupid Disney and Nick sitcoms like Suite Life of Zack and Cody or iCarly, but I did throw a vote out there for the Disney phenomenon HSM2 because the songs are somewhat catchy, I’ve seen Vanessa Hudgens in her birthday suit, and I have a friend who looks like an olive version of Ashley Tisdale.

Outstanding Nonfiction Special (vote for up to 10)

1. Kike Like Me  2. King  3. Mo’Nique Behind Bar  4. The Pixar Story  5. Private Screenings: Norman Jewison  6. Role Model: Gene Wilder  7. Sand and Sorrow  8. Spielberg on Spielberg 

Maybe the worst category yet, I was grasping at straws here.  Lots of support votes (Pixar, Spielberg, Gene Wilder), some political votes (King is about my man MLK; Sand and Sorrow is about the tragedy in Darfur; Kike Like Me is an “idiosyncratic exploration of what it means to be perceived as Jewish”), a vote for Mo’Nique cause she’s a pretty funny gal, and a vote for Jewison because I happened to have watched his 1967 film In The Heat of the Night yesterday afternoon.

Outstanding Nonfiction Series (vote for up to 10)

1. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations  2. Deadliest Catch  3. Good Eats  4. Meerkat Manor  4. Modern Marvels  5. Survivorman 

Of these shows, Good Eats and Survivorman are my favorites.  G.E. host Alton Brown is ludicrously knowledgeable about food and his wacky sense of humor is a great vehicle for his spot-on recipes and food education.  Survivorman is the most hardcore show on television.  You think Man vs. Wild is extreme?  Survivorman host/writer/director/composer/cameraman Les Stroud drops himself in the middle of some dangerous environment (tundra, desert, jungle, etc.) and films himself surviving alone for days at a time.  Not only does the dude have to hunt rabbits with a MacGruber-esque spear made from a motorboat barnacle and toothpick, but he has to lug a hundred pounds of cameras, film, and sound equipment too.  Absolutely insane.

Outstanding Reality Program (vote for up to 10)

1. Aces of Cakes  2. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives  3. Dirty Jobs  4. Mythbusters  5. Rob & Big  6. Throwdown with Bobby Flay 

There are a ton of differences between these programs and those found in the Reality-Competition Programs or Nonfiction Series categories.  Differences like…uh…

New dumbest category on the ballot.  It was more about not voting for garbage like At least I was able to throw in a vote for Throwdown a.k.a. Bobby Flay manhandles local food specialists and embarrasses them on national television in front of all their collected friends and families.  A terrific show.

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (vote for up to 10)

1. America’s Next Top Model  2. Biggest Loser Couples  3. Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School  4. Iron Chef America  5. The Next Food Network Star  6. Project Runway  7. Top Chef

So I like Food Network a lot.  Sue me.  If you’ve read this blog before, you also know I love Runway, Charm School (I wrote about the finale a while back), and Top Chef.  Speaking of Top Chef, how sad was it to see my man Blaise go down in flames like that?  He reminds me a lot of this year’s New Orleans Hornets: on fire early in the season, but peaked too early and couldn’t go the distance.  Congrats to Stephanie for becoming the first ever female Top Chef.  Of all these shows, the two Bravo programs, Runway and Top Chef, are the best, as both put uniquely skilled individuals through the ringer to really prove themselves in their respective fields.

That’s all folks.  Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on tonight’s Showtime premieres, Weeds and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.