<font size=4>Emmy nominees: politics inescapable<font size=3>
Kay McFadden / Seattle Times staff columnist
LOS ANGELES —
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Forget that <font color=blue>"Friends"<font color=black> was snubbed or <font color=blue>"Will & Grace"<font color=black> overpraised: The big news of yesterday's Emmy nominations was the resounding statement that Hollywood sent to Republicans in Washington.
CBS' made-for-TV movie <font color=blue>"The Reagans,"<font color=black> yanked after conservatives complained and then moved to Showtime, was picked for a surprising seven categories that included Outstanding Movie, Lead Actor and Lead Actress. The film became the center of a debate on censorship and political pressure.
Leading television series with 12 nods was <font color=blue>"The West Wing,"<font color=black> a show that features a liberal president portrayed by an even more liberal actor, Martin Sheen. The drama frequently has been labeled wish fulfillment for Democrats.
But it was HBO's <font color=blue>"Angels in America,"<font color=black> which
topped all programs with 21 nominations, that underscored
the growing role of ideology in entertainment. The six-
hour miniseries is set in the 1980s and focuses on
oppression of gays and on the Reagan administration's
failure to deal with the AIDS epidemic.
There is little doubt that point of view was key to recognition for all these productions. Although <font color=blue>"Angels"<font color=black> was almost universally hailed by critics, <font color=blue>"The Reagans"<font color=black> actually was a rather bland biopic that opened to mixed reviews, and <font color=blue>"The West Wing"<font color=black> long has been considered in decline since creator Aaron Sorkin left.
The recognition afforded all three shows is part and
parcel of an election year in which the heavily pro-John
Kerry entertainment community is launching a show-business
assault on the administration of President George W. Bush.
The most high-profile examples include Michael Moore's
<font color=blue>"Fahrenheit 9/11"<font color=black> — which Showtime will screen for TV
critics here next week — and Robert Greenwald's new
documentary criticizing Fox News Channel.
Of course, Tinseltown's apparent determination to wrestle control of popular culture from conservatives like Rush Limbaugh was not part of yesterday's announcements. As usual, the Emmy scoop focused on who got singled out or snubbed.
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There were some injustices. Neither FX's <font color=blue>"The Shield"<font color=black> nor HBO's <font color=blue>"Deadwood"<font color=black> were tapped for drama series, nor were their riveting stars, Michael Chiklis and Ian McShane.
The drama-show nominations instead went to CBS' <font color=blue>"Joan of Arcadia"<font color=black> and <font color=blue>"CSI,"<font color=black> Fox's <font color=blue>"24,"<font color=black> NBC's <font color=blue>"West Wing"<font color=black> — a prime case of sentiment overriding quality — and HBO's <font color=blue>"The Sopranos."<font color=black>
Coming off a killer season, HBO's Mafia show topped all regular series with 21 nominations. But perhaps nothing underscores last season's terrific resurgence like the writing category, where <font color=blue>"Sopranos"<font color=black> episodes filled four of the five spots.
As to drama performance, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences mysteriously picked James Spader of ABC's <font color=blue>"The Practice"<font color=black> and Anthony LaPaglia of CBS' <font color=blue>"Without a Trace."<font color=black> They are good actors, but their roles are not nearly as demanding as the parts played by Chiklis and McShane.
More satisfactorily, the rest of the field includes Kiefer Sutherland of <font color=blue>"24,"<font color=black> James Gandolfini of <font color=blue>"The Sopranos"<font color=black> and Sheen.
The distaff side overflowed with great performances. In a sign that Emmy voters are hip to younger talent, Jennifer Garner of <font color=blue>"Alias,"<font color=black> Amber Tamblyn of <font color=blue>"Joan of Arcadia"<font color=black> and Mariska Hargitay of <font color=blue>"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"<font color=black> joined the sublime Edie Falco of <font color=blue>"The Sopranos"<font color=black> and Allison Janney of <font color=blue>"West Wing."<font color=black>
Voting for the comedy categories provided some unexpected — and pleasant — surprises. HBO's <font color=blue>"Sex and the City"<font color=black> and NBC's <font color=blue>"Frasier"<font color=black> snagged multiple nominations for what were two stellar farewell seasons.
And despite much hand-wringing over the state of the sitcom, many of the Outstanding Comedy picks were smart and witty. <font color=blue>"Sex"<font color=black> was selected along with two social satires, Fox's <font color=blue>"Arrested Development"<font color=black> and HBO's <font color=blue>"Curb Your Enthusiasm."<font color=black> Rounding out the field were <font color=blue>"Will & Grace"<font color=black> and perennial favorite <font color=blue>"Everybody Loves Raymond."<font color=black>
However, it was what didn't make the best comedy list that got attention: NBC's <font color=blue>"Friends."<font color=black> That awful last season no doubt hurt, although Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc, star of next season's <font color=blue>"Joey,"<font color=black> were picked for individual work.
As in drama, the acting side of comedy offered many good choices. Kelsey Grammer of <font color=blue>"Frasier,"<font color=black> Larry David of <font color=blue>"Curb Your Enthusiasm"<font color=black> and Tony Shalhoub of <font color=blue>"Monk"<font color=black> joined LeBlanc, and about the only mushy-hearted vote may have been the late John Ritter for <font color=blue>"Eight Simple Rules."<font color=black>
Jane Kaczmarek of Fox's <font color=blue>"Malcolm in the Middle,"<font color=black> Sarah Jessica Parker of <font color=blue>"Sex and the City,"<font color=black> Patricia Heaton of <font color=blue>"Everybody Loves Raymond"<font color=black> and Bonnie Hunt of the canceled <font color=blue>"Life With Bonnie"<font color=black> joined the roster. Hunt's Internet fan base no doubt will be getting their Web rally monkeys out to cheer and again beg ABC to bring the show back.
Major categories aside, much of the Emmy-watching fun comes from either oddball or new categories. This year was no different.
Reality TV, barely legitimized in the voting three seasons ago, now has two categories just to itself.
On the wondrously eclectic Outstanding Reality List, the nominees were PBS' <font color=blue>"Colonial House," ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," HBO's "Project Greenlight," Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and Showtime's "Penn & Teller!"<font color=black> (OK, so we can't print the whole name of that show.)
Fox's <font color=blue>"The Simple Life"<font color=black> did not make the cut. No doubt Paris and Nicole are sobbing all the way to the bank, given the success of their current second installment.
Meanwhile, the category of Outstanding Reality-Competition drew CBS' <font color=blue>"The Amazing Race" and "Survivor," Fox's "American Idol," and NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and "The Apprentice." <font color=black>
Notoriously missing was UPN's <font color=blue>"America's Next Top Model,"<font color=black> merely proving once again that on TV, funny fat guys still top beautiful skinny chicks.
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The strong overtones of the 2004 campaign were in many unexpected places. But perhaps nothing emphasized the collision — or collusion — between politics and entertainment as much as Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.
On the list were Comedy Central's <font color=blue>"The Daily Show" and "Chappelle's Show"; NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and "Saturday Night Live"; and CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman." <font color=black>
Just think: A one-time venue for animal acts and giggly starlets has been transformed into a flotilla of political balloon shows. No doubt some Las Vegas operation is making book at this moment on Best Performance from a Future President.<font size=3>
Kay McFadden: kmcfadden@seattletimes.com |
