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Will quirky Emmy noms affect ratings?
‘Lost’ was shut out and Ellen Burstyn was nominated for 14 seconds of work
 Scott Garfield / AP Justin Chambers, Ellen Pompeo and Sandra Oh in a scene from ABC's hit series "Grey's Anatomy," which has been nominated for a 2006 Emmy Award. "Grey's" was one of the shows that may have benefited from the new voting system. |
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LOS ANGELES - The e-mail to ABC executive Jeffrey Bader from an old college friend leveled a complaint that had nothing to do with the network.
“I sure won’t be watching the Emmys, because the nominations are so ridiculously stupid,” wrote the irritated viewer, an archivist in Boston.
She’s in the ranks of those riled up about TV academy rules changes that seemed to lead to nonsensical omissions. Where was ABC’s “Lost,” where was Hugh Laurie for Fox’s “House,” where were powerhouse mob couple James Gandolfini and Edie Falco for HBO’s “The Sopranos”?
And how the heck did Ellen Burstyn earn a nod for a microwave-fast performance totaling 14 seconds, and could she win at Sunday’s ceremony (8 p.m. ET on NBC)?
Under the revised approach, blue-ribbon panels played an instrumental role in determining nominees in the categories of drama and comedy series — previously decided by a general membership vote — and lead actors and actresses in series.
‘Lost’ loses, ‘Grey’s’ wins
The panelists screened episodes that were submitted by prospective nominees themselves as the best example of their work.
“Lost,” last year’s best drama winner, lost out, while Fox’s “24” with 12 bids and ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” with 11 made out like bandits. Another beneficiary was Christopher Meloni, getting his first acting nod for NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” after seven seasons.
The TNT miniseries “Into the West” with 16 nominations and HBO’s “Elizabeth I” with 13 are the leading contenders.
“All the nominees are in there because the arguments they made (in their episode selections) won the day,” said John Leverence, longtime awards director for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Tom O’Neil, author of “The Emmys” and host of the awards-focused Web site TheEnvelope, is in agreement. Sometimes, he argues, good artists just make bad choices.
“For the most part, stars and shows know what their best episodes are to submit. But every now and then you have stars pick big, campy performances instead of performances with range and nuance,” O’Neil said.
In the case of “Lost,” the convoluted series about stranded plane-crash survivors, the season-premiere episode submitted for it was “a head-scratcher with dangling plot lines and unexplained turns,” he said. It didn’t stand a chance with judges.
Burstyn’s nomination is an example of what can happen in categories in which nominees are picked by mass balloting and without panels screening their work, O’Neil said.
The academy declined comment on Burstyn’s case, as has the actress herself. As with all categories, the winner will be determined by academy voters who sign affidavits that they have viewed the performances.
Over the years, the academy has tinkered with the nominations and award process and even categories themselves (for one, there was a best new series award for a short time). Academy Chairman Dick Askin acknowledged the latest criticism at a news conference in July and said it was “always our plan that this would be a one-year test.”
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