Emmy nominations snap judgement

The 2010 Emmy nominations have just been announced and there were some excellent surprises and some not so surprising omissions (it's still annoying even if it isn't a surprise). Here is a list of who and what I am happy with being nominated, the snubs that sting and the 'huh' they were nominated thoughts:

What I am happy about:

-Finally Friday Night Lights gets some love with both Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler getting nominations (Actress and Actor in a drama), these are long overdue and well deserved, they really are the heart and soul of this fabulous show. Very glad that 'The Son' has got a writing nomination, one of the best episodes of FNL.
-The final season of Lost being a nomination success; Matthew Fox (Actor in a Drama), Michael Emerson, Terry O'Quinn (Best Supporting in a Drama) and Elizabeth Mitchell (Guest Actress in a Drama) all getting acting nods. The writing and directing of the finale featuring, as well as a nod for Michael Giacchino for his score for 'The End' which made the show and the finale all the more emotional.
-The Pacific getting the most nominations with 24, though it not being included in the acting categories is a disappointment.
-Unsurprisingly Mad Men bagged itself 17 nominations and deservedly so. Those up for the acting gongs are Jon Hamm, January Jones, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss and Robert Morse (for actor/actress, supporting actor/actress and guest actor). Shame that Vincent Kartheiser and Jared Harris can't be included but I guess I can't be greedy. And whilst I'm surprised that 'The Gypsy and the Hobo' wasn't nominated in the writing category I'm pleased that both 'Guy Walks in to an Advertising Agency' and 'Shut the Door. Have a Seat' are nominated
-The Good Wife also favouring well in the acting categories with the both the women and the men being well represented: Julianna Margulies (Alicia Florrick), Archie Panjabi (Kalinda Sharma), Christine Baranski (Diane Lockhart), Alan Cumming (Eli Gold) and Dylan Baker (Colin Sweeney). I've really enjoyed this new show and after Margulies Golden Globes success it is great to see that her cast mates are also sharing in the award lime light, though it is a shame to see that Chris Noth (Peter Florrick) was overlooked.
-It's also not a surprise that Glee received 19 nominations, some more deserved than others, I was happy for Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester) and one of the best father son combos on TV Chris Colfor (Kurt Hummel) and Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel). Also nominated in the guest actor in a comedy category for Glee was Neil Patrick Harris who has two nominations (the other for How I Met Your Mother), Jon Hamm and Tina Fey both also share in the double nominations, Hamm for Mad Men and 30 Rock, Fey for SNL and 30 Rock.
-The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien getting the nod over Jay Leno, Team Coco all the way, loved the reaction in the room to this one when it was announced as well as the fact that the Emmys will be broadcast on NBC. Though The Daily Show normally wins this one, so it's a win/win really for me.
-Other shows that got some love that I love include; The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Dexter, 30 Rock, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, True Blood, Nurse Jackie and Damages.


What nominations (or lack of nominations) made me go grr and huh?:

-Zach Gilford not getting nominated for the FNL episode 'The Son'. It was a long shot but after hearing Connie Britton and Kyle Chandlers nominations I was hopeful that he would be recognised as well, but alas. At least the episode got the writing nod.
-Tony Shaloub for Monk and Jon Cryer for Two and a Half Men just makes me say why?
-Even though he was presenting the nominations Joel McHale and Community came up with nothing, this was annoying, though he did a good job with the nominations. Loved when he jumped in to pronounce Mariska Hargitay.
-There seems to be a lot of unhappy writers out there about the lack of Parks and Rec nominations which has reminded me that I really need to get that show on DVD. I also need to watch my Breaking Bad DVDs before August 29th.
-Other long shots I would have loved to see but am not surprised by there omissions; Chuck, John Noble in Fringe and The Vampire Diaries. If I had an award show all of these would win.



For a full list of nominations head to the official Emmys site here

All photos courtesy of NBC

The decline of the print media, can it be saved?

This is something slightly different to what I normally write about, but is something that I am also passionate about, inspired by The Daily Show interview with John Meacham.

I love magazines. I love newspapers. My love for print media is not reflected in sales which have been in decline for some time in this age of instant news making some publications seem irrelevant in this digital era. After seeing Newsweek editor John Meacham on The Daily Show last week on the day that it was announced that the 71 year old magazine was for sale it is clear that this is an issue that will not go away. He spoke of how the magazine needed to refocus the style of its content, to use the Newsweek website as the main focus for the output of stories with the magazine being an accumulation of those weeks stories so for anyone who would still like the magazine it is available but so is the web content. There was an overhaul of the style of Newsweek a year ago to combat the problems that digital media presents. He also spoke of the problem that people no longer want to pay for their news which will be reflected in the quality of this news; the decline of the print media will in theory show a decline in the quality of the content.

In this era of Twitter, Facebook and blogs where everybody can have an opinion that can instantly be accessed by millions it is easy to see why print media is having such problems.  Reporters are still needed to report the news for people to have something to comment on, which is important, though with these social networking sites, unpaid people rather than reporters can report the news first and have photos and video instantly uploaded on to the web to show what is going on. I have a blog, a Twitter and a Facebook account, though I would not call myself a journalist. I have a Masters degree and I am still trying to find my footing in this environment that I would like to work in and because of blogs and Twitter my voice can be heard by a larger audience. However, if this means that this will lead to the decline of the print media it is not a good evolution for the dispatch of information. It is somewhat of a catch 22, the advances of online writing are leading to the decline of the print media but is there a way that the two can be happy bedfellows?

The introduction of the iPad is being touted as the saviour of the magazine industry by some as magazine content will be available for a price to be read on the iPad (there are iPhone apps available for several magazines at the moment as well). However not all commentators believe this to be the case; detractors such as Paul Michelman for the Harvard Business Review claim that this is far from a reality as they don’t seem to be thinking of the reader but looking only to serve a business model which will look like circulation numbers are improving. By ignoring the reader the numbers will surely only improve to a certain amount and then will no doubt see a downturn again.

I’m not sure what can save the print media, I don’t know if I am archaic for wanting the physical item; magazines, newspapers, books, DVDs, CDs I want the actual thing, not a copy on my computer. I want to hold it, have the case, look at the art work, flick through the pages. It is because of this that I still buy and subscribe to magazines such as Entertainment Weekly (thought the nightmare that I have had with the delivery of this subscription is severely testing my patience- another story to be told one day), Vanity Fair, Vogue, Marie Claire and many others. I like looking at the adverts and reading from cover to cover so I would not be satisfied with a digital copy, but am I that common in this respect, would most just like the digital version?

I think what needs to be done and is definitely being explored by those currently working in this industry is a marriage between the two, so each kind of reader can get what they want, so the quality writers behind publications such as Newsweek can still produce excellent work and so the regular people on Twitter can also have their say. I sincerely hope that Newsweek gets a buyer soon and as Meacham said on The Daily Show, they are still open for business, the magazines doors are still open and I hope that this remains the case for this magazine and many others that are also struggling.

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report: Indecision 2012

More good TV news today, both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been renewed until the end of 2012 (and through to 2013 for The Daily Show). This is a big deal for fans of both shows at it means that they will be covering the 2012 election and the Indecision years have been particularly strong for both shows and for both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert and do see a rise in ratings. It has been referred to as being like an 'Olympic year' for these shows when the election is on and so it makes sense to lock them in now. Also a factor that may or may not have effected this is that Conan O'Brien will be direct competition when his show launches on the TBS network in November. Hopefully this will lead to some more on screen rivalry last witnessed during the writers strike (this is a behind the scenes video of the fight, some pretty funny stuff):

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody! 2010 looks set to be a very exciting year in the TV world and here is my list of what I am anticipating the most:

• The sixth and final season of Lost.
• Mad Men season 4: Cooper, Sterling, Draper, Pryce  
• The return of Chuck: after a great 'Save Chuck' campaign that worked lets hope that this season gets more ratings and helps the show stay on air. Early reviews implicate this as the strongest season yet and it starts with a double this Sunday 10th with another episode on Monday 11th.
• The Pacific on HBO, if it's anywhere near as good as Band of Brothers then this will be terrific (early signs say it is and the trailer is fantastic).
• Friday Night Lights continuing to be awesome and this year without the worry that it will be cancelled.
• Fringe returning strong and not getting cancelled would be nice too.
• The Daily Show and Colbert Report returning this week, I know it hasn't been off the air for too long but I really miss it when it is not on. Also I will be making my first trip to NYC this year so I'm really hoping to watch one of these being taped.

So in anticipation of Chuck returning here is a really good indepth interview that Zachary Levi did with Televisionary (he also quotes from The Little Mermaid which kinda makes me love him more):

Emmy Awards

Highlights of the awards:

-Neil Patrick Harris: After last years hosts were awful it was a welcome relief to have NPH at the reigns and he proved what a good host he was, as many of the stars (including Ricky Gervais and Jon Stewart) of the evening stated. Wish there had been more of him though, they certainly could have cut out the dance number. And even though I don’t watch How I Met Your Mother I thought it was a shame that he didn’t win.

-Michael Emerson winning: As he hadn’t won in previous years I foolishly thought he wouldn’t win this time, but he did and then gave a wonderfully understated acceptance speech.

-The guys who wrote the opening number were as funny accepting awards as they are writing opening number with Community creator Dan Harmon stating that it was ‘just the dumbest, dumbest, ugliest, least-televiseable people you could give an award to.’

-John Hodgman and his made up statements about the winners, my two favourites being:

1. When The Daily Show won best Variety Show: ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is celebrating its 76^th year on air. It began on Comedy Central Radio as Stewart-Brand Chicken-Fat All-Star Fake News Half Hour. This is their 900^th Emmy and frankly that is too much.’

2. When Michael Emerson won best supporting actor: ‘If Michael Emerson weren't on television right now, he would be in New York City, having a fancy cocktail with me. That is, until S. Epatha Merkerson walked into the room, then he'd blow me off. That's a true story.’

-Ricky Gervais being as funny as ever at these awards though I would’ve loved to have seen a Rainn Wilson reaction shot when he called him odd.

-Tina Fey burning her own network in her acceptance speech for best comedy: ‘Thank you for keeping us on air, even though we are so much more expensive than a chat show.’

-The writers of the variety/talk show category listing all the names is always amusing and inventive with Conan’s facebook rejections being my favourite this year.

-The Daily Show winning as it has had a really strong year with the election stuff and the battle with Jim Cramer.

-Mad Men winning: now I was undecided as to which show I wanted to win between Mad Men and Lost as I think both have had very strong years, but I guess they might heap the awards on Lost if the final season is as awesome as season 5. And after seeing Sunday nights episode of Mad Men it really did show what a tremendous programme it is.

Also this years Emmys made me really want to finally get around to watching Breaking Bad and Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog and to actually finish watching season 7 of 24.

It's been a long time

The new TV season is upon us and despite my lack of blogging over the month of August I am excited about several old shows returning and a few of the new starters as well. I will be writing with more consistency (I hope) over the following weeks and months about these shows. The old returners I am looking forward to are; Bones (thought the bones promo below is pretty cool), Fringe, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office (once I have seen season 5- the DVD is on the way as I speak).

I will also be looking at the new season of Mad Men, that has been on for the past few weeks, so far I am enjoying this season and will be writing further on this in the coming week. Oh and I am really looking forward to the return of The Daily Show after the three week hiatus that it has been on, I've been missing my Jon Stewart fix, I'm so glad that the web site has all the old episodes on there to watch.

New starters that have produced an interest include Community (I'm a big fan of Joel McHale, as previous mentions of The Soup will testify), Flash Forward and the new HBO show Bored to Death. Other shows that I am currently catching up on (and need to catch up on) include Damages season 2, 90210 (got to love the trash TV), Dexter, 30 Rock and Harper's Island (I saw the first two episodes the other day and thought it was ok, like watching a long TV horror movie really). Oh and I will finally be catching up with The Sopranos soon as well having only ever seen bits and bobs from each season- though I am totally spoiled for the final episode, which sucks.

So there is plenty for me to be writing about, and I will be tackling many of the above shows in one way or another. See you all soon.

The Daily Show

The Daily Show is on a weeks holiday so instead of new episodes to watch I have taken to the archive on the shows website to watch some classic Daily Show videos which feature old correspondent favourites including Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Ed Helms and Rob Corddry. I can really spend hours getting lost on this site as I didn’t start watching the show until 2005 so I have much to see that I haven’t already. I wrote a paper for my Masters last year on the show and I found myself getting very distracted during the research time by the extensive video collection, I would be watching them in the library and try to stifle my laughter which I forgot to do on many occasions so I think I must’ve looked a little crazy to the other people sitting around me, but it was worth it. I wrote quite a bit on Rob Riggle’s trip to Iraq which was a very good short series that they did, similarly Jason Jones has just has his trip to Iran aired and is definitely worth checking out for both comedy and as a general human interest piece.

This montage of comedians that have visited The Daily Show is what prompted me to go and spend more time than I should in the video vault of The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Old Timers' Day
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

And this is just one of my favourite Steve Carell pieces from his time on The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Satan Laws Are Coming to Town
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

And because I love Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell doing Even Stevphen

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