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 Pacific: approaching the conclusion

Last night part 9 of The Pacific aired and whilst I really didn't think that it was possible for this mini series to visit darker and more brutal territory it once again raised the bar for the hell that was witnessed and suffered in this war for both those fighting it and those civilians caught in the crossfire. I have not written much about this mini series which is no reflection as to how I feel about it, in fact I intended to write about the completed version of the show, however after yet another superb instalment I feel that it is fair that I begin my appreciation of this extensive series now.

Band of Brothers it is isn't which is not a bad thing. With Band of Brothers we were taken on the tour of Europe with the same company of men throughout and this worked with the type of story they were telling for that show, Band of Brothers is one of my favourite all time programmes so I really did not want The Pacific to be a redraft of this in a South Pacific setting as it would not have done service to those who had fought in this war to rehash the same story twice. Instead we have been shown the journeys of three very different men and how this war was for them and this method of storytelling has been successful overall. At times at the start of the series it felt perhaps too fragmented, especially when Sledge was still at home in Alabama, however with this minor gripe aside I thought this narrative device worked. Where the first half of the series belonged primarily to Leckie (James Badge Dale), the latter half has mostly been Sledge's and this has been exemplified by strong performances by Joseph Mazello as Sledge and his partner in battle Remi Malek as Snafu who week by week have delved in to the madness and desperation of war with utter conviction.

The final instalment looks like it will be focusing on what happens to the men who fought and lived when the war is over, was Sledge's father right to think that his 'soul would be ripped out' by everything that he would see? 

  

Photo courtesy of HBO

The Pacific extended promo

With less than a month to go the promo people over at HBO are working hard to further hype the start of The Pacific. Not that I really need to be further excited as other than the Lost final season this is my most anticipated TV season, I really can not wait and this longer promo shows that the scope of this series will be hopefully just as broad and amazing as Band of Brothers was. Enjoy:

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):

I'm very excited

About this second trailer for The Pacific:

The Pacific

Yesterday the first promo for the new HBO miniseries ‘The Pacific’ hit the internet and it looks like it will be pretty spectacular. Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks once again team up to tell a tale of war in the 1940s and this time as the title states it will be focusing on the war in the Pacific against the Japanese. This is an area of World War II that I know very little about with most of my knowledge being of the European side so this will hopefully fill in some of my historical gaps. Also if it is even half the show of what Band of Brothers was then it will be a good watch. Having seen the trailer (see below) I already get the impression that I will love it, it gave me goose bumps which is always a good sign and once again features actors that I have liked in other roles but who aren’t big names to dominate away from the story. A friend pointed out Joseph Mazzello who played the kid in Jurassic Park is in it as what would appear to be the inexperienced and scared soldier, and a 24 favourite of mine James Badge Dale (played Chase in season 3) plays the hardened soldier who has seen some action. From the trailer it also appears that there are more women in this than Band of Brothers including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s Isabel Lucas.

The Pacific will be airing early next year and with a budget of reportedly $200 million dollars the producers have definitely attempted to rival the scope of Band of Brothers. This is one show that I am definitely anticipating and here is the promo for you to check out: