This morning the Emmy nominations were announced, and they were nothing super surprising. It had the usual nods to past-their-prime yet popular series and the requisite nod to one or two new cult shows.Best Drama:
Boardwalk Empire
Friday Night Lights
Dexter
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men
I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not that "Justified" didn't sneak in there. While the performances were phenomenal, sometimes the story meandered and the female distractions on the show of the Winona variety didn't help. I am thrilled "The Walking Dead" didn't get a nod. Visually stunning, it just doesn't have the writing or acting to back it up. I don't quite get all the love for this show as it's always seemed cliche and bland to me.
Best Comedy:
Modern Family
30 Rock
Glee
The Office
The Big Bang Theory
Parks and Recreation
Yeah, I'm pretty ticked about the "Glee" nomination. I don't know what Emmy's problem is, but they seem to handle drama pretty well while having a hard time with comedy. They often repeatedly honor shows way past their prime which makes me feel like they don't even watch the shows regularly. "Community" and "Cougar Town" should be a slam dunk in this category. The inclusion of "Glee" over "Community" is, in my humble opinion, unforgivable. Kudos on the "Modern Family" love, though. I already foresee it winning again, as it should. It's one of the most consistent shows on this list.
Drama Actress:
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Mireille Enos, The Killing.
I don't know who Mariska Hargitay is sleeping with to keep getting nominated every year. Probably the awards whore Tony Shaloub did. Anna Torv from "Fringe" should have taken that spot. Like John Noble, she ably handles two very different roles, displaying fantastic range. I'm really happy to see January Jones left out this time. After "X-Men: First Class," I'm convinced she, unlike Torv, does not have much range in her acting skills. I'm already predicting Margulies takes the award.
Comedy actor:
Steve Carell, The Office
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Louis C.K., Louie
Johnny Galecki, Big Bang Theory
Drama actor:
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Timothy Olyphant, Justified.
Nothing too bizarre here. In fact, were these practically the same nominations for the Golden Globes? No complaints on my part.
Comedy actress:
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Laura Linney, The Big C
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly.
Supporting drama actor:
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age
John Slattery, Mad Men
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified.
While I don't think he had that much to do this year, I am beyond thrilled that Walton Goggins got a nomination. In some small way, it sort of kind of eases the pain of all the years he didn't get recognized for "The Shield." He owns any scene he's in and a nomination is well deserved. John Noble from "Fringe" should have been nominated, but I'm not entirely sure who to take off.
Supporting comedy actor:
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Chris Colfer, Glee
I'll admit, I held out hope that Nolan Gould, the boy who plays Luke on "Modern Family" would get a nom. His comedic timing and delivery are perfect and he's often my favorite part of each episode. In lieu of him, I'm still cheering for Ty Burrell. He could split his own vote, though, considering all the (absolutely deserved) nominations for "Modern Family." Either Danny Pudi or Donald Glover from "Community" should have taken a spot. With so many standard sitcom characters around (the doofus, the horndog, the bimbo, the precocious kid), those two make a unique sitcom that much better with truly one-of-a-kind characters.
Supporting comedy actress:
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Jane Lynch, Glee
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Wow, they really dug deep for some nominations for this category and yet they still missed Busy Phillips' hilarious performance on "Cougar Town." She could have been the one-dimensional, stereotypical bimbo but she turns that character into so much more.
Supporting drama actress:
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Margo Martindale, Justified
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men.
I think there would have been riot if Martindale wasn't nominated. Furthermore, I think there might be a riot if she doesn't win. She was in a league of her own this year. I had no idea she could do what she did in making the truly terrifying mama bear of the Bennett clan.
As for the miniseries categories, it's really hard to take them seriously. I'm not saying there aren't worthy miniseries, but there are so few each year that they all get nominated because that's all there is to choose from.
Overall, I'd say the "Community" snubs bother me the most. I'd be okay if there was one or two noms just to acknowledge how great the underrated comedy is, but it was overlooked entirely. The Busy Phillips snub annoys me too, mainly because a lot of the actual nominees are in no way handing in better performances than her. The nomination that makes me the happiest is Walton Goggins for "Justified." It's nice to see a show sneak in there that doesn't have a rabid fan base like "Glee" to help put it in the public eye.
Okay, I lied. The snub that bothers me more than anything else is "Southland." 
Great cable shows without huge cult fanbases often get forgotten, but that doesn't mean they weren't great. Shawn Hatosy put in one of the best performances in drama television this year as Sammy Bryant, aka the detective having the worst year ever. Michael Cudlitz also stepped it up, portraying what could have been a one-note, gruff cop stereotype. Unlike "Community," it seems like the professional critical community forgot about "Southland" as well, despite more and more applauding it during its run.
At the end of the day, every year it's the same thing - I feel like the people voting in the Emmys barely watch TV.
The Emmys are this Sunday and I'm actually happy with the nominations. Well, happier than I've been in past years. Since lists of nominees are posted all over the Internet, I'm just going to list the categories I'm going to comment on.
There's a LOT of hate for this character, even more than the hate for everyone else on this show. I think most of it stems from a general hatred out there towards Teri Hatcher for some reason. I'd like to clarify that I don't even like Susan Meyer - in fact, she irritates me quite a bit when her neurotic side takes over (which is, let's face it, often). But I also find her neurotic disposition and gossipy lifestyle to be painfully realistic sometimes. These qualities are exaggerated for comic effect, but I think there are plenty of people in the real world who are just as annoying. People get really nasty about this character because of lots of reasons that combine into one giant force of annoying. Lots of people hate Teri Hatcher. Lots of people love to hate "Desperate Housewives," since it's cool to bash it and try to make yourself look smart and superior. Lots of people hate Susan because she's silly, clumsy, and immature. Some complaints on this subject are warranted, but it shouldn't take the nasty form it often does.
I put this one low on the list because it's a rather dated reference by now. Luke is a good example of character assassination because the writers demanded it but didn't bother to make it realistic at all. After Luke and Lorelai finally got together, the writers decided they needed obstacles, so they threw in Luke's long-lost daughter April, a lispy precocious young teen who drove a wedge between the couple. As that season progressed, Luke became more and more distant as he kept Lorelai and April apart for no reason whatsoever leading Lorelai to eventually explode and run into her ex's arms. While I hated Luke during the season or two he became even more crotchety than normal, I think the hatred by a lot of fans was unfair. His change in personality was out-of-character and completely contrived. It was the kind of personality change where it takes you out of the show to the point where you can hear the writers pondering "hmmm....should we bother giving them an organic conflict that leads to a satisfying resolution and deepens their relationship? Nah, let's just make Luke act like an ass so we can have fun with Christopher again! We already know Luke and Lorelai will end up together at the end of the series, so let's not bother worrying about things like consistent characterization."
People really started to hate Mohinder. I might be a little biased in my opinion since I had a major crush on him and I stopped watching the show for a while when he finally got more storyline, but I still think he was unfairly reviled. To lots of people, he came off as preachy and ineffective. But he was one of the only people on the show with no powers, the cast of the show was huge and he wasn't given enough screen-time to flesh out his character, and the brief arc where he was pals with Sylar (when he didn't know it was Sylar) certainly didn't do him any favors. Now, I missed the storyline of him getting his own powers somehow, so maybe it was awful and he deserved the hatred for that, but a lot of the hate was spewed before that season and I just felt really bad for him.
Grace is the type of character you either like and enjoy or find grating and dislike. She's the standard neurotic, flustered female you get on a sitcom. This definitely falls under the category of "if you loathe the main character, why are you watching this show?" "Will & Grace" is a sitcom - you're pretty much ensured this kind of character. I feel like the kind of people who go around talking about how much they hate a character like Grace are the kind of people who feel like they have some sort of obligation to humanity to convince everyone that the show sucks as much as they think it does, even though every person is completely free to watch or not watch depending on how they feel on the subject.
Once again, you know what you're getting into with a sitcom - wacky characters. I'm in the camp of people who love Jack. But I can understand where some people are coming from in hating him. He's played as a stereotype and a lot of the humor on "Will & Grace" comes from stereotyping. But once again, it's a sitcom. Almost every sitcom has some sort of stereotypical character. I don't see people up in arms over "Glee" reinforcing stereotypes of drama queens and gay characters, yet I know "Will & Grace" received plenty of criticism for this. The way I see it, it was a groundbreaking sitcom still held back by a time period of considerable homophobia. And while the characters were often stereotypes, they were also endearing, funny, heartwarming, and compassionate friends. Jack may have been a stereotype, but he was not a negative character by any means.
This is just a character that lots of people don't like. But since she's the star of the show, complaints about Meredith often lead me to wonder once again, "then why are you watching the show?" Many people hate the voiceover device. I like it when used well but I don't mind it so much to the point of hatred even if it's vague and adds nothing to the show. Physically, Ellen Pompeo isn't a stunner and I do have a hard time imagining guys fighting over her. She's like primetime TV's version of Bella Swan (although that may be a bit too harsh. Okay, extremely harsh). And personality-wise, she isn't the most fun either. But I find her to be a realistic character in the way her dark and twisty-ness comes out. She complains about legitimate things most of the time - like her issues with her mother's affair, her father's abandonment, and all sorts of other family trauma. She's not the most immediately likeable character, but I think there's something human about her in that, once you get to know her, her eccentricities make sense and her dark attitude becomes justified. Also, I give "Grey's Anatomy" and Meredith major points for allowing the character to change and evolve over the years. Meredith isn't still doing the same dark and twisty routine she did in early seasons. She's married, she's matured, and dealt with many of her childhood traumas. She's got a good relationship with Lexie and her marriage to Derek is surprisingly - dare I say it? - healthy.
This one might be pretty controversial for "Chuck" fans. I was by no means a fan of Shaw, but I think this is another case of The Powers That Be influencing the narrative negatively. I could understand just not liking him - Brandon Routh is like handsome cardboard. And I could understand not liking him for coming between Sarah and Chuck. And maybe it's my own opinion, but I never felt like Shaw was that big a threat. Romantically with Sarah, he never had the same charm and magnetism that Bryce Larkin did. I knew that he was thrown in to give Chuck and Sarah another obstacle, I knew that Sarah was afraid of getting involved with Chuck and afraid of what Chuck was becoming so she might find solace in fellow spy Shaw, and I knew that Chuck and Sarah would end up together anyway. So yes, I understand he wasn't a likeable character, but I think people went way overboard with how much they despised him. I think this backlash was more from the Shipper fans, who couldn't stand to see anyone come between Chuck and Sarah. (Oh, and to note: this was my attitude before he became the finale villain and killed Chuck and Ellie's father. Then we were supposed to loathe him. I'm talking about the period before, when we were supposed to accept him as a team member. Later, I loved-to-hate him since he gave us some epic Chuck vs. Shaw action).
Poor Freema had a very tough position. She had to follow the beloved Rose Tyler played by Billie Piper. She was also saddled with a forced crush on the Doctor that was, of course, not going to end well. In retrospect, she gets an even worse rap since people adored Donna Noble as played by Brit comedian Catherine Tate. One of the biggest disadvantages Freema had was being an unknown. While unknown to us US viewers, both Billie Piper and Catherine Tate were already famous before being cast as companions and therefore already had solid fan bases. Freema didn't get this luxury and ended up with an uphill battle to win fan support. I personally think Donna is as overrated as it gets. People loved her habit of "knocking the Doctor off his high horse, calling him on his mistakes, and generally keeping him grounded." I hated her habit of being an annoying bitch most of the time. (She had her highlights though. I actually really loved her in "Partners in Crime" and "Turn Left.") Martha was smart, driven, and an asset to the Doctor. It was about time to have a companion who wasn't a doe-eyed worshipper of the Doctor, but Martha wasn't the fluttery preteen-like fangirl that many "Doctor Who" fans make her out to be. If nothing else, I think she should get major points for being gorgeous. Not to be entirely shallow, but she did have redeeming qualities on a purely physical level! (And now that I sound like a lesbian creeper....on to number one!)
The inspiration for this list. It's a little late coming since most of the hatred was released in the wake of her death as people everywhere declared "good riddance." Me, I could never understand why people hated or even just didn't like her. I loved her with Dexter and loved seeing how he became a better person when he was with her. Most, if not all, of the complaints came from Rita's purported "nagging" of Dexter. Apparently people think a wife should be perfectly fine with her husband being gone at all hours of the night or gone on secret trips, even if he's had a history of leaving you for another woman amidst a heroin addiction. What a pain in the ass, a woman wanting to know where the man she loves is! What a nagging bitch, asking you to commit to your family! I wasn't thrilled when she got killed off and hope her character gets a proper send-off on-screen, since many "Dexter" fans celebrated her off-ing. Rest in peace, Rita. 
I'm going to get right down to it. The revelation of the Sideways world as purgatory. More than that, it seemed to be more purgatory from Jack's point of view as it all went on. Everything that happened on the Island was real, Sideways world was not. This disappointed me immensely, and not just because it was what everyone sort of predicted in the beginning. It was almost like they went down the list of cliche series endings and said, "hmmm, well people really hate the 'it was all a dream' scenario. What's the next best thing? They all died!" I'll let that slide for the most part. If they had all died in the initial plane crash? That would have been unforgiveable. But I hated this reveal for a number of reasons. 
Thanks for the memories, "Lost." You were never an obsession of mine, but you made the Top Ten list consistently. Now we just have to deal with all the annoying people asking what show is going to be the next "Lost." Which, I think, is unfair to any promising shows with great potential as people will assess it in terms of the "Lost" greatness formula. And no, none of them will be the next "Lost" because "Lost" is unique. But in terms of phenomenon, I'm sure something will come along in the near future. Who knows, what with "Glee" being renewed for a second and third season, maybe everyone will get onboard with that and people over the age of 23 will be head over heels about it. Or something amazing will come to HBO or Showtime or some other cable network that will have the creative vision and ingenuity to take the nation and world by storm. (I'm hoping for the latter.) 