04EMMYNODS

"ANGELS" ON THE HORIZON

     The angel of mercy is about to make its way to the land of the Emmy Awards. This is the final year for many of today’s top shows to be in contention. With "Friends," "Frasier," and "Sex & The City" saying good-bye this year and "The Sopranos" being in-eligible next year, the ’05 awards will literally be a whole new ball game. What shows will make their way into the coveted Emmy morning announcement? That’s another story for another day.
     Today’s story is the impressive twenty-one nominations for HBO’s mini-series "Angels In America." The premium channel, as usual, dominated the nominations earning well over one hundred of them. The network’s pair of aces also swept the competition as "The Sopranos" and "Sex & The City" raked in twenty and eleven nominations, respectively. For the first time since the show’s debut season, it seems "The Sopranos" may finally capture that elusive Best Drama statue. With "The West Wing" only receiving twelve nods and having a less than stellar season, anything can happen.
     On the comedy front, Mr. Monk proved he’s not a one hit wonder as Tony Shaloub, last year’s winner, picked up a second consecutive nomination. Last year’s "Best Comedy" winner "Everybody Loves Raymond," also roared back into contention with nine nominations. HBO’s sleeping giant "Curb Your Enthusiasm" also kept its Emmy streak alive with eight nods.
     Alas there was also some new blood this year as FOX’s "Arrested Development" stole seven nominations. The critically acclaimed but ratings challenged show was renewed for a second season, much to the applause of those few who actually watch the show. Myself being one of them, believe me when I say it really is the best comedy your not watching.
     CBS also walked away a winner on nomination morning as freshman show "Joan Of Arcadia," picked up three nods. The show and its lead Amber Tamblyn received recognition, despite dwindling ratings towards season end. HBO also received some added good news as its heir apparent to "The Sopranos" received a number of nominations. "Deadwood" picked up eleven nominations including two for its supporting cast. The only other surprise of the morning was Ray Romano getting bumped in the Best Comedy Actor category for the late John Ritter. Ritter’s posthumous nomination delighted many in Hollywood as his presence is sorely missed.

The awards show will air on September 19^th .

    It is a rare occasion when one can leave an award telecast and actually be satisfied. It has yet to happen with an Emmy ceremony. Over the years they've got a few things right, but have managed to for the most part completely botch the overall show. All of that changed this year. For once, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences got it right. Interesting enough the big stories went on behind the scenes and bared some secrets you may not have even heard. That is until now………
Let's start off with the tributes. The Academy decided to pay tribute to many celebrities this year. Included in that group was the late John Ritter, who was awarded a nomination for his role in “8 Simple Rules.” Emmy secret #1: The cast of “8 Simple Rules” were a no-show at the event as they were reportedly not invited to attend. The group instead watched the show at one of their houses and paid tribute to Ritter in their own way. While he lost the award, he was mentioned by category winner Kelsey Grammar. With this being the last year for many popular shows, the Emmy decided to pay tribute to Grammar and his on-screen brother David Hyde Pierce. While the show was not nominated this year, the awards for the comedy's stars were enough to help make “Frasier” the most honored comedy in Emmy history. The show had previously set an Emmy record by winning the best comedy category for five consecutive years.
    With all the video packages honoring the stars we lost last year and (to the pleasant surprise of many) a nod to all the great shows we have lost over time; one video went missing. Emmy secret #2: The Barbara Walters Tribute. The Academy had decided to honor Walters, who has done so much for this industry. With her announcing the end of her run on “20/20,” the tributes began pouring in for the veteran newswoman (and rightly so!). Although as announced on “The View,” Barbara Walters was scheduled to announce the Best Mini-Series Emmy after a short video tribute to her twenty-five years on “20/20.” Yet that didn't quite happen. Due to many speeches going over the time limit, the show had to be rushed and the tribute was cut. While Ms. Walters never got her tribute on the Emmy telecast, everybody at Flickscentral.com would like to thank her for twenty-five years of service. Granted I am the only person at Flickscentral.com, but still she deserves praise for all of her hard work.
    Emmy Secret #3: The reality show “presenters” were really kept in the dark until the award was announced. While some said the whole segment was fake, the truth is that both presenters were real people believing they were auditioning for a new reality show. Both of the “contestants” had links to the reality show “Extreme Makeover” and the plan was hatched while host Gary Shandling was taping his opening bit on the “Makeover” set.
    Of course the biggest surprise of the night was “Arrested Development” winning three statues during its rookie year. It is virtually un-heard of for a show to win the Emmy for Best Show during its first year out, especially for a comedy. Many argue “The Sopranos” should have won the award for Best Drama during its first year, but it didn't get its due until last night. Season 5 proved to be successful for the mob drama and it will have to tide over fans of the series until 2006, which is when the sixth and final season will run.
     That factoid leads in the fourth and final Emmy Secret. Emmy Secret #4: What did James Gandolfini try to say at the end of the telecast? As they rushed “The Sopranos” crew off the stage at the show's end, James Gandolfini tried to make his own statement only to be cut off at the microphone. In fact, all the 3 time Emmy winner wanted to do was thank the troops overseas and wish them a safe return. But what led to that well-wish is what has a back-story. It turns out one of the units stationed over in Iraq named their tank “Stugots” after Tony Soprano's boat on the “The Sopranos” series. Apparently the crew of the ship caught some flack for its name and its TV origins and Gandolfini just wanted to thank them for the kind thought, no matter what the consequences were.
    So with another ceremony behind us, it bears mentioning that next year's ceremony should be the best yet. With four of today's top shows not eligible for the gold next year, a huge group of new entrants will be brought into Emmy elite inner-circle. It's about time there was a changing of the guard and if this year was any indication of what's to come, then the Emmys may gain back some of their lost luster.