Saturday, August 13, 2011

AFT Awards: Best Directing for a Drama Series

This is the thirteenth category of the 5th Annual AFT Television Awards, my personal choices for the best in television this past season. For the directing and writing categories, I’ve included only honorable mentions rather than semi-finalists and finalists. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order.

Best Directing for a Drama Series


Last year’s nominees: Breaking Bad (Full Measure), Dexter (Hungry Man), Dollhouse (Getting Closer), Flash Forward (No More Good Days), Mad Men (Shut the Door, Have a Seat)

Emmy nominees: Boardwalk Empire (Pilot), Boardwalk Empire (Anastasia), The Borgias (The Poisoned Chalice/The Assassin), Game of Thrones (Winter is Coming), The Killing (Pilot)

Honorable mentions: Boardwalk Empire (Pilot), Boardwalk Empire (Anastasia), Boardwalk Empire (Paris Green), The Chicago Code (Mike Royko's Revenge), The Closer (War Zone), The Closer (Old Money), Dexter (Teenage Wasteland), Dexter (Hop a Freighter), Game of Thrones (Baelor), The Good Wife (VIP Treatment), The Good Wife (Getting Off), Justified (Brother's Keeper), Justified (Reckoning), The Killing (Missing), Mad Men (The Good News), Mad Men (Waldorf Stories), Mad Men (The Suitcase), Mad Men (Blowing Smoke), Rubicon (Pilot), Undercovers (Pilot)

The nominees:

Boardwalk Empire (Nights in Ballygran)
Game of Thrones (Fire and Blood)
Mad Men (The Beautiful Girls)
Sons of Anarchy (Bainne)

The fifth installment of “Boardwalk Empire” fleshed out its supporting characters and gave them an edge, while the season finale of “Game of Thrones” brought all its most interesting arcs to a fantastic tipping point. “Mad Men” provided one of its most entertaining episodes to date, featuring the rather sinkable Miss Blankenship, and “Sons of Anarchy” offered a moving showcase of a parent’s love for his son.

The winner:

The Walking Dead (Pilot) brought zombies to marvelous life with an innovative and fatalistic series debut.

Next up: Best Writing for a Drama Series

3 comments:

Richter Scale said...

Hey Abe, that episode of Boardwalk Empire you nominated is called "Nights in Ballygran", not Babylon. Ballygran is apparently a town in Ireland, which makes the episode fitting for a St. Patrick's Day episode. Just thought you should know. I also thought it was a fantastic episode from a show that doesn't seem that great to me looking back (I feel it was tailor-made to win Emmys, unlike Game of Thrones, which is why I find it a more compelling nominee). Still, there was a lot about the show that is fantastic.

Great choice of Mad Men episode too. I also thought The Beautiful Girls was one of the best episodes of the season, and so did my parents (I've been buying the Mad Men season and marathoning them with my parents, since we live in Mexico and don't have HBO (which is where they air Mad Men here in Mexico), so that's how they watch it). Definitely a great episode.

Movies with Abe said...

You're catching all my mistakes and typos! Much appreciated though. I also loved "Anastasia," which came close to earning a nod from me.

Anonymous said...

I am confused. Really its very hard to decide.

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