Over the long weekend, I’ve been going through and watching all the submitted Emmy episodes of series I don’t regularly follow. I do keep up with ten of the twelve series nominees on my own, so there wasn’t too much to catch up with in those categories, but it still added up to a lot of hours. My most notable accomplishment was making my way through the whole of Downton Abbey in two days, encompassing both the first season that was considered a miniseries for last year’s awards and the second season that is currently eligible in the drama series categories. It’s a pretty terrific series, full of great drama and great performances. Its classification is definitely going to shake up the drama races. I wasn’t overly impressed with anything else I watched, though I did find the multiple episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Nurse Jackie I screened to be relatively enjoyable. Otherwise, I’ve been spending time watching various installments of Community, Grey’s Anatomy, Harry’s Law, Louie, Nurse Jackie, Saturday Night Live, and Two and a Half Men as necessitated by the nominations. This is a fun annual project, one I might recommend to others with a love for television, a bit of extra time on their hands, and an eagerness to experience what Emmy voters might in the process of voting for each category. I’ll be making detailed predictions in every category with analysis of every nominee, with the first eight categories this week and the remaining ones coming closer to the Emmy ceremony, which airs Sunday, September 23rd. Stay tuned!
3 comments:
I did the same thing with Downton Abbey a few weeks ago, and while I loved the first season, I thought the second season had a lot of issues. Mostly, I thought the time jumps became increasingly awkward (it felt like nothing happened in those periods between episodes) and it bothered me that they couldn't commit to anything, like Matthew losing the use of his legs (when he got those back, I honestly felt cheated). Also, my favorite character from Season 1, John Bates, was made way too passive in the second season, almost to the point of impotence (though I did love his wedding bed scene with Anna). I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the rest of the show, particularly Louie (you should see the rest of the second season of that, it's absolutely brilliant!)
I read your comment on the Best Actor race first and responded there before seeing this. I think season two was more complex and handled more, but I did enjoy the first season more overall. Unlike other dramas currently on the air, no major characters are ever truly vulnerable, but it's also not that kind of show, and it's great to see such a robust and competent ensemble.
Unfortunately, I have to say that "Louie" is not my cup of tea. I only watched the two nominated episodes this year, but it's more than enough for me. It's just not my style. Comedy-wise, I'm all about "House of Lies" this year, and "Parks and Recreation," as usual. I also loved "Girls" and "Veep."
I see. For me Girls is not my cup of tea, and I watched the entire first season. I just find the show incredibly pretentious and the characters are either pathetic or unlikable (some of them are both). While there is some brilliance in the show, it's just not a group of characters I like spending time with (which is also the reason I'm one of the few who doesn't like Arrested Development). Louie, I can relate to him because it's a show about a hard-working single guy, raising his daughters, doing everything right and the universe is constantly dumping on him. It's about a regular guy who lashes out at the world through his comedy and that's something I relate to very strongly, even the show does get pretty weird (that's part of the beauty of it for me).
I do love Veep and Parks and Recreation. Both shows pretty high up on my list, along with Community, The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family. I don't get why critics say the third season has dipped in quality, I still think it's one of the most enjoyable 20 minutes of my week and I still get a laugh out of these characters.
Anyway, it's good to be back, and I'm always game on discussing the Emmys (I never stopped reading this site, I just comment when I feel I can add to the discussion, and the Emmys always provide that opportunity)....
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