More on the Emmy rule change

Okay, we’ve blogged about this before, but it’s a dark week, and I’m (not surprisingly) still riled up about this. Tom O’Neil’s Gold Derby over at the L.A. Times did what I think is a pretty good article on why the Emmy category elimination is so ridiculous. From Gold Derby (internal links omitted):

Emmy rule change snubs Tina Fey, Hugh Jackman and Jon Stewart

The fact that the Emmys killed off the category for variety performers means that “three of the major highlights of an otherwise relatively dreary TV season” will be snubbed, according to our forums moderator Robert “Rob L” Licuria (AwardsHeaven.net).

He cites Tina Fey‘s portrayal of Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live,” Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscars and Jon Stewart‘s battle with CNBC star Jim Cramer on “The Daily Show.” Gold Derby already dished the Stewart/Cramer snub in another blog post, but let’s explore it further plus other snubs while discussing this rule change in more detail.

. . .

Rob’s take on the new Emmy situation is as follows:

    OK, this is how I see it:

    1.) Variety, music or comedy (“VMC”) series and/or specials have their own directing category, writing category, and even things like lighting direction and costume categories, but they no longer have an individual performance category for what is arguably the most important aspect of variety programming — the performances!

. . .

Read the full post here

I don’t think I would have included Hugh Jackman’s hosting gig in the list, but I totally agree with the criticisms contained in the article. (Note: This is nothing against Hugh Jackman, I just didn’t feel we saw him do much aside from an opening number. The critics who loved him seemed, by and large, to have been there to see him entertain during the commercial breaks, but I didn’t have that.) It just boggles the imagination that hosts of the shows, the ones whose images are most closely associated — rightly or wrongly — with a show’s success or failure, can’t actually be eligible for a trophy for their performances. Especially if reality television hosts get statues.

Comments

  1. Gaia Faye says:

    It still just absolutely kills me that Stephen has no chance at getting recognized as an individual performer, but reality show hosts do.

    Whiskey tango foxtrot, people.

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  2. Kongming says:

    Jon and Stephen should host the Emmys together. Heck, even the Academy Awards!

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  3. laughing at nothing says:

    I blame this on Ryan Seacrest!

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  4. vigwig says:

    Technically Stephen Colbert is NOT a host, he plays a character named “Stephen Colbert” in a tv series, he should be eligible to win “best actor” for best tv comedy/sitcom series. Perhaps he should change his character’s name to Alex Baldwin. ;)

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    • MaryLovesColbert says:

      That’s a really good point. He IS playing a character, so he should be technically eligible for the best actor category.

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  5. Caitlin says:

    WHOA WHOA WHOA Reality TV hosts can get an Emmy? Excuse me, but *bleep* that! Stephen and Jon and Conan have more deserving performance material in their little fingers than all reality hosts have in their entire bodies combined!

    This is exactly why the Emmys should go ON NOTICE!

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  6. Laaaura says:

    I’m just so confused about WHY the emmys would eliminate that category. WTF, yo!?

    I just read the whole article and…
    “9.) And to add insult to injury, hosts and co-hosts of reality series and reality-competition programs still have their own special category! So, for instance, Heidi Klum can actually be up for an individual Emmy for appearing in “Project Runway” for five minutes per episode, but Tina Fey gets nothing for her history-changing impersonations of Sarah Palin.”

    So. Effed. Up.

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  7. MaryLovesColbert says:

    I agree with everyone who said it’s ridiculous that reality TV hosts can get an award, but Jon and Stephen can’t. So very, very ridiculous.

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  8. lvtcr says:

    Get out the pitchfork and sharpener–let’s go get the Emmys! C’mon! If the Nation can get a space node named, it can surely bombard the emmy overseers who make these changes with…wags of our fingers!? :)

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  9. bipolypesca says:

    I want… to e-mail… the Emmys… SO. BAD! Please, please, please let Stephen go off about this next week and give us somewhere to go to log our complaints by the thousands!

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