CONFESSIONS OF A TV JUNKIE: The Emmy's

"Television enables you to be entertained in your home by people you wouldn't have in your home." - David Frost

It's the red-headed stepchild, the black sheep, the "lesser" medium. And yet, most people have watched enough TV to tell you the names of the six Friends, who shot J.R., or maybe even who last won American Idol. Television is a part of almost everyone's daily life. We used to schedule our days around our favorite programs. Now our programs are available to us whenever and wherever we want them. It's a new day for our friend, Television.

And yes, I love television.

Oh, I've heard it before - "There's nothing good on TV." "It's all trash, reality programs, bad soap operas and crappy sitcoms." Let me tell you, people who say these things are wrong. I also don't believe it when they say they don't watch TV. When someone says they don't watch television, it means they don't watch the shows everyone else is watching. Someone said this to me recently and then proceeded to tell me how horrible South Park is. How would you know this if you don't watch TV?

This is my little spot on MovieWeb.com, where I hope to entertain you and in rare instances educate you about what's new and exciting in the TV world. I'll comment on the major television news stories, the ratings, the shows, the good, the bad, the Anna Nicole Smith...okay, maybe not the last one so much.

I hope you'll join me every day for a look into the world of TV. Friday's will be a day for longer commentary and reflection. And I'll always have room for reader questions and feedback. I want to make this an interactive column.

If you love television as much as I love television, I think you'll find yourself at home here. We may not always agree with which shows we love or hate, but we can agree that there is always something good on TV.

Emmy Nominations

We were promised a better representation of the best of television with their 'new and improved' nomination process. What we got on Thursday morning was a list of nominations which looked about four years old. There are some pretty egregious omissions - Battlestar Galactica's campaign did not pan out, Hugh Laurie got snubbed for Peter Krause and Martin Sheen, the entire cast of 'Lost' was snubbed (and the show itself isn't nominated!) All of the Desperate Housewives were ignored this year too -- but whether this is an oversight or not is up for debate. Alfre Woodard, on the other hand, does get a nom for her stint on the show. How I Met Your Mother, Everybody Hates Chris and The New Adventures of Old Christine get overlooked for noms in the comedy category. So much for 'new blood'.

No James Gandolfini or Edie Falco. No Omar Epps (which is a crime really) for his supporting role on 'House'. Last year's Emmy winner Patricia Arquette is MIA from the list this year. Cancelled shows were embraced warmly - Arrested Development, Commander in Chief, The West Wing, Will & Grace were given many nominations, while popular new shows like Prison Break, How I Met Your Mother, and My Name is Earl were mostly left out in the cold.

The good things: Gregory Itzin gets a nod for 24 (he's the guy who played the President -- well deserved, in my opinion). Jean Smart got a nomination for her role in '24' also, but I rather expected hers. Chandra Wilson, one of the best parts of Grey's Anatomy gets recognized, and Kyra Sedgwick gets to go head to head with Geena Davis for the Emmy which should be interesting. I pick her as the upset of the night.

For the full list of Emmy nominations, visit the official Emmy.tv site.

See you next week with the news, Nielsens, and Deal or No Deal. Seriously, why is that show oddly fascinating?

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