Monday, July 29, 2013

It's Time, Once Again, Another Award Show!


I don't know about you, but I never truly look forward to award show season. This isn't to suggest that I don't get excited when my favorite album wins a Grammy, or a movie I love gets the coveted Oscar, or when the show that most deserves it gets the Emmy.

And speaking of which, it is of course time for the annual award show and the Internet is already buzzing about the Emmy nominees for this year. A likely major theme for this year's Emmys is the inclusion of online series, two actually, and both come from Netflix - the very successful House of Cards made history by grabbing a nomination, while fan favorite comedy Arrested Development was reborn this year and grabbed a nomination for single picture editing on a comedy.

This is actually big news, as it marks the first time that online content is seen as a player against the small screen of broadcast and cable television. While I haven't seen House of Cards, I did watch the fourth season of AD and loved it.

Also making some good history is HBO's Game of Thrones and FX's American Horror Story: Asylum. Why? For the simple fact that there are few shows that combine good story telling, great costumes, and horror quite like these two shows (at least not in recent years). Just do a search for the red wedding (prepare for spoilers if you don't watch GoT) and you'll see for those who hadn't read the George RR Martin books, they ignited the Internet with shock and surprise.

Which was quite funny, actually.

As a parent, I also like to know which shows I can watch with Handsome and Goddess and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed that most of the animated nominees aren't actually for kids. As an adult, the fact that the long running Simpsons was again nominated (though, not sure why when the show is more miss than hit these days), is great, as is nominations for Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and South Park are equally great.

However, I think the board still thinks animated means 'kids'. Even the non animated shows are truly aimed at kids; Disney's Good Luck, Charlie and Nick's iCarly are really aimed at the preteen set. Remember the days when you could expect to see Sesame Street on the nominee list? The Kung Fu Panda inspired TV show, also offered from Nick and maybe Cartoon Network's Adventure Time and Regular Show were really the only ones aimed at kids.

With that said, there were some really good informational and educational programs on the ballot. I love Myth Busters for the way they combine science, urban legend, and fun into an hour long show and National Geographic's Brain Games is very insightful when it comes to learning what goes on in our brains when we make decisions or do things.

I wish there were more shows like this that made the list; you wouldn't believe how long the list is for reality shows. Why is there even a category for these things? And then we wonder why we're falling behind in education.

2 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you about shows that should make the list. I honestly don't keep up with a single awards show anymore. I used to, but that was years ago when they seemed more like awards show and less like commercials. I am glad that Myth Busters made it and Brain Games, I love both of those shows.

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  2. I wasn't aware of all the great documentary specials/shows nominated! I will have to find them and watch!

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