Few Surprises at TCA Awards
The winners of the main categories at the Television Critics Association Awards Saturday night should be no surprise to anyone who also keeps an eye on Emmy darlings, because they pretty much mirrored all the shows and actors hogging the hype for Emmy noms.
AMC’s “Mad Men” began their “first-ever” stampede through the awards season with the channel’s first-ever TCA awards for program of the year, outstanding new program and the year’s best drama. On the comedy side, the hot new show of the 2007 Emmys stayed on top. “30 Rock” took home best comedy, and Golden Globe winner and 2008 Emmy nominee Tina Fey was honored for best individual achievement in a comedy.
The miniseries that racked up the nominations earlier in the week, HBO’s “John Adams”, won for best movie, miniseries or special, and its star Paul Giamatti, who was honored for individual achievement in a drama. It’s not hard to see that Giamatti and Fey and their respective shows are the clear front-runners to rack up a ton of gold on Emmy night, and “Mad Men” cannot be overlooked in the brawl for best drama.
The two most interesting wins of the night were not the ones that were for the year, but for their respective impacts on the television biz. One of them, Lorne Michaels, is no stranger to awards and critical acclaim, having created and exec-produced “Saturday Night Live” through most of its’ 32 years on NBC. Even though just having done that would have kept him in high esteem for eternity in Hollywood, a place that has tried (and failed) multiple times to replicate the sketch show’s longevity, he’s also doing “30 Rock” (with Fey), got Conan O’Brien through his rough first couple of years on “Late Night”, and has made a ton of SNL spinoff movies that will live in DVD players forever.
However, the second winner has not had the same fate as Michaels’ mainstay. HBO’s “The Wire” received the Heritage Award, which recognizes a long-standing program that has had a lasting cultural or social impact. The drama, which recently ended its five-season run, has had only two Emmy nominations, including one this year for best writing in a drama series. The show has always been a darling for critics, who held the banner for the crime drama along with its hardcore legions of fans. In a sense, honoring “The Wire” also recognizes creator David Simons, who also wrote and directed another much-beloved-and-overloooked “Homicide: Life on the Street”.
One last note — the awards ceremony was introduced by the Smothers Brothers. A nice touch in a year when we just lost another TV rabble-rouser in George Carlin.
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