TVSquad

Tonight, the members of the Television Critics Association (including me) gathered at the Beverly Hilton to give out its annual awards. The membership voted on the awards in the month leading up to the press tour; we were given a number of candidates to choose from in various categories. The membership was also asked to choose recipients for an individual Career Achievement award and the Heritage Award, which recognizes a past show that had a big impact artistically and on the industry.

The members didn't reach back too far for the Heritage Award: it was given to The Wire. As for current shows, the members gave Mad Men a bushel of awards: Program of the Year, Outstanding New Program, and Outstanding Achievement in Drama. 30 Rock won for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, and Tina Fey won the Individual Achievement in Comedy award for her performance. John Adams won the mini-series award; its star, Paul Giamatti, won the Individual Achievement in Drama award. Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live received the Career Achievement award.

A complete list of winners is after the jump.

Talk about a mismatch: Even though there are plenty of people in the press tour audience who fit in The CW's target demographic of women age 18-34, most of the people who seem to grab the microphone and ask questions during most sessions are firmly not in that demo. In fact, their demo could be described as "men, age 35 - infinity." Hearing some of them ask questions of the young stars of 90210, for instance, sounds almost creepy.

That being said, the CW sessions are always good to attend for two reasons: 1) the comedy stylings of communications chief Paul McGuire, and 2) the frustrating non-answers given by CW entertainment president Dawn Ostroff. Both are entertaining in their own way.

Interesting yet - OK, I'll say it - odd piece over at the Los Angeles Times: Are the Emmys out of touch with what most TV viewers watch?

I would I think in some ways, yes, and thank God for that.

The main point of the article (titled "The TV Hit No One Watches") is that a show like Mad Men can garner 16 nominiations (a lot for any show but it's especially impressive for a new show, and a new show that's on cable) but still only average about one million viewers a week. And to this I say "so what?" If the Emmys just nominated/gave awards to American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men, and Grey's Anatomy, wouldn't we be a little ticked off? The fact that shows such as Mad Men, Damages, and Breaking Bad got so many awards is a very, very good thing, for the Emmy voters and viewers alike, because they also happen to be fantastic shows.

Earlier today I did a first take on the Primetime Emmy nominations, sharing with you my first impressions and noting a few surprises. Now, I'm going to finish what I started. Please, share your comments and your opinions about the nominations.

(Part 1 of 7) "Marines! Kill on three! One! Two! Threeeeee....!" - Sgt. Maj. John Sixta

HBO doesn't have much going on right now. They're lacking hits. There are some new favorites out there that have wowed critics, but lack viewers, like In Treatment, Flight of the Conchords, and Tell Me You Love Me. The ruling days of Tony Soprano, Nate Fisher, Carrie Bradshaw, and Al Swearengen are done. Once the fall season starts off, the veteran Entourage will make a welcome return and HBO is also putting a lot of faith in Alan Ball's new drama, True Blood - a vampire saga that is, if you ask me, almost doomed to fail. HBO doesn't exactly have a stellar track record with specialized dramas that demand niche audiences. Regardless, it hasn't slowed them down. HBO Films' last effort John Adams was well received and now comes Generation Kill, based on the book of the same name by Rolling Stone's Evan Wright. I've read it, twice, and it's a damn shame this is only a mini-series because it's the best thing on TV this summer.

The Emmy Awards voting is different than it used to be (more steps in the voting process and a special panel watches episodes and votes after that), and last year the list of the semifinalists was leaked online before it was officially announced. Well, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences don't really want that to happen again, so they've decided to just announce the finalist list itself.

After the jump, the ten comedies and ten dramas that are semifinalists for the Emmy award this year. The list will be knocked down to five (more if there's a tie) once another round of voting is done. The nominees will be announced live on July 17, and we'll have coverage here at TV Squad.

(S01E02) This is what is fun about anthology shows, and why I can never understand why they never do better in the ratings. As much as people bitch about and resist taking a chance on long-form new serialized programs like the '05-'06 trinity of Invasion, Surface and Threshold, you would think they would embrace a series where each episode truly stands alone. With a show like this, your investment into it won't be impacted in any way if the network pulls the plug after only thirteen episodes, or even just four.

And yet, anthology shows tend to struggle even more than heavily serialized fare. In fact, Fear Itself got its ass handed to it by Swingtown in the head-to-head premieres last week. The big question is, with the "not-so-good" nature of the premiere, how many people came back to see this much improved second episode, and how many will stick around for Daniel Knaupf's outstanding episode next week? While last week was a poorly written and acted "monster of the week" boobfest, this time we got a well constructed good old-fashioned haunting.

Hey, they're not the TV Squad Awards, but the TCAs are pretty cool too, and the nominees have been announced.

There are a lot of the usual suspects on the list, of course (though that doesn't mean they're not worthy - they are), including 30 Rock, The Office, Friday Night Lights, and The Wire. It's also great to see Mad Men get so many nominations, including Program of the Year, Best Drama, Best New Show, and a Best Individual Achievement nom for star Jon Hamm. It's interesting to see that Mad Men will go up against another AMC show, Breaking Bad, in the Best New Show category.

Lost is well represented, as are John Adams, Flight of the Conchords, and PBS' The War miniseries. As for The Wire, it's not only up for drama and acting awards, it has also been nominated for the Heritage Award, along with M*A*S*H, Saturday Night Live, Sesame Street, and Roots. Interesting to see such a recent show up for a lifetime award next to classics. The awards will be presented on July 19.

Anything missing from these nominations?

The Wire actor Clark Johnson is going to direct a short film about "masculinity and youth" written by nine New York City students. The film, called Misunderstood, was written by students of the High School of Graphic Communication Arts who won a contest held by Scenarios USA. The group of students consists of juniors and seniors, seven girls and two boys. Clark Johnson was on the committee that chose the winner of the contest. He will begin filming this month with a volunteer crew. Misunderstood is going to premiere this winter and will be "distributed to high schools and community groups across the country, streamed on the Internet and air on TV." However, the article did not include what channel(s) would be airing the short film.

Johnson, who played Gus Haynes on The Wire, directed 2006's The Sentinel. His other directing credits include episodes of FX's The Sheild, one episode of The West Wing, and one episode of NYPD Blue among others.

Quick, what do the following TV shows have in common: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show, M*A*S*H, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson?

Answer: they're not on Empire Magazine's list of the 50 best greatest TV shows of all-time. Let the arguments begin!

I remember seeing a promo for Generation Kill very briefly after the series finale of The Wire, but at the time I didn't think much of it. Which is crazy, really, because the promo clearly states that it's a new mini-series from the creators of The Wire. I should have been psyched but for whatever reason, I sort of just forgot about it. It's not like it's new or anything. David Simon and Ed Burns have been signed on to the project since Februrary of 2007. With the July air-date approaching, I would imagine they've been working on it since The Wire wrapped back in September. I feel like we've heard nothing about it though. Then last week I was in a Barnes & Noble and I saw the book (same title) that the seven part mini-series is based on. I bought it and read it in about 2 days cover to cover. Holy crap was it good.

They've done the right thing at CBS in casting -- at least it seems right. Brooklyn native Rosie Perez will play Lorna, Geena Davis' cop partner on the force in Exit 19. I say it's the right thing, and good casting, because Lorna is supposed to be a Brooklyn girl. You can't get more authentic than Rosie Perez. She's a New Yorker through and through. In Exit 19, with Geena cast as a cop who works in the city while raising two kids in Long Island, the work atmosphere will likely seem a lot more realistic with Perez as her partner. If they can muster up the chemistry of a Cagney & Lacey, they'll be well on their way to a success. Of course, with Rosie all of five feet, one and a half inches and Geena a statuesque six feet, they're going to look like Mutt and Jeff.

Right on the heels of The Wire 's brilliant series finale, HBO and Warner Home Video have announced the release of the fifth and final season on DVD. According to TV Shows on DVD, the set will be released on August 12th. Set to cost $59.99 (you know it'll be cheaper at Amazon), the four disc compilation will also include the two mini-docs that accompanied this season: Odyssey and The Last Word. As with past Wire DVD sets, there will also be a handful of audio commentaries.

That's really all there is to it. Past DVD sets for this show have always been lacking in the bonus features department, but I have to say that I'm surprised there's no mention of the superb prequels that were made before this season premiered. Also missing? The announcement of any sort of "complete" DVD set. Despite the fact that I own seasons 1 through 4 already, I'd still be willing to buy a complete series set with the hope that it would include at least a few additional extras.

It should also be noted that the box art shown at right is only temporary. However, it seems to correspond with the promotional art for season five, so I'd be surprised if it actually changed at all.

Here's another reason to love The Wire. David Simon, the show's executive producer and creator, actually took the time to pen a heartfelt thank you note to all the fans of the recently departed HBO series. The Wire's final episode aired this past Sunday night.

In the lengthy letter, Simon expresses his gratitude to fans for giving such a complicated and layered show a shot, especially considering the way it changed from season to season. He goes on to issue a challenge to all those fans. If there was one thing to be learned from The Wire, it's that there are far too many important issues flying under the radar. Simon writes, "The Wire is about the America we pay for and tolerate. Perhaps it is possible to pay for, and demand, something more." I couldn't agree more.

Despite the cult following the show developed, it never really captured the masses in terms of ratings. If a letter like that doesn't convince you to go back and take a look at The Wire, I'm not sure what will.

(S05E10) "...the life of kings." - H.L. Mencken

History repeats itself. Just like Daniels said, what's the point if one generation is too busy training the next how not to do the job? More than anything, that was the biggest message that came across in the series finale of The Wire. But there was one more too. You always hear the saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it," but over the course of five seasons and sixty episodes of The Wire, David Simon systematically explained why things that are broken don't seem to get fixed either. And now it's over.