Emmy Reboot
The nominations for this year’s Emmys are out, and Brothers & Sisters is … um, up for exactly the same awards as last year: Casting, Supporting Actress (Rachel Griffiths), and Lead Actress (Sally Field). Not to take away from our beloved Sarah and Nora at all, but … has anybody noticed that there are many other very fine actors at work here? I guess that’s what casting’s all about.
According to a post on the Television With Pity forum, Griffiths picked “Domestic Issues” for her submission (and rightly so, because it was by far her best episode in a season where she was underused), and Field submitted “History Repeating,” I guess for her passionate pleading with her junkie son to go on drugs again. Not my fave, but I suppose it’s gotta lotta Big Drama.
Casting competition is Damages, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, and The Tudors. Other Drama Supporting Actress contenders are Candice Bergen (Boston Legal), Dianne Wiest (In Treatment), and Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy). Other Drama Lead Actress contenders are Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Glenn Close (Damages), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) and Holly Hunter (Saving Grace).
Boy, with the exception of Hargitay, that Lead Actress race looks like it could have been an Oscar ballot from about ten years ago, doesn’t it? I don’t know whether to feel cheered that TV’s offering big chewy roles to great actresses, or sad that the movies aren’t.
One interesting tidbit: The two character names from Brothers & Sisters are listed as Nora Holden-Walker and Sarah Walker-Whedon. Are they really hyphenates on the show?
Brothers and Sisters, Emmys, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths
July 18th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
The Emmy voters have become enamored of “movie stars”. If you’ve done movies and then lower yourself to work in little ole TV then the TV people just want to bask in your wonderfulness.
Look at the nominees, especially in the guest star category. They are all movie stars. Someone who is a talented TV performer doesn’t have a chance. I guess TV people don’t respect themselves enough to appreciate the non-film actors. At least Danny Glover wasn’t nominated, although he did make the final ten. Does anyone really think he was even trying in him B&S performance?
I think Sally Field is wonderful as Nora but she’s definitely not a “lead” and would not get that nomination if she wasn’t a “movie star”.