Bob D' Amico / ABC, Mitchell Haaseth, NBC Photo: Chris Haston, ABC/ERIC LIEBOWITZEither I didn't slam enough espresso this morning for my very early morning call and was nodding off while the Golden Globe nominations were announced, or the following should-be shoo-ins were completely left out of the running this year:
• Lost
• Heroes
• Ugly Betty
• Desperate Housewives
• And even...the freaking Office!
Say it with me now: Whaaaaat?!
And what's more, save for acting nods to America Ferrera and Steve Carell, all the actors and actresses from these shows were completely shut out, too. (Get all the deets and the full list of noms in our news stories.)
So, if all of these fan-favorite heavyweights were left out in the cold, who actually managed to make it in?
Turns out, the normally mainstream-minded Hollywood Foreign Press decided to shift its attention to cable this time around, giving multiple nods to such stellar shows as Showtime's The Tudors, FX's Damages, AMC's Mad Men, Showtime's Californication and HBO's Extras.
If you ask me, this surprising cable sweep offers up a pretty poignant commentary on the current state of television and, specifically, the quality (or lack thereof) of freshman network series.
See, Globes voters are notorious for being all about hot new shows—preferably big-buzz and big-audience (read: network) new shows. But this season, the only network newbies voters deemed worthy of attention were Pushing Daisies (God bless that genius show and its three nods for Best Comedy Series and Best Actor and Actress Lee Pace and Anna Friel), Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) and Donald Sutherland (Dirty Sexy Money).
Save for a possible nod for something or someone related to Private Practice (and really...meh), there simply aren't any first-season comedies or dramas that jump to mind as having been royally snubbed. Yes, I love Gossip Girl and Chuck as much as the next guy, but they just aren't the type of shows that normally get taken seriously by awards voters.
Perhaps it's time for the networks to up their A game and get more competitive with cable. And maybe give show runners and writers more creative control, like they have over on the now-lauded cable nets, who appear to be kicking their keisters.
Just a thought.
Now please take a minute to take our poll on this morning's nominations, and don't forget to sound off in our Comments section!