Thought 1 -- Emmy must love ambiguity, because HBO's mob drama "The Sopranos" raked in 15 nominations, despite its hotly debated series finale. As someone who has accepted the finale as an appropriately messy denouement to this smart, often frustrating show, I'm pleased by that. Because, "fade to black" ending aside, the series' final season was quite good, and it does deserve Emmy love.
Thought 2 -- Emmy doesn't love ambiguity that much, because it failed to recognize two of the best performances of the year -- Michael C. Hall's on Showtime's "Dexter" and Walton Goggins's on FX's "The Shield." I go into more detail about this in my column, so I'll keep it brief. Yes, both these guys play characters who, on the surface, are quite creepy. Hall's Dexter Morgan is a cop who moonlights as a serial killer. Goggins' Shane Vendrell is a corrupt cop who, this season, moonlighted as a leg man for some Armenian mobsters.
But creepiness aside, these two rock. Give them love, Emmy!
Thought 3 -- Emmy loves Brits, because Ricky Gervais got a nod for his work on "Extras" and Minnie Driver was honored for her performance on "The Riches."
Thought 4 -- Emmy doesn't love Brits, because it snubbed Driver's "Riches" co-star, the awesome Eddie Izzard.
Thought 5 -- Congratulations Lauren Graham. You offered us seven seasons worth of great performances on "Gilmore Girls," yet failed to garner a single Emmy nomination. That must satisfying.
Thought 6 -- I was initially happy that Kevin Dillon got a nomination for playing Johnny Drama on "Entourage." But then I realized -- he's essentially playing himself. I've never been a big fan of actors getting awards for playing themselves (e.g. Larry David, Bernie Mac, Jerry Seinfield). Still, I love Dillon/Drama and want him to do well. So I'm conflicted.
Thought 7 -- I'm incredibly hard to please and will never, ever, look at a list of Emmy nominations without complaining. But I still feel like the Academy should try harder to make me happy.
Perhaps this is unreasonable.