Written by Charlie Mihelich

Primetime Emmy nominations were announced today, and HBO’s miniseries “John Adams” is atop the list with 23 (23!) freakin’ nominations.  “30 Rock” followed with 17 nominations.

HBO is once again the most nominated network with 85 nominations, followed by ABC with 78.  “30 Rock”, however, just established a record for nominations for a single series, just beating out “The Larry Sanders Show”.

All of this just proves that the Emmys are the neglected stepchild of the Oscars.  There are just an overwhelming number of categories for an overwhelming number of trivial, insignificant segments of television production.  It was a HUGE deal when “The Return of the King” was nominated 11 times back in 2004, but for this years Emmys you have THREE shows with more than 15 nominations each.  Several of “30 Rock”’s nominations are for best work by a guest actor, for instance, so while those nominations are attributed to the series, they really have nothing to do with the core show.  “John Adams”, “30 Rock”, and “Mad Men”.  Which one sticks out like a sore thumb?  “John Adams” and “Mad Men” are the result of years of hard work and ingenuity, while “30 Rock” is (I’m probably going to get flamed for this) the epitome of hackery.  The jokes are sophomoric and easy, and not in a good way.

Even more unforgivable is when certain shows get overlooked, despite (once again) the MASSIVE amount of categories.  What wasn’t nominated?  “The Wire”, which was HBO’s best show of the last five years, and “Friday Night Lights”, the little ensemble drama that could, which has maintained a high standard of quality despite struggling in the ratings competition.  These are tough to understand, seeing as it’s so easy to get nominated for an Emmy, all you need to do is buy 14 seconds of airtime and show Ellen Burstyn in a hospital bed, and she’ll be lead contender for “Best Actress in a Flashback Under 30 Seconds”.

So here we are.  Another year, another popularity contest.  Despite sharing the category with “The Office”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Two and a Half Men” and “Entourage”, “30 Rock” will probably win best comedy, not because it is the “best” comedy, but because Tina Fey is a TV darling and because it has 17 nominations.  If it doesn’t win, it will be called an upset, despite the fact that it just isn’t as good as the other contenders (except “Two and a Half Men”, I guess).

So tune in September 21^st to watch a grueling competition to see what production company can slap “Emmy Award Winning” on their 20-second promo, which obviously makes their show more watchable.  Just remember that “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” won an Emmy.  You remember that.