AFTERTHOUGHTS (17)

17.1 Well, this year’s Emmys have all been given out, and I’d just like to say “Congratulations” to the following for their well-deserved wins:

79th Annual Academy Awards
Outstanding Art Direction for Variety, Music or Nonfiction Programming (J. Michael Riva, Production Designer; Gregory Richman, Art Director; Tamlyn Wright, Art Director)
Outstanding Music Direction (William Ross, Music Director)

Battlestar Galactica
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series (“Exodus, Part 2”)

Dexter
Outstanding Main Title Design (Eric Anderson, Creative Director; Josh Bodnar, Editor; Lindsay Daniels, Designer; Colin Davis, Main Title Producer)
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (Elena Maganini, Editor)

Entourage
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Jeremy Piven)
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour) and Animation (“One Day in the Valley”: Steve Morantz, C.A.S., Production Mixer; Dennis Kirk, Re-Recording Mixer; Mark Fleming, Re-Recording Mixer)

Family Guy
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Steve Fonti, Storyboard Artist: “No Chris Left Behind”)

Lost
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Terry O’Quinn)

South Park
Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) (“Make Love, Not Warcraft”)

In his acceptance speech, Terry O’Quinn said, “Sometimes when we’re hitting each other and stabbing each other and shooting each other and they’re pouring blood and turning on the sprinklers, I wonder what it would be like to bake a sheet of cookies on Wisteria Lane and get one of their checks. But then I think about my cast mates and crew mates represented here by the glorious Michael Emerson, and I realize why I have the best job in the world.”
Hear, hear.
And wouldn’t that be an odd sight? John Locke in an apron, baking cookies, while a dead woman does a voice-over.
Season 4 should open with that shot.

Check out all the winners here. (Lists are downloadable in PDF and Word format.)

17.2 Congratulations should also go out to Bryan Fuller and everyone involved in Pushing Daisies.
Broadcasting & Cable asked a panel of critics to rank the best and worst of this fall’s pilots, and Pushing Daisies ran away with 63% of the vote. Second on the Best list was Reaper, with a distant 15%.
The worst pilot this fall? Cavemen, with 51% of the vote.

Check out the complete list here. (It just saddens me that Chuck wasn’t anywhere on the list.)

17.3 And finally, congratulations to Tim Burton, for receiving a Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at this year’s recently concluded Venice Film Festival.
Burton was praised as “one of America’s bravest, most visionary and innovative directors.”

(Images courtesy of space.com [Battlestar Galactica]; tv.com [Dexter]; aol.com [Entourage]; sparklies.org [Lost]; and thepiemaker.com [Pushing Daisies].)

AFTERTHOUGHTS (12)

12.1 The nominees for the 59th Annual Emmy Awards have been announced, and here are the noms that have got me jazzed.

79th Annual Academy Awards
Outstanding Art Direction For A Variety, Music Or Nonfiction Programming
Outstanding Picture Editing For A Special (Single or Multi-Camera)
Outstanding Hairstyling For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) For VMC Programming
Outstanding Music Direction
Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program (Ellen Degeneres)
Outstanding Special Class Program
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Or Music Series Or Special
Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video For A Miniseries, Movie, Or A Special

Battlestar Galactica
Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series (Felix Alcala for “Exodus, Part 2”)
Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series (“Exodus, Part 2”)
Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series (“Exodus, Part 2”)
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series (Ronald D. Moore for “Occupation/Precipice”)

Dexter
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series (Elena Maganini for “Dexter”)
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music (Rolfe Kent”)

Entourage
Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series (Julian Farino for “One Day In The Valley”)
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series (Kevin Dillon)
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series (Jeremy Piven)
Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series (Martin Landau)
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (half-hour) And Animation (“One Day In The Valley”)

Family Guy
Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics (Walter Murphy and Danny Smith, for “My Drunken Irish Dad,” from “Peter’s Two Dads”)

Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms
Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour Or More)

Heroes
Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series (“Genesis”)
Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series (David Semel for “Genesis”)
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series (Michael Murphy, Donn Aron, and Louise A. Innes for “Genesis”)
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series (Masi Oka)
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (one hour) (“Genesis”)
Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series (“Five Years Gone”)
Outstanding Stunt Coordination (Ian Quinn for “Genesis”)

Lost
Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series (Jack Bender for “Through the Looking Glass”)
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series (Stephen Semel, Mark J. Goldman, Henk Van Eeghen, and Christopher Nelson, A.C.E. for “Through the Looking Glass”)
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series (Michael Emerson)
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series (Terry O’Quinn)
Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series (“A Tale Of Two Cities”)
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series (Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for “Through the Looking Glass”)

Nip/Tuck
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (“Conor McNamara”)

On The Lot
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music (Mark T. Williams and Jeff Lippencott)

Project Runway
Outstanding Cinematography For Reality Programming (Tony Sacco for “Iconic Statement”)
Outstanding Picture Editing For Reality Programming (“Iconic Statement”)
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program

South Park
Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) (“Make Love, Not Warcraft”)

To one and all, congratulations and the best of luck. You can check out the entire list of nominees here (downloadable in three formats).
The Creative Arts Emmys will be given out on September 8, while the Primetime Emmys will be presented on September 16.

(Image courtesy of visualterrain.net.)

LOST Season 3 Episode 13 (WARNING: SPOILERS)
“The Man From Tallahassee”

When Locke says, early on in the episode, “This is gonna be more complicated than we thought,” all I could think was, That is such a loaded line.
For one, that could refer to we, the viewers, and our own reaction to the show.
It could refer to the people making the show, and the discovery, once they were well into it, that Lost was a show that didn’t really have a lot in the way of precedents, so they couldn’t really look around to see how things could be done.
That line could even refer to the show’s current straits: once you have a critical and ratings darling on your hands, you pretty much think you’re in the clear, but all of a sudden, your third season hasn’t even really gotten into full swing, and ratings have lowered drastically, and people are talking early send-off.
Yes, indeed, John. “More complicated than we thought.”

Thankfully, “The Man From Tallahassee” feels like Lost has gotten back on proper track.
When Locke stands (after his disability checks are suspended), I thought to myself, Finally! We’re gonna see how John ended up in the wheelchair, which was, in my books, the biggest personal mystery that had not yet been addressed since the show started.
(I’ve also been waiting for a scene of this sort ever since “Walkabout,” knowing in my gut we’d see a “reverse reveal” to contrast with that killer moment when we first see Locke in his wheelchair.)
And now that we see the moment of John’s crippling, this is what I have to say: Brutal.
For some reason, I always thought, Car accident. Not, Oh, my conman dad pushed me out of a building. (So much for “I’m a conman, not a murderer.”)
The guy is evil. There is no other word for it. (And I’m still waiting for the reveal that’ll confirm my big suspicion of his exact connection to Sawyer…)
I may hate John from time to time (and what he does to the sub is next to unforgivable) but Terry O’Quinn just slays in this role. The scene where he’s first lowered into his wheelchair is potent. Here’s this broken man (literally and figuratively) who has yet again been monstrously hurt by his father, and he has to cope with this. You can almost understand the whole sub deal.
Almost.

And while that’s going on, Kate and Jack have their face to face, Danielle and Alex don’t, and Ben does what he does best: manipulate. Locke is so his bitch at the moment, it isn’t even funny.
A lot goes on in this episode, and a lot is left hanging, with a whopper of an ending.
So the dazzling begins in earnest…

Parting shot: Ben and his Magic Box… Hmmm…