Outstanding Comedy Series
This is a groundbreaking year for the Emmys, as Family Guy is nominated as an Outstanding Comedy Series, going up against heavyweights 30 Rock, Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, How I Met Your Mother, The Office and Weeds. Though it would be a delightful shock to see Family Guy win, 30 Rock has become an Emmy favorite, and The Office had a rich season. Seth MacFarlane will have to practice saying, "It's just an honor to be nominated."
Update: 30 Rock took home the Emmy on Sunday, September 20, 2009.
Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
My pick to win in the Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) is Robot Chicken for Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II on Adult Swim. The special was inspired and with dead-on parody, requiring hours and hours of work in stop-motion animation. Adult Swim could use an Emmy trophy on their shelf, since they have yet to win a major award for any of their animated shows. Because most Adult Swim cartoons would be too edgy for most Emmy voters, perhaps a Star Wars-themed animated show will have a chance.
Perennial favorite The Simpsons is nominated for "Gone Maggie Gone," when Homer loses Maggie to a convent when he's retrieving Santa's Little Helper during a run to the store for rat poison. Last year, The Simpsons won its tenth Emmy. Predictable, and so wrong.
The other cartoons to make the nomination list in the half hour category are American Dad for "Sixteen-hundred Candles" and South Park for "Margaritaville."
Update: South Park won for "Margaritaville."
Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
This category is always packed with talent. This year, a veteran and a relative newbie are entered who have never won an Emmy for their voice-over work: Harry Shearer is nominated for The Simpsons episode "The Burns and the Bees," and Seth Green is nominated for his characterizations in Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II.
Two previous Emmy winners from The Simpsons are nominated. Hank Azaria is nominated for an episode titled "Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe" as Moe Syzlak. Dan Castellaneta is nominated for "Father Knows Worst" as Homer Simpson.
As talented as all the above actors are, I think final nominee Seth MacFarlane should win. His varied characterizations of Peter, Stewie and Brian in Family Guy are so different and spot on. Additionally, MacFarlane has a lovely singing voice. This year he is nominated as Peter Griffin in "I Dream of Jesus."
Update: Dan Castellaneta won his fourth Emmy.
Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)
Though Danny Elfman composed the theme to The Simpsons, Alf Clausen writes the music for the stories within the episodes. He won two previous Emmys for songs on The Simpsons. This year, he is nominated for "Gone Maggie Gone."
Other composers nominated are Sean P. Callery for 24, Robert Duncan for Castle, Mark Snow for Ghost Whisperer, Joe LoDuca for Legend Of The Seeker and Gabriel Yard for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
Update: Joe LoDuca won the Emmy for Legend Of The Seeker.
Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More)
There are only two cartoons nominated for this category. Destination Imagination was a Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends special on Cartoon Network. The other is a top-selling anime series rated TV-MA titled Afro Samurai: Resurrection.
Update: Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends won.
R.I.P. King of the Hill
My desperate wish that King of the Hill would be nominated has not been realized. So the heartwarming and clever KotH goes out like a lamb.
