You can make the argument that comedy is completely and utterly subjective. This is more or less true. After all, if something males you laugh, then it makes you laugh. That's the overwhelming goal of comedy. The best comedies can do more than make you laugh, however: have a coherent story, contain real human drama and a literate sense of humor. While the intended results of all comedies are similar, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying the lowbrow, can't we agree that some shows are slight and worse than others?
Two and a Half Men, despite its mediocrity, has been an Emmy stalwart for years. Why? The voters seem to have a peculiar fascination with the
Charlie Sheen-led series, and it might have something to do with its designation as the highest rated comedy on television. Are the voters appeasing the common man, or do they truly think
Two and a Half Men is one of the five best comedies on television? In our second batch of Emmy podcasts, fellow writer John Kubicek and I discussed this issue and many others as we went through each acting category for the Comedy series.
While our drama discussions were pretty much owned by John (who has seen every episode of every television show ever), comedy is my wheelhouse. I am a lover of television comedy, and have been impressed by the recent string of quality laugh fests on TV. Being a comedy fan, the Emmy awards have been a constant source of disbelief in my lifetime.
Seinfeld, despite being perhaps the best network comedy ever, was consistently snubbed by the voters. There have been other worthy contenders who have missed out on the awards, while low-level broad comedies like
Two and a Half Men are recognized. It's baffling, but it goes back to my initial assertion. Comedy is totally subjective, and there's no accounting for taste.
Below you will find links to our roughly ten minute discussions about each Comedy Acting category. The actual Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow morning. In our podcasts, John and I both predict who will be nominated and who will win in each category. Then, we discuss who we think, in an ideal world, should be nominated and who should win.
Best Actor - Comedy Podcast
Best Actress - Comedy Podcast
Best Supporting Actor - Comedy Podcast
Best Supporting Actress - Comedy Podcast
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of the Emmys)