Yesterday, The Writers Guild of America announced its nominees for their annual end of the year awards. This is the season for awards and, while largely inconsequential, I'm a sucker for all of it. I love awards, I love nominations. I like to intelligently discuss (read: argue incoherently) the nominations with my friends and foes. Whose deserving? Who got the shaft? All good topics. The Writers Guild are, obviously, concerned with the written aspects of television, so it's right up my alley. I'm generally in agreement with the group's nominees this year, although I have a couple of minor nitpicks. The nominees are...
Dramatic Series Deadwood Grey's Anatomy Lost The Sopranos 24 Comedy Series Arrested Development Curb Your Enthusiasm Entourage The Office 30 Rock New Series Friday Night Lights Heroes Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip 30 Rock Ugly Betty Comedy/Variety Series The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Late Night with Conan O'Brien Penn & Teller: Bullshit Real Time With Bill Maher Saturday Night Live I think the drama nominees are right on. Giving love to Grey's Anatomy is nice, and they've recognized Lost where so many other recent awards haven't. I'm a bit surrised at 30 Rock's inclusion on the comedy list, but there really aren't too many other options. How I Met Your Mother would've been a good substitute, as would Scrubs, but the other four are all more than deserving. The new series nominees are exactly what they should be. The variety show nominees are an interesting group. While I'm a well-known Saturday Night Live apologist, its quality over the last year has been sub-par. I'd add The Colbert Report instead. I can't speak to the Penn & Teller show because I haven't seen it, but the other three are great. The awards will be handed out on February 11th. -Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer