It can be tough to take award ceremonies seriously.  Even the Oscars and the Emmys, as prestigious as they are, have made so many wrong choices over the years that most people can muster nothing but a shrug over the nominees and eventual winners.  One ceremony that holds significantly less weight than either the Oscars or the Emmys is the annual Teen Choice Awards, which were held last night in Hollywood and air tonight on FOX.  When looking over the list of winners today, which you can see here, I couldn't help but laugh a bit over one of the choices: Chad Michael Murray as Choice TV Actor in a drama series.  I'm a fan of One Tree Hill, but this is preposterous even to me.

I may be alone in this, but I actually think Murray is the least interesting actor in the One Tree Hill cast.  Granted, this could be because Lucas is such a boring sad sack of a character, but I still get the impression that Murray sleepwalks through the role most of the time.  Hilarie Burton, James Lafferty, Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Galeotti seem to throw themselves completely into their characters even during the strangest storylines, but Murray seems to be on autopilot.

Now, let's take a look at the competition the actor was up against in the category:

Chace Crawford - Gossip Girl
Patrick Dempsey - Grey's Anatomy
Penn Badgley - Gossip Girl
Taylor Kitsch - Friday Night Lights

I'm not a big Patrick Dempsey fan, but I would have loved to see the award go to any of the other three guys, with my personal favorite being Taylor Kitsch.  Now, lest you think I'm trying to rob Murray of praise, please be aware that he already won a Teen Choice Award for his stellar acting in 2005's House of Wax remake.  How many surfboards does one man need?

Despite my personal feelings, I don't have the energy to call for a recount and discover just how many teens voted for Murray.  His award was the only one picked up by One Tree Hill at the ceremony, and I do think the show deserves some praise for its creatively successful fifth season.  While I wish the series had earned a more deserved trophy, I'm willing to take what I can get in this case.

Deserved or not, you can see Murray pick up his award when the Teen Choice Awards air tonight at 8pm on FOX.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of IMDB)