I tend to keep a realistic perspective when it comes to awards shows.  For example, I don't expect movies like Iron Man or The Dark Knight to be nominated for Best Picture Oscars, nor am I shocked when shows like Supernatural are denied Emmys.  After watching enough awards shows you begin to realize that the best things don't always get nominated, especially when it comes to genre entertainment.

Though I've come to understand how confusing and unreliable these shows are, I can still be shocked by certain exclusions.  The nominees for the 2008 Teen Choice Awards came out today, and despite the fact that nearly every show on television was nominated for something, Supernatural was completely shut out.  What's wrong with teens today?

If you click here to see the list of nominees, you'll notice that the Teen Choice Awards have a category for everything imaginable.  I'm pretty sure they invent category after category just to ensure that everyone in Hollywood under the age of 30 feels inclined to attend the ceremony.  You wouldn't think anyone with a brain would ever contemplate whether Flavor of Love or I Love New York was the better show, but the Choice TV: Looking For Love category demands you think about such things.

With approximately three million categories to choose from, it seems that Supernatural would easily fit into a few of them.  Choice TV Show: Action Adventure wasted space on Heroes and Smallville, while the acting category features the likes of Wentworth Miller and Tom Welling instead of Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.  At the very least, the two men of Supernatural should have made it into the Choice Male Hottie category, but somehow the Jonas Brothers and their hideous haircuts made it in instead.

I normally wouldn't feel a need to rant about this, but nearly every other show on the CW was given some attention.  Smallville, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Beauty and the Geek and America's Next Top Model are all up for awards, but Supernatural is suspiciously absent.  I don't know who decides the nominees for the Teen Choice Awards, but I feel they seriously shortchanged a series that had a very successful season.  It's a strange exclusion, and I simply can't see a reason for it.

Of course, in the long run the Teen Choice Awards aren't important enough to have a rage blackout over. Supernatural is already coming back for another season in the fall, and I'm sure Jared, Jensen, and creator Eric Kripke will be happy to work hard even without being awarded for it.  The recognition from obsessive Supernatural fans outweighs a chintzy surfboard trophy any day.


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