Emmys: Who the $&%*!@ cares?

I have always been amazed at how passionate people get about the Emmys, especially since the advent of the Internet. Critic chat sessions and blogs are always abuzz for months before and weeks after the Emmy ceremony: "Who's going to get nominated? Why is (show name/actor name) never nominated? Why does (show name/actor name) always win?" and on and on.

The Emmys were two weeks ago, but yet I still see people complaining about the winners in the Q&A columns of USA Today's Robert Bianco and TV Guide's Matt Roush, and in today's All TV column in The Newark Star-Ledger (these four critics -- the Star-Ledger employs two critics, Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall, both excellent -- are my favorites). Basically, most of the complaints seem to center around the seemingly inexplicable win of Medium's Patricia Arquette over The Shield's Glenn Close, and the choice of the dead Everybody Loves Raymond as best comedy over the almost-dead Arrested Development and the 2005's Most Overhyped Show, Desperate Housewives. Oh, and everyone still complains that Gilmore Girls never even gets nominated.

I've got two words for all of you people: Get off your keyboards and have a nice dinner with a loved one. Ok, more than two words, but, really, does anyone remember who wins the Emmys more than thirty seconds after the ceremony's over? I mean, the networks themselves don't even use the "Emmy Award winner" honorific before show or actor names for more than two weeks after the ceremony. I've always found the Emmys to be the least-essential of the four major awards (yes, even less essential than the Tonys) when it comes to whether the "Emmy award winner" stamp indicates that a show or actor is of quality. Most nominations are made on the basis of one episode, not the entire season, and a single "very special" Emmy-grubbing performance can put a show or actor over the top. So, to me, an Emmy by no means is an indicator of how good or bad a winner is. It doesn't seem to matter to viewers, either; just ask all those shows that never win until they either leave the air or get cancelled.