I think I can speak for the rest of America in leading a collective exhale after reviewing this morning's Emmy nominations.
We're safe in the knowledge that the nation's TV critics will not be forced to walk off their jobs en masse (at least, the nine that remain).
Why? Because Jim Parsons got nominated as lead comedy actor for the CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory," serving to restore something resembling sanity to a selection process perpetually steeped in new rules and fresh indignation .
In case you haven't seen the memo, the Emmys aren't really the Emmys anymore -- if they ever were in the first place.
A process always ruled by slow-to-react-to-the-marketplace movement and relentless repetition ("and the winner again is...'Frasier'!") has degenerated into an annual race to see if the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences can stay a step ahead of the apathy police.
Lately, it's done a particularly poor job, even as its voting members have commendably ensured that credit go where it's due: i.e., to cable.
The unscripted boom at the broadcast networks and accompanying de-emphasis on anything that costs more than a couple of dinners at Nate & Al's has shifted the balance of quality to cable in a Golden Age sort of way, led by "Mad Men," "Damages," "Dexter," "Rescue Me," "The Shield" and "The Closer."
So true excellence ain't the issue.
No, the real concern faced by the TV Academy in particular and Hollywood's gatekeeping overlords of self-congratulation in general is this: Nobody cares -- at least, no one with a Nielsen box under the age of 30. And that's a very big problem indeed.
The Dirty Little Secret of awards show culture is this: The only people with a hankering to watch the Oscars, the Emmys and the Grammys are overwhelmingly older and coastal. If you want to see the generation gap widen before your eyes like the Grand Canyon, try asking any teenager whom they're rooting for to win in the drama series category. There might be a spark of recognition if you were to broach the VMAs, but even that's iffy, given its streaming limitations on a PDA.
The traditional Hollywood trades are having some problems in large part because even the studios and networks with a vested interest in awards shows are loathe to purchase plentiful amounts of ads anymore, given the lack of tangible benefit to the bottom line.
And if showbiz itself can't be made to give two hoots, how are you supposed to sell the thing in Skokie? Hint: Not by honoring a bunch of artsy shows that scarcely move the Peoplemeter needle.
Last year's lovefest for "30 Rock" and "Mad Men" hit a ratings bottom with barely 12 million viewers, the smallest Emmy viewership in history. Part of that also was due to an unscripted opening featuring reality show hosts admitting they had nothing in particular to add to the national dialogue.
