Television Academy

Brian Lowry's article on the intrigues of the television academy does a grave disservice to the hard work and vision of Chairman Meryl Marshall-Daniels and many in the academy who finally brought some fresh air and purpose to this 52-year-old institution ("Toughest Decisions Are Behind the Scenes," June 22). Until Marshall-Daniels became president, membership languished because few of us who are actively working in the industry could see a real purpose beyond the Emmys. To outsiders it seems like an elitist, stagnant organization.

The Emmy wheel has finally landed on Jimmy Kimmel. The host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will host the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 23, ABC and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced Monday. It will be the first time that Kimmel has hosted the Emmy ceremony, which rotates on an annual "wheel" among the four major broadcasting networks. Kimmel's turn at the dais could be seen as overdue. Executives typically hand the hosting job to a well-known talent associated with the network.

While lacing up my shoes for a morning run, the phone rang and the voice on the other end said to turn on the TV--the bombing campaign in Afghanistan had begun. The four-miler wasn't the only thing that got canceled that day. It was Sunday, Oct. 7, and 30 phone calls later, the Emmys were off ... again. It was my first week on the job. During the next month, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences weathered the greatest public relations crisis in its 53-year history.

Last year, a little one-off show for ABC called "Prep & Landing" came out of nowhere and upended expectations of the Emmy animation categories. It was a special, it was on a broadcast network, it was clearly kid-centric — and it ended up winning the animated program category. Sure, "Prep" came with the Disney/John Lasseter seal of approval on it, and that may have assisted in its win. But the half-hour special was also an odd fish in a newly reconsidered pair of categories: animated program (for programming less than one hour)

KOCE-TV (Channel 50) in Huntington Beach, Orange County's only Public Broadcasting System station, might become a "television academy" for training college students, Coast Community College District officials disclosed Monday. If the proposal is approved, the college district will drop its plans to divest itself of the television station's license.

After a roller-coaster ride with last year's twice-postponed Emmy Awards, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences--which presents the television industry's top honor--still finds itself in tumult, this time over stewardship of the nonprofit organization.

They should really call it Emmy Plaza. Stretching skyward from the grounds of the handsome new 22-acre development--at Lankershim and Magnolia boulevards in North Hollywood--is a gleaming, 18-foot, gold-plated, bronze replica of the Emmy, symbol of TV achievement.

After sitting through 3 1/2 hours of the Emmy Awards telecast (Fox), I've come to the conclusion that the Emmys aren't fair. Guest stars should not be nominated in categories designed for regular cast performers (i.e. Christopher Lloyd for "Avonlea" and Kelsey Grammar for "Wings). The television academy should create categories designed for guest stars. Jennifer Sato, Montebello

The Emmy wheel has finally landed on Jimmy Kimmel. The host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will host the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 23, ABC and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced Monday. It will be the first time that Kimmel has hosted the Emmy ceremony, which rotates on an annual "wheel" among the four major broadcasting networks. Kimmel's turn at the dais could be seen as overdue. Executives typically hand the hosting job to a well-known talent associated with the network.

The Television Academy passed up Lynch not only once but twice, giving the award to Carter for "Equal Justice" and to Winant for "thirtysomething." These are talented directors and quality shows. However, rarely is there a show that breaks new ground and adds a new dimension to television. Kyle MacLachlan (of "Twin Peaks") being bypassed by Peter Falk for "Colombo" is absurd. We've watched the Colombo character for 15 years. When shows such as "Twin Peaks" come around, the academy owes it to viewers and to the medium itself to reward such efforts because filmmakers such as Lynch can take TV into the next decade.

Long before she won her supporting actress Oscar for "The Fighter" at this year's Academy Awards, Melissa Leo was a television veteran. She played Kay Howard on "Homicide: Life on the Streets" for five seasons before largely moving on to feature films — and almost never looking back. But on the set of 2003's "21 Grams," she had an epiphany. "I was working with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, and it dawned on me that while I was intimidated by working with [top level] film stars, it occurred to me that more eyes had probably seen me on the smaller screen than had seen them on the big screen," she says.

Far too often, the Emmy nominations for any given year look alarmingly familiar, as if the voters simply copied and pasted previous years' lists, made a few minor tweaks ("Oh, heck, that 'Big Bang Theory' really is pretty good") and hit send. Which is not only boring, it's also more than a bit unfair. While there is no denying that such usual suspects as "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "30 Rock" are exemplary, there are a lot of terrific shows and performances out there, some of which appear to have little signs taped to their backs that read, "Please don't nominate me for an Emmy, and if you do, don't let me win. " Indeed, in all the hoopla surrounding "Glee," the television academy seems to have missed its major message: It isn't just the cheerleaders and football stars who deserve to win stuff.

The always irreverent and not at all bitter Peter Tolan recently categorized the Golden Globes as an award show run by a bunch of "whores," called the Emmys voting process deeply flawed, and suggested that television critics be the only ones allowed to give out awards because they actually watch television. Having just seen the devastatingly predictable list of Golden Globes nominations ? oh look, "The Big C" and "Boardwalk Empire," which honestly thrilled no one but still, Laura Linney and Martin Scorsese and all that ?

— The 101 Emmy nominations HBO scooped up Thursday marked the 10th straight year that the premium cable channel has won the most nods from the television academy. Network executives hope the impressive tally, HBO's third-highest ever, will finally put to rest any lingering questions about whether it lost its cultural footing after the conclusion of "The Sopranos." "It's really, really a sweet morning," said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO's programming group.

First it was the Oscars. Following a broadcast in which the host and presenters openly mocked the low box office numbers of best picture nominees, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the number of those up for the award this year would be doubled. If 10 films were nominated, presumably one or two of them would have a fan base that extended past, say, La Brea Avenue. A few weeks later, in a similar effort to draw more viewers to their show, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences decided that certain Emmy winners should receive their awards and make their (edited)

Forced to abandon its plan to truncate the presentation of some awards during the Emmys, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences now faces limited options in its efforts to broaden the appeal of next month's telecast. After push-back from the Hollywood guilds, the academy announced Wednesday that it was dropping the idea of pre-taping eight categories before the Sept. 20 show and airing edited clips of those acceptance speeches. "This decision was made to mend relationships within the television community," said television academy Chief Executive John Shaffner in a statement.

Naming Names: Robert F. Lewine, a past president of the Television Academy and a former vice president of programming at three networks, has been selected to receive the first Syd Cassyd Founder's Award, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Lewine, being honored for distinguished service to the academy, will receive the award during a private ceremony and then again during the 44th annual Primetime Emmy Awards telecast next year. . . .

The always irreverent and not at all bitter Peter Tolan recently categorized the Golden Globes as an award show run by a bunch of "whores," called the Emmys voting process deeply flawed, and suggested that television critics be the only ones allowed to give out awards because they actually watch television. Having just seen the devastatingly predictable list of Golden Globes nominations ? oh look, "The Big C" and "Boardwalk Empire," which honestly thrilled no one but still, Laura Linney and Martin Scorsese and all that ?

Whether enduring an outcry over failing to nominate shows that are tops in the ratings or hearing criticism about tapping the same shows every year, the television academy has fielded its fair share of knocks over its annual Primetime Emmy Awards. And when the Board of Governors announced rule changes this year that shuffled around a few ancillary categories and allowed for six nominations instead of five in some of the major races, pundits were quick to register their displeasure.

"ER" isn't likely the first show that comes to mind in terms of props and special effects. But it's the most labor-intensive program he's worked on, says veteran prop-master Richard Kerns, who has "China Beach," "Sisters" and "Viper" to his credit. His job and others such as editing, production design, cinematography and makeup will be the focus of "Journeys Below the Line."