Emmy Nominations

The Emmy Nominations were announced a couple of weeks ago. I could give my thoughts on them, but everyone else and their mother has already done that by now. How about I talk about the fact that an internet based show has nominations? Sound good? Of course you can't respond, I'll be done writing by the time you read it. 

"House Of Cards" was the smash hit of the beginning of they year that "Netflix" hoped it would be. It brought a sense of legitimacy to digital distribution that it desperately needed. This is a show that has gotten praise from both audiences and critics. I didn't start watching until a couple months after it came out. I still think that this happens to be one of the best dramas in the last decade. It is a well rounded show when it comes to; the director, the actors, and the writer. All aspects are simply perfect. It is no wonder why this has garnered multiple emmy nominations. 

Usually, a show this well received wouldn't be expected to get award nominations, but this show is different. A lot of people were surprised that it got nominated. Not because these people didn't agree with the choice, but because it is not technically a television show. "House Of Cards" has never been broadcast over a television network, cable or not. The entire run of the show was shown over "Netflix" instant. The only other way to view it is to purchase the dvd/blu-ray boxset. 

I honestly hope that this opens up a can of worms for digitally distributed media. There are a lot of shows that are made and distributed on the internet that are great pieces of work. Hopefully they can be recognized more now that shows don't need a broadcast run to be nominated for awards. Not only that, but I hope this will also hopefully show people that if you work hard and let your creativity flow, you will be rewarded for it.     

Tube Talk Recommends: Luther

It's no secret that "BBC America" has become more popular over the years. The credit of this channel's success goes to a few different shows that are widely popular around the world today. Arguably, the most popular of the bunch is "Doctor Who", which would be followed by "Sherlock" and "Top Gear" respectively. I'm not writing this to recommend those shows. That would be redundant, since those shows are already popular. Today I'm recommending my personal favorite "BBC" show, "Luther". 

I stumbled on to "Luther" last year when I was looking around "Netflix" out of bored'em. I had heard of the name before, but I had no idea what the show was about. That's when I decided to just jump into the show, blind. Not knowing what to expect, I was completely surprised with what I saw. "This was not just any crime show", i thought to myself. "Luther" was and still is like nothing I've ever seen before. 

"I can not recall ever seeing a pilot for a television show this well made. I don't think I have ever been invested into within the first 20 minutes of a show before." This is what running through my mind while watching the first episode of this revolutionary crime drama. There are only a handful of shows that I can hold up to this level. I'm not sure what I can describe about the show without giving anything away. It might be best to go in blind like I did. All you need to know is that the show is about the title character "John Luther", who has a very complicated life that gets involved with his career as a detective. 

In my opinion the buzz around this show should be larger then it is now. Up to this point it has only had brief glimpses in the spotlight with a couple of "Golden Globe" nominations and one win. The first two seasons of "Luther" can be found for stream on "Netflix". The third season is expected at the fourth quarter of this year.     

Batle Of The TV Dramas

For decades the big four (ABC, CBS, NBC, fox) have captivated audiences and promptly kept their attention. Men and women have spent many hours standing around the theoretical water cooler. They speak of the latest episode of a Television drama that they saw the night before. Perhaps an episode of CSI, Law & Order, or even the newest episode of Bones. This is the era of network dramas or shall I say it was?  

 The truth is I should be speaking in past tense. The networks no longer have the hold on audiences that they once did. We are now in the are of the cable drama. I think last year's "Emmy Award" nominations made that apparent. For the first time there weren't any network dramas in the "Best Drama" category. Every serious contender belonged to an established cable channel. 

Award voters aren't the only ones who have turned their backs on the networks. Strong fan following have also the former powerhouses for something else. You can see this at any convention you were to go to. People dressing up as characters from shows like: "The Walking Dead", "Game Of Thrones", or the extremely popular "Doctor Who". Sure, "Once Upon A Time has it's own strong fan base, but that is only one of many network dramas that are on the air today.

If, you were to simply compare the ratings, then it would seem that the networks were still on top. "MadMen" only gets a fraction of the viewers that shows on major networks do, but there is more to it than that. Even though "Madmen"s rating seem low in comparison, they still have the worlds attention. People still discuss it, parody it, and stream it more than they do with network shows. That is the difference between network and cable television at the moment. Cable gets people excited and they get people talking. 

It doesn't have to be like this. The big four can get the audiences and voters back. They just have to do something that is very hard for them. They have to change. People want to hear stories and follow characters. The networks tell situation not stories. Audiences don't want to watch a repetitive crime drama with nothing new to say. They want something new and refreshing.  All people want is a story that they can follow. Not the same situation re-shown every week. Until the networks realize that, they won't be seeing that "Emmy" nomination anytime soon.