I Can Kill You With My Brain

The Emmy nominations were made this morning and like usual, there were very few surprises.  However, there were still some surprises, and that makes me smile.  A long-shot that I was hoping would get nominated actually did and an even longer shot got nominated and it was a total surprise.

The one I was hoping for is Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon on “The Big Bang Theory”, who was nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy.  That right there says a lot.  The character of Sheldon was originally envisioned as a supporting character, with the show centering on the relationship between Leonard and Penny, with Sheldon being the crazy roomate.  As the first season went on, the focus of the show shifted more towards Sheldon and his relationship with everyone else and pretty much the entire world.  As the focus changed, this already amazing show became even better.  Parson’s portrayal of Sheldon is the comedic heart of this show and I can picture no other actor playing the role.

And the nomination that caught me completely off-guard is that of Jemaine Clement as an almost creepily strange version of himself in “Flight of the Conchords”.  Jemaine is also up for the Lead Actor in a Comedy emmy.  While I can’t deny how amazing “Flight of the Conchords” is or how wonderful Jemaine and his partner Bret McKenzie are as “themselves”, I’m completely shocked that Jemaine received this nomination.  “Flight of the Conchords” is a brilliant, but often overlooked, musical comedy on HBO starring actors that are mostly unknown outside of New Zealand.  This is a very surprising nomination to a very deserving actor.  Still, color me surprised.

What’s great is that these two newcomers to the land of the Emmys are up against some of the heavyweights of comedy.  Also competing in the Lead Actor in a Comedy category are Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, Charlie Sheen, and Tony Shalhoub.  Such wonderful talent to be recognized with.  What’s not so great is that they are competing against each other.  No matter how happy I’ll be if one of them wins, I’ll still be disappointed that the other one didn’t.

The Emmys air sometime this fall when I’ll probably forget to watch them, even with Neil Patrick Harris hosting this year.