FLICKREEL.COM: 5 Shows that deserved more Emmy recognition

[froodle]

If there’s a downside to living in a golden age of television, it’s that not every show can make it into the Emmy race. Still, there were several shows this past year that easily should’ve been frontrunners in various categories, but for some reason accumulated little to no recognition. Since the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies were this past weekend and the Primetime Emmys are this upcoming Sunday, now seems as good a time as any to look over five shows that deserved a lot more love from the Television Academy.

4. A Series of Unfortunate Events

This masterful adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s darkly humorous books was perhaps the year’s most inventive comedy series. Yet, Barry Sonnenfeld’s stunning direction and Neil Patrick Harris’ pitch perfect performance as the villainous Count Olaf went overlooked. Given the show’s incredible production values, you’d think that A Series of Unfortunate Events would’ve at least cleaned up in the tech categories. While James Newton Howard’s fanciful musical score got a deserved nomination, the show’s gothic production design, costumes, makeup, and visual effects all went unnoticed. How unfortunate.

3. Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street

Whenever I bring up Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, people always ask the same question: “What’s that?” Seeing how the show flew under the radar, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Emmy voters never recognized this hidden gem. That being said, creator David Anaxagoras truly delivered a tour de force of children’s programing, mixing elements of Eerie, Indiana, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and the immortal works of Roald Dahl. Behind all the whimsical setups and quirky humor, this was a surprisingly deep coming-of-age story, dealing with divorce, death, and growing up without ever talking down to kids. It might be too late to give Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street an Emmy, but you can still check it out on Amazon Video.

Recommended: mother!, what was that all about?