Award Season Begins

The Golden Globe nominations were announced today and if I were given to making bad puns I'd say that they were very Gleeful.

Yes, the show that has become such a favorite of mine (some might say obsession!) received nods for Best Television Series, Lead Actor for Matthew Morrison and Lead Actress for Lea Michele, all in the Comedy or Musical category.

The incomparable Jane Lynch also got a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Television (if she hadn't, I think outraged Glee fans would have stormed wherever it is that the Hollywood Foreign Press has its headquarters), a category which includes Drama, Comedy or Musical, and TV movies and Mini-series, so it's a huge field. She's nominated against Chloe Sevigny, Jane Adams, Rose Byrne, and Janet McTeer, and I'd be shocked if that Golden Globe wasn't hers on January 17th.

Glee should win hands down in the rest of these categories as well, though there is some tough competition. Lea Michele is nominated against Toni Collete for her brilliant work in The United States of Tara, for example, and comedy heavy hitters like Courtney Cox and Tina Fey, as well as Edie Falco for Nurse Jackie, a show I've been meaning to check out. Lea is definitely the new kid on the block in this category.

The same goes for Matthew Morrison, who is nominated against Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, David Duchovny, and Thomas Jane.

The show itself is nominated against 30 Rock (which has won enough awards for one lifetime, if you ask me), Entourage (is that really still on?), The Office, and another freshman series, Modern Family. I've been meaning to check out that last one, which has a gay couple who have adopted a baby in the supporting cast, but I haven't yet.

The only thing that really made me sad about the nominations, as far as they related to Glee, was that Chris Colfer wasn't included in the list. He's truly done some amazing work as Kurt, and I can't believe that anyone seeing his performances in the episodes 'Wheels', 'Preggers', and 'Ballad' would disagree. Well, maybe next year.

There were some other, non-Glee related nominations that thrilled me. For instance, Neil Patrick Harris was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in Television for How I Met Your Mother. You may recall that he lost the Emmy this year to Jon Cryer (!), so hopefully the Golden Globes will make up for that bit of ridiculousness.

Colin Firth and Julianne Moore are both nominated for their roles in A Single Man, the new film adaptation of the wonderful novel by Christopher Isherwood.

Another favorite of mine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is finally getting some Award attention! He was nominated for Best Actor in a comedy or musical for his role in (500) Days of Summer, which I have not yet seen. But having seen him in The Lookout, Mysterious Skin and Brick, I'm convinced that this is but the first of many nominations for him. In fact, I'm surprised that it has taken this long!

Finally, Sigourney Weaver is getting another chance at recognition with a nomination for Best Actress in a TV movie or mini-series for her stellar performance in Prayers for Bobby. Once again, though, she's up against the amazing Jessica Lange, who won out over her at the Emmys. I'm hoping that this time Weaver will go home with the prize.

Just when you thought that this was enough excitement in the Awards world today, The Writers Guild of America also announced their nominees! Glee was nominated for Best Comedy (up against Modern Family, The Office and 30 Rock again, with Curb Your Enthusiasm replacing Entourage; are we sure that show is still on?).

The WGA awards have a category for Best New Show (I like that idea! So many Emmys and Golden Globes go to shows that are nominated again and again, while a lot of new shows barely get noticed!) and Glee was also nominated in that category, too, along with Modern Family, The Good Wife, Hung, and Nurse Jackie.

Dustin Lance Black got a nomination for Pedro, the film he wrote about Real World star and AIDS activist Pedro Zamora.

The WGA Awards also recognize Daytime Dramas, and this year's nominees were One Life to Live, The Young and the Restless, All My Children, and... As the World Turns?!

How on Earth anyone can justify the nomination of As The World Turns in a writing category is beyond me, and from what I understand about the current state of All My Children, the same applies there. Days of Our Lives has been far better lately than it has been in recent years, certainly far more deserving of a nomination than As the World Turns.

I understand that there aren't that many shows to nominate and since most of them aren't very well written at the moment, there are bound to be badly written shows included. But why go straight for the bottom of the heap?

Truthfully, though, there should be no competition at all. The writing on One Life to Live blows all the rest of the daytime soaps out of the water.