Emmy nominations: Marcus Dixon’s good, bad and ugly

“Community” finally receives a major Emmy nomination! Sure, it’s in the little-buzzed-about race for Best Comedy Writing (for “Remedial Chaos Theory” written by Chris McKenna), but still, it’s a start.

“Frozen Planet” makes a name for itself with five nominations, including Best Nonfiction Series. If you haven’t seen this visual masterpiece from the folks who brought us “Planet Earth,” what are you waiting for?

Did you know the Emmys created a new category this year for Best Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role? Neither did I, until I scrolled through the complete list of nominations. Frankly, I love this idea. The new category will ensure that real-life shows like “Breaking Bad” and “Bones” (where special effects are minimal) don’t have to face off against fantasty/sci-fi offerings like “Game of Thrones” and “Once Upon a Time” (where effects are commonplace).

THE BAD
“Fringe” guest star Jared Harris gets nominated … for “Mad Men.” I am ecstatic about this underrated actor’s nomination, it’s just too bad it came for the wrong performance.

One of HBO’s most boring telefilms ever — “Hemingway and Gellhorn” — gets a jaw-dropping 15 nominations. Did Emmy voters even watch this made-for-TV-trainwreck, or did they see names like Nicole Kidman, Clive Owen and David Strathairn and pretend they were voting for the Oscars?

“Saturday Night Live” has an impressive 14 nominations, but they continue to straddle the line between genres. All of their acting nominations are in the Comedy category (Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy and Jimmy Fallon) while everything else in recognized in the Variety category. Either “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels needs to campaign to get the long-running series into the Best Comedy Series race, or Emmy’s board of governers needs to make the change for him. Simply put, this cross-pollination of categories seems confusing to some and feels like downright cheating to others.

I’m a huge fan of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” but does it seem strange to anyone else that the show’s first-ever nomination in the Variety Series race comes the same year that Jimmy Kimmel himself becomes host of the Primetime Emmy telecast? This is clearly a case of Emmy voters pandering to their host, or else they would have nominated his hilarious talk show years ago. R.I.P. Uncle Frank!

THE UGLY
In 2008, Emmy’s Best Reality Host winner was Jeff Probst. In 2009, it was Jeff Probst. And then in 2010 and 2011, Jeff Probst prevailed again and again. In 2012, it will not be Jeff Probst thanks to some questionable voting by the TV academy. Not only is Probst shockingly snubbed in this category he’s won since its creation four years ago, but he’s been replaced on the nomination block by Betty White (“Betty White’s Off Their Rockers”). Looks like the Emmys finally voted Probst off their TV island.

If there’s one Drama Series that even comes close to matching the excitement and edge-of-your-seat awesomeness of “Breaking Bad,” it’s FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.” So why was “Sons” completely shut out of the Emmy race? Bad job, TV academy.

The best-written TV episode of 2011/2012 was “Blackwater” from “Game of Thrones” (written by George R. R. Martin), yet it was passed over for not one, not two, but three different episodes of “Mad Men.”

Seven nominations for Comedy Lead Actress instead of the usual six? A half-dozen nominations for Movie/Miniseries Lead Actor instead of the usual five? If these extra nominations are because of voting ties, then there needs to be a system that fixes the problem before the nominations are revealed. Otherwise these categories look unfairly lopsided.

Just like Gold Derby predicted, for the first time ever, broadcast networks are completely shut out of the Drama Series race, and it feels very strange. I’m not sure this is a good thing for the future of television. Broadcast networks, you need to step up your game!