Friday, September 09, 2005

Poll Results - Outstanding Comedy Series


I hope to have a review of Reunion sometime Friday. I had a bad headache on Thursday and took a nap (which usually helps get rid of them).

As for the results of the poll, there were a record 18 voters and the results were very close. In fifth place was Everybody Loves Raymond with no votes. In fourth place with two votes was Will And Grace. In a tie for second place with five votes each are Desperate Housewives and Scrubs, but the winner with six votes is Arrested Development.

I would suggest that this is an interesting result. The lack of support for Everybody Loves Raymond probably shouldn't surprise anyone. Even though the series ended on a relatively successful season the fact is that it may not have been as sharp as it was in previous seasons. I do find the two votes for Will And Grace more surprising. The show has been on a downward spiral in terms of quality, although granted even at that it's still better than something like According To Jim or even its Thursday night running mate Joey.

It's in the top there that the real surprises are found. Both Scrubs and Arrested Development were in danger of being cancelled at the end of this past season and in the case of Scrubs, NBC has only okayed it for a half season next year which is scarcely a vote of confidence even from NBC (where the lineup is such that you can probably expect Scrubs to be back sooner than the network hopes). On the other hand Desperate Housewives is one of the most poplar new shows of the past year. I'm not sure I'm suitable as a person to read poll respondents minds but there have been some resistance to voting for it if they feel it doesn't actually belong in the category. It's worth noting that the upsurge in support for Desperate Housewives came in the last couple of days. Before that it lagged behind Scrubs and Arrested Development.

As for the actual Emmy voters, I have a feeling that there might also be that sort of ambivalence towards Desperate Housewives which, when combined with the general acclaim that Arrested Development has had, should see that show win. The only hope for Everybody Loves Raymond is that voters might feel a bit of nostalgia for the series, but I honestly don't expect that to happen. This is a two horse race and Arrested Development is probably the odds on favourite.

The last of the Emmy Polls - Outstanding Drama Series - will be posted in the morning.

No comments: