In case you are new to this, the idea is pretty straightforward. I go through the Emmy nomination ballot for a bunch of categories and put together the strongest group I can among what wasn't already nominated for the Emmy. I call this group my B-Team. I then compare the Nominees to my B-Team and choose a winner based on which is a stronger group of performers/shows/etc. The idea is to see how badly chosen the nominees actually are. This serves two purposes:
1) To see how bad the nominees really are. The first year I did this, my theory was that, as a very informed TV viewer, it would be easy for me to find 5-7 names that the Emmy voters missed. I'll go ahead and say now that the Emmy voters, especially outside the Comedy and Drama categories, tend to do a pretty good job picking most of the best options in a category.
2) To highlight some other great work from the last year. With the explosion of new content over the last few years, 5-7 nominees just isn't enough to cover all the great work being done, especially on lesser seen shows that have trouble putting together enough support to be nominated.
As far as who I pick for my B-Team, please disagree with me. I watch a lot of TV, but I miss much, much more than I see. My B-Team is exactly that: My B-Team. In other words, I'm stacking the deck in the B-Team's favor. If I'm picking the 5-7 shows that I like the best and the B-Team still loses, that means the Nominee list is pretty damn strong.
Most of the Primetime Emmys in a given year are handed out a week before the main ceremony. They are awarded over two nights at the Creative Arts Emmys. That's where all the crazy specific awards like Outstanding Informational Series or Special, Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series, and Outstanding Music Direction are handed out. Most of these awards are more technical than I claim to understand. For niche categories, the 5 shows that are nominated are often the only shows anyone has even heard of. I can't make a B-Team out of all the categories. There are a few I'd like to do. So, before get into the main awards, let's take a look at some assorted leftovers.
* Indicates a show that I haven't watched this season.
# Indicates a show I've seen before, not this season.
Animated Program
* Big Hero 6: The Series ("Baymax Returns")
Bob's Burgers ("V For Valentine-detta")
# Rick And Morty ("Pickle Rick")
The Simpsons ("Gone Boy")
# South Park ("Put It Down")
B-Team
* Big Mouth ("Am I Gay?")
# Archer: Danger Island ("Disheartening Situation")
Bojack Horseman ("Time's Arrow")
# Family Guy ("Send In Stewie, Please")
* Castlevania ("Witchbottle")
Bojack Horseman is the single best of any of these shows in the last year. Rick & Morty's "Pickle Rick" is probably the most buzzed about single episode of the group this year. Let's say we cancel those out. I've heard good things about Castlevania and nothing about Big Hero 6: The Series. Big Mouth made more critics' top 10 lists in 2017 than anything other than Bojack Horseman. Family Guy is consistent, but I trust The Simpsons over it at this point in both series' runs. I think Bob's Burgers is the deciding factor for me.
Winner: Nominees
Bojack Horseman is nearly enough to win this for the B-Team on its own. The combined powers of the other top tier shows among the nominees after a slightly down season of Bojack is enough to edge it out.
Documentary Or Nonfiction Special
Icarus
* Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring A Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention Of Tony Clifton
* Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
* Spielberg
The Zen Diaries Of Garry Shandling
B-Team
Andre the Giant
* Gaga: Five Foot Two
* March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step
* Tickling Giants
* Whitney: Can I Be Me
The Mister Rogers and Whitney documentaries cancel each other out in the "these weren't the documentaries that were released in theaters" division. I'm over the penguin love a decade later, so that's a "no" to March of the Penguins 2. Icarus got an Oscar nomination, which set it apart as well. Andre the Giant was a lesser HBO effort compared to Spielberg and The Zen Diaries.
Winner: Nominees
There's nothing in B-Team to match the care and scope of The Zen Diaries.
Documentary Or Nonfiction Series
* American Masters
* Blue Planet II
* The Defiant Ones
* The Fourth Estate
Wild Wild Country
B-Team
* American Dynasties: The Kennedeys
* Chef's Table
Evil Genius
History of Comedy
The Nineties
I've seen more of these than I expected. The History of Comedy hit a lot of the same notes I've seen before, although I appreciate how it divided everything up. CNN's decade series like The Nineties are always outdone in my mind by VH1's I Love the __ from over a decade ago. I heard great things about The Defiant Ones, even from people I didn't expect to. And if it's between Evil Genius and Wild Wild Country, then it's no question.
Winner: Nominees
Wild Wild Country is among the 10 best things I've watched in 2018. Nothing else comes close. Maybe The Defiant Ones could, but that's also a nominee.
Informational Series Or Special
* Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
* Leah Remini: Scientology And The Aftermath
* My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman
* StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson
* Vice
B-Team
* Bill Nye Saves the World
# Inside the Actors Studio
* Citizen Rose
* Jay Leno's Garage
# Talking Dead
It's hard to argue with the heavy hitters in the nominee list. People certainly nominated by brand. Neil deGrasse Tyson > Bill Nye. David Letterman > Jay Leno. Leah Remini's Scientology show is a bit more focused than Citizen Rose. Rose gets in her own way too much. Vice and Inside the Actors Studio are different kinds of institutions. Then you have beloved, dead Anthony Bourdain vs. the burned by scandal Chris Hardwick's Talking Dead.
Winner: Nominees
This is especially moot, because Anthony Bourdain's death essentially removes all debate anyway.
Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking
City Of Ghosts
* Jane
Strong Island
* What Haunts Us
B-Team
Icarus
* Gaga: Five Foot Two
* Spielberg
* Tickling Giants
Where the hell is The Vietnam War series from Ken Burns? I'm confused by its eligibility absence. Oh well. It's 2 to 1 for Oscar nominees (City of Ghosts and Strong Island vs. Icarus). Critics likes Jane more than all of them. Tickling Giants never got much traction. Spielberg was overshadowed by The Zen Diaries.
Winner: Nominees
I don't feel strongly about this. I'm still too busy trying to track down what happened to the Vietnam War in these categories.
Stunt Coordination - Comedy Or Variety Series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
* Cobra Kai
GLOW
Saturday Night Live
# Shameless
B-Team
* Ash vs. Evil Dead
Barry
* Get Shorty
* Stan Against Evil
* The Tick
The similarly titled Ash vs. Evil Dead and Stan Against Evil have good opportunities for stunts. The Tick too. Barry is probably the most surprising omission from the nominees, since it got a lot of general awards love and had some good stunt sequences. Then again: Brooklyn Nine Nine (cop show). Cobra Kai (karate show). GLOW (wrestling show). It's hard to beat that.
Winner: Nominees
I was going to revolt if GLOW got ignored for this.
Stunt Coordination - Drama Or Limited Series
Nominees
# The Blacklist
* Blindspot
Game Of Thrones
* Marvel's The Punisher
Westworld
B-Team
# Gotham
Mr. Robot
# Marvel's Agents of SHIELD
# Marvel's Jessica Jones
Marvel's The Defenders
It's a lazy rule, but if Marvel is in the title, I give it a leg up here. I see that the CW's DC shows didn't even submit themselves. I guess years of being ignored despite being very deserving finally got to them. While I appreciate what The Defenders and Agents of SHIELD do with their budgets, few things in film, let alone TV, compare to the size and execution of Game of Thrones and Westworld.
Winner: Nominees
I can't do it. Game of Thrones earns it.
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This year's edition starts with a clean nominee sweep (7-0). The nominees do tend to come out ahead, especially early on. I have a feeling this year could be even more severe than normal thanks to a relatively thin lineup over the last year.
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