The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences today unveiled the nominees for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, including a number of animated and visual effects-driven programs among the hopefuls. This year’s contenders for Outstanding Animated Program (Less Than One Hour) are fairly spread out across networks with noms going to Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender ‘City of Walls and Secrets,’ Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken ‘Lust for Puppets,’ FOX’s The Simpsons ‘The Haw-Hawed Couple,’ Comedy Central’s South Park ‘Make Love, Not Warcraft’ and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants ‘Bummer Vacation/Wig Struck.’
Cartoon Network’s Good Wilt Hunting, the first long-form special for Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, will be on the Emmy trail in the category Outstanding Animated Program (One Hour or More). Also up for the award are Starz’s Hellboy Animated: Sword Of Storms from Starz Media/Revolution Studios, Cartoon Network’s Where’s Lazlo? (Camp Lazlo) from Cartoon Network Studios and Discovery Channel’s Secrets of the Deep from Impossible Pictures.
As it makes its broadcast swan song, Sci-Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica picked up a number of nominations in various categories, including Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series for the episode ‘Exodus Part 2.’ Also up for the award are SCI-FI’s Eureka pilot, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy ‘Walk on Water,’ NBC’s Heroes ‘Five Years Gone’ and HBO’s Rome ‘Philippi.’ Rome took the award last year.
FOX’s very short-lived action series Drive may not have attracted an audience, but the innovative use of visual effects in its ‘The Starting Line’ installment garnered a nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie Or A Special. The category is filled out by HBO’s Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, ABC’s The Path to 9/11 (night two), Discovery Channel’s Secrets of the Deep and two episodes of TNT’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King”Battleground’ and ‘The End of the Whole Mess.’
Though it wasn’t nominated in the animated series category, FOX’s Family Guy is in the running for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song ‘My Drunken Irish Dad’ from the episode ‘Peter’s Two Dads.’ The tune will be up against toe-tappers ‘Merry Ex-Mas’ from FOX’s MADtv, ‘Dick In A Box’ from NBC’s Saturday Night Live and ‘Everything Comes Down to Poo’ from NBC’s Scrubs.
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on Sunday, Sept. 16 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. A complete list of nominees can be found at www.emmys.org/awards/2007pt/nominations.php.
