Emmy Nominations: The Snubs! The Strange-but-true!

There's no doubt about it: Looking at this year's Emmy nominations, voters really dropped the ball with Friday Night Lights, most inexcusably leaving the acclaimed newbie out of the drama-series race and robbing Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of acting bids. "It's incredibly rare for first-year shows to get nominated," NBC Universal Media Studios president Katherine Pope tells Variety. "I feel confident we'll get a best-drama nomination next year."
Other oversights getting repeat mention across the biz are Lost (MIA from the drama race for a second straight year, yet this time unforgivably) and Michael C. Hall (whose Dexter apparently slays everyone but stodgy Academy members).
That said, here are some Emmy nod "curiosities" I have culled from assorted trade-mag recaps and blogs. Enjoy:
" As NBCU's Pope alluded to above, last year no new program earned a spot in the comedy- or drama-series contests. One rule tweak later, we have Heroes, 30 Rock and Ugly Betty.
" American Idol, whose track record stands at zero wins against 22 total noms, is three strikes away from tying the record held by Newhart for biggest loser.
" Survivor is missing from the reality-series race for the first time since the category was launched in 2003.
" SNL's "D--k in a Box" and Scrubs' "Everything Comes Down to Poo" are among the contenders for best original music and lyrics. Lovely!
" Despite boasting acclaimed fare such as The Shield and The Riches, FX only eked out three nods (versus last year's eight). Similarly, nascent "fourth network" the CW scored just one Emmy nom (sound editing, for Smallville). That's on par with, say, Starz, or National Geographic Channel.
" And there's this one, e-mailed in to (and talked about in) this week's TV Guide Talk podcast: According to Jim is vying for outstanding cinematography honors. How does one properly shoot a sitcom living room?
See Interviews & Features for reactions from Emmy nominees Rainn Wilson, Tina Fey, Neil Patrick Harris and many others.