According to the SAG Awards, ...
Question: According to the SAG Awards,
Boston Legal is a comedy.
James Spader,
William Shatner,
Candice Bergen and the show itself all received nominations in the comedy category. The show is hilarious at times, don't get me wrong. But after all these episodes and all those Emmy/Golden Globe wins in the drama category, I never knew it was a comedy series. What gives?
Answer: Excellent question, and it comes with an interesting answer.
David E. Kelley's company submitted
Boston Legal to the SAG Awards as a comedy, feeling that the show has evolved this year into a hybrid that's more comedic than dramatic, regardless of the drama awards the show has reaped previously at the Emmys and at the Globes (which ignored the show this year). Last time I checked, Kelley's camp hadn't yet decided how to enter the show when the time comes for Emmy consideration. The debate goes like this: Given the past wins in the drama category, why fix what isn't broken? But given that the show itself isn't likely to be nominated against such a tremendous slate of heavy-hitting dramas this season, maybe it makes more sense to try
Boston Legal's chances against a more diminished comedy field. The problem: Talk about mixed signals. The solution would be to create new categories for dramedy hybrids, but no one thinks that's likely. (And that's OK by me.)
Variety reported this week that the TV Academy may set down new guidelines that might prevent these hourlong hybrids (including
Desperate Housewives) from competing against half-hour comedies. But I hope it doesn't come down to that either.
Boston Legal is in a very interesting situation, but I tend to think that since it entered the field as a drama, it should probably stay there. (Same reasoning applies to
Housewives. Once a comedy, always a comedy.) But since I also don't take most awards-giving all that seriously, given the flaws inherent in most of their systems, I guess it's up to the show where it wants to compete. The real complication here is that
Boston Legal seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis these days, at least where awards are concerned.
