'Frasier' up, WB down over Emmy nods

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was shut out at the Emmys -- as was its now former network, The WB

(CNN) -- "The same old boring shows" -- that's how WB Entertainment president Jordan Levin described the 2001 class of Emmy nominees.

Of course, it could be sour grapes -- WB was completely shut out by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as it dished out its annual nominations for what it sees as the best shows on television.

Out of 416 nominations unveiled Thursday at a Los Angeles news conference, WB received zero. Even its baby, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," was ignored, despite a strong marketing push from the WB front. The WB is a unit of AOL Time Warner, as is CNN.

"If 'Catcher in the Rye' were released today, academy members would look at the book and consider it a dime-store paperback," Levin told industry publication Daily Variety. "The academy is totally out of step with the viewing public. Every report I heard this morning listed the same old boring shows."

The Emmys irrelevant?

VIDEO 'Sopranos' receives 22 nominations, 'West Wing' gets 18. CNN's Lauren Hunter reports (July 12) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES 'Sopranos' seeks Emmy revenge     RESOURCES TV Guide's Mark Schwed: The Emmy nominees     EXTRA INFORMATION Interactive: List of nominees

Some might argue with the "boring" part, but "same" seemed to be the theme for Emmy voters. The academy will announce its Emmy winners on September 16 in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS.

And just like last year, the two top contenders to win the most Emmy nods are HBO's "The Sopranos" (22 nominations) and NBC's "The West Wing" (18). Both are once again nominated for best drama, and so is "Law & Order," which has been picked in that category for 10 years running.

Other categories, like best comedy, also have familiar shows, including last year's winner, "Will & Grace."

"Frasier," NBC's perennial Emmy favorite in the sitcom category, was also nominated and it has a chance to break the all-time record for most Emmys for a sitcom. "The Mary Tyler Moore" show took 29 in its run; "Frasier" has 24, with 11 nominations this year.

Levin, who's an academy member, said he thinks the academy picks (or re-picks) signify a "reverse ageism" in place among voters. They pick what's familiar, not necessarily what's fresh, he said.

"They for some reason don't look at young adult programming as important enough to be nominated," he said. "There's an arrogance and egotism about it. They're making the Emmy Awards irrelevant."

Reality and Emmy

TV Academy chair Meryl Marshall-Daniels disagreed. WB missed out simply because the competition is fierce, she says.

"The process is a tough one," she told Variety. "The WB has some superb programming, and there's no reason why that shouldn't be reflected somewhere. It's tough to break through the consciousness of a significant body of professionals."

"Frasier" picked up 11 nominations this year, including one for star Kelsey Grammer

The academy also points out that it was quick to create a category that focused on the newly emerging "reality programming." Up for new best reality program are CBS' "Survivor," MTV's "Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour," the VH1 series "Band on the Run," USA's "Eco-Challenge: Borneo" and TLC's (The Learning Channel) "Junkyard Wars."

"For everybody who would argue this (reality TV) is not on a par with more conventional dramas or comedy, somebody else would argue this is the now and the future of TV," Emmy Awards director John Leverence told The Associated Press. "This is something with enormous mass appeal."

Another angle to watch as Emmy night unfolds: ABC challenging cable competitors in made-for-TV movies categories. ABC received 30 nominations in the long-form categories, a strong showing in a genre recently dominated by pay networks like HBO.

The ABC movies that did the best with Emmy: "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," with 13 mentions; and "Anne Frank," with 11. Both will vie for best miniseries against "Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City" (Showtime), "Horatio Hornblower" (A&E) and "Nuremberg" (TNT).