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The monitor is a weekly column devoted to everything that happens in the world of WIRED culture, from movies to memes, from TV to Twitter.
First, a rant: This year’s Golden Globe nominations for television were a disaster. No offense to whoever is nominated, but the number of outstanding accomplishments overlooked this year goes way beyond what the industry politely likes to call “snobs.” I can destroy you, easily the best thing on TV in 2020 didn’t get any nominations, and yet Pawl has three? GTFO. No Unsafe But Emily in Paris got two nods? Damn it. (Even the writers on Emilie ok it’s a parodyGranted, it was an odd year for entertainment, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association just didn’t make the jump to HBO Go to HBO Max or something? Let’s go.
That said, if there was one title among the Golden Globe nominees that came as a nice surprise, it was this: The Mandalorian is in the running for Best Drama Series. Yes, drama. All that supper Baby Yoda did it in season 1 got noticed, all of you. It’s not for nothing the show deserves attention, and given that there’s no Golden Globe for Best Sci-Fi Series or Best Action Series, giving Mando a big confetti day for all the drama it brought to 2020 looks about right. If no statue goes to brilliant genre advocates like Michaela Coel, the least the HFPA can do is shake the needle in acknowledging science fiction. (Also, before yelling at me on Twitter: Yeah, I know I can destroy you is a limited series, so it wouldn’t be in the same category as The Mandalorian. But that’s the principle of it.) It won’t do it right, but at least it won’t make it worse.
And now is the best time. Most of the major awards – the Globes, the Oscars, the Emmys – took a long time to celebrate genre television. Like, remarkably slow. Did you know that for all of the different Star Trek series, the franchise only won Emmys for technical accomplishments? It is true. Globes? Forget that. (I follow Patrick Stewart’s acting career and demand that I be a witness!) The same goes for the Star Wars franchise and the Oscars. That is to say a show like The Mandalorian getting a nomination in a major television category is huge. With so many good contenders absent from the field, The Mandalorian becomes a strong candidate for rooting, a neck and neck with Lovecraft Country, which is nominated in the same category.
Look, I know the trophy will probably go to The crown. Or Ozark. If it goes to Pawl, I will eat this site (and be happy for Sarah Paulson, who did her best). And either of those shows would be nice. It doesn’t matter. The rewards often miss the mark. But you know what? The Mandalorian does something special. He took territory so well worn that it is practically transparent and found a fun Western-style drama. And it gave us a little green dude so GIF capable the internet called him his. None of those things really speak to the quality of the show, or how it was the best thing on TV last year, but it’s clear that HFPA hasn’t paid much attention either. . Might as well give Mando a trophy – it might change some minds about what heroes can do.
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