Saturday, May 19, 2018

'Star Trek: Discovery' vs. 'Stranger Things' and 'Black Mirror' at the Saturn Awards


Yesterday, I asked "'Star Trek: Discovery' vs. 'Stranger Things,' anyone?"  The answer is yes as I continue with the Saturn Awards with this entry about the Best New Media Television Series nominees.

"Star Trek: Discovery" is tied with "Twin Peaks: The Return" for the second-most nominations of any television show at the Saturn Awards with five, Best New Media Television Series, Best Actor on a Television Series for Jason Isaacs, Best Actress on a Television Series for Sonequa Martin-Green, Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series for Doug Jones, and Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television for Michelle Yeoh.  That's a good haul of nominations, but nothing like what CBS is attempting to garner at the Emmys.  Watch 'Star Trek: Discovery' Aims For Emmy Awards Consideration from Wochit Entertainment.


In case my readers missed the list, here is an image from TrekMovie.com.


Huh, if I had seen that, I might have moved Jason Issacs to Best Supporting Actor on Television, knocking Kit Harington out and letting Andrew Lincoln back in.  Still, no matter, as those lists were purely theoretical and I promised not to complain about the television acting nominations after that post.

TrekMovie.com has more.
But CBS isn’t done with that, with the DVD screener asking voters to consider Discovery in other categories including Outstanding Music Composition, Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Title Design, Outstanding Visual Effects, Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup and Outstanding Costumes (Fantasy/Sci-Fi).
TrekMovie.com forgot Outstanding Main Title Theme, which I think it will be nominated for as well as the last four categories in the quoted paragraph above plus Outstanding Music Composition and maybe Outstanding Cinematography (I'll embed a video of the main title below).  The Creative Arts Emmy Award ceremony will be a big one for "Star Trek: Discovery."  The Primetime Emmys, not so much.

Back to the Saturn Awards.  Two other shows competing with it for Best New Media Television Series have two nominations each, "Stranger Things" with its second nomination for Millie Bobbie Brown who is the returning winner for Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series, and "Black Mirror," which has its second nomination for Jesse Plemons for Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television.  Here are all the nominees in the category from File 770.
Best New Media Television Series:

Altered Carbon (Netflix)
Black Mirror (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Mindhunter (Netflix)
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (Amazon / Sony Television)
Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
If the entertainment professionals were voting, it would be a close call between Black Mirror and "The Handmaid's Tale" with "Stranger Things" right behind them in third.  With this group, I think it will be close between "Stranger Things" and "Star Trek: Discovery," with the latter having more geek cred with a Hugo nomination for Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) (so does "Black Mirror: USS Callister," but I think the Saturn Awards electorate would prefer real Star Trek over a well-crafted imitation).  As for me, I'm voting for "Stranger Things."  My wife and I didn't think paying for CBS All Access was worth it, so we didn't catch the second half of the season for "Star Trek: Discovery" but we binge-watched all of the second season of "Stranger Things" in two days.

Follow over the jump for the acting nominations for "Star Trek: Discovery," "Stranger Things," and "Black Mirror."

Here are the relevant categories along with my comments from 'The Walking Dead' vs. 'American Horror Story: Cult' plus Saturn Awards for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.  As I did for the movie nominees, I'll only add a comment if I didn't say anything about any of the streaming nominees.  Otherwise, I'll just quote and move on.
Best Actor on a Television Series:

Jon Bernthal "Marvel’s The Punisher" (Netflix)
Bruce Campbell "Ash vs. Evil Dead" (Starz)
Sam Heughan "Outlander" (Starz)
Jason Isaacs "Star Trek: Discovery" (CBS All Access)
Andrew Lincoln "The Walking Dead" (AMC)
Seth MacFarlane "The Orville" (Fox Television)
Kyle MacLachlan "Twin Peaks: The Return" (Showtime)
Ricky Whittle "American Gods" (Starz)
Kyle MacLachlan would be the entertainment insiders' choice, but I'm voting for Andrew Lincoln again.  His closest competition would be either Bruce Campbell, who won two years ago, or Sam Heughan, who has the support of an organized "Outlander" fandom.
As I noted above, CBS is promoting Jason Issacs for a supporting actor nomination at the Emmys, so he may not belong here.  That won't stop some of the Saturn Awards electorate from voting for him -- neither will his character's death.

Best Actress on a Television Series:

Gillian Anderson "The X-Files" (Fox Television)
Caitriona Balfe "Outlander" (Starz)
Melissa Benoist "Supergirl" (The CW)
Lena Headey "Game of Thrones" (HBO)
Sonequa Martin-Green "Star Trek: Discovery" (CBS All Access)
Adrianne Palicki "The Orville" (Fox Television)
Sarah Paulson "American Horror Story: Cult" (FX)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead "Fargo"(FX)
I was considering voting for Caitriona Balfe last year, but didn't.  This year, I plan on it.  Better her than last year's winner Melissa Benoist.  Of course, either Sarah Paulson or Mary Elizabeth Winstead could pull an upset.
This is Sonequa Martin-Green's first nomination for acting.  I'm not hopeful about her winning, but I think she'll have better luck in future Saturn Awards.

Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series:

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau "Game of Thrones" (HBO)
Miguel Ferrer "Twin Peaks: The Return" (Showtime)
Kit Harington "Game of Thrones" (HBO)
Doug Jones "Star Trek: Discovery" (CBS All Access)
Christian Kane "The Librarians" (TNT)
Michael McKean "Better Call Saul" (AMC)
Khary Payton "The Walking Dead"(AMC)
Evan Peters "American Horror Story: Cult" (FX)
Michael McKean is probably the entertainment professionals' choice followed by Evan Peters, but I'm voting for Khary Payton.  "And yet I smile!"
Doug Jones is not a bad choice, but I don't know if the Star Trek fans outnumber fans of "The Walking Dead."  Besides, his performance is pretty understated and the Saturn voters do not like subtle.

Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series:

KJ Apa "Riverdale" (The CW)
Milly Bobby Brown [sic] "Stranger Things" (Netflix)
Max Charles "The Strain" (FX)
Alycia Debnam-Carey "Fear the Walking Dead" (AMC)
David Mazouz "Gotham" (Fox)
Lili Reinhart "Riverdale" (The CW)
Chandler Riggs "The Walking Dead" (AMC)
Cole Spouse "Riverdale" (The CW)
I voted for Millie Bobby Brown last year and I'm voting for her again.  Here's to hoping she can overcome a farewell vote for Chandler Riggs and the "Riverdale" fans don't settle on a single nominee.
Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television:

Bryan Cranston "Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams" (Amazon / Sony Television)
Michael Greyeyes "Fear the Walking Dead" (AMC)
David Lynch "Twin Peaks: The Return" (Showtime)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan "The Walking Dead" (AMC)
Rachel Nichols "The Librarians" (TNT)
Jesse Plemons "Black Mirror" (Netflix)
Hartley Sawyer "The Flash" (The CW)
Michelle Yeoh "Star Trek: Discovery" (CBS All Access)
I'm sure Jeffrey Dean Morgan will win for his role as Negan again.  I voted for him last year because he was a guest star according to The Television Academy, performing in less than one-half of one of the seasons under consideration.  This year, he's not; he's really a supporting actor, so I'm not voting for him this year.  While the entertainment professional vote would probably go to Bryan Cranston, I'm voting for Michelle Yeoh, who is much more of a guest actress than Morgan.
Time to me to include the updated version of the pitch I make for my readers to become members: "Click here to apply for an affiliate membership.  At $25, one can vote for the best films and television shows.  At $40, one can vote for all categories.  I've already paid my $40.  I hope my readers do, too."

Finally, here is the main title sequence for "Star Trek: Discovery" I promised.


When the series premiered, I wrote "Here's to hoping this gets nominated for Outstanding Main Title Music at next year's Emmy Awards.  May it have a title sequence worthy of the franchise to accompany it."  It does.

I mentioned "Twin Peaks: The Return" was the other television show with five nominations.  I'll examine it and the other nominees for Best Presentation on Television tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Previous entries about the 2018 Saturn Awards:

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