TCA Awards

The Television Critics Association handed out its annual awards Saturday night. I wasn't there, but I did get to vote (hooray for me!).

The winners:

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: “Heroes” (NBC)
OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: “Friday Night Lights” (NBC)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: “The Sopranos” (HBO)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: “The Office” (NBC)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: “Planet Earth” (Discovery)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING: “Kyle XY” (ABC Family)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINI-SERIES & SPECIALS: “Planet Earth” (Discovery)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock” (NBC)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Michael C. Hall, “Dexter” (Showtime)
HERITAGE AWARD: “The Sopranos” (HBO)
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Mary Tyler Moore

My reax: "Program of the year" isn't what you might think -- it's for overall impact, rather than best program. So "Heroes" edges out "Sopranos" or "The Wire" or "FNL" because it changed the scene more than those others did.

I thought the "Dexter" choice was interesting. It's a good show, but I think the premise's quirkiness buys it street cred that the show's actual quality hasn't earned. Baldwin is a critical darling, of course. As are "FNL" and "The Office."

So, pretty predictable. I suppose that may be a feature, not a bug -- after all the random weird nominations for the Emmys, the TCA Awards at least make sense.