So I've had a few weeks to digest the Emmy nominations and get excited for the September 21 broadcast, which will by officiated by Best Reality Show Host contenders Heidi Klum and Ryan "shoe-in" Seacrest. And despite my glee at seeing a hip new show like Californication earn a nod for casting, and Emmy vet Julia Louis-Dreyfus score another nomination for acting (aka saving her sitcom from the Seinfeld curse), and watching Mad Men clean house from top to bottom, I can't swallow the ballot without tasting a little bitterness for the ones that got away.

Snubbed: The Office

Sure, it isn't as razor-sharp as it once was, but The Office remains one of the few comedies I actually look forward to week after week. This is due almost wholly to the tight harmony of its cast, many of whom were amateur actors when the show debuted four years ago. I'd bump the stale Curb Your Enthusiasm crew in a minute to get the employees of Dunder-Mifflin some props on this one.

Snubbed: ER, Rescue Me, The Wire

The Tudors? Friday Night Lights? Are they kidding? Admittedly, I've only seen those shows in passing, but there is no way their ensembles beat the well-oiled, ever-rotating cast of ER. Or the sweetly dysfunctional (and quite often hilarious) lugs of of Rescue Me. And, The Wire ... well, I'm totally speechless overall on that one, but more on that later.

Snubbed: Anyone who isn't Charlie Sheen or Tony Shalhoub

Is the comedy pool so shallow that we've included these guys again? Does anyone even watch Monk? And as much as I love Two and a Half Men, it has little to do with "acting" on Sheen's part and everything to do with him "saying the funny lines written for him." I'm not sure who's more deserving, but I'd go with barely-a-fake-actor Larry David over these guys any day of the week.

Snubbed: Denis Leary

Seriously, Academy, what does this man have to do to get your attention? Four seasons in and Leary has yet to win anything for his consistently brave work in the firehouse drama. Between Tommy's alcoholism, sexual exploits, lingering love for his ex-wife, and losing his father in the last episode, I'd say Leary's work last season was as good as it gets.

Snubbed: Kristin Wiig

Who knew SNL cast members were even eligible for this category? If so, then Wiig should be on the ballot instead of Amy Poehler (whom I love, but she isn't much of an "actress"). I've said it before and I'll it again: Wiig is the reason the show is funny again, and for this, she deserves an Emmy nomination at the very least.

Snubbed: Callie Thorne, January Jones, Mia Wasikowska

This is a crowded field. Jones' icy nonchalance as Mad Men's Betty is a stirring, subtle portrait of domestic malaise. On the other hand, Rescue Me's Thorne is one of the most fearless actresses on television today (I'm talking Holly Hunter scary-good). But it's In Treatment's Wasikowska who took acting to a higher plane this season. The 18-year-old Aussie's injured gymnast, Sophie, simultaneously scared the crap out of me and made me cry. How many actresses did that last year?

Snubbed: Will Forte

OK, we get it. 30 Rock scores a lot of funny guest stars. But for the show to have four of the five noms here, well, that just ain't fair. Besides, Forte is part of the NBC family and his guest turn as an "actor" day-lighting as a dry cleaner on Flight of the Conchords last summer is, in my estimation, the funniest bit of comedy I've seen in a long while.

Snubbed: How I Met Your Mother

I measure the quality of a comedy with a very simple method: If I laugh out loud, then the show has does done its job. How I Met consistently delivers while nominee Entourage consistently disappoints. (The most I experience from watching Vince and the boys is a mild chuckle or perhaps an emphatic "Huh.") I think the Academy thought that throwing Neil Patrick Harris a bone for acting (which does warm my heart) was somehow a substitute for the acknowledging the most clever, fresh, and witty sitcom of the 2000s. Sorry, no dice.

Snubbed: Rescue Me, The Wire

The notion that Academy members actually debated the merits of Boston Legal in the same breath as The Wire is totally laughable. Legal is funny, but it's more of a comedy. (Aren't all David E. Kelley shows?) And Lost? Puh-leeze. I am so over this show, I can't even muster a new criticism for it. To deny Rescue Me and The Wire -- two programs that dare to show the ugliest parts of us -- an Outstanding-Drama nod is downright irresponsible. At least Leary and the boys have another shot; Omar, McNulty, and the dozens of players of The Wire are dead and gone. I hope the Academy can live with itself on this one; I know I couldn't.

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