This Year's Golden Globes Nominations Could Have Been a Lot Worse

By Vivian Kane | Miscellaneous | December 12, 2014 |

By Vivian Kane | Miscellaneous | December 12, 2014 |

It’s hard to take the Golden Globes seriously. There’s more butt kissing and obvious campaigning than with the other awards shows (at least more PUBLIC butt kissing), and no one seems to give a crap anyway. But still, we get upset when our favorite shows/movies/people are snubbed. And this year there was quite a bit of snubbing. NOTHING for Mad Men? No Maslany?? It hurts. So I’m here to provide a little context. As boring or maddening as some of the nominations are, they could be a whole lot worse. Here are some past winners who are worse than all this year’s least deserving nominees combined.

Best TV Drama
The Affair
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
House of Cards

Really? Downton? The clearly inferior second season of House of Cards? But at least it’s not 2006, when the award went to Grey’s Anatomy. And talk about a year of turds, the other nominations that year were 24 (past its good seasons), Lost, Heroes, and Big Love. Those were really the BEST shows on TV that year?

Best TV Comedy
Girls,
Jane the Virgin
Orange is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent

I actually think this is a solid list. Of course, leaving Louie and Veep off is inexcusable, but even if you don’t love all these shows, at least none of them are Glee, which won in both 2009 and 2010.

Best Actor - TV Comedy
Don Cheadle - House of Lies
Ricky Gervais - Derek
Jeffrey Tambor - Transparent
Louis C.K. - Louie
William H. Macy - Shameless
I don’t care who wins (just kidding, Jeffrey Tambor or GTFO), because at least no one from The Big Bang Theory is nominated. Unlike in 2010, when Jim Parsons won.

Best Actress, TV Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Ruth Wilson, The Affair
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Don’t stress too hard over the omission of all the Tatiana Maslanys, because at least Anna Paquin isn’t here. True Blood is a guilty pleasure at best, and how the hell did Sookie beat out Sally Field?

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
I wasn’t crazy about The Theory of Everything. But even that’s better than Forrest Gump, which won in 1994.

Best Comedy or Musical
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into the Woods
Pride
St. Vincent

These are all good to great movies (wishful speaking in regard to Into the Woods), all better than, say, Evita. Evita which beat out Fargo in 1996. That Evita.

Best Director
Wes Anderson The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava Duvernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandra Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

These are ALL better than James Cameron, who won the award for his 2009 remake of FernGully.

Best Actress - Drama
Jennifer Aniston - Cake
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild

I don’t know which is worse, so take your pick. We could be looking at Sandra Bullock, who won for The Blind Side in 2010 or Natalie Portman for Black Swan in 2011. That’s lose/lose.

Best Actor, Comedy
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

Borat. Just be glad none of them are Borat.