And the Award Goes To...

The Emmys are fast approaching. The celebration of my favorite medium. I know I've had some harsh words, and I stand by them. But, still, I am obligated by my passion for television -- and my membership in gaydom -- to watch the awards ceremony.

However, for quite some time, I've had a minor complaint. For at least the past decade or so, shows like "Ally McBeal" and "Desperate Housewives" have blurred the lines between genres. Not fully dramas, not fully comedies. "Dramedies," if you will. These hybrid shows are enjoyable and usually well-written and well-acted, which is why they keep getting nominated for Emmys.

And there's the problem: How do you classify these programs and their actors for the purposes of Emmy nominations?

Well, as it stands, they get shuffled under "comedy," but that doesn't really work. Take, for example, the DH ladies. Teri Hatcher makes sense as a comedic actress nominee because her role is primarily for laughs. An argument could even be made that the same goes for Felicity Huffman, but certainly not Marcia Cross. Cross's shining moments are in her dramatic scenes, and Huffman excels in both drama and comedy.

This year, I'm delighted to see so many of the "Glee" stars nominated, as well as the show itself. But the problem rises again, specifically with the two nominees for whom I am rooting the hardest (and who are least likely to win, if we're being honest). Chris Colfer and Mike O'Malley as Kurt Hummel and his father Burt. Both are amazing in their roles, and, of course, both have their comic moments which they milk for all they're worth. But what they truly deserve to be honored for are those heart-wrenching father/son moments. And it seems inadequate, at best, to judge them alongside true comic performances by the likes of Jon Hamm on "30 Rock," Neil Patrick Harris or the stars of "Modern Family".

The nominations of "United States of Tara" and "Nurse Jackie" and their cast members are likewise perplexing. Even more than "Glee," these shows tend towards the dramatic. One would be generous in defining them as "dark comedies."

These hybrids have had to do a dance to decide in which category to submit reels, and they seem to always define themselves as comedies. The cynical part of me wants to say that TPTB believe that comedy is an easier category to win. (The laden awards shelf over at "Desperate Housewives" HQ supports my cynicism.) Another part of me, however, says that they just don't know what else to do. Err on the side of caution and all that.

I have long proposed a separate category altogether. But no one listens to me, so...