2011 Emmy Nominations: Surprisingly Decent

The Emmy nominations came out yesterday morning with mostly hits, very few misses. I'm still waiting for the Academy to one day hit on all six of my personal favorite series/performances of a given year, and thus validate my superior taste (like when Arcade Fire won a Grammy), but all in all, I was pretty pleased with the 2011 selections.

The Awesome:  

• Game of Thrones got a lot of love, both as a series and as a vehicle for Peter Dinklage's acting, which is good, because I happen to be totally gay for that show. 
• All the Mad Men nominations were obviously deserved, but they have to give Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss the damned statues this year. They're overdue (as is Steve Carell), and the season itself was unsurpassable. Hear that, Boardwalk Empire? Unsurpassable.  
• Parks and Recreation being nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series was about damn time, and it should definitely win... because I love it the most right now. Amy Poehler, too -- Sorry, Tina! I still worship at your altar! -- but alas, it'll probably go to Laura Linney, since she's in the movies and stuff.
• Martha Plimpton! I didn't stick around for the entire first season of Raising Hope, but for as long as I did, her work (and Garret Dillahunt's) was the reason I tuned in week after week.
• Equally exclamation-point-worthy: Louis C.K.! This guy is without a doubt one of the funniest comedians around; I would watch him get interviewed by The View, that's how funny he is.

The Snubs:

• Community is not quite in my top 6 comedies, but between Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, and Danny Pudi, it's a shame the show wasn't awarded a single acting nomination.
• Oh, but forget the Community cast for a second, because you cannot call yourself an American and not vote for Nick Offerman in the supporting comedy actor category; that's Ron Fucking Swanson you're snubbing!
• Michael Pitt on Boardwalk Empire looks, sounds, breathes, and just plain is the part. Period.
• Toni Colette and Keir Gilchrist were pretty fantastic on the final season of United States of Tara, as were Mary Louise Parker on Weeds and Kiernan Shipka on Mad Men; I can't remember the last time a performance made me forget that the actor was actually a child.  
• The In Treatment actors: Gabriel Byrne, Dane DeHaan (a young Leo DiCaprio in every way), Irrfan Khan, Amy Ryan, Debra Winger... Again, I ask: not a single nomination?
• Failing to consider Carlos among the year's best miniseries is criminal any way you cut it.

My Unfulfilled Wishlist of Admitted Long Shots: 

• Cougar Town, in fact, is in my top 6 comedies, so... that was a bummer. (The Big Bang Theory? Really? Who can seriously still abide a live-audience show anymore? And why does not-Sheldon have Joel McHale's lead actor spot? Not OK, guys.)
• Mary Elizabeth Ellis on the short-lived Perfect Couples was the highlight of an overall strong cast; somebody give her another sitcom!
• Ellie Kemper as Erin on The Office is pure perfection in my eyes.
• I have to believe that one day Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter will get the recognition she deserves. Otherwise, what's the point of anything?
• Chloe Sevigny has never been nominated for Big Love, and that just makes me sad.
• Would I lose all credibility if I suggested Terriers should have been shortlisted for outstanding drama this year? I like Dexter, but the show is failing to grow out of its one-note-ness with each passing season. 

So that's where The Emmys leave us until the coutoure-clad winners are announced in September. What did everyone else think? Did the good outweigh the perplexingly bad this year? I don't know about you guys, but these nominations really made me want to start and resume watching Justified and The Good Wife, respectively. So, should I bother?