TV academy CEO: "Boston Legal" keeps getting nominated because it's a great show!

The Emmy nominations were announced before sunrise Thursday here, and as usual they offered their share of pleasant surprises and huge disappointments. If one chronic problem ails the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences more than any other, it is the voting body's inability to recognize TV shows that are aimed at viewers under the age of 40.

At a party Thursday night thrown by ABC, which plays host to the Emmy Awards Sept. 21, I bumped into John Shaffner, the Academy's chairman and CEO, and buttonholed him on this.

"Boston Legal," an ABC show on its last legs, with an older viewership and declining ratings, nonetheless picked up two prestigious nominations for best drama and best actor in a drama -- in fact, James Spader won it last year, and co-star William Shatner has also won an Emmy. Meanwhile, series like "Battlestar Galactica" and "Friday Night Lights," which have both won Peabody Awards but are aimed at younger audiences, are dead to Academy voters. (And don't get me started on HBO's "The Wire," which collected exactly as many nominations this week as JayLenosGarage.com: one.)

"First, I understand the demographics tell us that shows like 'Boston Legal' appeal to an older group," Shaffner said. "However, I like to subscribe to the theory that they really appeal to a thinking group. 'Boston Legal' is so engrossing in the intellectual conversation that takes place, it takes your breath away.

"In my opinion, shows that are very young, that have only been on the air six months or so, maybe we're waiting for them to grow up a little."

Well, that was a leap, I said: Shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were on for years (and speaking of intellectual, I'd wager more academics are studying old "Buffy" episodes than "Boston Legal"). They were never recognized.

"OK, then, which show would you take out of the top five to make room for it? Every year, it's the same dilemma."

Shaffner's most convincing point, to me at least, was about the promotion that shows get when they are snubbed by the academy: "If a show is overlooked, fans and critics like you speak up, and viewers say, 'Hey, maybe I'll take a look at that.'

"Let's face it, everything we do is about the promotion of the programs to the viewers so they'll watch and support the advertisers so we can keep doing shows."