My Biggest Emmy Snubs

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I will be covering continuing roles on episodic television, performances in TV movies and TV mini-series, and guest appearances on episodic television. Some of them were nominated and some weren't, but these are television performances that I think deserved Emmys:

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60.

Donald Sutherland as Tripp Darling

Dirty Sexy Money

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Uv3Hl8SzdhY/TOTbv3DSG4I/AAAAAAAAACQ/T-rNTPy6I2E/s1600/trippdarling.jpg

This prime time soap was just so much fluff, but Sutherland's work as the wealthy patriarch of the Darling family, manipulating his children's lives and keeping a whole lot of secrets, was nothing short of brilliant.

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59.

Mira Sorvino as Marilyn Monroe

Norma Jean and Marilyn

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-tSPYGcb0NY/hqdefault.jpg

Yes, this 1996 HBO TV movie had its problems, but there is no denying Mira Sorvino's breathtaking performance as Marilyn Monroe...warm and vulnerable, Sorvino clearly did her homework in bringing the sex symbol to the small screen.

[Sedai]

Hoping to see Tatiana Maslany on this list! Massive Emmy snub!

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Hoping to see Tatiana Maslany on this list! Massive Emmy snub!
OK, I have no idea who that is.

[Camo]

Hoping to see Tatiana Maslany on this list! Massive Emmy snub!

Agreed. She is fantastic in Orphan Black.

[Sedai]

http://www.autostraddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/orphan-black-tatiana-maslany-clones-sarah-alison-cosima-helena-rachel.jpg

Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black fame. She plays multiple roles, all of which are vastly different in speech, movement, voice timbre and body language. The above pic is just SOME of the roles she plays. Her acting skills are RIDICULOUS. She has a cool method of using different styles of dance and music to get into the frame of mind to play each role, and she puts more hours in than any actor working today. She is a pleasure to watch!

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This show looks really interesting. where can I watch it?

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58.

Judd Nelson as Joe Hunt

Billionaire Boys' Club

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/190/1221702540_1.jpg

Nelson was nominated for his richly layered performance in this fact-based NBC TV mini-series about a state of the art con artist who swindled billions and paid the price for it. Nelson has never been better and should have won that Emmy.

[Camo]

This show looks really interesting. where can I watch it?

Its a Canadian show. Apparently it's on BBC America in the US, or if you have Netflix it's all on there.

[honeykid]

I love Billionaire's Boys Club. Nelson was superb in that. It's an excellent choice.:up:

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57.

JK Simmons as Vern Schillinger

Oz

http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/mp/bKiUi4dsipkl.jpg

Simmons commanded the screen on this HBO series as the head of the maximum security prison's aryan nation who during the first season turned out new prisoner Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergeson), who was just the beginning of a long list of victims in Schillinger's twisted sexual appetites.

[Camo]

Simmons was terrifying in OZ. Good choice :up:

[Sedai]

This show looks really interesting. where can I watch it?

It airs on BBC America each Saturday, but we are right at the end of season 3 currently, so avoid that! Unsure where you are located, but here is a list of places to find the show, all above board, of course.

Where to watch Orphan Black (http://www.bbcamerica.com/orphan-black/where-to-watch-orphan-black/)

For sources with a less upstanding pedigree, you will need to do some poking around on the web on your own. ;)

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56.

Andy Griffith as Horton Madec

Savages

http://www.performanceboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=167469&d=1341347841

Griffith raised a few eyebrows and definitely should have won an Emmy for this bone-chilling turn in an ABC movie of the week as a wealthy attorney who hires a young gas station attendant (Sam Bottoms) to be his guide on a hunting expedition and decides to hunt the young man instead. Griffith buried all memories of Sheriff Andy Taylor in this contemporary re-thinking of The Most Dangerous Game.

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55.

Jimmy Smits as Bobby Simone

NYPD Blue

http://www.tvsinopse.kinghost.net/n/nypd2_arquivos/nat046.jpg

He did win an Emmy for his Victor Sifuentes on LA Law and was nominated five times for his work as Bobby Simone but never won, and that's just wrong.

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54.

America Ferrara as Betty Suarez

Ugly Betty

http://www.dadt.com/uglybetty/assets/images/characters/character_betty.jpg

Ferrara created one of television's most unique heroines and was worthy of some Emmy love.

[Camo]

I was just wondering, have you looked at the years when each of these missed out and come up with one you felt they deserved it? Not that it matter I was just curious.

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53.

Katherine Helmond as Jessica Tate

Soap

http://cdn.hitfix.com/photos/5528081/Jessica-Tate-Soap.jpg

Helmond was warm, vulnerable, and delightfully loopy as the matriarch of a nutsy family who, during the show's final episode, was facing a firing squad (don't ask).

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52.

Ted Danson as Arthur Frobisher

Damages

https://directvnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/lg__ted_danson_2.jpg

Danson did the finest work of his career in this complex role as a billionaire industrialist whose shady business dealings cost his employees millions of dollars and some of them their lives. Danson nailed this layered character whose obsession with covering his own ass was in constant conflict with the conscience the man clearly possessed.

[Camo]

Danson was very good in Damages. Probably the second best male performance in the show after Zeljko Ivanek as Ray Fiske.

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I was just wondering, have you looked at the years when each of these missed out and come up with one you felt they deserved it? Not that it matter I was just curious.
Who these people were up against in their categories is irrelevant...they did work that I think was worthy of an Emmy and a lot of the people on this thread weren't even nominated. As far as episodic television is concerned, I'm not thinking about specific seasons of the show, I think that their work was consistently solid and, at some point, they should have won an Emmy.

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51.

David Dukes as Roy

"Edith's 50th Birthday"

All in the Family

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qY83navlZIY/hqdefault.jpg

The late actor should have won an Emmy and carved a niche for himself in TV history playing a stranger who forces himself into the Bunker home and attempts to rape Edith (Jean Stapleton). I saw an interview with Dukes once where he stated he never felt more tension from an audience than when the studio audience here realized he wasn't going to be a "funny rapist." Dukes completely invested in this extremely unsympathetic role and should have been recognized for it.

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50.

Teri Austin as Jill Bennett

Knots Landing

https://dallasredoneblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/jill2.jpg

Austin did a totally believable transition from dedicated legal assistant to Mack Mackenzie (Kevin Dobson) to the obsessed sociopath who tried to kill Valene (Joan Van Ark) when she felt Valene would always come between her and Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford). The episode where Jill forced Valene to take a bottle of pills to make it look like Val committed suicide was bone-chilling and should have won Austin an Emmy alone.

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49.

Justin Kirk as Prior Walter

Angels in America

http://38.media.tumblr.com/655676b77f907d762c7f0a9ce4fb3a3d/tumblr_inline_n2chv8AuVg1s2oeji.jpg

Meryl Streep and Al Pacino won Emmys for their work in this epic HBO movie, but this was the performance that I went away from the film remembering...Kirk was funny, heartbreaking, and completely mesmerizing in this complex and layered character. He received a nomination for Supporting Actor in a movie or mini-series and I think he should have won.

[Camo]

Who these people were up against in their categories is irrelevant...they did work that I think was worthy of an Emmy and a lot of the people on this thread weren't even nominated. As far as episodic television is concerned, I'm not thinking about specific seasons of the show, I think that their work was consistently solid and, at some point, they should have won an Emmy.

Thanks for the explanation. I personally disagree that who they were up against is irrelevant, it sounds a bit like you would be fine with at least some of them winning a sort of 'career award' regardless of who was best that year. Anyway like I said earlier this doesn't actually matter I was just curious.

Haven't seen any of your latest entries.

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48.

Estelle Parsons as Beverly Harris

Roseanne

http://www.snakkle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/estelle-parsons-roseanne-tv-1996-photo-GC.jpg

At some point during the show's nine-season run, Parsons should have received an Emmy for playing Roseanne's mother-from-hell. This was a character who made me want to strangle the life out of her almost every time she appeared onscreen and any character that can arouse that kind of emotion in me, credit must be given to the actor (and the writer) and it would have been nice to see Parson's work acknowledged...her strongest work was around the time it was revealed that Beverly's husband had been having an affair for 20 years and died shortly after that.

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47.

Carol Burnett as Birdie Sulloway

Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZcuajZvmdsQ/maxresdefault.jpg

A lot of actors have won Emmys for guest appearances on this NBC crime drama, but for some reason, Burnett was overlooked. Burnett played a retired actress accused of murdering her husband and trying to pin the crime on her much younger lover (Matthew Lillard). Burnett was nothing short of brilliant here...there is one surreal moment in the episode where the door to her bedroom is opened and Birdie is revealed to be watching a clip from The Carol Burnett Show.

[Camo]

Only watched the Pilot of Roseanne shortly after it made the TV Countdown. I thought it was pretty enjoyable but haven't returned to it since. I have to say though Parsons really got on my nerves in Bonnie and Clyde, the constant screaming :sick: . Was surprised to find out she won an Oscar for that.

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46.

Judith Light as Marie Hilley

Wife, Mother, Murderer

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a2/23/d1/a223d1859f47903c40e7beecae9f5f22.jpg

Light was positively bone-chilling in this ripped from the headlines TV movie about a woman implicated in the deaths of her husband and daughter and tries to start life over again in a different town with a new identity. This was Emmy-worthy work by one of our industry's most underrated actresses.

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Only watched the Pilot of Roseanne shortly after it made the TV Countdown. I thought it was pretty enjoyable but haven't returned to it since. I have to say though Parsons really got on my nerves in Bonnie and Clyde, the constant screaming :sick: . Was surprised to find out she won an Oscar for that.
She was annoying in Bonnie and Clyde and was just as annoying on Roseanne and I think any character that gets under the skin that much is definitely a case of an actor doing his job.

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45.

Patty Duke as Mary Brown

A Matter of Justice

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/79/b3/34/79b33495ce1f26b10e403eb57eb3d86a.jpg

Duke turned in one of her most memorable performances in this 1993 NBC mini-series about a mother who suspects her daughter-in-law of murdering her son and simultaneously trying to bring her to justice and gain custody of her granddaughter. Duke's solid work here was absolutely Emmy-worthy.

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44.

Robin Williams as Mork from Ork

Mork and Mindy

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1959804/images/o-ROBIN-WILLIAMS-MORK-AND-MINDY-facebook.jpg

Williams won an Oscar, five Golden Globes, and three Emmys for other work, but never won an Emmy for the sitcom that put him on the map. Williams received a single nomination for the show and should have won because his talent and his talent alone kept that show on the air.

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43.

Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney

30 Rock

http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxl22r6cAD1qb3p06o1_1280.png

Krakowski was brilliant as the flighty and arrogant star of the late night TV show. Krakowski was nominated four times for her work here and should have won at least once.

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42.

Ellen Burstyn as Pauline Benetto

Mitch Albom's For One More Day

http://www.lionsgatepublicity.com/uploads/assets/130603d8-1c8c-11e3-83ce-005056b70bb8.jpg

This is another one of those actresses who can do no wrong in my eyes and I think she should get an award for everything she does, but I was especially bothered by her snub here. This moving 2007 TV movie is about a dying former baseball player (Michael Imperioli) who gets to spend one day with the ghost of his mother (Burstyn) in order to say all the things he never got a chance to say to her. This ethereal drama asks the viewer to swallow a lot, but one thing that was immediately acceptable was Burstyn's enchanting performance that was heartbreaking and Emmy-worthy.

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41.

Hank Azaria as Dr. Craig Huffstadt

Huff

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1563816/images/o-HANK-AZARIA-FATHERHOOD-facebook.jpg

Azaria won 3 Emmys for The Simpsons and one for Tuesdays with Morrie but also deserved one for his work as the doctor/patriarch of a very dysfunctional family.

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40.

David Duchovny as Hank Moody

Californication

https://ageekandthesea.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/hank-moody-hank-moody-12267701-1365-2048.jpg

Forget Fox Mulder...Duchovny did Emmy-worthy work as a hard-drinking womanizing writer who was a lousy husband and father and would be the first one to tell you about it. Duchovny made this Showtime sitcom appointment television.

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39.

Bette Midler as Mama Rose

Gypsy (1993)

http://www.leninimports.com/bette_midler_gypsy_uk_dvd_2a.jpg

Midler should have won the Emmy for her larger-than-life performance in what is, arguably, the greatest female role in musical comedy. Critics were divided regarding Midler's performance in this lavish television mounting of the musical, but I loved it. She was nominated and she should have won. She did win an Emmy the following year for her HBO special Diva in Las Vegas.

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38.

Sara Gilbert, Roseanne

http://www.endedtvseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Darlene-roseanne-32172190-1718-25921.jpg

Gilbert's sardonic, pitch-perfect execution of one of television's greatest smart-asses should have earned her some Emmy love at some point. The season that Darlene went through her depression and the season she went away to school in Chicago were probably her strongest.

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37.

Christopher Meloni as Chris Keller

Oz

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/12400000/Chris-Keller-oz-hbo-12414851-512-384.jpg

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I think Chris Keller was one of the show's most fascinating and unpredictable characters and should have earned Meloni an Emmy.

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36.

Robert Duvall as Augustus McRae

Lonesome Dove

http://www.billdeyoung.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/DuvallLonesomeDove5.jpg

He won a Golden Globe, but Duvall was denied an Emmy for his performance in this landmark min-series and I don't know why.

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35.

Michele Lee as Karen Mackenzie Knots Landing

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/1086/Knots_003.jpg

Lee was severely underrated as the warm-hearted queen of CBS' most famous cul-de-sac. Karen Mackenzie was the earth mother of this show, who everyone turned to in a crisis and whose respect everyone on the cul-de-sac craved. Lee created a strong yet vulnerable heroine who was almost always doing the right thing and had a keen sense of people who weren't. For those who missed it, Karen was # 1 on my list of favorite TV mothers.

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34.

Sam Waterston, Jack McCoy

Law & Order

http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/.a/6a00e54f7fc4c58833017ee5287710970d-pi

Waterston and Jerry Orbach were the heart and soul of this NBC crime drama for many years. Waterston commanded the screen as the hot-headed Assistant DA who sometimes let his emotions get the best of him, but always had his eye on the prize. Waterstons work was definitely Emmy-worthy.

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33.

Phil Hartman as Various Characters

Saturday Night Live

http://cp91279.biography.com/1000509261001/1000509261001_1094146462001_Bio-The-Tragic-Side-Of-Comedy-Phil-Hartman-SF.jpg

Hartman created many memorable characters in the decade he spent on SNL and did receive an Emmy as part of the show's writing team, but never received an Emmy as a performer and that's just wrong.

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32.

Marcia Cross as Bree Van DeKamp Hodge

Desperate Housewives

http://www.imfdb.org/images/7/7f/BreeGun.jpg

Felicity Huffman won an Emmy for the first season of this show but Marcia Cross' crisp work was also worthy as the Stepford Wife-like Wisteria Lane housewife who was all about appearances...when the character received a telephone call that first husband Rex (Steven Culp) had a heart attack, she actually made up the bed before going to the hospital. Bree was a one-of-a-kind character brought vividly to life by this very talented actress.

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31.

Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang

Grey's Anatomy

http://dt.ecumenicalnews.com/en/full/4170/sandra-oh-as-cristina-yang.jpg

Sandra Oh created one of television's most unique characters in Cristina Yang...Yang was all about her work and let nothing get in the way of that, especially relationships. She left Dr. Burke (Isaiah Washington) at the alter and broke up with Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) because he wanted children and she didn't...this was one thing I loved about Cristina, her complete disconnect with children on any level...every time BFF Meredith (Ellen Grey) would ask Cristina to hold one of her children, she always held the child like a poisonous plant. The only actor from this show to ever win an Emmy was Katherine Heigl (which still baffles me), but how Oh was overlooked is beyond me...the scene where she got back from her almost wedding to Burke and began to suffocate from being in the wedding dress should have won her an Emmy alone.

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30.

Lee Remick as Frances Schreuder

Nutcracker: Money, Madness, & Murder

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41hI5QAcDrL._SY445_.jpg

Lee Remick should have won an Emmy for her scorching performance in this mini-series about a socialite with some mental health issues who goes to some very extreme lengths to get her hands on her father's fortune. I love Remick but I don't think I've ever enjoyed her onscreen as much as I did here.

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29.

Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe

Law & Order

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100818051908/lawandorder/de/images/9/92/Lennie_briscoe.jpg

Orbach's solid work as the world weary NYPD detective definitely merited some Emmy love at some point during his long tenure on the show.

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28.

Steve Carell as Michael Scott

The Office

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2013/05/michael-scott-steve-carell.jpg

Carell created an offbeat and unpredictable leading character who should have been the calming center in a storm of crazy characters but was anything but.

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27.

Marcia Cross as Dr. Kimberly Shaw

Melrose Place

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/F94MKSSmuLY/hqdefault.jpg

Marcia Cross established herself as a force to be reckoned with, creating a character that redefined over the top in a show stupid with over the top characters and situations. There was nothing on television like Kimberly Shaw and she will never be duplicated. Every moment this character was onscreen was Emmy-worthy.

[Camo]

Only watched the first season of Desperate Housewives, Marcia Cross was very good. :up: for Steve Carell. I think you just became Swans best friend :p

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26.

Tim Curry as Pennywise

Stephen King's It

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JUJXhrAr_Dg/maxresdefault.jpg

Curry's bone-chilling work in this Emmy winning mini series was definitely Emmy-worthy.

[Camo]

Completely agree It would have been awful without Curry.

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25.

Brian Dennehey as John Wayne Gacey

To Catch a Killer

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/heqX9kP4chM/hqdefault.jpg

Dennehy was nominated for an Emmy and should have won for his performance as the crazed serial killer who lusted after young men, murdered them, and buried the bodies in his basement.

[Camo]

I actually watched that when I was younger. Don't remember a thing about it though.

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34.

Sam Waterston, Jack McCoy

Law & Order

http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/.a/6a00e54f7fc4c58833017ee5287710970d-pi

Waterston and Jerry Orbach were the heart and soul of this NBC crime drama for many years. Waterston commanded the screen as the hot-headed Assistant DA who sometimes let his emotions get the best of him, but always had his eye on the prize. Waterstons work was definitely Emmy-worthy.

29.

Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe

Law & Order

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100818051908/lawandorder/de/images/9/92/Lennie_briscoe.jpg

Orbach's solid work as the world weary NYPD detective definitely merited some Emmy love at some point during his long tenure on the show.


It's hard to believe that neither Sam Waterston or Jerry Orbach won an Emmy Award for "Law & Order".

[honeykid]

Dennehy is fantastic in that. It's a great tv movie if anyone's looking for a recommendation.

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24.

Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper

Two and a Half Men

http://www.youcanbeanything.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Holland-Taylor-620x420.jpg

Taylor was pitch-perfect as self-absorbed mother of Charlie and Alan Harper and its wrong that during the show's 11-season run Taylor never won an Emmy for this character. She did win one for playing a judge on The Practice, but never won for her work as Evelyn.

[honeykid]

I don't think anyone was worth an award of merit for that show.

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I don't think anyone was worth an award of merit for that show.
You're entitled to your opinion, but I think Holland Taylor was brilliant.

[honeykid]

I think she was possibly the best thing about the show.

[Camo]

Agree with HK on both counts. Hated that show and never thought anyone deserved an Emmy for it, she was probably the best in it though.

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23.

Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson

Parks and Recreation

http://www.weeatfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Parks-and-Rec-Ron-Swanson-e1382663674831.jpg

Offerman's dry delivery and quiet intensity created a memorable character that should have found the guy some Emmy love.

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22.

Ted Danson as Steven Bennett

Something About Amelia

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/13/34/75/3002227/5/628x471.jpg

Danson offered one of his strongest performances in this 1984 TV movie as a family man who might have molested his teenage daughter (Roxanna Zal). Zal actually did win an Emmy for her work here, but Danson was overlooked.

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21.

Farrah Fawcett as Francine Hughes

The Burning Bed

http://40.media.tumblr.com/7gSB5gka1p59zby6H4g7FzgGo1_1280.jpg

Fawcett surprised everyone with the depth of her performance in this landmark 1984 TV movie about a housewife fed up with her husband's abuse and one night while he's sleeping, sets the bed on fire. Fawcett was nominated and should have won.

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20.

Ann-Margret as Blanche DuBois

Streetcar Named Desire

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ciXB8nqo7Wo/hqdefault.jpg

Ann-Margret delivered a surprisingly powerful performance in this 1984 TV remake of the 1951 film classic that should have won her an Emmy.

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19.

Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley

Elvis

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UBDRgrQwoe8/maxresdefault.jpg

Russell was nominated and should have won the Emmy for his mesmerizing performance as the Pelvis in this 1979 TV movie.

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18.

Elizabeth Montgomery as Lizzie Borden

The Legend of Lizzie Borden

http://moviesdrop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/The-Legend-of-Lizzie-Borden.png

Montgomery was bone-chilling in this 1974 TV movie about the legendary ax murderess and should have won an Emmy for the performance.

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17.

Dick Van Dyke as Charlie Lester

The Morning After

http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-130123-Dick-Van-Dyke/ss-130122-Dick-Van-Dyke-1974-TheMorningAfter.ss_full.jpg

Van Dyke was brilliant in this ABC movie of the week as a business executive whose alcoholism is destroying his life. If the truth be told, the performance wasn't much of a stretch as Van Dyke was drinking quite heavily IRL at the time, but it was a powerful, Emmy-worthy performance nonetheless. Van Dyke did get sober a few years after he made this movie.

[dadgumblah]

Robert Duvall as Augustus McRae Lonesome Dove

For me, this is the biggest Emmy snub, EVER. I thought he was a lock for the Emmy but the voters obviously felt otherwise. I think he portrayed the best cowboy on TV or on the big screen. Well, he won in my book.

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For me, this is the biggest Emmy snub, EVER. I thought he was a lock for the Emmy but the voters obviously felt otherwise. I think he portrayed the best cowboy on TV or on the big screen. Well, he won in my book.
He won a Golden Globe so I thought he would be a lock for the Emmy.

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16.

Gavin MacLeod as Murray Slaughter

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/725/gm3.JPG

MacLeod was one of the few core cast members of this classic sitcom who never won an Emmy. If memory serves, I don't think he even received a nomination and his work on the show was as solid as anyone elses...whether calling Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) on his anchorman skills, zinging Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White) on her promiscuity, or trying to hide his unrequited love for Mary, MacLeod always delivered the goods in a humorous and believable manner.

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15.

Matthew Modine as Gordon Ricketts

Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit

http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/10/23/20/2176029/5/920x920.jpg

Modine rasied eyebrows with this mesmerizing guest appearance as a sociopath who somehow escaped murder, rape, and kidnapping charges 15 years ago and how Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) jump at a second opportunity to nail the guy...I don't think Modine has ever been so slimey onscreen.

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14.

David Morse as Dr. Jack Morrison

St . Elsewhere

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e2/dc/ef/e2dcefbc2ea71d4ce69b497c81e33a56.jpg

Morse more than rose to the challenge of playing one of St. Eligius' more tortured heroes and some Emmy recognition would have been nice.

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13.

Suzanne Pleshette as Emily Hartley

The Bob Newhart Show

http://www.bionicdisco.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/The_Bob_Newhart_Show_Suzanne_Pleshette_1974.jpg

Pleshette was so quietly brilliant on this show that it was really easy to take what she was doing for granted and apparently that's exactly what the television academy did.

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12.

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope

Parks and Recreation

http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201342/rs_560x415-130502101907-1024.parks.ls.5213.jpg

Like Steve Carell on The Office, Poehler's Leslie Knope was surrounded by a cast of zany characters, but never really played straight man to any of them...Poehler always got her share of the laughs on her own terms and never deliberately overshadowed her castmates while doing it.

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11.

Nick Nolte as Tom Jordache

Rich Man Poor Man

http://www.freepresshouston.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/18830605_w434_h_q80.jpg

Nick Nolte put himself on the map and should have won the Emmy for his powerhouse work in this landmark ABC mini-series playing the bitter younger brother of an immigrant family who has always felt he was in the shadow of his brother Rudy (Peter Strauss). I think the only reason Nolte didn't win the Emmy was because he was virtually unknown at the time.

[Gideon58]

10.

Natalie Wood as Cassie Barrett

The Cracker Factory

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410O1xFg8PL._SX300_.jpg

Natalie Wood was nominated and should have received an Emmy for her bravura performance in this 1979 TV movie portraying a housewife whose mental health issues have her coming and going from various mental institutions. Wood fought hard to win this role and the fight paid off.

[honeykid]

I just don't know of or haven't seen the performances on this page with the exception of Farrah Fawcett.

[Camo]

Yeah same here. I've watched like three episodes of Parks and Rec so can't really comment on that. I did like what I saw of Ron and Leslie though.

[Gideon58]

9.

Farrah Fawcett as Diane Downs

Small Sacrifices

http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2009/06/25/SMALL_SACRIFICES_8_t400.jpg?fd5af0684d698ce74dd4392bafb4f89a6dc66ee3

Fawcett trumped her performance in The Burning Bed with her scorching performance in this ABC mini-series about a divorced tramp who tries to murder her three children when she learns the man she loves (Ryan O'Neal) has no interest in being a father. Fawcett did a 180 from The Burning Bed, playing an extremely unsympathetic character and she nailed it.

[Gideon58]

8.

Tom Wilkenson as Roy Applewood

Normal

http://glaad.org/files/timeline/normal.jpg

Wilkenson was robbed of an Emmy for his gut-wrenching performance in this HBO movie about a man who confesses to his wife of 23 years (Jessica Lange) that he wants to have a sex change operation. I was deeply moved by Wilkenson in this movie that sometimes I think I'm the only person on the planet who's actually seen it.

[Gideon58]

7.

Matt Damon as Scott Thorson

Behind the Candelabra

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/behind-the-candelabra10.jpg

Michael Douglas did win an Emmy for his portrayal of Liberace in this HBO movie, but Damon should have won as well for what was clearly the more layered and complex character in the story.

[Gideon58]

6.

Jason Alexander as George Costanza

Seinfeld

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/criminalminds/images/2/25/Costanza.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090319030518

Alexander inexplicably never won an Emmy for what was the most interesting character on the show.

[Gideon58]

5.

William Devane as Gregory Sumner

Knots Landing

http://knotslanding.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/williiambig.jpg

Devane created one of prime time's most complex characters in millionaire/politician Greg Sumner. This character was explosive and unpredictable and his people skills were limited to say the least, especially in terms of the fairer sex. "Noises Everywhere Part II", my absolute favorite episode of the show, there is a scene where Greg watches the videotaped will of his late wife, Laura (Constance McCashin), had me crying my eyes out. I don't know how this guy was never even nominated for an Emmy, let alone won.

[Gideon58]

4.

Elizabeth Montgomery as Ellen Harrod

A Case of Rape

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b7/A_Case_of_Rape_screenshot.jpg

Montgomery was brilliant in this NBC TV movie about a woman who gets raped twice by the same man. Montgomery buried her Samantha Stephens image with this performance.

[AverageWhiteKid]

Wow that is actually a surprise to see that Jason never won an Emmy for Seinfeld. That is certainly a big snub.

[honeykid]

No one should've won anything for Seinfeld. I've still not seen Behind the Candelabra. :(

[AverageWhiteKid]

No one should've won anything for Seinfeld. I've still not seen Behind the Candelabra. :(

:p

[Gideon58]

3.

Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliott Stabler

Law & Order: SVU

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/2600000/Det-Elliot-Stabler-law-and-order-svu-2671842-720-480.jpg

Meloni did some truly electrifying work as the explosive SVU detective during his 12 years on the show. Incredibly, he only received one Emmy nomination in those 12 years and did not win. Co-star Mariska Hargitay was honored one year and not recognizing Meloni was just wrong.

[Gideon58]

2.

Jessica Lange as Irma Applewood

Normal

http://i.imgur.com/eyCsdfr.jpg

Lange was heartbreaking as the long married wife whose world is rocked by the revelation that her husband, Roy (Tom Wilkenson) feels he is a woman trapped in a man's body and wants a sex change operation, but doesn't want to end their marriage either. Lange beautifully embodied the confusion and pain this woman is going through and definitely should have won an Emmy.


OK, ready for #1 now, which I think might be a surprise and this is one of the few lists where I believe that is true. Most of my lists I think folks saw # 1 coming, but I don't think they're going to see this one coming...anyway, here are a few honorable mentions:

John Goodman, Roseanne
Larry Hagman, Dallas
Kenneth Branaugh, Warm Springs (HBO Movie)
Dustin Hoffman, Death of a Salesman (CBS Movie)
Hayden Pannetiere, "Abuse", Law & Order: SVU
Mandy Patinkin, Criminal Minds
Charles Grodin, Fresno (CBS Mini Series)
Cynthia Nixon, Warm Springs (HBO Movie)

Definitely need a drum roll here...and now, my (and my opinion only) the biggest snub in Emmy History:

[honeykid]

This is some drumroll you've got going on here, Gideon.

[Gideon58]

1.

Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, Bewitched

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7400000/Elizabeth-as-Samantha-Bewitched-elizabeth-montgomery-7495892-487-480.jpg

Yes, my biggest Emmy snub goes all the way back to the 1960's and yes, I know Montgomery has two other mentions on this list, but this is the most important snub because this is the show where I fell in love with this absolutely enchanting actress who I still haven't completely accepted her no longer being with us. Montgomery, with a grand assist from husband William Asher, brought to life one of television's most lovely and endearing characters...Samantha Stephens, the beautiful young witch who wanted to live life as a mortal after marrying one (Dick York, Dick Sargent), but found it pretty much impossible mostly due to her outrageous family who weren't crazy about her trying to live as a mortal. During her eight-season portrayal of Samantha, Montgomery was nominated five times for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Comedy Series and never brought home the gold and I will never understand why.


Hope you enjoyed the list.

[honeykid]

Finally! I was starting to wonder if you'd ever come back to post the number one. :)