The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films announced their nominees today, and if you were to throw in a dash of Sherlock and two teaspoons of Being Human, it would be like tumblr come to life. These are the genre awards – the fan awards. Genre films and television series are gaining a wider acceptance, but are usually left out come awards season. Show like “American Horror Story” and “Dexter,” and movies like “Life of Pi” and and of Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations are proving that we have come a long way in both production and making the relevance of these projects known, but the fact that “The Avengers” only received one Oscar nod proves we still have a way to go in getting genre media the respect it deserves.
Thankfully the Saturn Awards are well aware that sci-fi, fantasy, action, and horror have a dedicated, respectful, growing fan-base, and they take the time each year to recognize and celebrate the actors and creators of projects in both film and television. A full list of nominees is available at the official Saturn website, but read on for a list of highlights and surprises (both delightful and disappointing).
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” leads the field this year with eleven nominations, followed closely by “Life of Pi” with eight and “Skyfall” with seven. Fringe leads the television nominations, followed by fan favorites “Dexter,” “Breaking Bad,” and rookie series “Revolution.” New additions this year include “Doctor Who” and “Merlin,” shows with wildly dedicated fans who rightfully feel that their series of choice is snubbed come awards season.Yes. “The Good Wife” is a really good show, but so is “Doctor Who.” One is present at every awards ceremony every year, so it is incredibly refreshing to know that our favorite shows are being recognized as such.
Almost all of the CW’s genre lineup is represented this year, which is amazing for a network that rarely gets any recognition but faithfully delivers to its genre fans. “Supernatural” has never been noticed by the non-niche awards organization (Peoples’ Choice aside), but the network still renewed it for its tenth season, which speaks volumes for its quality. “Doctor Who,” also never recognized for production or acting, has been around for fifty years! What the hell are these fancy awards shows not getting?!!?
Two of my favorite films of 2012 received several nominations – “Marvel’s The Avengers” and “The Cabin in the Woods,” and million dollar moneymakers like “The Hunger Games” and “The Dark Knight Rises” also got their due. The nerdery released a collective shocked gasp on January 10 when “Looper” was nominated for nothing, but the Saturns give credit where it’s due and recognized the folks responsible for “Looper” five times.
Noteworthy exceptions for me: “Prometheus” received only two nominations, one for best sci-fi feature and one for Michael Fassbender’s supporting role. Now, we can argue about content until the cows come home, but can’t we all agree that “Prometheus” was might pretty? What a gorgeous movie – I would have expected nominations for special effects and production design. Charlize Theron’s nomination for “Snow White and the Huntsman” is a bit of a surprise, as I found her performance a perfect representative of the movie as a whole: Ethereal and beautiful but wholly lacking in substance. I’d be very interested in reading the criteria for the categories, as “Marvel’s The Avengers” was a sci-fi nom, while “The Amazing Spiderman” was considered fantasy and “The Dark Knight Rises” appears in the action category(also – Les Mis is action/adventure? Yeah?).
We all have piddly grievances come awards season, and my minor gripes are minuscule compared to my happiness caused by the shows and movies I’ve loved my entire life getting accolades. The Saturn Award ceremony will take place in June, and don’t forget to “like” the official Facebook page so all these nominees know how much we appreciate them!