From the Mailbag: Sons of Anarchy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

A Hulu Review reader took issue recently with the shows that made the cut for "Best Dramatic TV Series." (S)he writes:

"I find it quite unsettling that a group of pop culture bloggers would choose yet another police/medical procedural like Bones/House/ER over a spectacular and gripping new series like Sons of Anarchy. But then, maybe these bloggers only have basic cable."

Oh snap! You did not! Your MOMMA only has basic cable! Seriously, though, I do sympathize with the author of the message. S.O.A. hasn't got me in its leather-gloved grips right now, but I have perused enough of the show to appreciate that it is a solid drama. And in fact, it did pull a respectable total in the audience voting. It just didn't garner enough votes to make the cut. Here's another post defending the exclusion:

FX is a part of basic cable, at least in my state it is. I would hope the other states have it as well. I chose ER because it has staying power and is a veteran of dramatic TV. Now, I'm not saying Sons of Anarchy wont but it cant compare...yet.

Finally, I'm going to address a post that is representative of something I've heard a lot of over the last few weeks:

Image via Wikipedia

...for Buffy, there should be a best show of the 90's category. which it was...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has come up in "Best Comedy TV Show," to the bewilderment of a good portion of the audience and panel. They say that while it is consistently funny, it's not really a comedy in the sense that the other shows on the list are. Okay, I take that point, but then I defy you to tell me what the hell it is. I couldn't concretely classify it as an action series, a dramatic series, or even a Sci-Fi/Fantasy series (a category which it resembles, but transcends) in good conscience. Apparently, Hulu had the same problem, as they labeled it with all four of those tags. So, I decided that I would make Buffy one of the few shows that will come up in multiple categories. So, all of you Buffy fans who are wringing your hands over the discrepancy should rest assured that Buffy-as-comedy is not the whole picture. Buffy will get a shot in the Scifi/Fantasy series category as well. This means that you can go ahead and cast your vote for Saturday Night Live, or whatever, and still look forward to casting a vote for Buffy later.