opinions // 16

The shift to cable TV and beyond

» Thoughts concerning the 2014 Emmy nominations and the future of television

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

he nominations for the
2014 Emmy Awards were
announced last month by
Bruce Rosenblum, the CEO
of The Television Academy,
Mindy Kaling from The Mindy
Project, and Carson Daly from
The Voice. As usual, HBO got
a whopping 45 nominations,
largely thanks to the surprise
hit show True Detective and
Game of Thrones being the
channel’s most popular show
earning 19 nominations.
Interestingly, most of the
shows nominated this year
were shown on premium cable
channels like HBO, Showtime,
AMC, and PBS (which is
available in basic cable).
These channels have become
synonymous with high-quality
shows; they have original
stories, generate a lot of buzz,
and spark conversations.
Expansion to the Internet
with Netflix has also changed
the landscape of television.
There is a new player in the
Emmy Awards now, with

: Netflix exclusives such as

: House of Cards and Orange is
: the New Black contending for
: the prize.

However, with new

runners, there are bound to

: be snubs. Shows that were

: not nominated which could
: have been this year include:
: The Blacklist, Hannibal, and
: the Canadian science fiction
: show Orphan Black. Most of
: these shows have great stories,
: but may not have the same

: quality as those on HBO and
: Showtime.

Orphan Black’s star,

Tatiana Maslany, could have

: been nominated for Lead

: Actress ina Drama. She

: played multiple versions of

: the main character, and it was
: an experimental performance
: worthy of recognition. Next,

: some actors who were seen

: regularly in shows were

: nominated as guest stars

: instead of the leading or

: supporting role. For example,
: Joan Cusack, seen in every

: season of Shameless, was

: nominated for Outstanding

: Guest Actress in a Comedy.
: It’s an interesting category,

; because in a traditional sense,
: she should be nominated for

: Best Supporting Actress ina

: Comedy.

The members of the

Academy tend to nominate

: actors who portray unique

: characters. For example,

: Julia Louis-Dreyfus from

: Veep and Matt LeBlanc from
: Episodes. There were surprise
: nominations this year as

: well, including Adam Driver

: from Girls, Lizzy Caplan from
: Masters of Sex, and Kristen

: Wiig from The Spoils of

: Babylon. All those characters
: are interesting enough to earn
: attention.

My predictions for the

Emmy Awards this year is that
: either Breaking Bad or True

: Detective will win Outstanding
: Drama, Modern Family will

: win Outstanding Comedy, and
: either The Tonight Show, The

: Colbert Report, or The Daily

: Show will win Outstanding

: Variety Show. The miniseries

: version of Fargo will win

: Outstanding Miniseries and

: The Normal Heart will win

: Outstanding TV Movie.

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Turning tragedies into triumphs

» The indomitable will of a victim

Margaret Matthews
Columnist

We I was in middle
school I read Helen
Keller’s autobiography
The Story of My Life. Her
courageous spirit and
determination to overcome
her disabilities inspired me. I
asked myself, does one have to
despair when they realize they
are deprived of any of their five
senses? It all depends on the
attitude and the perspective
that the victim adopts: of either
defying the odds against them
or giving up.

I later saw The Terry
Fox Story, which portrays
an 18-year-old Fox who was
diagnosed with bone cancer
in his right leg, which was
amputated so that the disease
would not spread. In 1980,
with only one leg, he began
his journey of running across
Canada. His Marathon of
Hope established the Terry
Fox Foundation in 1988 to
raise funds for cancer research.
Unfortunately, nearing the end
of his journey, his cancer spread
to his lungs, which forced him
to stop running. In 1981, Fox

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: passed away, but the Terry Fox
: Foundation and annual Terry

: Fox Run have gone on to raise

: over $600-million for cancer

: research. A short life, but one
: lived to the fullest. A true hero
: indeed!

Another victim who defied

: the odds was Rick Hansen,
: who sustained a spinal cord

: injury ina traffic accident

: when he was a teenager. He

: was left paralyzed from the

: waist down. Hansen became

: a wheelchair marathoner and

: dreamt up Man in Motion, a

: world tour covering more than

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: 40,000 km through 34 countries
: and four continents. His

: philanthropy through the Rick

: Hansen Foundation has helped

: raise over $200-million for

: spinal cord injury and related

: programs. He was also inducted
: into the BC Sports Hall of

: Fame, and isa recipient of an

: honorary doctorate degree from
: Simon Fraser University. I was

: privileged to attend the event

: and meet him in person. He has
: avery optimistic attitude and is

: full of energy and humour.

Across the world, we

: meet Oscar Pistorius, a South

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: African marathon runner,

: affectionately referred to as

: “Blade Runner, who had both
: his legs amputated when he

: was an infant. Despite the

: odds of his disability, he was

: fitted with prosthetics and

: while he was initially banned

: from competing outside of

: the Paralympics, he fought

: and proved to the world that

: it can be done. He went on

: to compete in the 20 World

: Championships in Athletics,

: and the 2012 Summer

: Olympics, as well as the 2012

: Summer Paralympics. Pistorius

: has won several awards and
: medals for his marathon racing.

We should not despair

: when faced with overwhelming
: obstacles and challenges.

: Medical technology has devised
: all sorts of ways to combat

: such difficulties. I knewa

: couple whose only son was

: killed ina tragic accident, two

: weeks before his university

: graduation. His fiancée was

: also graduating with him.

: Together they had dreams of

: a life together, but fate was

: unkind. His parents and fiancée
: were devastated, but they had

: a courageous spirit and an

: indomitable will.

The parents unofficially

: accepted the girl into their

: family as their daughter. They
: also sponsored a promising

: young man from Africa

: who wanted to do his post-

: secondary education in

: Canada. After a few years of

: study, the young man, who

: was an orphan in Africa,

: graduated from university and
: has an exceptional job. The

: philanthropy of the parents,

: and their positive attitude

: turned the family’s tragedy into
: a triumph.