Nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) TV Awards were announced this morning and, for the second year in a row, the list of nominees features a combination of great performances and truly bizarre omissions that makes one wonder whether the nomination process boils down to drawing names from a hat.
Leading the field this year were Olympic-themed comedy Twenty Twelve, Alfred Hitchcock biopic The Girl and drama Last Tango in Halifax, which all picked up four nominations apiece. The 2012 London Olympics also fared well, taking 3 out of 4 nominations in the “Sporting and Live Event” category, and Danny Boyle’s Isles of Wonder Opening Ceremonies will also compete for the Audience Award.
Some of these nominations are spot-on: it’s lovely to see Last Tango in Halifax getting nominated; both because of its unconventional love story and the fact that stars Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid are fantastic. Twenty Twelve was hysterical. Ben Whishaw did amazing things with a traditionally under-performed Richard II in The Hollow Crown. Boyle surely deserves every award he’s about to win for his stunning work on the Olympics. Even though I thought The Girl was boring, Toby Jones is always a capable performer.
And yet, much like 2012, there are just some really weird picks and obvious snubs. Click through for a look at the full list of nominations, and then let's discuss what they got right and what they got wrong in the comments. The awards ceremony is scheduled for May 12.