25 Biggest Emmy Snubs

Can you believe it!? The closest this classic ever got to a major nomination was a writing nod for the genius Joss Whedon (and the poor guy didn't even win). But if there was one person that deserved that little golden angel it was Gellar (duh), who played Buffy Summers as a high school girl all high school kids could relate to. Sure, the goths may have claimed her, but Buffy blurred the lines of cliques and social circles and played into a fantasy any high schooler would envy: superpowers + important mission in life. —Loren Lankford

Twelve episodes. One family. A 20-year-old gay man. And more than 10 million viewers. Long before The Real World, The Osbournes, and Wife Swap, filmmakers Susan and Alan Raymond gave America a peek inside the lives of a normal clan, the Louds, in An American Family. PBS' documentary series was so ahead of its time that no Emmy category existed in 1973 to accommodate it. (Sure, it might have qualified for Outstanding Documentary, but that category was filled with news-division shows on such topics as Watergate.) Among the first ''ordinary people'' to become ''celebrities,'' the Loud family appeared on the cover of Newsweek and son Lance became something of a gay icon. Little did they know what they had wrought. —Ari Karpel

Don't you wish there was a ''Best Narration'' category? Because Ron Howard would've cleaned up for Arrested Development. Sticking to his on-screen appearances, the Academy dissed Howard in his six seasons as Howdy Doody look-alike Richie Cunningham on Happy Days. But how could little Ronny not have scored a nod for the episode ''Opie the Birdman'' from The Andy Griffith Show? Not many child stars can communicate a dawning youngster's awareness of the value of life, the importance of parenting, and the pain of separation as he did in this episode, a performance mature in its innocence. —Christian Blauvelt

Just how crazy a weave must Tyra don before Emmy takes notice of ANTM? The supermodel's modeling competition may not score the ratings of some other reality juggernauts, but when it comes to entertainment value, the show never disappoints (see: every cycle's makeover episode). And unlike some other reality shows, ANTM actually does produce some success stories (e.g. Eva Pigford, Danielle Evans, Adrianne Curry...kinda). C'mon Emmy, you know that ANTM deserves to still be in the running to become Best. Reality. Competition. Show. —Kate Ward

From home, we all followed Kristin Davis' Park Avenue princess Charlotte York as she went through the same big-girl realizations as the rest of us. Discarding Prince Charming fantasies and big-city illusions, Charlotte developed throughout the series into the sweet but strong woman we later saw on the big screen. —Lisa Raphael

You remember the show, right? Lorne Greene in a shiny cape leading a band of well-coiffed thirtysomethings as they flee from extras in shiny suits? Glen A. Larson's original '70s Battlestar Galactica: not the worst by-product of the Star Wars juggernaut, but close. So one could view the unmitigated brilliance that is the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series two ways: (1) They had no place to go but up or (2) it's amazing they did so much with so little. The core of the Galactica plot — the last human survivors of a catastrophic genocide are on the run from their attackers, the Cylons — carried a new resonance in the wake of 9/11. And in keeping with science fiction's grandest tradition, BSG tapped into the power of allegory to enrich its outer-space dogfights and military pomp with the gravity of issues like abortion, terrorism, stem-cell research, racism, even the war in Iraq. —Marc Bernardin

While it's slightly shocking to see indie fashionista Chloë Sevigny so comfortable in the conservative skin of Mormon Nicki on HBO's Big Love, the actress' portrayal of the second wife is believable far beyond her single braid/turtleneck/long skirt ensembles. She gives an honest glimpse into the struggles facing a fundamentalist polygamist gal trying to survive in a world where her belief system is illegal. —Lisa Raphael

Sure, we all know that the real star of I Love Lucy was comedy legend Lucille Ball, but Lucy wouldn't have been half as funny without her heavy-accented, bongo-banging, disciplinarian foil/husband Ricky Ricardo, played by real-life spouse Arnaz. In fact, out of the show's four regular cast members — Ball, Arnaz, William Frawley, and Vivian Vance — Arnaz was the only one never recognized during its six-year run. Emmy, you got some 'splainin' to do. —Kate Ward

We can almost convince ourselves that there were too many fantastic actors on David Simon's Baltimore threnody for Emmy to get around to them all (though how one overlooks Dominic West or Michael K. Williams, we'll never know). But that a series routinely hailed as one of the best shows ever on television — if not the best — never even garnered a dramatic series nod? Shameful. —Alynda Wheat

How was Cox — who aced her half of the Chandler-Monica affair — the only Friend ignored? —Alynda Wheat

The only thing lovable about wife-hating homophobe Mr. Roper? Fell's perfect timing. —Alynda Wheat

One of the best sitcoms on TV, and prototype for the rest of the best. Pity Emmy voters never noticed. —Alynda Wheat

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

She's the mom entertainment junkies wish they had (and many hope to become), what with her endless pop culture references, her affinity for movie nights and repeat viewings (''We got us a Pippi virgin''), and her dog named Paul Anka. Lorelai, however, is also our hero because she found the ideal place to raise a child — Stars Hollow. It's a town that hosts a competitive dance marathon, a Festival of Living Art, and an elementary school production of Fiddler on the Roof starring a grown man (or Kirk) as Tevye. It's rare — and refreshing — to see an ''us against the world'' mother-daughter twosome so entrenched in a community. And eat that much.

Emmy loved the sitcom's actors but never acknowledged the show or its writers. So the stars did an amazing job saying...nothing worthwhile? —Alynda Wheat

Want more? See part 1 of our Emmy Snubs countdown (Nos. 50-26)