Emmys pick most memorable TV moments. Or do they?

During the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards telecast on ABC Sept. 21, the TV Academy will reveal the "most memorable moments" in scripted TV history, as chosen by online voters from 20 drama moments and 20 comedy moments picked by the TV Academy. Mind you, this leaves out most of your truly dramatic television moments, which were news events - man walking on the moon, the Challenger disaster, 9/11, etc. But it does make for a fun parlor game, discussing which moments do and don't deserve to be on the list, and which ones they missed.

Drama contenders include a deathbed chat from "Brian's Song," J.R. getting shot by an unseen assailant on "Dallas," and Buffy sacrificing herself to save the world (above) on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." There are also scenes from "Twilight Zone," "Roots," "The Fugitive" and "The Waltons," plus a funny moment from one of the best "Sopranos" episodes, "Pine Barrens" (left; I expect they'll bleep Tony screaming "Fuck!" at his cell phone) and the explosive ending of a "Grey's Anatomy."

I wouldn't have thought of "Grey's," but since they put "Buffy" in there, I'll call it a tie. The mistakes here include choosing a later "Buffy" moment - we all know the first big kiss with Angel was the most memorable moment in the Buffyverse. Choosing a time-travel moment from "Star Trek," instead of a moment on the bridge of the Enterprise, is ridiculous, even though the clip comes with the pleasure of seeing Joan Collins get flattened by a truck. And for the "X-Files" to be represented by a Mulder, Scully and Baby moment and that waaaay overdue kiss seems just lame.

In comedy, the choices include: Sammy Davis Jr. on "All in the Family" (right) - the greatest kiss in TV history!; Radar announcing Henry Blake's death on "M*A*S*H," the rare "moment" without sappy music; the surprise ending of the last "Newhart"; Chuckles' funeral on "Mary Tyler Moore Show"; "The Contest" on "Seinfeld"; "Ellen" coming out of the closet much more publicly than intended; and the hatchet gag on "The Tonight Show."

But why the hell are the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan" and the first winning moment on "American Idol" in the comedy category? (Wasn't the "Idol" moment more, um, drama?) Was this seemingly random Roseanne Roseannadanna minute really the most memorable moment in the history of "Saturday Night Live" - even without a "never mind"?(Commenter reminds me that was Emily Litela who said "Never mind. I still don't get why this RR moment was chosen, though.)

Check out the list and tell us what you think of the choices in the comments below!

Comments

[Ben Varkentine]

Dude, Emily Litela said "never mind."

[Lisa]

Mork & Mindy? Are you kidding me? I liked the show but c'mon. And no Hillstreet Blues, the groundbreaking show that led the way for so many shows to follow? No Phil Estabrook saying "..and be careful out there" or Frank showing up in the back of the hall at the AA meeting?

[Earlfan]

Not one moment from "The Simpsons????" D'oh!

[sti]

X Files moment lame? I don't think so. That was one of the most memorable moments in the whole series.