It is time for the TV’s biggest night again. The 59th primetime Emmys are just around the corner. The Sopranos has a good chance of a sweep. It has 15 nominations this time including best drama series and its stars, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. . But there is a small detail that cannot be overlooked. No programme that has been off the air has won the Emmy for outstanding drama series in 30 years.

But there is a dire problem with the Emmys that is often overlooked. The judgment is made based on a single episode out of the entire season. This often is in breach of the public taste and sometimes even the critics.

The viewers however have a different take on the process. They would like to see the award go to the series with best season rather than having producers picking the best episode of the season.

When the envelope in opened to declare the best actor or actress, the viewers expect it to go to the one who has performed consistently well over the entire season. There is a huge difference between performance in a single episode and that of an entire season. Perhaps that is the reason why the result often comes as a major shock rather than a delight.

The Emmys have almost become a platform to promote programs that are struggling in rating and promotion of new or upcoming TV shows. The classic example would be that of the first season of Hill Street Blues.

But this theory however fails to explain the strange omissions of certain series like the Television Critics Association Award winner Friday Night Lights, which is nominated for just one award Sunday: best directing. Also it doesn’t explain the apprehensive omission of Dexter’s Michael C. Hall or The Riches’ Eddie Izzard in the best actor category. What is even more bizarre is the complete snub of The Wire, which currently some consider to be the best TV drama.

The Sopranos will definitely be worth keeping an eye on. They are dominating the buzz in the 59th Emmys. Although this is not the highest number of nominations they have received (22 in the year 2001). They could break their own record of the number of wins in a single year.

It is nominated in seven different categories on Sunday, which includes three out of a possible five nominations for best screenplay. The other nominations are for the very popular series Lost and the space adventure drama Battlestar Galactica.

If The Sopranos manage to win five or more awards it will prove the popular notion that “crime does pay” (well at least on TV).