Supernatural and the entire television community suffered a great loss last year when director and producer Kim Manners passed away. His work on shows like Supernatural and The X-Files was fantastic and he certainly earned the respect of fans and his peers.
However, some fans were shocked and disappointed during Sunday’s Emmy Award telecast when, for some reason, Manners was left out of the “In Memoriam” segment honoring members of the television industry who passed away over the previous year.
Sadly, it’s not just the telecast, but Manners was also left out of the official complete list of people who passed away on the Emmy Awards website. That list includes many people whose contribution to television is far lower than that of Manners, such as a TV evangelist named Reverend Ike and infomercial spokesman Billy Mays.
I’ve written to the Academy of Arts and Sciences for clarification on the selection process for who gets mentioned and who doesn’t, but thus far have not heard back from them. However, I will add an update if/when I get a response.
However, it seems strange to me that a four-time Emmy nominee would not be honored, but people who barely have any connection to TV like Paul Newman, Patrick Swayze and Michael Jackson get time during the telecast. I understand the desire to cater to the audience, and those names are more familiar than Kim Manners, but the Emmys should be about honoring the best in television, not in pop culture.
Regardless of the reason for not including Kim Manners, the important thing is that the fans have not forgotten is great work, and that his memory lives on in our memories. Supernatural fans don’t need five seconds at the Emmys to remember the impact Manners had, directing many amazing episodes including one of his last ones, the season 4 premiere “Lazarus Rising.”
So for Kim Manners, let’s take an extra moment to remember the wonderful contributions he made to the world of television, even if the Emmys won’t.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
