Moffat vs. Moffat...revisited

Earlier this year the British public snubbed Steven Moffat’s televisual efforts, as his newly regenerated Doctor and co-created contemporary Sherlock lost out in all their categories at the National Television Awards.

Moffat-adoring conspiracy theorists believed it was due to fans’ votes being split, as they were forced to choose one or other of his creations. My belief is that the What’s On TV reading public aren’t your archetypal fan of either of these programmes, preferring a bit of cosy melodrama instead.

Who and Sherlock lost out to Waterloo Road in the Drama category, whilst Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch (who deserves some recognition for being the only actor to play Holmes, who has a name to match!) were beaten in the Drama Performance category by David Jason for his final outings as D.I Frost.

But now it’s the British Academy’s chance to give their esteemed opinion. Here’s how the nominations stand for the BAFTA Television Awards:

Leading Actor

Jim Broadbent - Any Human Heart / Benedict Cumberbatch - Sherlock / Daniel Rigby - Eric and Ernie / Matt Smith - Doctor Who

Drama Series:

Being Human / Downton Abbey / Misfits / Sherlock

For the Leading Actor I’m sticking with the same decision I (ahem...wrongly) made for the NTAs. Any Human Heart was brilliant, but to call Broadbent the ‘Leading Actor’ seems slightly unfair - though he appeared in every episode, and brilliantly commanded the contemporary scenes with just emotion and no dialogue, he only made up for 1/3 of an ensemble of Logan Mountstuarts (my favourite was the youngest incarnation, portrayed by Sam Claflin).

Smith has in some ways had the harder task of interpreting a well-known and much-loved character and leading an entire series to much prior criticism. And he has made the character his own so brilliantly; I think he deserves the award for what he has so effortlessly done with the character (See my (typo-ridden) reasoning here). Sadly, I reckon this one might go to Broadbent...because it’s Broadbent. He’s a legend.

The Drama Series category is a little trickier. Sherlock has been left to fend for itself against three completely different shows, as Doctor Who is left out of the category. With the British Academy awarding The King’s Speech virtually everything it could at the film BAFTAs, I feel that Downton may be spurned to ensure they aren’t seen as stuffy period drama fanatics. Similarly, Misfits was the winner of Best Drama Series in 2010; it was given the nomination nod this year as a continued sign of approval, but two win two years running would be a tough call.

Being Human has gone from strength to strength and will return for a fourth series in 2012, this time backed by BBC America, but there was something about Sherlock that felt right; everything fit neatly into place. Cumberbatch’s autistic, bi-polar interpretation of the titular character coupled with Martin Freeman’s endearing, yet invitingly war-troubled Dr Watson, along with some fantastic classic stories which have been dragged into the 21st century, offered the perfect antidote to the already stale and tired TV detective genre.

Both categories are tough to call and it will be interesting to see how the academy views the state of British television at the moment. In the battle of Moffat vs. Moffat, I think he stands more chance of walking away with an award here than at the NTAs, but it’s a tough call to make. Who do you think will walk away with the prize?

Find out the results on Sunday 22nd May.