'Girls' power?

Are the Emmys finally ready to embrace "The Gilmore Girls?"

The acclaimed WB series, which has been nominated for top honors by the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild and was voted program of the year in 2001 by the TV Critics Association, has been virtually ignored by the Primetime Emmys.

Okay, it did earn one award – for best makeup in 2004 – but for the most part the travails of the sharp-tongued, quick-witted Lorelai and Rory and have failed to attract the Emmy spotlight.

That could change this year. There's a revamped Emmy nomination system in place, and critics and industry insiders believe "The Gilmore Girls" will serve as a test case for the new process.

If an acclaimed but under the radar show like "The Gilmore Girls" can land one or more major nomination, industry types believe it will show that Emmy finally has a system that works to everyone's satisfaction.

One thing's for sure: the always confounding Emmys will be harder to predict than ever this year.

The previous Emmy voting system used a popular ballot that made it relatively easy to forecast the five nominees in the major series categories. Shows with big Nielsen ratings, high cool factors and aggressive Emmy campaigns usually got nommed.

The new procedure aims to give a better shot to quality shows that may have a lower profile. From the prediction standpoint, this means there are many more possibilities, and they're influenced by complex, often conflicting, factors.

This year, the new process will apply to six categories: best actor, best actress and best series in the drama and comedy classifications. But if things go well, the new procedure will likely be extended to other races in the future.

So, how will the new process work? First off, instead of canvassing academy members and using the top five vote-getters as each category's nominees, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will put together a list of 15 finalists in each category after June 20, the deadline for academy members to return their nomination ballots.

Then judging panels will convene in the ATAS offices in North Hollywood on June 24-25 to weigh a sample episode submitted by each contender.

The evaluation process is similar to the one used successfully by the Grammys in the top four races: Best Album, Record, Song and New Artist.

The only differences are that the Grammys whittle down nominees from a list of top 20 vote-getters, and they permit discussion during the judging process, which is conducted over a weekend at a hotel. Emmy chiefs insist upon silence and secret ballots, which will be filled out immediately after the screening material is viewed.

ATAS doesn't want voters influencing -- or worse -- pressuring each other. In fact, if they share their opinions or even display too much emotion in one direction or another while viewing, they could be tossed from the room.

Once the final nominees are announced on July 6, the rest of Emmy voting proceeds as usual. Contenders must submit sample episodes of their best work to peer-group judges, who view the DVD screeners at their leisure at home and sign an affidavit attesting that they watched them all. They're limited to voting only in four categories so that they're not overloaded with DVDs.