Emmy's 50/50 Split -- Is it fair?

It looks like the Primetime Emmys are dancing with the stars considering the fancy footwork they're displaying with new voting changes being cheered by some observers and denounced as "inane" and "ridiculous" by others.

This year the nominees for best series and acting will be determined by a formula used by the "Dancing with the Stars" TV show: Contenders will be selected based upon a 50/50 mix of judges' scores and popular vote (of TV academy members, that is, not general public).

That's a significant difference from last year when judging panels chose the five nominees in each race after screening sample episodes of series landing in the top 15 after a popular vote, and top 10 among actors. The controversial new change hikes the chances of popular shows over less-known sleepers.

"I think they wanted to give the popular vote more weight so the award show would be more interesting to TV viewers," says Lisa Kudrow, who won an Emmy for "Friends" in 2000 and was nominated for "The Comeback" last year.

"Over the years, as viewership of network television has splintered, the ratings for all shows have dropped ridiculously low. The ratings for the Emmy Awards broadcast have also dropped every year. If that rare hit show or its cast isn't nominated for an award and won't be at the Emmys, then why should anyone watch?"

Additional changes include contenders submitting essays up to 250 words to give judges explanatory context for the sample episodes they weigh. Another change insists that actors must appear in at least 5 percent of TV films and miniseries so that the TV academy can sidestep the hubbub that erupted last year when Ellen Burstyn was nominated for best supporting actress for her 14-second turn as "Ex-Lover #3" in HBO's "Mrs. Harris."

"I think the changes we made really weren't major, but designed to create a more even playing field allowing popular programs as well as less visible but deserving programs to both have a good shot at the prize," says awards guru Pete Hammond, who's a member of the academy's Board of Governors.

"If ever there was a more embarrassing situation for the TV Academy than seeing Burstyn nominated for a 14-second role, I can't think of it. It just said to the world we run a popularity contest where name recognition rules over merit which (except in that sad case) really isn't true."

But that, perhaps, would not be the view of the father of bizarre TV, "Twilight Zone's" Rod Serling, who served as TV academy president during the 1960s. He was so distraught over how high-rated popular TV programs consistently beat low-profile rivals for nominations and wins that he radically overhauled the process of choosing winners. He introduced judging panels, which evaluated sample episodes submitted by nominees that were determined by a popular vote.

Suddenly, low-rated sleepers like "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues" and "All in the Family" ended up winning Emmys that probably saved them from early network cancellation.

However, only about 1,500 academy members -- and mostly older ones at that, including many retirees -- volunteered to sit on panels conducted in hotel rooms over a weekend to evaluate sample episodes. When at-home voting replaced the panels in 2000, low-rated fare continued to prevail while tripling the number of voters, so the change was considered a success.

Since then, the last big challenge of Emmy voting seemed to be: How to employ the same process of careful scrutiny to choosing nominees?

Last year the academy brought back Serling's panels to screen a sample episode submitted by every TV series that landed in the top 15 of the popular vote and stars landing in the top 10.

Scandal erupted when there was a sudden outbreak of "the Susan Lucci Disease" -- contenders submitting sample episodes pooh-poohed by some judges as poor choices. As a result, "Lost," which had won best drama series the previous year, failed to be nominated again and "Desperate Housewives" didn't make the cut for best comedy series.

Most TV journalists blamed the TV academy instead of the poor judgment of Emmy participants. Panicking, academy leaders have now overhauled the rules to diminish the clout of the panels by 50 percent in order to make sure that the most popular shows will be included among the five nominees for best comedy and drama series, plus all acting races.