Contrary to popular opinion, TV critics and diehard fans do not take perverse pleasure in lashing out in righteous indignation at Emmy voters. No, we'd rather embrace them, stroke them and commend them for their solid choices.

In the end, after all, we want great television to get its just due.

But every year, it seems, we wake up at the crack of dawn on Emmy nomination day to discover that some egregious offenses have been committed and, well, it provokes a gnashing of teeth.

Today is no exception. Though we commend Emmy for showering its love on deserving newcomers such as "Mad Men," "Damages," "Dexter" and "Pushing Daisies," and for recognizing that basic cable rocks, we're absolutely dumbfounded by some glaring omissions.

Like "The Wire." HBO's magnificent novelistic crime series stands as one of television's towering achievements, yet it will end its glorious five-year run without having ever been nominated for an Outstanding Drama Emmy. Now, that's a crime.

And for the second consecutive year, Emmy has turned its back on "Friday Night Lights." NBC's critically lauded small-town football serial not only was shut out of the drama category (where the cartoonish "Boston Legal" inexplicably holds down a spot), its wonderful lead performers, Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, both were snubbed. Cite the Academy for illegal procedure on that one.

Those are probably the most shameful Emmy screw-ups, though not the only ones. You could argue that CBS comedies "The

Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother" were more deserving of recognition than the now-tired "Two and a Half Men." And you have every right to admonish the Academy for failing to recognize the fine work by Dana Delany in "Desperate Housewives."

On the other hand, Emmy does deserve credit for recognizing plenty of fresh blood -- something it often fails to do. Of the 51 nominations bestowed upon comedy and drama programs and the top acting categories, 21 were not included among last year's nominees -- a 40 percent change.

Meanwhile, "Mad Men" and "Damages" became the first two basic-cable series to be nominated in the Outstanding Drama category -- a very welcome development. In fact, "Mad Men," the riveting period piece from AMC, racked up 16 nominations to rank third behind only the HBO miniseries "John Adams" (23) and the NBC comedy "30 Rock" (17).

Among the "Mad Men" nominations was a nod for the quietly exceptional Jon Hamm in the Lead Drama Actor category, where he will face off against two deserving newcomers -- Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and Gabriel Byrne ("In Treatment").

Among the other notable nominees:

-- Although "Pushing Daisies" failed to land a spot in the Outstanding Comedy category, it earned high-profile nominations for lead actor Lee Pace and for supporting actress Kristin Chenoweth.

-- Christina Applegate's ("Samantha Who?") return to television paid off with a nomination for lead comedy actress and Amy Poehler ("Saturday Night Live") scored her first nomination for supporting comedy actress.

-- The prodigious haul for "John Adams," which is competing among miniseries and movies, included nominations for its two lead performers, Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. The historical epic also placed three men -- David Morse, Stephen Dillane and Tom Wilkinson -- in the supporting actor category.

The Emmys will be presented on Sept. 21 (8 p.m., ABC).

TV critic Chuck Barney can be reached at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. Also check out his "TV Freak" blog at www.ibabuzz.com/tvfreak.