This morning's Emmy nominations went more or less as expected, but with a few really strange surprises.

Some were huge (the TV Academy's recognition of Conan O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' and not Jay Leno's was a jaw-dropper).

Some were small but still worth mentioning, including nominations for some unlikely but deserving performers, as well as interesting nominations in categories I didn't even know existed.

Here are 10 of the strangest surprises among this year's Emmy nominees.

1. It's the Old Spice guy vs. Betty White in the Battle of the Ads. We didn't even know they gave out Emmys for Outstanding Commercial. This year's nominees include Betty White's Super Bowl ad for Snickers and the Old Spice ad 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like' that made a star out of the impossibly dashing Isaiah Mustafa. (I'd give the edge to Old Spice. White's spot was hilarious, but Mustafa's actually made me want to go out and buy the product.)

2. Finally, some Emmy love for H. Jon Benjamin. Benjamin, who voices the lead role of suave, mama's-boy secret agent Sterling Archer on FX's hilarious 'Archer,' has been doing unseen yeoman's work for nearly two decades as a voiceover actor in cartoons for grown-ups, as a regular cast member or frequent guest on such shows as 'Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist,' 'Home Movies,' 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force,' 'The Venture Bros.' and 'Family Guy.' On 'Archer,' Benjamin's is the least famous name in a cast that includes Jessica Walter, Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell and Judy Greer. Still, his alternately lackadaisical and frantic delivery holds the show together, so it's great that the TV Academy finally gave him his first Emmy nomination today, for Outstanding Voiceover Performance. According to his IMDb profile, his personal quote is: "If you do nothing long enough, something's bound to happen." Well, there you go.

3. 'Glee' outscores 'Mad Men.' 'Glee' is great, but is it really a better show than 'Mad Men'? The Academy seems to think so; it gave the freshman choral comedy 19 nominations, while the perennial Emmy favorite took 17. Maybe they could have earned two or three more nods if Don and Betty occasionally broke into song.

4. 'Family Guy' gets a nod for controversial 'Down's Syndrome Girl.' Remember the February episode of 'Family Guy' whose throwaway joke by a character with Downs Syndrome (she said her mother was the former governor of Alaska) threw Sarah Palin and her minions into a week-long fit of rage? The Academy does, and it recognized that episode for its even more potentially offensive highlight, Stewie's dubious tribute to the character, his song-and-dance number 'Down's Syndrome Girl.' Better not tell Team Palin that the tune, composed by 'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane and Walter Murphy, earned a nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.

'Down's Syndrome Girl' from 'Family Guy'


5. Sharon Gless returns to Emmy glory. Gless is no stranger to the Emmys. In the 1980s, she was nominated six times in a row for 'Cagney & Lacey' and won twice. (Before today, she'd earned nine career nominations.) Her 'Burn Notice' character, spy mom Madeline Westen, wasn't on most people's Emmy short lists, but she is the funny, sweet moral center of the tongue-in-cheek action show, which, up until now, has only earned two nominations in technical categories. It's good to see Gless, and the show, get a major nomination, in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama category.

6. 'The Kennedy Center Honors' and 'American Idol' get six nominations each. The annual special honoring performers who've spent a lifetime demonstrating their talents tied with the amateur karaoke contest. Just sayin'.

7. They give Emmys to websites? Yes they do, only they call the prize Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Media, and they divide it into two categories, for websites affiliated with fiction and non-fiction shows. This year, the Academy liked the websites for 'The Biggest Loser,' 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' and 'Top Chef' (for non-fiction) and 'Dexter,' 'Glee,' and 'Star Wars: Uncut' (for fiction). I imagine the trophies will go to 'Glee' (because the website actually helped the show make a ton of money via music downloads) and 'Late Night' (because Fallon is expert at making short comedy bits that go viral as embeddable videos).

8. Andre Braugher catches a break. Which is more than you can say for his character on 'Men of a Certain Age.' He plays Owen, a man closing in on 50 who's done everything by the book, but for whom nothing has gone as he planned. The best he feels he can hope for is to endure his lot with stoic reserve. It's the least showy performance on the series; Ray Romano's more desperate dad is the biggest stretch, as it has very little in common with his comic 'Everybody Loves Raymond' persona, and it's the one that seemed likeliest to earn an Emmy nod. Braugher merely does quietly excellent work, as he always has, the kind that has earned him five nominations and one win before today. Neither he nor his show had a tremendous amount of buzz going into this race, so his nomination as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama is a nice surprise.

9 .'Undercover Boss' is nominated for Outstanding Reality Program. Really?

10. Hector Ramirez becomes the most nominated person in Emmy history. What, you've never heard of Hector Ramirez? He's a cameraman, and he's been nominated 60 times in the past 33 years, including five times today. He's a member of the nominated camera crews for 'Dancing With the Stars,' the 25th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert, and this year's Oscar, Grammy, and Kennedy Center Honors ceremonies. He's won 15 times in his 55 previous nominations, so with that batting average, he's likely to score at least one more trophy this year. Go Hector!



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