This year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, held on Sept 19, was a “two-horse race” between The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Game of Thrones (2011-). The two shows popped up frequently throughout the event, but Game of Thrones once again dominated the evening by winning 11 Emmys, including outstanding drama series for the second straight year. People v. O.J. Simpson also took home five trophies¹.

9月19日举行的本年度艾美奖颁奖礼上，上演了一场“双雄争霸”的局面。《美国犯罪故事：辛普森挑战公众》以及《权力的游戏》（2011-）两部剧在整场颁奖礼中被反复提及。《权力的游戏》二度摘得剧情类最佳剧集奖，共斩获了11项艾美奖大奖，成为当晚最大赢家。而《辛普森挑战公众》也摘得5项大奖。

But apart from the night’s two champions, which have been in the spotlight² for quite some time, there are other less-talked-about series whose excellence³ was still acknowledged by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Here are two of our favorites:

除了近期备受关注的这两大赢家之外，还有一些热度并没有那么高的剧集获得了美国电视艺术与科学学院的肯定及赞誉。以下是我们最爱的两部剧：

Veep (2012-), HBO

副总统》（2012-）HBO出品

If you are into political dramas, Veep might be a great alternative to House of Cards (2013-).

如果你喜欢政治题材的电视剧，《副总统》可能是除《纸牌屋》（2013-）外的又一选择。

The story is set in the office of Selina Meyer, fictional⁴ Vice⁵ President of the US. It follows her and her team in their attempt to make Meyer the president. “Veep” is an informal way to say “vice president”, since Meyer often feels powerless and *disregarded in her position.

故事发生在虚构的美国副总统赛琳娜•梅耶的办公室中。迈耶和她的团队想方设法让她当上总统。“Veep”是“副总统”（vice president） 的非正式说法，身居副总统之位，迈耶时常感到权力被架空，不受重视。

The biggest difference between Veep and House of Cards is probably that Veep is a comedy. Yet, this doesn’t at all compromise its *satire and the thought-provoking effect of the world of politics. “Quiet hilarity⁶” is what The Guardian⁷’s movie reviewer Tyler Collins describes how he feels about the show.

副总统》和《纸牌屋》最大的区别在于，《副总统》是部喜剧。然而，这和剧中对世界政治的嘲讽以及引人深思的情节并不矛盾。英国《卫报》影评人泰勒•柯林斯用“静幽默”一词来形容他的观剧感受。

“For the average viewer, [Veep] might seem *inane or just outright⁸ ridiculous. However, everything happens in a vacuum in this show, and there’s rich *precedent for every joke told at the expense of somebody else,” Collins wrote. “[It] provides viewers with layers of *subtext, shifting character dynamics⁹, and a quiet hilarity carefully hidden under all the tense noise.”

“对于一般观众来说，（《副总统》）可能看起来空洞无聊，或者仅仅是滑稽可笑罢了。然而，在剧中，一切都发生在真空之中，以牺牲某人为代价所讲述的每一则笑话，都有着大量的先例，”柯林斯写道。“（它）向观众呈现了多层次的潜台词，不断变换的角色形象，以及潜藏在所有紧张和喧嚣之下的那份安静的幽默。”

With such depth, Veep picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, for the second year running, defeating popular shows like Modern Family (2009-) and Silicon¹⁰ Valley (2014-). Its lead actress, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays the “Veep”, also won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy, for the fifth year in a row.

凭借这样的深度，《副总统》蝉联了艾美奖喜剧类最佳剧集，击败了包括《摩登家庭》（2009-）、《硅谷》（2014-）在内的热门剧集。在剧中饰演“副总统”的女主演茱莉亚•路易斯-德瑞弗斯也连续第五年获得喜剧类最佳女主角的荣誉。

Orphan¹¹ Black (2013-),BBC America

黑色孤儿》（2013-）BBC美国频道出品

At first sight, Orphan Black is just another show about clones, which is certainly not a new concept. It was the performance – or more appropriately, performances – of its leading actress, Tatiana Maslany, that brought this show to life.

乍看之下，《黑色孤儿》不过又是一部关于克隆的电视剧，并无新意。正是剧中的表演——更准确地说，是女主角塔提阿娜•玛斯拉尼的表演，给这部剧带来了生命力。

Maslany plays six different clones of the same person in season one alone. There’s street-smart Sarah, soccer mom Alison, microbiology student Cosima, *assassin Helena, and more – each of the characters easily identifiable with different accents, attitude and body language.

第一季中，玛斯拉尼一人分饰六角，同时扮演六个不同的克隆体，包括深谙世道的莎拉、足球母亲艾莉森、微生物学学生克斯玛、杀手海伦娜等等——每一个角色都有着鲜明的口音、神态以及肢体语言。

It’s hard enough to portray¹² one role successfully in a show, but Maslany accomplished¹³ that several times. This is why she won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama. “It’s the sort of performance that will never become *commonplace,” wrote movie reviewer Phelim O’Neill on The Guardian.

想要在一部剧中演好一个角色已经实属不易，但玛斯拉尼却成功塑造了多个角色。这也是她能拿下艾美奖剧情类最佳女主角大奖的原因。“那是毫不平庸的演技，”英国《卫报》的影评人费利姆•奥尼尔评论道。

As you keep watching, you’ll find that the plotline of Orphan Black also turns out to be more thrilling than it was given credit for. The story begins when Sarah sees a woman, who appears to be her *doppelganger, commit suicide. It later leads to Sarah’s discovery that she’s actually a clone. Together with her many “sister” clones, they are the products of a scientific movement and are in great danger of being hunted down and killed.

坚持看下去，你会发现，《黑色孤儿》的情节比评价的更为惊悚。故事一开始，莎拉目睹了一名和她面貌极为相似的女子自杀。后来莎拉发现，事实上，她只是个克隆人。和她的许多“姐妹”克隆体一样，她们都是一场科学运动的产物，并且面临着被狩猎杀害的巨大危险。

“By the end of the first season, Orphan Black was not simply a *quirky showcase for a seriously talented actress, it was a multi-faceted, only semi-science-fiction exploration of identity, mortality, religion and science. Liberally sprinkled with guns and *one-liners,” wrote television critic Mary McNamara on Los Angeles Times.

“到了第一季的结尾，《黑色孤儿》并不仅仅是个极具天赋的女演员的怪异秀场，它具有多面性，是一场对于身份、道德、宗教以及科学的半科幻式探索。一些枪战镜头和俏皮话也自由地穿插其间，”《洛杉矶时报》的电视评论家玛丽•麦克纳马拉写道。