"What if the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences simply left the lists of semi-finalists as they are?" asks Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune. "Why not have 10 slots for each of the major Emmy categories?"

Interesting idea. There's no real good reason to have just five nominees in award categories. That's merely protocol dating back to the precedent the Oscars set when launched in 1929. I happen to know that one of the TV academy's highest-ranking execs lobbies his peers strenuously to expand the Emmy nominee lists to seven but so far has had no success. Perhaps that's a shame. Or is it?

I suspect the only reason not to increase the number of nominees to seven or 10 is practical (giving all those extra nominees and their guests free seats that sell for $350 a pop) and time-related (every name must be read off during the telecast before each envelope is opened). The Emmys are moving to the Nokia Theatre this year, which seats 7,000 — that's 1,000 more fanny spots than the Shrine Auditorium where it's been held for the last decade. There are roughly 27 categories in a typical Emmy-cast. Adding five nominees to each means accommodating 135 more people plus a guest for each. That's 270 bodies — obviously not a burden.

So . . . tell us what you think!