There's a cruel double standard applied to the repeat Emmy victories by "The Amazing Race" and "The Daily Show" — both of which have swept their categories (best reality program, best variety series, respectively) seven times in a row.

When "Race" prevailed, amazingly again (it's never lost this category in the seven years of its existence), there was grumbling back in the press room. No one suggested it didn't deserve to win. The harrumphing was all about, "Oh, it won again? Isn't enough enough?"

"Survivor" host Jeff Probst even had the lousy manners to say, "Maybe 'Amazing Race' should do what Oprah did and pull itself out of competition." Moments later "Amazing" producer Bert Van Munster was asked by reporters if he'd do just that. He replied, "I'm going to discuss it with my committee here, but it's unlikely."

However, when "The Daily Show" won again, none of the journalists seemed to mind, and nobody mentioned the Oprah option. Why?

The answer's obvious. Journalists think Jon Stewart is cool, so no one has the guts to suggest — out loud — that he should bow out. Daring to utter such a thing would risk instant ambush, flogging and crucifixion by peers. But if the basis for complaining about repeat victories is monotonous repetition, then both shows should be held to the same standard, shouldn't they?

If you wish to argue that "The Daily Show" deserves to win and "Amazing Race" doesn't (and no one I know has made that argument publicly), then consider this: A good case can be made that "The Daily Show" didn't deserve to win this year. It beat a nominee that was universally acclaimed to be one of the most relevant, important and brilliant programs of the past TV year: "Saturday Night Live" not only had a superb season, creatively speaking, but its riffs on U.S. presidential politics starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were the water-cooler talk of the nation. Did "The Daily Show" really deserve to beat that? Of course not. So how did it happen?

There are quirks of human nature that can be routinely observed as factors behind who wins Emmys. Let's start with Stewart's category: best variety series. Programs with multiple hosts seldom win Emmys. We see that all the time at the Daytime Emmys, where just a few weeks ago, for the first time in this TV award's history, a show with multiple hosts ("The View") finally won best talk show. That same voting bias hurts "Saturday Night Live." The show hasn't won this category since 1993 and that may be one of the reasons. Showbiz awards are all about hugs. When voters look over a ballot, they're more inclined to want to wrap their arms around one person than lots of people.

But there are four solo people emceeing the other four nominees in this category. One of them is just too mean. Even as much as he's liked and admired, no one, let's be honest, wants to hug Bill Maher. In fact, he's Emmy's biggest loser, with 22 defeats, no wins. David Letterman has always been a bit mean, but he's warmed up through the years. He used to win here frequently, but he's been pushed aside ever since Stewart emerged as the new Letterman, the new cool dude with snarky 'tude sitting behind a desk on TV.

The big stunner backstage at the Emmys was a comment by "Survivor" star Jeff Probst, who just won best reality TV host for the second year in a row. When asked by reporters what he thought about "Amazing Race" winning best reality/competition program for the seventh consecutive year, he said, "Maybe 'Amazing Race' should do what Oprah did and pull itself out of competition."

Moments later "Amazing Race" producer Bert Van Munster was asked by reporters if he'd do just that. He replied, "I'm going to discuss it with my committee here, but it's unlikely . . . . It was very intimidating to win for the seventh time."

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Sunday night's penultimate episode of the 14th installment of "The Amazing Race" offered another edge-of-your-seat finish. Sisters Jen and Kisha have been both up and down in the standings but never out. Last week, when Jen floundered in the swimming pool, they soldiered on, determined to finish strong. What a surprise then when host Phil Keoghan told them at the mat that the leg was not over and they had a chance to stay in the race for $1 million.

This week — even after being U-turned by brother-sister team Victor and Tammy and forced to complete both roadblocks — it looked like Jen and Kisha would make it into "Amazing Race's" final three. At the second of these roadblocks, Jen drank bottles of water as she choked down such fried delicacies as scorpion and starfish.  Ahead of Jamie and Cara when leaving the sidewalk stand, Jen then decided to make a pit stop before reaching the pit stop. That decision cost her precious time and she and her big sister were eliminated from "The Amazing Race."

For our forums poster Buffy Mars this was, "One of the biggest mistakes in 'Amazing Race' history." Jackie Schnoop of TV Squad thought, "Yeah, she had to pee. So what?! Dammit, it's a race for a million dollars and because she had to stop to use a port-a-potty, they lost by seconds!" And as Josh Wolk writes over at Entertainment Weekly, "Jen, you were wearing a robe. Pee your pants, no one would know! There can be an 'anything to win' dignity to such a thing, anyway."

"The Amazing Race" may be in the final stages of its 14th installment on CBS, but powerhouse episodes such as Sunday night's are why this six-time champ has never lost the Emmy Award for best reality/competition show, not even to TV's biggest ratings smash, "American Idol." The losers on this leg of "The Amazing Race" were an almost-foregone conclusion with brothers Mark and Michael facing a four-hour penalty. The most excitement was at the front of the pack.

This iteration of the race includes the first deaf contestant, Luke, who is teamed with his signing mother Margie. They have won several legs and are fierce competitors. Last week, they were pitted against sisters LaKisha and Jen as both teams struggled to find their way to the next route marker in Bangkok, Thailand. Each side felt the other had done it wrong and that set the stage for this week's confrontation.

First, Luke and Jen jostled at the clue box with Jen ending up calling the openly gay Luke a derogatory name. Then later in the leg, Luke and Jen got into it again at the next clue box with even more pushing and shoving. Finally, at the mat where they were only seconds apart, the gloves really came off. Jen said she thought Luke was a dirty player while Margie rushed to her son's defense and called out the sisters for mocking his deafness.

"The Amazing Race" emcee Phil Keoghan — who, surprisingly, wasn't nominated last year for the first Emmy awarded to reality show hosts — tried to calm down the combative contestants. His efforts were of no avail. With tensions mounting as the final four teams race for that million-dollar prize, expect even more fireworks. And expect "The Amazing Race" to be a strong contender for a seventh straight Emmy as best reality competition series with episodes such as this one.

Below is one snippet from the show. See more and vote for your favorite here.

Photo credit: CBS

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"American Idol" is being dogged by just the sort of controversy that makes Emmy Awards voters wary. As Richard Rushfield of Idol Tracker reports, "A source close to the show now tells us that Joanna Pacitti was disqualified to avoid the appearance of impropriety. In the last week, tabloids had been reporting on a private relationship between Pacitti and executives of 19 Management, one of the companies overseeing 'Idol.'"

While the show has slipped somewhat in the ratings this season, the addition of the fourth judge — Kara DioGuardi — has been seen as a plus. And by focusing on the personal stories of viable contestants rather than on the delusions of certain would-be singers, "American Idol" has re-established itself as a showcase for up and coming talent. Even the hint of impropriety about a single contestant would have damaged the credibility of the hunt for a new singing star.

Over its first seven seasons, "American Idol" has struck out at the Emmy Awards, winning only two of its 34 bids. And neither of those came in the top race of best reality competition program. Indeed, since that category was introduced in 2003, "The Amazing Race" has won all six years in a row.

And now, just as "American Idol" needs to show it is playing fair, the new season of "The Amazing Race" kicks off Sunday on CBS with the usual superb advance notices from the critics. As Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly writes, "There's a crackerjack assortment of 'Race' teams this season, and I really like the way the show has incorporated more '24'-style split-screen editing that lets you know where teams are in relation to each other during competitions. So far, the challenges and roadblocks are real tests of brains and endurance, with a notable lessening of those long jabbering-at-ticket-agents-in-foreign-airports montages that were becoming a drag."

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Can Kara DioGuardi win 'American Idol' an Emmy Award?

Photo: AmericanIdol.com

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As I note in my overview article about the Emmy program races (CLICK HERE), TV's top program, "American Idol," has never won best reality-competition show and, even more amazing, "Amazing Race" has never lost.

At the Creative Arts Emmy ceremony last Sunday I caught up with Kynt and Vyxsin — "a couple of Goth kids from Louisville," says Kynt — whose elimination episode of "Amazing Race" will decide that show's fate this year. That's the one that was judged by Emmy voters — and it's a doozie full of thrilling action as five teams compete in Mumbai, India, to thread 108 flowers into a wedding garland, deliver propane gas tanks to residents and ride a rickshaw to a tailor shop.

However, "American Idol" submitted an excellent episode too: the two-hour season finale that not only includes the gripping suspense over which of the two Davids (Cook or Archuletta) will win, but their joint performance of Nickelback's "Hero" and other socko musical turns by Donna Summer, ZZ Top, the Jonas Brothers and past "Idol" champ Carrie Underwood.

The episode selection is so good that "Idol" actually has a shot at winning this year — except for one, big, annoying thing. Nine minutes into the episode there's a stupid plug for Mike Myers' movie bomb "The Love Guru" that refuses to end. Will Emmy voters be so turned off that they'll, literally, turn the DVD screener of the episode off too early?

It's painful to watch. "Idol" producers force the two Davids to sit through a screening of "The Love Guru" and pretend to laugh, then they're subjected to a personal encounter with Guru Pitka himself, who barks unfunny advice at them. Even though the guru dons a beard, he yells at Cook for having facial hair: "It's not the '90s! The last time I saw stubble like that I was at a 'Melrose Place' party." And the prediction he snickers at Archuletta is totally creepy: "Soon you'll have hair in weird and wonderful places!" As if all of that isn't insufferable enough, the "Love Guru" plug continues further into the episode with — no, please, noooooo! — an actual visit by Myers to the set of "Idol," forcing poor Ryan Seacrest to make fumbling small talk and pretend to laugh at Myers' awful "jokes."

Please forgive these crazy Goth kids in this video. Kynt makes an Emmy goof right up front. "Amazing Race" has won the Emmy as best reality-competition show five times straight, not six. At least so far. Maybe, just maybe, this will come true on Sunday night -- thanks to the Love Guru.

Photos: ABC, Fox. Video: Los Angeles Times

In today's edition of the print version of The Envelope that appears in the L.A. Times, I size up the top contests for best comedy, drama, variety and reality series, plus the showdowns over TV movie and miniseries. Read why last year's best comedy, "30 Rock," is likely to get the last laugh again and why "Mad Men," while admittedly ahead for best drama, is vulnerable because of its pacing. READ MORE. See the full breakdown of our experts' predictions HERE.

Ever since the Emmy Award for best reality-competition program was created, "The Amazing Race" has zoomed past all rivals, including two of the tube's most popular: "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars."

So our forums moderator Andrew Pickett poses a fascinating question: Can these shows just side-step "Race" by joining a different race altogether? After all, "Moonlighting" and "Gilmore Girls" switched between comedy and drama categories when they didn't like early results.

"The Emmys invented the reality/competition program category for the 2002/03 season when 'Idol' debuted, and it has been nominated all 5 years, but unfortunately for its producers and fans, the Emmy has gone to 'The Amazing Race' every time," notes Andrew.

"If the category was decided on a purely popular vote, then maybe the gold would have been spread around, but the way this and most Emmys are decided is by the producers submitting an episode for voters to watch and then rank -- so comparing a fast-paced global adventure series with warring teams, exotic locations and slick editing with what is basically a talent show, or in the case of 'Dancing with the Stars,' a dancing contest, it's hardly a surprise that 'Race' keeps winning.

"So why should 'Idol' and other talent shows have to compete with true reality game shows like 'The Amazing Race' and 'Survivor' just because they have a winner at the end? In the U.K. where both shows originated, both series along with 'Britain's Got Talent' compete in the entertainment categories. Why can't the same happen in America? Is it time for these shows to be placed in the variety category at the Emmys?

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