Emmy Nods That Are a Cut Above the Rest : Television: The Emmy category for series hairstylists, who didn’t have their own award until 1986, is usually dominated by sci-fi or historical shows. But this year, ‘Roseanne’ and ‘The Nanny’ have joined the ranks.

When “Roseanne” recently nabbed an Emmy nomination for hairstyling, one of the people most astonished was Roseanne herself.

“She thought it was for her hair,” said Pixie Schwartz, 36, the show’s key hairstylist. Schwartz had to break the news to Roseanne that the nomination had nothing to do with her character’s frumpy coif. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences nominates specific episodes--in this case, the Halloween installment--not the show in general. What clinched Schwartz’s first nomination, she said, was the tag scene: All the actors pulled off wigs identical to their own hair to expose bald caps underneath.

A similar stunt earned a nomination for Dugg Kirkpatrick, key hairstylist on “The Nanny.” In a tribute to the antics of Lucille Ball, Fran Drescher’s nanny character sneaked into a men-only club. Passing off Drescher as a man was a tall order, said Kirkpatrick, 35. “She’s quite beautiful and feminine,” he said. “And she has a lot of hair.”

Drescher had a crew cut--a $5,000 lace-front wig--when Kirkpatrick was done with her.

He’s thrilled and flattered by his first nomination, but said he doesn’t expect to leave the ceremony for technical awards next Saturday with a gold statuette. “I can’t understand why they would single me out for a sitcom, or for putting a wig on.”

It is, in fact, unusual to have two comedy programs among hairstyling nominees, a category typically dominated by characters from the past and future. The other nominees--”Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Babylon 5” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”--all are repeat contenders from last year. “Star Trek: Voyager” got a nod this year as well; “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was nominated last year.

The playing field isn’t exactly level for hairstylists. The academy started giving Emmys to makeup artists in 1965, but hairstylists didn’t get their due until 1977. Then, the award was dominated by TV movies until 1986, when series got a separate category.

But stylists on comedies still get the short end of the stick. Science-fiction shows are full of aliens and futuristic beings--fertile ground for way-out hair--while comedies usually are grounded in contemporary looks. Sitcoms also tape in one day in front of a live audience, so the work is hurried.

“You may have a little time to prepare,” Schwartz said, “but when you actually shoot, you may have five minutes.”

Contrast that with the nominated episode of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.” It was two hours long, filmed over 14 days on location in Sacramento. The story took Dr. Quinn (Jane Seymour) to Washington, where she met President Ulysses S. Grant and other members of high society. Key hairstylist Karl Wesson, 49, hired four extra people to help his staff of three. After styling 600 wigs and heads of hair, they stopped counting.

Since most academy voters don’t know a wet set from a wiglet, the nominations are made by 145 members from the makeup artists’ and hairstylists’ union, Local 706 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Motion Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada.

Winners are then selected by a blue-ribbon panel of at least six people who belong to both the union and the TV academy. For these judges, flashiness is not enough. They also know if styles are, for example, historically accurate.

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For Wesson and the crew on “Dr. Quinn,” that means a lot of research and using some antiquated tools, such as a croquinol , a curling iron heated up in an oven. But Wesson doesn’t abandon all modern methods. “We do a lot of period stuff,” he said, “but we couldn’t do it without hair spray.”

“Dr. Quinn” may seem like the odds-on favorite; it won last year, and doing 600 styles is hard to top. But also in the running is Josee Normand, 51, a double nominee for “Voyager” and “Deep Space Nine.”

This is her second time as a double nominee. In 1987 she won for a Shakespearean episode of “Moonlighting” and was a contender for the miniseries “Alice in Wonderland.” She was also on a winning crew for “Next Generation” in 1993.

If Normand wins for either show this year, it’ll be interesting to see who is on her thank-you list. She was cut loose from the “Star Trek” fleet after last season. “There’s kind of a policy that they rotate their hair department head,” she said, without a trace of bitterness in her voice.

But for Normand, there is another frontier: film. She was working on movies before being lured onto “Star Trek.” Of course, there’s no Oscar for hairstyling. A hairstylist can be nominated--in the makeup category--only if the Oscar rules committee decides that he or she made a significant contribution.

But it’s not the hope of landing an Emmy that keeps these stylists working in television. When the producer of “Babylon 5” called Traci Smithe to congratulate her on her nomination, she responded, “For what?” But after he elaborated, she started to cry.

“This is my first nomination. It’s not something I ever pined for. I never really thought about it. I have a job to do, and I do the best I can,” Smithe said. “I don’t think if I carry an Emmy in that Monday morning that it’s going to change anything. I’m just grateful for what I’ve already been given.”

And for all those actors and directors who want their coiffures styled before the main Emmy ceremony Sept. 10, they can call someone else. Smithe is taking the day off.

“I may just go have my own hair done,” Smithe said. “I can’t remember the last time I was in a salon.”