The Emmy’s are a week away, so I figured I’d stop procrastinating and finally make my picks for which actors and shows I want to win this year. It’s an interesting selection. In some categories, I really don’t care who wins, while in other categories, there are two or three people that I’d be happy to see take the award. There’s no real pay-off to this for me though. I mean sure, I’ll watch the ceremony and feel a brief sense of happiness when one of my picks takes the stage to make their speech. I might even shed a tear or two if one of the winners delivers a really heartfelt speech (I cant help it, I’m a girl.) but in the end, I go to bed way too late and within a day or two, I’m probably not even going to be thinking about the awards.
I suppose it’s the glitz and the glamour, added to the fact that some of the shows I’ve dedicated hours and hours of my life to are receiving some kind of recognition for their greatness. Maybe, in some weird way, the Academy’s recognition of my favorite show actually justifies all of the time I’ve spent watching it.
I don’t really have any set rules in how I make my choices but I do tend take shy away from the nominees who’ve won for the same category/role last year. I think the only reason I really do this is because it gets so repetitive when the same shows or actors win the same award year after year.
I mean, take Tony Shalhoub. He’s been nominated five times for his role in Monk and he’s won three times so far. Is he fantastic in Monk? Absolutely. But there are other actors who have delivered outstanding comedic performances and deserve the award too. This is not to say that I don’t think an actor deserves to win the award more than once but winning it two or more years in a row is just predictable and a bit disappointing to me.
So here are the nominees for this year’s best shows and actors in comedies and dramas. My choices are in bold and there’s a little explanation beneath each:
DRAMA SERIES
Boston Legal
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
House
I chose Heroes here because, while I love House and Boston Legal is a great show, Heroes really had me on the edge of my seat last season. Grey’s Anatomy was just a mess in its third season and I’m not even sure why it made the list. The Academy should’ve left it off and put up Battlestar Galactica instead. If they had, that would’ve definitely been my pick for best drama this season.
COMEDY SERIES
Entourage
Ugly Betty
It was a close call between The Office, 30 Rock and Ugly Betty for me. Men is way too formulaic and I wasn’t overly impressed with last season of Entourage. The Office is one of my favorite shows but it won last year. In the end, I chose Betty because while 30 Rock is hilarious, Betty stole my heart this season.
ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
James Gandolfini, The Sopranos
Hugh Laurie, House
Denis Leary, Rescue Me
James Spader, Boston Legal
I have to give it to Hugh Laurie. He was nominated two years ago and didn’t win. Dr. Gregory House is easily one of the best characters on television today and Laurie deserves a huge percentage of the credit for that. I wont be disappointed if Spader or Sutherland took the award though.
ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Minnie Driver, The Riches
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
I’m giving this one to Minnie Driver by default. Of all of the shows listed in this category, The Riches is the only one that I watched, if only for a couple of episodes. Driver was fantastic.
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Michael Emerson, Lost
Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos
T.R. Knight, Grey's Anatomy
Terry O'Quinn, Lost
Masi Oka, Heroes
William Shatner, Boston Legal
I wanted to pick Masi Oka for this one because I absolutely adore Hiro on Heroes but Michael Emerson’s performance in Lost last season was outstanding. Then again, if the Academy has Heroes-fever and gives it to Oka, I’d be ok with that.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Lorraine Bracco, The Sopranos
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Aida Turturro, The Sopranos
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Ok, so I wasn’t thrilled with Grey’s Anatomy last season but despite the sloppy writing, Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson were both phenomenal. Since Wilson already gets a ton of credit for her amazing performance on Grey’s, I’m going to root for Oh.
ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
Alec Baldwin is the main reason why 30 Rock is such a hilarious show. His dry, abrupt sense of humor is strangely charming. I also appreciate the fact that Baldwin appears to be embracing his age and playing a role that fits him, rather than trying to cram himself into action or romantic comedy films, starring opposite a woman 20 years younger than him. I really hate that. So he gets credit for that. Now give him an Emmy because he’s funny.
ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
I chose Felicity Huffman because, while I absolutely adore America Ferrara (and if she wins, I’ll probably tear up as much as I did when she won the Golden Globe), Huffman was amazing in last season of Desperate Housewives. Amazing.
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Rainn Wilson, The Office
This was actually the hardest category to choose. Rain Wilson’s ridiculousness, Kevil Dillon’s pathetic pout an Jeremy Piven’s adeptness at being a total a-hole all score major points for me but Neil Patrick Harris does such a convincing job playing a neo-yuppie bachelor that I had to go with Doog on this one.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Conchata Ferrell, Two and a Half Men
Jenna Fischer, The Office
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds
Jaime Pressly, My Name Is Earl
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
I’d be happy to see Vanessa Williams win this because she does such a great job playing her Miranda-Priestly-esque role in Ugly Betty but I really love the range of emotion Jenna Fischer brings to her role in The Office. While Williams is more of a caricature (she does it well, but still…), Jenna does a great job of playing a normal woman. Normal, realistic women are somewhat of a rarity in American television these days.
You’ll see traces of normalcy in just about every female character on television but Pam is really real. I’m willing to bet that most of the women who watch The Office can relate to Pam. She’s smart, artistic and almost always friendly. She sees that she has flaws and is always working on them. Sometimes she likes to be silly. Other times she wants to feel pretty. And most of the time, she just wants to be loved. She’s Pam. Go Jenna!
Big Brother (CBS) 8:00 pm
(New!) Eric and Jessica went home last Thursday. Find out who won Head of Household and which two houseguests were nominated for eviction.
Tell Me You Love Me (HBO) 9:00 pm
Pilot - (New Series!) Three couples deal with the usual problems that come with marriage, sex and family. Read the review HERE.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) 10:00 pm
Meet The Blacks - (Season Premiere!) Cheryl talks Larry into taking in a family that is now homeless due to a hurricane.
Greek (ABC Family) 9:00 pm
Black & White and Read All Over (Season Finale!) – Season finale, already?! Why?! In the final episode of the first season, someone does an exposé on greek life that shakes things up for all of the frats and sororities. I accidentally read a spoiler which listed the person who wrote the article and without saying their name, let me just tell you – this is going to be a very interesting finale.
Mission: Man Band (VH1) 10:00 pm
(New!) – The guys get a gig at a club but Rich has health issues that could stand in the way.
Biggest Loser (NBC) 8:00 pm
(Season Premiere!) – This season takes place in the desert. 18 contestants compete in a weight-loss competition. This season, in addition to the red and blue teams, there will be a secret black team. All of the contestants will work with trainers to try and shed some pounds.
Big Brother 8 (CBS) 9:00 pm
(new!) – The Veto is everything this week. After the HoH nominates two people, there is only one person left to vote. So whoever wins the Veto essentially has control over who leaves the house. Last week, Zach didn’t use the Veto and Eric went home. Let’s see if the decision not to get Daniele out of the house was the right choice.
Damages (FX)
We Are Not Animals (New!) Since Gregory Malina’s deposition will play a huge part in the outcome of the Frobisher case, Patty does her best to keep him safe. Ellen and Tom are afraid Patty is manipulating them and the two agree hide from her.
Last Comic Standing(NBC) 9:00 pm
(New!) – The final three are narrowed down to two. The remaining two contestants perform one last time.
Rescue Me(FX) 10:00 pm
Yaz (Season Finale!) – The fourth season comes to a close with Colleen blaming her dad for her boyfriend dumping her, Franco and Natalie coming to an agreement and the sightings of Jimmy’s “ghost” (which has really been Tommy, wearing Jimmy’s jacket and sneaking into fires) is discussed by the firefighters.
Big Brother 8 (CBS) 8:00 pm
Live Episode (new!) – Someone is evicted and the final three houseguests are left to compete for the last HoH. Whoever wins will evict a houseguest, leaving two remaining.
The Office (NBC) 9:00 pm
Beach Games (rerun) – I love this episode. The gang heads to the “beach” by the lake where Michael makes them perform ridiculous Survivor-like games in an effort to choose his successor at Dunder-Mifflin. It’s also the episode where Pam finally speaks her mind.
Burn Notice (USA) 10:00 pm
False Flag (New!) – Michael helps a woman find her son, whom she believes was kidnapped by her ex-husband. Lucy Lawless guest stars!
Monk(USA) 9:00 pm
Mr. Monk Is Up All Night (New!) – When Monk cant sleep, he goes for a walk and comes across a murder.
Psych(USA) 10:00 pm
Bounty Hunters (New!) – Shawn and Gus hunt down a murderer but when the find out he’s innocent, they try to help him prove it. They run into some problems though because there’s a bounty hunter searching for the guy.
Flip This House (A&E) 8:00 pm
Normally I recommend a movie for Saturday night but as there’s nothing great (at least, in terms of movies I’ve seen) airing this Saturday night, I’ll go with something new. Flip This House is surprisingly entertaining. You get to see what kind of money and time goes into purchasing, renovating and reselling a house.
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