“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”
I love Emmy season. I am addicted to the Emmy gossip, and the Emmy dresses, and the Emmy nominations, and the Emmy flack when someone we wanted nominated didn’t get nominated. My addiction to the Emmys compares only to my addiction for TV.
This year’s voting process might result in many ties, ties that might cause us to see 6-8 nominations in categories where normally we only see 5. Various voters nominated their top ten shows, and those 10 shows are then viewed by a small “blue-ribbon” panel that determines, based on Excellent, Fair, and Poor ratings, what nominations we will see. There’s a big chance that the shows that garner critical acclaim, but low ratings, will shine, and the shows that get big audiences, and dismal reviews will no longer be the only frontrunners.
That said, today begins the first of many columns dedicated to what should be nominated, what will be nominated, who should be nominated, who will be nominated, and what people we should expect to fake grins and giggles come July 6 when their name is left off the list.
The Emmys: DRAMA
Series –
If I had to, I could select 14 series that I feel are deserving of nominations. Some on the big 6 networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, WB), others on HBO, F/X, and TNT, but I need to narrow it down to 6 nominations, and 2 honorable mentions, or this column could scroll on forever! (Honorable Mention noted by **)
The shows I think should be nominated:
24 – Jack Bauer is my hero. The show’s writers, well they aren’t bad either!
Lost – The castaways of this show, and their intricate back stories that crash into each other, make for exciting TV that is deserving of a nomination!
Grey’s Anatomy – Medical drama, redefined. With a seriously flawed lead character in Meredith Grey, the unlikely heroine of Seattle Grace, the writers have re-invented the wheel with each new story they tell. The two part Superbowl episode, as well as the 3 part Season Finale amazed me. The one-on-one interviews with the chief in the season finale showcased exactly why this show deserves a lot of love!
Rescue Me – Denis Leary and his co-writers have written the show in such a way that I’m shocked into tears of sadness, and pain, each time I watch it. The season finale, where Tommy’s uncle shoots the man who killed Connor Gavin? Perfection on TV.
House – A misanthropic hero. Stories that keep you guessing. It is written so well, and shot so convincingly, that I can’t help but worship the ground upon which Hugh Laurie and friends tread!
Battlestar Galactica – Edward James Olmos. Mary McDonnell. Great writing, great acting, stories that keep you invested. Absolutely worth it.
**Veronica Mars – Truly my favorite show on television, if the voters were interested in remaining on my good side, they’d include it!
**The West Wing – While some shows that went off the air this year may be nominated for sentimentality’s sake, The West Wing deserves a nomination for it’s unfaltering belief in itself and what it was doing all these years.
The shows that probably will be nominated:
24
Lost
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Six Feet Under
Leads –
The lead actor category is always a tough one. While I always seem to think I know who the Academy is going to go after, I’m always wrong, so take my noms with a grain of salt!
Lead actors that should be nominated:
Matthew Fox, Lost – while some people might say that Lost has lost it’s way, Matthew Fox’s Jack is the glue that holds his gang together. He plays on our sympathies and each week, I fall a little bit more in love with him!
Kiefer Sutherland, 24 – There is no 24 without Kiefer Sutherland. As mentioned earlier, Jack Bauer is my hero. Anyone else as Jack Bauer, and the show WOULD NOT WORK.
Hugh Laurie, House – Where 24 isn’t 24 without Kiefer, House is certainly not House without Hugh Laurie. The scruffy, miserly doctor acts the hell out of his part week after week. Some storylines may be off the wall, but his over-the-top approach, oddly enough, grounds the series.
Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactic – I’m just going to put down in words that there is no justice in the world if EJO doesn’t get a nomination!
William Fichtner, Invasion – the show may have been (prematurely) cancelled, but no one can argue that William Fichtner gave serious creepiness and intensity to his Sheriff Tom Underlay. He was cool, and calculated, and caring without showing, but he definitely showed how dangerous he was. He deserves a nomination, no doubt.
Denis Leary, Rescue Me – it’s not just the writing that moves me to tears about this show. It’s the humor, and vulnerability that Denis Leary manages to bring to the forefront week after week. He is good. Really, really good.
**Wentworth Miller, Prison Break – Eyes of calculating steel, a body to die for, a hard set jaw that kills me. All incredible reasons to nominate him, but most importantly, he can act without speaking, and communicate without words. He exudes confidence and makes this completely unreal story seem possible!
Lead actors that probably will be nominated:
Kiefer Sutherland, 24
Martin Sheen, The West Wing
James Spader, Boston Legal
Hugh Laurie, House
Patrick Dempsey, Grey’s Anatomy
The lead actress category? Almost too tough to call. The only thing I’m worried about is the shut out of our darling Veronica Mars.
Lead actresses that should be nominated:
Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars – she is the backbone of her series. Able to cry on cue, and make viewers feel every emotion that she is portraying – she has a gift.
Geena Davis, Commander-in-Chief – another ABC show bites the dust. Her poise, grace, and sheer ability on screen makes her a joy to watch.
Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy – she plays a flawed heroine. She is sad, and lonely, and tired, and angry, and a bit slutty, and altogether screwed up. Some might say that she whines a lot, and other might say that Ellen Pompeo has no acting bone in her body, but the fact that I feel so deeply for her imperfect character, goes to show that she got the role for a reason.
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer – Brenda Lee Johnson as played by anyone else would not be who she is. Kyra Sedgwick, whom I loved a long time ago in “Phenomenon” with John Travolta, is perfect for this role, and does this character true acting justice.
Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica – Again, there is no justice in this world if she escapes nomination! (PS on a completely unrelated note – I LOVED her in Donnie Darko…she is awesome as ANY character she plays)
**Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU – She brings something to this not-so-average Law/Order procedural that no other Dick Wolf actor has been able to show.
**Jennifer Garner, Alias – sure, the season was pretty dismal, but no one plays a superhero spy better than Jennifer Garner!
Lead actresses that probably will be nominated:
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under
Allison Janney, The West Wing
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Supports –
I always think that the Supporting Actor and Actress don’t get enough love. Not focused on as much, and often times, not given as much to do as the lead characters, what they do bring to the screen fascinates me!
Supporting actors that should be nominated:
TR Knight, Grey’s Anatomy – though the Meredith/McDreamy storyline may be what fuels most fans fires, George O’Malley is it for me. TR plays the character with such heart, he deserves more recognition.
Naveen Andrews, Lost – His Sayid Jarrah is amazing. Calm, cool, perfect. He deserves it all!
Gregory Itzen, 24 – Sheerly for his ability to play such an idiotic President, all the while being the mastermind behind the whole terrible day. It was amazing.
Terry O’Quinn, Lost – Who wants to try and argue that Lost would be the same show if O’Quinn’s John Locke wasn’t a central figure? He breaks my heart and frustrates me.
Omar Epps, House – The episodes Euphoria: Part I and Euphoria: Part II were basically written to be the “For Your Consideration” episodes that define Omar Epps’ career. Those two hours were serious acting at its best.
**Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, Lost – he doesn’t say much as Mr. Eko, but he never keeps me guessing. He emotes with his eyes, and few words. He plays the perfect foil to John Locke. While I hate most “tailies”, Eko is alright with me!
**Donald Sutherland, Commander in Chief – He played his role as Templeton with a childish glee. Definitely deserves to be nominated!
Supporting actors that probably will be nominated:
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Alan Alda, The West Wing
Gregory Itzin, 24
Joseph Gannascoli, The Sopranos
Forest Whitaker, The Shield
Supporting actresses that should be nominated:
Rachel Griffiths, Six Feet Under – Brenda Chenowith is one of the most flawed characters EVER written. But Rachel Griffiths handled it and was always amazing.
Katherine Heigl, Grey’s Anatomy – the episode where we found out Izzie had a daughter, and the season finale when Denny darling died…The future Mrs. Josh Kelley astounds me. To come from being Gerard Depardieu’s daughter in a guilty pleasure movie from the early 90s to being one of the coolest supporting acts on TV. Astonishing.
Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy – Bailey loves her interns, but she‘s a hard-as-nails bitch. Chandra Wilson knows how to act the hell out of her character, and she makes us feel compassion for this hard-working woman that just wants to do her job, and do it well.
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy – Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh is great. She plays the sassy, direct, hard-ass intern that truly loves her man as well as her friends, the friends that she pretends ultimately to not love. Played to perfection!
Jean Smart, 24 – I think this nomination goes under the “there is no justice in the world if she’s not nominated” category.
**Kari Matchett, Invasion – She has something eerie to her. She is stone cold, piercingly beautiful, and completely perplexed by the new hybrid life she’s forced to lead. Extremely worthy of a nomination.
Supporting actresses that probably will be nominated:
CCH Pounder, The Shield
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
Blythe Danner, Huff
Stockard Channing, The West Wing
Rachel Griffiths, Six Feet Under
Final category of the day –
Show that should be a drama, but is submitted as comedy, and shouldn’t win either way:
Desperate Housewives
Favorite moment of TV this week:
Bobby Bad Fingers snapping on America’s Got Talent. It was like a train wreck and I couldn’t pull myself away…
“Good TV + Good Music = An Obsession” is taking a break this week – it’ll be back next week with a brand new band to completely obsess over!!
Next week, it’s Comedy time!! What are your views on who should be nominated??? Who did I miss this week? Email me at mytakeontv@thetvaddict.com
Thanks for reading – Amrie