For a recap of what's going on here, check out my previous blog. Otherwise, read on and all will soon become clear--this is what you should have been watching on television this year (and practically nothing else):
OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW (Non-competitive or documentary style)
My choice -- Wife Swap, ABC
My Other Nominees
The Real World: Philadelphia, MTV
Pornucopia: Stories from the Valley, HBO
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC
COMMENTS: There's a million of these shows on television now, breeding like roaches (and just as indestructible). They range from the sublime (the genuinely interesting and sometimes moving Wife Swap) to the absolutely ridiculous (Strange Love, featuring the affair between Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielsen or Chaotic, the laughably incompetent and moronic series starring Britney Spears and her new hubby Kevin Federline, just to name two). My general advice is to avoid most of them like the plague they are, but to TIVO Wife Swap or my other nominees for those times when you just don't feel like being productive.
BEST LEAD ACTOR - Drama
My choice -- Ian McShane, Deadwood, HBO
My Other Nominees
Michael Chiklis, The Shield, FX
Matthew Fox, Lost, ABC
Hugh Laurie, House, FOX
Kiefer Sutherland, 24, FOX
Dominic West, The Wire, HBO
COMMENTS: McShane is just barely a lead on the truly ensemble Deadwood, but there's no doubt he's the hub around which all of the show's characters and plotlines spin and every episode he delivers the juiciest, most nuanced portrayal on television...Chiklis and Sutherland did their usual steadfast work, with Sutherland's Jack Bauer in particular exploring new darkness and angst in his character...Hugh Laurie as Dr. House IS that show and if his work as that character wasn't as pitch perfect as it is, it would be an almost unwatchable medical drama (like the similarly themed Medical Investigation)...because every acting category should have at least one darkhorse candidate who doesn't have a shot, here's a shout out to Dominic West, the moody Detective McNulty from the underrated The Wire and to Matthew Fox's "Dr. Jack", the soulful force that grounds Lost in believable reality.
BEST LEAD ACTRESS - Drama
My choice--Glenn Close, The Shield, FX
The Other Nominees
Patricia Arquette, Medium, NBC
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal, ABC
Allison Janney, The West Wing, NBC
Mary McConnell, Battlestar Galactica, Sci Fi Channel
COMMENTS: Close gets a slight nod over Arquette because I believe she had a slightly tougher job, coming into a male dominated show four seasons into it's run and creating a character as indelibly as she did her precinct captain, Monica Rawlings. She's just damn good. Arquette's Alison Dubois is actually based on a true character (hard as that is to believe) and as sexy and glamorous as her reputation and past roles have been, her interpretation of Dubois is grounded, maternal, deeply conflicted and very compelling viewing. I've always had a thing for Janney, and she will get another Emmy nomination in this category this year, but frankly after about the ninth or tenth episode this season her character devolved into a supporting role and a barely seen one at that. McConnell is this category's hopeless darkhorse, but I liked her understated work as the beleagured human president on the revamped and not-at-all-cheesy Battlestar Galactica.
BEST ACTRESS - Comedy
My choice--Patricia Heaton, Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS
My Other Nominees
Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives, ABC
Debra Messing, Will & Grace, NBC
Leah Remini, King of Queens, CBS
Jessica Walter, Arrested Development, FOX
COMMENTS: I'm gonna speed up the commentary because I'm missing the NBA Finals and because, honestly, you don't really care what I think do you? Heaton's been the best for five years running, so why should it change in Raymond's swan song year? Cross is the most complex and interesting of those overrated Desperate Housewives and I've been a fan of Leah Remini on King of Queens for years. You remember Deb Messing on Will & Grace don't you? Yes, that show is still on...
BEST ACTOR - Comedy
My choice--Jason Bateman, Arrested Development, FOX
My Other Nominees
Steve Carrell, The Office, NBC
Matt LeBlanc, Joey, NBC
Ray Romano, Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS
Tony Shalhoub, Monk, USA
COMMENTS: The only category with no left field darkhorses, although Carrell would be a minor surprise at the Emmys because his show was low-rated and didn't premiere until late March. He is an up-and-coming comedy star though. Bateman's work is just wonderful on Arrested Development, but he gets overlooked because he's basically the straight man, and the straight man often gets overlooked and not just in San Francisco.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Drama
My choice -- Jimmy Smits, The West Wing, NBC
My Other Nominees
Naveen Andrews, Lost, ABC
Anthony Anderson, The Shield, FX
Brad Dourif, Deadwood, HBO
Michael C. Hall, Six Feet Under, HBO
Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood, HBO
COMMENTS: What a great category. I could easily name five more actors who deserve a Reggie. I could have nominated all the supporting males just from Deadwood and The West Wing alone. I choose Smits because he took an unbelievable character--and almost morally perfect, intelligent, Democratic dark horse presidential candidate--and made him believable, charismatic, edgy and intensely likeable.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Drama
My choice -- Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy, ABC
My Other Nominees
Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet Under, HBO
Paula Malcolmson, Deadwood, HBO
Poppy Montgomery, Without A Trace, CBS
Molly Parker, Deadwood, HBO
COMMENTS: Oh has gone from being one of indie film's best kept secrets to the most compelling and unpredictable character on ABC's midseason hit Grey's Anatomy. Ambrose is one of the few reasons to keep tuning in to the declining Six Feet Under and someday Poppy Montgomery is going to develop into a major sex symbol and TV star. I chose the whore (Malcolmson) and the widow (Parker) from Deadwood over the more heralded Robin Wiegert (Calamity Jane) because their characters came into sharper focus this season and frankly they both had a lot more to do. I guess you could consider everybody in this category except the three times nominated Ambrose to be an Emmy longshot.
And that's all I have to say about that. The Detroit Pistons are making what counts for a run in this series so I'll tell you that in the supporting acting comedy categories they don't get better than Jeffrey Tambor on Arrested Development and Doris Roberts on Everybody Loves Raymond. Enjoy your summer away from TV (although Dancing with the Stars is strangely fascinating, isn't it?) and when I return to blog again on The R Spot, I'll have a summer movie review or two, my thoughts on what's really going on with Tom and Katie and much, much more.
Until then, peace now!
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