EMMY Predictions: Drama

How about the dramas?

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)
Rose Byrne (Damages)
Sharon Gless (Burn Notice)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)

I really need to start watching Burn Notice more, not only does it contain the best chin on any b-list movie actor ever but it has Sharon Gless. She is all the buzz and a definate favorite to walk away with the statuette.

But I can't look passed Joan in Mad Men, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Christina Hendricks is simply stunning and I thought deserved the nomination last year, especially episode 12 in season two when her fiancé visits the office. This year she submitted the episode when he doesn't get the position he needs and the horse that she bet on failed big. I can't wait for this guy to go off to war and get killed and for Joan to have some good ole fashioned widow sex. But I'm rambling she is the best female character on the show, and that includes her competition Elisabeth Moss. Moss's character developed the most in the series but the way Hendricks walks the fine line of strong sexual goddess and frail woman is a tribute to women of the sixties. She deserves the win, plus I love to watch her walk.



Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age)
Michael Emerson (Lost)
Terry O’Quinn (Lost)
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
Martin Short (Damages)
John Slattery (Mad Men)

The two most deserving actors on this list are going to cancel each other out making room for a clear third place candidate to walk away the winner.

Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn each have a win to their name. Emerson as Ben Linus trying to redeem his evil ways from the whole series is fantastic. In the first seasons he was in he was always a step ahead, season five featured a role reversal which was strong enough to get him the win last year. This year featured him vulnerable, as a man trying to find his way with a chapter in his life coming to an end and him coming to face all the demons and monstrosities he committed in his search for control. Meanwhile Terry O'Quinn was playing two different characters and very differently from any other character in the series. SPOILER ALERT (FOR THOSE WHO STILL WANT TO WATCH THE SERIES) He was asked to play the main villain of the entire series as the Man in Black controlled his body and he played the season one version of himself as well. Even when I was certain that he was the ultimate baddie of LOST I still thought that the character could be redeemed. I really enjoyed him as the man in black and enjoyed the symmetry of having him be the antagonist in the first and final season. SPOILER OVER His mind games and abuse of women make him my personal choice to win the award.

But like I said before these two men are going to cancel each other out as they are both so deserving and both on the same series. So I am going with Aaron Paul to actually claim the big award, he deserves praise and certainly showed off his chops in the season but he stands in the shadow of the men of LOST.



Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Matthew Fox (Lost)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Hugh Laurie (House M.D.)

Without a doubt this is the hardest category to predict. Each one of these actors could walk away with the award and frankly each one of these actors would make the academy proud if they won, so let's try and break it down best we can.

Chandler has not only deserved to be nominated but he deserved to be on this list so many years before. Well except the second season, we all have down years. And no matter how you feel about Lost Matthew Fox has been the heart of the show and also probably deserved to be on the list earlier. His final episode is something special and the last 15 minutes of the episode is the very best acting he has done in his whole career. What may work against Fox is the ensemble nature of the show. Any weak spot may cost any actor the award and this may be Fox's biggest adversity, but voters do love a good finale.

This may be Cranston's weakest year, but never doubt a two time champion. The academy can feel confident voting for him without putting too much effort in knowing that his portrayal of the character is always award winning, and it is. Another sure slam dunk for an award is Jon Hamn who portrays the biggest douche bag on television Don Draper as someone you can't help but root for. Similarly I think he has done better, such as this season as he is being forced to redefine himself and his self worth in a brand new agency living a life he has never known. It's still early but I like him to win the award next year with his character actually facing some strife.

Michael C. Hall has always done great work as the frigid father figure dueling with his own personality. And for those of you who haven't see the episode he submitted see it now. Actually scratch that see the whole thing, you may lose out on the sheer emotion of it all without a whole bunch of back story and there are so many good scenes from the season (the Thanksgiving dinner comes to mind). The power of the season has already been awarded with John Lithgow receiving the award for best guest actor in a drama, too bad he thanked HBO. If he wasn't already dead they'd be killing him off after that gaff.

Hugh Laurie has been always been a bridesmaid never a bride. This may be the year he finally gets awarded. The episode he submits is all House all the time, having him in a mental institution facing his personal demons and featuring a Broadway hero with Lin Manuel (If you are not a Broadway fan do yourself a favor and at the very least check out his performance in the TONYs, as he does something very different on the stage. I'll even give you the link).

If I had to pick someone though I think I like sentimental favorite Kyle Chandler to win the award. But in all honesty the smart money is Dexter for the acting pedigree in the entire season. So I think I will go with Hall for the win. But I love Chandler, especially his pregame speech/destruction of his kids before his first game. But that final scene in Dexter is just so good...



Outstanding Actress in a Drama
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
Glenn Close (Damages)
Mariska Hargitay (Special Victims Unit)
January Jones (Mad Men)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

Julianna Margulies is the reason that "The Good Wife" got nominated for the big award. And much like Sandra Bullock at the Oscars I think she has this one in the bag.



Outstanding Drama Series
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Lost
Mad Men
The Good Wife
True Blood

First off let me declare that True Blood doesn't deserve to be anywhere near this list. They have award winning material in the same way as Lady Gaga discussing her Love Muffin. They have zero chance of winning and should just be glad they made the list. Similarly The Good Wife also has no chance here. The reason the show is here is all Julianna Margulies. But at least her show seems like it is going to keep improving itself through the years.

As I said back when I was predicting the nominees I liked the remaining four series as shoo ins. But now that all four have got nominated it is tough to go from there. Of the four I think that Breaking Bad may be the weak link. While this is still a fantastic series it is going up against the champ, the best season of a show so far and a powerful finale.

Like I have said before it is tough business taking down a champ. Mad Men can sometimes drag with minutia and everyday life which is what makes the series so smart, but the episodes that they submitted are all so very powerful and have you demanding for more, which we are currently getting, thank you AMC. I think this may be the best season so far ("they couldn't even send a full reporter"). Matt Weiner's period piece is a masterful work of art and is what good television is all about.

Last season of Dexter was the best it has ever been even against the first storyline. I lost interest in the show after the second season but with so many people talking about the finale and got back into it and it did not disappoint. Veteran thespian John Lithgow is award winning as the Trinity Killer, but will Michael C. Hall and Lithgow be enough to dethrone a heavyweight contender.

Meanwhile the finale of Lost is in the books and while there are many differing viewpoints, from cried when I watched it to wasted six years, I enjoyed the finale and what this season had to offer. While there were some duds, "What Kate Did" comes to mind, the characters finding redemption and Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse playing with some of the fan theories this year made this year, coming from a fan's perspective, a sight to behold.

But Mad Men is just too smart and too well done to be toppled so I like it to win and make it three years in a row and well on their way to a fourth next year.

Well what do you guys think? What shows should be here? Will you be watching? Hit me up you know I will be.

Thoughts on the Emmy picks

The Emmy picks are out. For a complete list, well the lists are everywhere, find it yourself. Here are some of my thoughts.

"Friday Night Lights" gets some love as both the adult leads in Kyle Chandler and the seriously hot Connie Britton both get nominated. Unfortunately it doesn't get any for best series or QB 1.

"Modern Family" deserves all the praise in the world and has a serious shot at dethroning "30 Rock." However, Emmy decided not to give any love to the patriarchal figure of Ed O' Neil who has yet to win the award. I think we could have taken out Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell to put him in the category. I would say have him compete in the lead actor position but I liked that the cast considered themselves a truly ensemble show, which it is.

"Glee" snagged the second most nominations with 19, that is two more than "Mad Men." But does it deserve all the love? I am a regular fan of the show but not because it's all that good, but because it's trashy and addictive (seriously how is "True Blood" nominated for anything). I love the Chris Colfer pick along with his dad Mike O'Malley in the guest spot. The touching acceptance and struggle with Kurt's lifestyle is the best part of the show. Here is Colfer showing off his range vocally and emotionally as he performs his version of Rose's Turn. And don't believe that the same man who hosted GUTS deserves a nomination? Go to the end of the article, check out the video and then tell me that.

"Lost" received 12 nominations for its final season. Good for Matthew Fox and Elizabeth Mitchell, its adorable that Fox now has a reason to show up to this thing.

Team Coco prevails with voters, and rightfully so, as the last 2 weeks or so of Conan's run on The Tonight Show was some of the funniest stuff on television. And lest we forget that the award show will be on NBC this year so that has the potential to be a huge slap in NBC's face. Leno and Letterman are both on the outside looking in as Saturday Night Live also gets in there. Despite not being an election year the show excelled with greatguest hosts. Granted most of the nominations come from episodes featuring Betty White or Tina Fey.

Charlie Sheen really screwed the pooch this year. The show has been nominated the past four years and this year it is left off the list for best comedy. You knew Sheen wouldn't be nominated for best actor but to have the show left off as well is kind of a shocker. I'm actually more surprised that the "Big Bang Theory" wasn't nominated. Critics love this show, I suppose it will have to be enough that Jim Parsons got nominated.

Overall I'm happy with the selections. I wish Cougar Town (bad choice of title ABC) could have got some love. Also I am a huge "Community" fan, most of that ensemble deserves nominations as well. Timothy Olyphant should be on the best actor list for "Justified." FX will never get the love it deserves, just ask "Rescue Me."

What do you think? Did Emmy leave off your favorite show? Feel free to comment cuz I love talking about it.

Emmy Predictions: Drama

The ballots are out now for this year's EMMY nominations and I have decided once again to tag team the big awards show with fellow entertainment guru and standout substitute Kiel Servidedo. However, he is not getting excited for the topic, so has decided to just donk around. Feel free to lampoon his blog and tell him to get his ass in gear by clicking here. But not now, do that later. Here is some thoughts on the Drama category.

There are six possible nominees with a possibility of a seventh if the voting is close. I'd be lieing to you if I have told you I've seen all the episodes that the networks have submitted for consideration so I will take a stab at the ones I think are in serious contention. Does this invalidate my opinion, you bet. Lets get on with it.


WRITING AND DIRECTING

Expect to see a lot of Mad Men in the writing department, there was a lot of complaints that nothing happens in the series. Probably because the characters spend most of the time facing internal conflicts rather than the external conflicts we are used to seeing. Time to cash in with some awards for all the inaction that took place last season. Also expect the finale of Lost to be represented in both categories. When you can move an audience to tears you can expect some awards for it. And those voting usually only vote for individual episode so the academy often does not care if they never got answers about Walt.


DRAMA GUEST ACTOR

John Lithgow decided to not enter as a lead actor but rather as a guest actor since he was only on Dexter for one season. The man was chilling and helped to make this season one of the best. Expect Michael J. Fox to get one for Rescue Me and maybe James Earl Jones in House, but it doesn't really matter as this award is all Lithgow's


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Has anyone seen Treme or know what the show is about? Well apparently Khando Alexander is a shoe in to get nominated, any information on the series would be appreciated. Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks will both get nominations for their performances in Mad Men. Moss for the strong female role against the male psyche and Hendricks for the way she walks in and out of a room. Chloe Sevigny should also get a nomination for her portrayal in Big Love, she is definitely the strongest of the three wives and the only bright spot in a bad season.



BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Is it possible to nominate three actors from Lost? Probably not and the odd man out will probably be Nestor Carbonell who did fantastic in the episode Ab Aberneto but his long eyelashes will probably have to bat longingly as he watches Terry O' Quinn and Michael Emerson receive nominations as they have become regulars on the stage and each coming out with an award. O' Quinn did great work performing in two different roles, and Emerson switches between hero and villain during almost every episode. Martin Short will get nominated for a fantastic performance in what seems to be opposite Glenn Close, yet he still asked to be considered a supporting character. And AMC will round out the list as Aaron Paul gets a nomination for Breaking Bad, which I need to devote more time to. Then there is John Slattery as Roger Sterling who is one of the coolest old men there is. I want to be him when I grow up, no doubt.


BEST LEAD ACTRESS

Glenn Close and Julianna Margulis are the best reasons why Damages and The Good Wife respectively will get nominated for Best Drama so of course they should both be favored in this category. I never thought that Bryan Cranston would need assistance to make Breaking Bad a better show but Anna Gunn is giving it to him anyway. Kyra Sedgwick will once again be nominated for The Closer. Since Elisabeth Moss is competing in the supporting category that opens up the chance for January Jones to receive the obligatory Mad Men nomination. Mariska Hargitay should round out the list for SVU.


BEST LEAD ACTOR

Bryan Craston obviously leads the very talented field of men for this year. Just think he used to be the dad on Malcom in the Middle and now he could win the award three times in a row. Michael C. Hall will also obviously receive a nomination if only for that final scene. Hugh Laurie will once again be nominated, but this time he deserves to be on the list with a highlight reel from the first and last 2 episodes of this past season. A series finale of a hit show is usually a guaranteed way to get some EMMY hype, but for 24 this may be the only serious nomination they get, and yet Kiefer Sutherland is still on the bubble. Maybe if he got his personal life together he'd have a better shot. Expect to see Jon Hamm on the list and the night of the awards expect to see a drooling Tina Fey on the red carpet closely behind him. God I want to see Kyle Chandler on the list for his role in leading the East Dillon Panthers to glory on Friday Night Lights. He is certainly getting a big push from Direct TV and fans alike who are begging the committee to take this show seriously. This is the probably the shows best chance for a big award but I suspect that Simon Baker and his dreamy eyes will get the spot instead. Damn those dreamy eyes.


BEST DRAMA SERIES

The first four picks are easy to make. You have Mad Men, the two-time champ. Dexter with two champion actors. Breaking Bad which is only getting better and better with each passing season. And the superb cast of Damages giving the show its third straight nomination. I said that Julianna Margulis was good enough to get her show nominated and I am sticking with that prediction for The Good Wife. History dictates that extra long series finales are usually shoe-ins for EMMY consideration. It helped the Sopranos and the finale for Lost was talked about just as much. The episode was certainly strong enough to be considered and that's what should give it the edge. If the show had to be selected for the entire season, I don't think it would make the cut, but the selections are only made for one episode so I think that gives it the edge.

Feel free to hit me up with your thoughts as we have till June 8 th to discuss the issues.

LOST: The End

There are blogs out there that are entirely devoted to the series of Lost. An examination of the characters, the mythology, how the entire world connects. I thought that by doing a post on the series would be a discredit to what others were doing. I was saddened to hear that people didn't like the series finale of Lost. This post will not change the minds of people who did not like it, but rather provide a defense as there was no other way to end the series.

If you plan on starting to watch now that the series is wrapped and you can watch it without all the nonsense spewing from all the Lost fans then I feel sorry for you. Half the fun of the series, as it is with any mystery, is the debate with friends and fellow viewers. Sure the fans are annoying as all hell and I really couldn't care that Wallace is number 108 at the lighthouse, but the dissection and the conversations that took place is why this series became so important.

In the world of Hulu and the Internet and DVR you no longer need to watch a fictional series in real time. Lost did what reality TV has been able to get away with and created must see TV, if you miss it you know you are going to get it spoiled for you. If you miss Community and find out that Jeff and Brita had sex its not that big a deal because while that's spoiled for you you will most likely still be able to enjoy the series. If you hear about the reveals on Lost well that's gonna destroy it for you. And there were a lot of them.

The series that started 6 seasons ago was unsure they were going to make it out alive but with the pilot costing somewhere between 10 and 14 million dollars you knew that ABC was going to give it a fair shake. The show has been imitated several times Ala Invasion and Flash Forward but has never been duplicated.

J.J. Abrams relates this series to Jaws. I found this link in one of my favorite blogs on the series. While it may be too late to really enjoy his stuff as the show has ended you might want to check out some of the later posts of Doc Jensen, some of the stuff he does can be really funny. Jensen found the clip of Abrams talking about the mystery of Lost and he equates it to Jaws. What most people try to do when taking from the movie is they steal the most famous scenes the very beginning when the girl gets taken under, or the final scene when the shark takes down the boat. But J.J's favorite scene is when Chief Martin Brody is sitting at the dining room table reflecting on all that has happened and his son is sitting with him imitating his movement, this character development and the attachment we feel is what make the shark scarier. If we don't connect with our characters then the members of the audience won't feel as if anything is on the line, and I think that is what has been done so well with Lost.

Did they know where they were going from the beginning, I believe they did to an extent. I think they knew that the story was going to serve as redemptive properties and that there were going to be many allegories and you see that with the inclusion of Adam and Eve. But in the same breath by knowing the big picture they didn't know how to include all the details they were leaving for themselves. Such as having a doctor state that the skeletons are about 50 years old and then later revealing they are more like 2000 years old. That's quite a discrepancy. I don't think that was a detail that was ever supposed to be included. But its tough to have your cake and eat it too. The series created such a fan following that sites like Lostpedia can thrive, but then demand answers like who are Adam and Eve. So while Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse may not want to, they owe the fan base that created them some answers and they get jammed in a corner. That may be why that the episode "Across the Sea" didn't work, it gave the answers. I think that's why the Peanuts cartoons always bothered me, when I was young I used to imagine how Charlie Brown and Lucy sounded but when the cartoon came out and the voices they were given didn't match how I imagined they would sound.

Luckily Cuse and Lindelof have been able to have fun with the demand for answers, like finding Shannon's inhaler in "The Lighthouse" when she lost it in "Confidence Man" or by having Hurley state popular fan theory about Adam and Eve. The only resolution that they felt compelled to answer were questions their characters had and the relationship of the sideways world and the island world. Lost in the wayside are why Walt was so special, and why the women have pregnancy complications in the second trimester. In my estimation these are the fans that felt disappointed in the series finale. But I rather enjoy the contemplation about it, I'd rather make theories on Walt being similar to Myles and Hurley as they have a gift, but him being so young he still needed to develop it. Or my belief that the women's inability to have a baby on the island was due to Jacob and his brother's debate on human culture and any addition to the sample group they had taken may have thrown off the study, so instead Jacob made it so it can no longer happen. The viewers who became burdened with the mythology forgot what originally made them fall in love with the show. The characters.

SPOILERS AHEAD LOOK AWAY NOW FOR FUTURE ENJOYMENT

The finale was a perfect wrap to the series. It took a second viewing this morning to get that the sideways world (and not the island world as many suspected) was purgatory and them coming to grips with death. There was no present for them in the sideways world, some had died earlier like Boone and the Kwon's and some would go on to live much longer lives like Sawyer and Kate. This would be the most important part of their lives and had the biggest influence on them. But people like Walt escaped the Island earlier and his connections and impacts were much different. And for a man like Richard Alpert who lost his gift of eternal life, for him the passengers of Oceanic 815 were just a tiny blip of his radar and he did not need to move on with them.

If your first love is the characters then this finale was probably something you enjoyed. You were able to get emotional with the island enlightenment of the characters. For many of you it may have been the Sawyer and Juliet meeting, but for me it was the Kwon's as their connection and sub plot drove their characters plot line for years and fated them to die together. And if you didn't feel a bit of relief to know that Vincent was still there to comfort the survivors and laid down next to Jack or the symmetry of the series ending on Jack's eyes closing then you may never get to enjoy the brilliance of the writers creativity when allowed to write the show they wanted to write.

The show had it all, the commercial breaks felt well timed and left us dangling with Jack and Smokey about to face off on the cliffs in the pouring rain. Or the Kwon's getting their enlightenment with each having tears in their life together. It felt like the episode was well paced and I'm appreciative that ABC gave the producers another 30 minutes to work with as I don't know what they could have possibly left out before the additional timing. I also appreciate that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Board of Governors has allowed this episode to be Emmy eligible as I'm sure there will be actors that receive nominations and I'm certain that Michael Giacchino will win an Emmy for his musical composition for the series as his score was beautiful and worthy of constant praise.

Do I feel frustrated about some of the direction the finale took, sure. Like why did Sayid feel his biggest love connection in his Island life was Shannon and not Nadia. How about the writing, you bet. Many of you may not agree with me but I don't like Hurley becoming the new Jacob. It seems like a great idea to have the character most concerned with love to take over the job, but doesn't he deserve more, especially since he states that he doesn't want the job. But I do like that Ben helps him realize he can run it his own way and doesn't need to follow the rules Jacob created. His new reign as the man in white can send Des back to Penny and baby Charlie. But I do still feel confused as to why Ben remained outside the church. Is it because of his need to still be forgiven by his daughter and Rousseau before he can move on? Or is it the guilt of how he treated the survivors and maybe his own belief that he doesn't deserve to move on with them? Either way I enjoy the future conversations I'm sure to have with fellow fans about it.

SPOILERS OVER

I feel bad for people who couldn't get past the mythology and the need for answers and everything to be wrapped up in a nice little package. So rarely in life does that kind of satisfaction ever come to pass so most shows feel the need to wrap things up nicely. I feel much more satisfied with the way they left it, with the remains of the original flight still scattered on the beach. The series is left open to interpretation. And hopefully in a few months when you can get over it or when you buy the season 6 DVD set and go to the special section where the producers have agreed to answer some of the remaining questions you will be able to appreciate the series and its last act. I personally will not be making this purchase as I like the way it ended and the producers vision of the series. Some answers are better left unsolved and I enjoy the feeling I get by knowing that somethings I may never totally understand but will never stop trying to figure them out.

Big ups to BU in the Morning as without that show I may never have felt the need to catch up and engage you all in this conversation. Namaste! A-