Emmy Semifinalists

The Los Angeles Times awards blog has leaked the semifinalists in both Best Drama and Best Comedy. Emmy voters have a week or so to pare down this list of 10 each down to the five finalists.

In best drama, you have: "Boston Legal," "Dexter," "Friday Night Lights," "Grey’s Anatomy," "Heroes," "House," "Lost," "Rome," "The Sopranos" and "24."

Notable series that were left off because, frankly, the Emmy voters tend to be idiots include "Battlestar Galactica," "Rescue Me" and "The Shield."

Of the list that are finalists, "Boston Legal" definitely belongs in the what-are-they-possibly-thinking category. Of the rest, my PERSONAL choice of five would be "FNL," "Lost," "Heroes," "The Sopranos" and, based on its buzz, "Dexter." "Rome" was a fine series but not a finalist, IMHO, and "House" deserves its Emmy noms in the acting categories.

However, the finalist list will almost certainly include "Grey's," "The Sopranos," "FNL," "24" and either "Heroes" or "Lost." If that's the case, I'd love for "FNL," which has been TV's best drama this season (with the exception of "The Shield") to get the win and solidify its place on NBC's roster.

In the comedy category, there is: "Desperate Housewives," "Entourage," "Extras," "My Name Is Earl," "The Office," "Scrubs," "30 Rock," "Two and a Half Men," "Ugly Betty" and "Weeds."

It's a slightly more complete list than the dramas, though Emmy voters dropped the ball in a big way with the omission of "How I Met Your Mother." "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" would also have been fine picks. On the other hand, major props to the voters for putting "Extras" on there.

My final list of the above choices would include "The Office," "Scrubs," "Extras," "Ugly Betty" and probably either "Entourage" or "Weeds." You've got to wonder why "Desperate Housewives," a shell of itself from the first season, is still being bandied about. It just goes to show how out of touch Emmy voters are.

The final list will likely include "The Office," "Men," "Betty," "30 Rock" and probably "Earl," though the Emmy voters may stick one of the pay cable series on the list to show how liberal they are.

Also reported on the site, goldderby.latimes.com, are several rumors among the acting noms, including:

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "New Adventures of Old Christine"
America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"
Teri Hatcher, "Desperate Housewives"
Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
James Gandolfini, "Sopranos"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Eddie Izzard, "The Riches"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
Denis Leary, "Rescue Me"
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Minnie Driver, "The Riches"
Edie Falco, "Sopranos"

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR
Masi Oka, "Heroes"

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
CCH Pounder, "The Shield"

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
John Krasinski, "The Office"

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty"

For the most part, most of these names would be good choices. The Emmy voters could do better than Hatcher and Driver, however, and in theory, still might. Pounder would be a pleasant surprise, considering how often "The Shield" gets ignored. As much as I enjoy Oka, if "Heroes" gets one nom in the supporting actor category, it should go to Jack Coleman.

We'll pass along any more news when we hear it. Remember, all of the above picks are based on sources whom the LA Times considers reliable, so take from it what you will. The final list of noms comes out July 19, so you can be sure what will be the blog topic that day.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: I didn't get to comment last week about "On The Lot," (Fox, 8 p.m.), which is a shame because once again, my man Zach proved to be the class of the field. The most improved filmmaker was the girl who did film about the guy who takes his father-in-law to the doctor's office, a huge improvement over the awful documentary she submitted in the previous round. And say what you will about it, but I liked Will's film about the guy getting brain surgery. Tonight's group of six are submitting horror films.

Various other reality offerings are on the air tonight, but hey, I don't really care about them.