Friday, September 14, 2007

Emmy Picks

Here is the proverbial it, the Emmys (Fox, Sun., 7 p.m.), which kind of serve as the unofficial kickoff to the fall season.

Don't forget to vote for your picks at the top left corner or here: Click here to vote in The TV Guy's Emmy Poll

Here's the complete list, along with predictions:

Drama Series: ‘‘Boston Legal,’’ ABC; ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy,’’ ABC; ‘‘Heroes,’’ NBC; ‘‘House,’’ Fox; ‘‘The Sopranos,’’ HBO.
WHO SHOULD WIN: "Heroes," TV's most original drama from last fall. Yeah, some people complained about the ending and so forth, but "Heroes" was watercooler TV in the best sense of the word.
WHO WILL WIN: "The Sopranos." The final year of one of TV's all-time great shows, this is a near-lock even though it didn't measure up to seasons' past. And talk about people complaining about the ending...

Comedy Series: ‘‘Entourage,’’ HBO; ‘‘The Office,’’ NBC; ‘‘30 Rock, NBC; ‘‘Two and a Half Men,’’ CBS; ‘‘Ugly Betty,’’ ABC.
WHO SHOULD WIN/WILL WIN: "Ugly Betty." This show was a lot of fun and pretty consistent in its output. I doubt enough voters consistently watch "Entourage," and the NBC shows tend to always be overlooked.

Actor, Drama Series: James Spader, ‘‘Boston Legal,’’ ABC; Hugh Laurie, ‘‘House,’’ Fox; Denis Leary, ‘‘Rescue Me,’’ FX; James Gandolfini, ‘‘The Sopranos,’’ HBO; Kiefer Sutherland, ‘‘24,’’ Fox.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Laurie. No actor is more central to his show, and he steals every scene while creating one of TV's most compelling characters.
WHO WILL WIN: Gandolfini. Expect a big night for "The Sopranos."

Actress, Drama Series: Sally Field, ‘‘Brothers & Sisters,’’ ABC; Kyra Sedgwick, ‘‘The Closer,’’ TNT; Mariska Hargitay, ‘‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,’’ NBC; Patricia Arquette, ‘‘Medium,’’ NBC; Minnie Driver, ‘‘The Riches,’’ FX; Edie Falco, ‘‘The Sopranos,’’ HBO.
WHO SHOULD WIN/WILL WIN: Falco. This is one "Sopranos" pick I can get behind, especially considering the competition.

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: William Shatner, ‘‘Boston Legal,’’ ABC; T.R. Knight, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy,’’ ABC; Masi Oka, ‘‘Heroes,’’ NBC; Michael Emerson, ‘‘Lost,’’ ABC; Terry O’Quinn, ‘‘Lost,’’ ABC; Michael Imperioli, ‘‘The Sopranos,’’ HBO.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Emerson. OK, sure, he's the only actor on this list who I know has read this blog, but that's not why he gets the nod. He is, without a doubt, TV's best villain. (Or most misunderstood hero, if you ask him....)
WHO WILL WIN: Imperoli. Emerson and O'Quinn likely cancel each other out, and the rest won't steal enough support away from "The Sopranos" lovefest. Still, Shatner has won before. ...

Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Rachel Griffiths, ‘‘Brothers & Sisters,’’ ABC; Katherine Heigl, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy,’’ ABC; Chandra Wilson, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy,’’ ABC; Sandra Oh, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy,’’ ABC; Aida Turturro, ‘‘The Sopranos,’’ HBO; Lorraine Bracco, ‘‘The Sopranos,’’ HBO.
WHO SHOULD WIN: I'm going with Heigl, because she proved to be such a great comedienne in "Knocked Up." Seriously, this is a weak list.
WHO WILL WIN: The most wide-open field, Griffiths will win because everyone else will cancel each other out.

Actor, Comedy Series: Tony Shalhoub, ‘‘Monk,’’ USA; Steve Carell, ‘‘The Office,’’ NBC; Alec Baldwin, ‘‘30 Rock,’’ NBC; Charlie Sheen, ‘‘Two and a Half Men,’’ CBS; Ricky Gervais, "Extras," HBO.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Gervais. "Extras" was pure genius, but odds are Gervais only leaves with a writing Emmy.
WHO WILL WIN: Baldwin. Despite his off-camera drama, Baldwin absolutely made "30 Rock."

Actress, Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman, ‘‘Desperate Housewives,’’ ABC; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, ‘‘The New Adventures of Old Christine,’’ CBS; Tiny Fey, ‘‘30 Rock,’’ NBC; America Ferrera, ‘‘Ugly Betty,’’ ABC; Mary-Louise Parker, ‘‘Weeds,’’ Showtime.
WHO SHOULD WIN/WILL WIN: Ferrera. Her absolute charm and deft comic touch makes this as close to a mortal lock as any award of the night.

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Kevin Dillon, ‘‘Entourage,’’ HBO; Jeremy Piven, ‘‘Entourage,’’ HBO; Neil Patrick Harris, ‘‘How I Met Your Mother,’’ CBS; Rainn Wilson, ‘‘The Office,’’ CBS; Jon Cryer, ‘‘Two and a Half Men,’’ CBS.
WHO SHOULD WIN: Harris. His Barney is fast becoming a TV classic. Should I say legendary?
WHO WILL WIN: Wilson. I don't know why, but that's what I'm feeling, perhaps because the "Entourage" duo cancels each other out.

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Jaime Pressly, ‘‘My Name Is Earl,’’ NBC; Jenna Fischer, ‘‘The Office,’’ NBC; Holland Taylor, ‘‘Two and a Half Men,’’ CBS; Conchata Ferrell, ‘‘Two and a Half Men,’’ CBS; Vanessa Williams, ‘‘Ugly Betty,’’ ABC; Elizabeth Perkins, ‘‘Weeds,’’ Showtime.
WHO SHOULD WIN/WILL WIN: Fischer. She's one of Hollywood's rising stars.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: USA wraps up it's summer fare with "Monk" and "Psych." Neither has been especially great of late, so I really won't miss them all that much.

Sci-Fi is all-new with its lineup of "Doctor Who" at 8 p..m., followed by "Flash Gordon" and "Painkiller Jane."

"American Idol" meets "The Real World" in a country-western setting as "Nashville" (Fox, 9 p.m.) debuts as good-looking young people try to become the next country superstar.

On Saturday, "Torchwood" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) is proving as much fun as its parent show, "Doctor Who."

I'd like to be able to recomment "Highlander: The Source" (Sci-Fi, Sat., 9 p.m.. boasting the original cast of the TV series, but it's an unbelievable mess and almost unwatchable.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again, you're inexplicable obssession with Hugh Laurie has lot me on this column. Let me say this again - Laurie is the reason I stopped watching "House" after the pilot premiered - end of story.

If Gandolfini wins, good. I would give my vote to Kiefer Sutherland, who even with a lesser year of "24", is so intense, he's the reason you have kept tuning in year after year, even though you spend your days ripping "24".

Onto where we agree wholeheartedly, your picks of falco, Ferrerra, & Harris are all good.

Ricky Gervais is talented but you couldn't be more wrong. Alec Baldwin absolutely deserves that award and when he wins, the right person will have won. His Jack Donaghy is an instant Television classic in the truest sense of the word. And though I love Steve Carrell, it just doesn't top Baldwin's performance for me.

The good news about people like Carrell and Baldwin, is it means the Emmy run is hopefully long over for Tony Shalhoub. Shalhoub is great as Adrian Monk, but the show is so stupid and insipid now, it's hard to justify giving him the award above comedians who are not only more entertaining on their shows, but those shows (30 Rock and The Office) are a 100X better than "Monk".

As for the season's ending for "Monk" and "Psych", I am fine with that too. but I have been enjoying "Psych" more. My wife already stopped watching "Monk" about 6 weeks ago, and after I watch tonight's finale, I am taking it off my season pass for good.

Jonathan said...

I think there will be a "Soprano's" love fest as well, but so many people were turned off by that finale, I wouldn't be shocked if something snuck in there and took the drama award away from it. "Heroes" maybe; that would be kind of cool; remember no one expected "Lost" to win a couple of years ago. I think the acting nods are pretty much locks though.

Phillip Ramati said...

Again, these are my picks, Zod, and the majority of the world agrees with me about Hugh Laurie. I don't know what your obsession against him is.

Remember, the voters only vote on submitted episodes, not the whole season, so likely many voters didn't see the finale to The Sopranos, or still want to honor the series anyway since it's such a big part of TV history.

Anonymous said...

Phillip, I know plenty of people who don't like Hugh Laurie and don't watch "House" because he's so unwatchable.

Jonathan, I do think it would be far more fitting for Gandolfini & Falco to win, rather than "The Sopranos". Then again, if "Heroes" doesn't win, I will likely pull for "Sopranos" because I don't watch "Grey's" or "House" and a nomination for "Boston Legal" is flat out insulting to my intelligence.

Phillip Ramati said...

By the way, I'd like to point out that both TV Guide's Matt Roush and a separate fan poll both picked Laurie to win as their choice. Just sayin'...

Anonymous said...

Yes, and that same Matt Roush also hated "Life" and didn't like Damien Lewis' weirdo performance. Just sayin'....