2008 Emmy Nominations

As you probably know by now, the Emmy nominations were announced a couple of days ago. Not surprisingly, the usual suspects like The Office, 30 Rock, Lost and House have been nominated for some Emmy gold. Acting favorites like Steve Carell, Hugh Laurie, America Ferrera and Sally Field are also nominated. On the reality show front fan favorites like The Amazing Race, American Idol and Project Runway are in the running.

However, some upstarts are also out for gold. AMC's period drama Mad Men and the FX legal thriller Damages are both up for best drama. In fact, they are the first basic cable series to be nominated. Actors from these shows like Jon Hamm from Mad Men and Glenn Close from Damages are nominated in their respective categories. Cable TV continues to dominate the nominations, with notable TV shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, The Closer and Dexter getting nominations. And cables newbies like Saving Grace and In Treatment are also vying for Emmy wins.

For better or worse, reality TV continues to be recognized, and for the first time, reality TV hosts are being nominated. Not surprisingly, Ryan Seacrest from American Idol and Heidi Klum from Project Runway are nominated.

Despite the writers' strike and a surplus of boob tube garbage (anyone remember Cavemen? I didn’t think so), TV still produces a lot of gems worth our viewing.

Here are some of the nominees and my comments.

Best Drama
Boston Legal, ABC
Damages, FX
Dexter, Showtime
House, Fox
Lost, ABC
Mad Men, AMC

Emmy loves to give the gold to something new and innovative so I think this might be the spot-on period drama, Mad Men's chance to win. However, Damages is also a critical rave. And though I find Dexter both riveting and chilling, Emmy voters might be a bit put off by its serial killer theme.

Best Actor in a Drama
James Spader, Boston Legal, ABC
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad, AMC
Michael C. Hall, Dexter, Showtime
Hugh Laurie, House, Fox
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment, HBO
Jon Hamm, Mad Men, AMC

There's a lot of talk that Jon Hamm as Mad Men's Don Draper may have this in the bag. But I wouldn't mind seeing Michael C. Hall get it for his disturbing, yet charismatic portrayal of the title character in Dexter. And my therapist might be able to figure out why I'm drawn to a serial killer who murders serial killers.

Best Actress in a Drama
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters, ABC
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer, TNT
Glenn Close, Damages, FX
Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU, NBC
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace, TNT

Last year Sally Field won this award and cursed during her speech. The Emmy committee might be a bit shy about awarding her another Emmy because of her gaffe. I think there's a very good chance that Glenn Close will get the Emmy. Damages is a fresh, new show and Close is a tremendous actress. And isn't comforting that the Emmys realize actresses over the age of 35 exist?

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama
William Shatner, Boston Legal, ABC
Ted Danson, Damages, FX
Zelijko Ivanek, Damages, FX
Michael Emerson, Lost, ABC
John Slattery, Mad Men, AMC

I haven't a clue who will win in this category. I think Ted Danson of Damages or John Slattery of Mad Men might get the award because of the newness of their respective shows.

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal, ABC
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters, ABC
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy, ABC
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy, ABC
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment, HBO

Not a fan of either Brothers & Sisters or Grey's Anatomy, I don't care if Rachel Griffiths, Chandra Wilson or Sandra Oh get the Emmy. And Candice Bergen has enough Emmy gold for a pharaoh. Dianne Wiest just might get the award, but what do I know?

Best Comedy
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
Entourage, HBO
The Office, NBC
30 Rock, NBC
Two and a Half Men, CBS

The Office had a rather weak season so I don’t think they'll get the Emmy. 30 Rock continued to impress me so I'd be happy if they won. And I've started watching Two and a Half Men in syndication, and I have to admit that it's pretty damn funny. But cable TV's Curb Your Enthusiasm or Entourage just might grab the Emmy gold.

Best Actor in a Comedy
Tony Shalhoub, Monk, USA
Steve Carell, The Office, NBC
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies, ABC
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock, NBC
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men, CBS

Alec Baldwin should win the Emmy for just his "therapy" scene with Tracy Morgan's character Tracy Jordan alone. It was pure genius.

Best Actress in a Comedy
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?, ABC
Tina Fey, 30 Rock, NBC
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty, ABC
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds, Showtime

I consider Tina Fey more of a writer than an actress. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus, America Ferrera and Mary-Louise Parker all have some Emmy bling. So could Christina Applegate please win? She's come a long way since she played dim-witted Kelly from Married With Children. She's a great comic actress.

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Jeremy Piven, Entourage, HBO
Kevin Dillon, Entourage, HBO
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother, CBS

Rainn Wilson, The Office, NBC
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men, CBS

Could Rainn Wilson please get this award? His character of Dwight is one of the most unique characters on television, yet also one of the most human. And with being bullied by Jim and having his heart broken by Angela, I felt something towards Dwight that I thought I'd never feel, empathy.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies, ABC
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live, NBC
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?, ABC
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men, CBS
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty, ABC

I love Vanessa Williams' turn as the devious Whilamenia Slater on Ugly Betty. But could Amy Poehler please win? She probably has the most challenging job, working live and playing a variety of characters.

Other thoughts? Mini-series John Adams got 23 nominations and a lot of those nominations will probably end up being wins. The categories in best actor and best actress in a movie and mini-series features many fabulous talents including Ralph Fiennes, Kevin Spacey, Dame Judi Dench and Julianne Moore. I'd be happy seeing any of these people win. And I'll probably hate myself in the morning but I kind of want Ryan Seacrest win for best reality show host.

The Emmy Awards will be presented on September 21st, on ABC.