My Emmy Winner Predictions

The Primetime Emmys are handed out tomorrow night, so I thought I'd have a got at predicting the winners. Sometimes its easy to guess whom the voters will pick, put more often the winners can seem completely random. There are some questions about this year's ceremony. Will Mad Men win the big prize again? How big of a sweep will 30 Rock have? With Jeremy Piven not in the running, can Neil Patrick Harris finally win an Emmy?

Drama Series:
Big Love
Breaking Bad
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men
Will Win: Mad Men, although I have a sinking suspicion House may take the prize.
Should Win: Mad Men. The only other nominee that's even close to its brilliance is fellow AMC drama, Breaking Bad.

Actor, Drama:
Simon Baker - The Mentalist
Gabriel Byrne - In Treatment
Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Jon Hamm - Mad Men
Michael C. Hall - Dexter
Hugh Laurie - House
Will Win: I think they'll want to award the star of a break out network show, and give the prize to Simon Baker
Should Win: Jon Hamm and Bryan Cranston were both great this season, but I'd give it to Hamm.

Actress, Drama:
Glenn Close - Damages
Sally Field - Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay - Law & Order: SVU
Holly Hunter - Saving Grace
Elisabeth Moss - Mad Men
Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer
Will Win: Glenn Close - the Emmys do love their repeat winners
Should Win: January Jones! Oh, she's not nominated. Mary McDonnell! Whoops, again not nominated. Elisabeth Moss, just for her scene with Vincent Kartheiser in the second season finale.

Suppoting Actor, Drama:
Christian Clemenson - Boston Legal
Michael Emerson - Lost
William Hurt - Damages
Aaron Paul - Breaking Bad
William Shater - Boston Legal
John Slattery - Mad Men
Will Win: Hurt or Emerson seem like the obvious choices, which means they'll bestow the award to... William Shatner!
Should Win: Any of the men, aside from the Boston Legal boys, would be deserving of the award, but I'd give it to Aaron Paul for expanding the depth of his character.

Supporting Actress, Drama:
Rose Byrne - Damages
Hope Davis - In Treatment
Cherry Jones - 24
Sandra Oh - Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest -In Treatment
Chandra Wilson - Grey's Anatomy
Will Win: I don't know. I'll just guess Dianne Wiest because she won last year
Should Win: I don't really have a preference, though I wouldn't mind a make up Emmy for Sandra Oh.

Comedy Series:
30 Rock
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Weeds
Will Win: Barring some revolt against the series' domination, 30 Rock takes this in a cake walk.
Should Win: It's a toss up between 30 Rock and The Office.

Actor, Comedy:
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Steve Carell - The Office
Jermaine Clement - Flight of the Conchords
Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory
Tony Shaloub - Monk
Charlie Sheen - Two and a Half Men
Will Win: Alec Baldwin again, though an upset by Jim Parsons wouldn't surprise me.
Should Win: Steve Carrell! The Michael Scott Paper Company plotline was beautifully acted.

Actress, Comedy:
Christina Applegate - Samantha Who?
Toni Collette - The United States of Tara
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The New Adventures of...
Mary Louise Parker - Weeds
Sarah Silverman - The Sara Silverman Program
Will Win: Tina Fey - everyone still loves her.
Should Win: Christina Applegate. I'm going to miss Samantha.

Supporting Actor, Comedy:
Jon Cryer - Two and A Half Men
Kevin Dillion - Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother
Jack McBrayer - 30 Rock
Tracy Morgan - 30 Rock
Rainn Wilson - The Office
Will Win: NPH seems like the obviouc pick, but again, it is the Emmys, so I'm going to predict Jon Cryer.
Should Win: Neil Patrick Harris!

Supporting Actress, Comedy:
Kristin Chenoweth - Pushing Daisies
Jane Krakowski - 30 Rock
Amy Poehler - SNL
Elizabeth Perkins - Weeds
Kristen Wiig - SNL
Vanessa Williams - Ugly Betty
Will Win: Tough call, but I'll go with Amy Poehler for her final season on the show.
Should Win: Any of the ladies would be deserving, but I really want Kristin Chenoweth to pick up the trophy.

"Bye Bye Birdie..."

I only watched the film Bye, Bye Birdie once, when I was in middle school. At the time I didn't think much of it, but after last night's episode of Mad Men, showcasing the opening number by Ann-Margret, I kind of want to go back and rewatch the film. I don't know if the film's opening actually had much significance, or the series just elevated the sequence, making it seem more important. I was also pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Embeth Davidst, playing the wife of Jared Harris' Lane Pryce. I doubt they would have hired the actress for one brief scene, so I expect to see more of her character during the season.

Mad Men and Vanity Fair

The current issue of Vainty Fair features an article about the series and features a beautiful Annie Leibovitz photo spread of Jon Hamm and January Jones. You should check it out. I'm so happy the Mad Men is back on my television. It really kills me to have to wait so long in between each season. The season premiere was this past Sunday on AMC, and it was great as usual. The whole sequence with Sal and the bellboy was just yowza, and Don Draper's line to him - "Limit your exposure." - still gives me chills. The office drama is also interesting. "Moneypenny" had me dying from laughing. I cannot wait to see the direction the series will go this season.

Kate, Joan and Zombies

This week it was announced Kate Winslet was attached to a television miniseries adaptation of Mildred Pierce, most likely for HBO, written and directed by Todd Haynes (story at Variety). Many on the web are already complaining about remaking a classic film, but I am actually looking forward to the project. I love the original 1945 film. If I were to ever do a ranking of the top 100 films, I would include it on my list, and I love Joan Crawford's brilliant performance as Mildred, but the television miniseries doesn't scare me, as it's not so much a remake of the film but rather another adaptation of the novel by James M. Cain. Plus it will be written and directed by Todd Haynes. The man's responsible for Safe, Velvet Goldmine, I'm Not There and Far From Heaven, so I have full faith in him doing the project right. I do wonder about the casting of Kate Winslet. Though I believe her to be a great actress, she has a different screen presense than Crawford. How exactly will Haynes and Winslet interpret the character of Mildred? Hmm?

In other television news, AMC is in talks with writer/director Frank Darabont to create a television series based upon the graphic novel series The Walking Dead, about a group of people trying to survive in a world filled with zombies (Variety). The project sounds promising aside from the involvement of Frank Darabont. Having seen The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, I have to say I'm not a big fan of Darabont's work, but I didn't see his adaptation of The Mist, which is perhaps closest in tone to the zombie project. Perhaps horror influenced drama is his strong suit and I don't realize it. Either way I'm happy about the direction AMC is going, becoming a home for a wide variety of projects.

Breaking Bad Finale

The season finale of Breaking Bad ended two nights ago, and I'm still in the processing of digesting it. While initially I might not have been gung ho about the ending, the fact I'm still ruminating is definitly a positive. Great art requires some reflection. Throughout the season the series provided hints of an impending event - a child's stuffed animal floating in Walt's pool, people in hazmat suits bagging various items, two body bags in Walt's driveway, smoke rising in the background. From the evidence one would guess the event was a meth lab gone wrong - Walt would be forced to make the drug in his house, endangering his family - but, this was not the case. In the final moments of the episode, we see Walt standing by the pool alone, his wife having just left him (great scene by Anna Gunn), a loud boom is heard and above we see an explosion as two planes collide, raining debris, including the stuffed animal, onto the neighborhood. The collision was a result of Jane's father, an air-traffic controller, being distraught over his daughter's death, so it did have a connection to the events of the season and wasn't entirely out of left field. It was a bold move on the part of the writers, which I have to appreciate, and I also have to give them props for the misdirection. I cannot wait for next season to see how the cataclysmic event affects the characters.

Best of the TV Season: Top Ten (Part 2)

5. 30 Rock (NBC)
30 Rock ranks this high simply for being the funniest series on television. Every episode ellicits at least three boisterous laughs from me, which is by no means a small feat. The series might have been criticized this season for being too guest-star heavy, but while several episodes did incorporate celebrity guests, they were for the most part well utilized, the exceptions being Steve Martin and Salma Hayak. Hayak's plotline would actually have worked well had it only covered two or three episodes. This season benefited from better usage of Jane Krakowski as the needy, egotistical, and almost delusional Girlie Show actress Jenna Maroney. Last season Jane's Jenna was often on the periphery, or just plain absent, from the episodes, but this season she had two hilarious, ongoing plotlines, playing Janis Joplin in a biopic, and finding success with a popular catchphrase, and had a chance to sing in a number of episodes. If you hire a Tony winning actress for your series, you better let her sing.

4. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Why did you have to cancel this series ABC? I'm still highly upset over the network's handling of the program. It could have maintained decent enough ratings had the show only come back after last year's writers strike, rather than being kept off the air until the next season. Whatever; what's done is done. I'm going to miss every quirky moment of this series, it's dark underside camoflauged by bright colored sets and costumes, and rapidly spoken dialogue. I'm going to miss the romance between Ned and Chuck, the pie-shaped restaurant appropriately named The Pie Hole, the Charles sisters, but most of all I'm going to miss Olive Snook, the adorable waitress pining for Ned, played by the equally adorable Kristin Chenoweth. Sob.

3. Battlestar Galactica (SciFi)
The SciFi series came to a close this season, airing its last ten episodes, and boy did it go out a bang. A grandly staged battle between the Galactica and the Cylon's base led to a brief truce, which collapsed under human/cylon psychodrama. The humans find a new "Earth," our Earth thousands of years in the past, and Hera proves to be the ancestor of all humans. Then there's President Roslin, played magnificently by Mary McDonnell, who, once finding a home, succumbs to her cancer. I'll admit it - I cried. The series also chose not to explain everything, retaining a sense of mystery around it. What exactly was Kara, what happened to the Cylons once they left the humans on Earth, and who or what was the God/Supreme Being/Force intervening in these character lives? Lost could learn a lot from the Battlestar Galactica's finale. When you're bringing an epic series to a close, make the finale epic, and don't force an explanation for every mystery, leave some wonder.

2. Breaking Bad (AMC)
The first season of Breaking Bad showed signs of a promising series, but there was always the sense its concept, a high school chemistry teacher dying from cancer decides to sell chrystal meth to support his family, would limit its scope. Season 2, however, has proven this wrong. The series benefited from expanding its focus beyond Walt, delving deeper into the supporting characters. While Jesse was often used as comic relief in the first season, he's become the voice of reason in many instances, opposing Walt's grander schemes. Skyler is no longer the dutiful, trusting wife. She realizes Walt has been lying to her, and is willing to confront him, while rebeling in her own ways. Hank, Walt's brother-in-law and DEA agent, has probably expanded the most. During the first season, he wasn't so much a character, as a concept, providing a sense of danger and irony, but given a promotion in the DEA, Hank is now shown as a reluctant hero, who may be in over his head. The series also benefits from refusing to allow easy situations. Most of Walt's and Jesse's plans to expand their business fall through, because ultimately, these characters still have no idea what they're doing.

1. Mad Men (AMC)
How bizarre is it that AMC has the two best series on television? Who'da thunk it? Choosing my number one program was the easiest decision on the list. Nothing on the air can compare with Mad Men. Hell, most films couldn't compare with Mad Men. IT'S SOOOO BRILLIANT! But, anyway... the second season proved creator/writer Matthew Weiner had more to say about these characters and the time period. Most great shows often fumble during their second outing, not finding their footing after the initial concept is explored in the first season. The series was aided by having a leap of time between the seasons. We get to discover the events that led to the characters' positions in season two, without having to witness them. And while, Don Draper is the central character of the series, and its thesis, the most interesting aspects of the show, are its women. The characters Peggy, Betty, and Joan represent archetypes of women in the early sixites - the newly ambitious working girl, the dutiful wife, and the husband-seeking single gal, but through the season, we see these women struggle with their society given identities. Few other shows are able to write such strong female characters.

The Best Series on Television

With Mad Men still on hiatus and Battlestar Galactica over, the best series on television, by far, is AMC's Breaking Bad. The series had a great start last year during its first season, but has really developed into a brilliant series over the course of its second. The writers must have realized they couldn't sustain the series by just focusing on Bryan Cranston's Walter, and instead fully fleshed out the supporting cast, making it one of the best ensembles on television. My hats off to Anna Gunn as Walter's wife Skyler, Aaron Paul as Walt's meth partner Jesse, and Dean Norris as Walter's brother-in-law Hank. What I like best about the series is its refusal to wrap everthing up easily. Every action the characters take have repercusions that can occur through several episodes. Its funny that American Movie Classics is now home to the two best series on television., becoming the new HBO, especially since HBO hasn't been the same since Sex & the City, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Deadwood, and The Wire ended. FX tried to be the new HBO, but I don't think it really happened for the network. Hopefully AMC has better luck, I just wish they'd develop a female centric series. It would make a good balance.