Since the upcoming Emmys will expand their categories to fit six nominees rather than five, I decided to do the same. I'm not exactly sure on category placement for certain shows or actors, so I went my own way - I'll consider Castle a drama and all actors on Southland supporting.
Best Actor - Drama:
Bryan Cranston - Mad Men
Nathan Fillion - Castle
Jon Hamm - Breaking Bad
Edward James Olmos - Battlestar Galactica
Jason O'Mara - Life on Mars
Jeremy Renner - The Unusuals
Best Actress - Drama:
Glenn Close - Damages
Sally Field - Brother & Sisters
January Jones - Mad Men
Mary McDonnell - Battlestar Galactica
Elizabeth Moss - Mad Men
Jill Scott - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Best Supporting Actor - Drama:
Michael Cudlitz - Southland
Michael Emerson - Lost
Lucian Msamati - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
John Noble - Fringe
Dean Norris - Breaking Bad
Aaron Paul - Breaking Bad
Best Supporting Actress - Drama:
Anna Gunn - Breaking Bad
Marcia Gay Harden - Damages
Christina Hendricks - Mad Men
Regina King - Southland
Anika Noni Rose - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Katee Sackhoff - Battlestar Galactica
Best Actor - Comedy:
Alec Baldwin - Pushing Daisies
Kyle Bornheimer - Worst Week
Steve Carrell - The Office
Charlie Day - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Zachary Levi - Chuck
Lee Pace - Pushing Daisies
Best Actress - Comedy:
Christina Applegate - Samantha Who?
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Anna Friel - Pushing Daisies
Eva Longoria Parker - Desperate Housewives
Kaitlin Olson - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Amy Poehler - Parks & Recreation
Best Supporting Actor - Comedy:
Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother
Hamish Linklater - The New Adventures of Old Christine
Jack McBrayer - 30 Rock
Chi McBride - Pushing Daisies
Tracy Morgan - 30 Rock
Paul Schneider - Parks & Recreation
Best Supporting Actress - Comedy:
Kristin Chenoweth - Pushing Daisies
Jenna Fischer - The Office
Jane Krakowski - 30 Rock
Melissa McCarthy - Samantha Who?
Becki Newton - Ugly Betty
Wanda Sykes - The New Adventures of Old Christine
Showing posts with label Southland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Southland. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Best of the TV Season: Top 10 (Part 1)
With the season coming to a close, I decided to do a wrap of the best of television, starting with a top ten list. Now keep in mind this is strictly relegated to shows I watch. There were other series which might have factored in, had I actually caught them, including Friday Night Lights, Weeds, Big Love, True Blood, and In Treatment. Take this list with a grain of salt.
10. Southland (NBC)
I debated whether to put Southland or Brothers & Sisters in 1oth place, as they're both uneven series with great highs interrupted by groan inducing moments. Being the fresher series, I went with Southland. Going for it, the show features two great performances from Regina King and Michael Cudlitz (Emmy nods please), and seems to care more about the emotional core of each character, rather than the crimes they try to solve. The series has been compared to other cop series The Wire, Boomtown, which I both loved, and The Shield, which I always found hugely overrated, but I think if were to last through its second, Southland could find its own footing. Don't cancel it NBC!
9. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (HBO)
I'm not generally a fan of detective shows, but this series always left me with a smile on my face. Based upon a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, No. 1 Ladies'... follows Precious Ramotswe as she attempts to start a successful detective agency in her home country of Botswana. The series successfully evokes a foreign local, whether or not it's successfully Botswana I couldn't say, since I've never been there, and Precious is such an endearing character, you want to befriend her. Who knew singer Jill Scott could be a genuine TV star? The series also features one of the best love stories on the tube, with the emerging romancing between Precious and her suitor, the mechanic Mr. Matekoni.
8. Lost (ABC)
I will always love Lost. Attempting to solve the larger picture, can easily become an enjoyable obsession, but with that being said, I have to admit this was the series' weakest season. The fact it still remains in my top ten is proof of the show's overall quality. At its worst, Lost is still one of the best programs on television. My problem with this season stems mainly from the separation of the characters into different time periods. The show works best when its competing personalites are interacting/colliding/getting it on with each other. The series also left me cold with it Dharma plotline. I know it was necessary for the larger picture, but I didn't care, and the one Dharma Initiative character that peaked my interest, Amy seems to have been forgotten and of no importance. At least the season finale set up for a great final season. I hope.
7. The Office (NBC)
The Office was always a series I respected more than I loved. I could recognize the quality of its acting and writing, but it was never appointment television for me. That was until this season. What got me hooked? Well Amy Ryan's endearing performance in a recurring role as HR Rep Holly Flax, the hilarious Post-Super Bowl episode, and the Michael Scott Paper Company storyline. It takes really talented writers and actors to successfully carry a plotline over several episodes of a half-hour sitcom, andThe Office managed to accomplish as much with Michael quitting Dunder Mifflin to form his own comapny with a reluctant Pam and Ryan. Because of it, Steve Carrell was able to provide a lot more depth to his bumbling Michael Scott. The scene in which he negotiates the buy out of his company, displaying a never-before-seen, successful, buisnessman side of Michael, alone deserves an Emmy. Seriously Emmy voters, give him one!
6. Damages (FX)
The second season of Damages was a genuine improvement over the first, bringing in fresh blood with William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Marcia Gay Harden's boobies. The idea to expand the show with various plotlines and characters that don't necessarily all converge was an upgrade from the previous season's everything-is-connected viewpoint. Glenn Close is still a hoot, adding greater depth to her dragon-lady Patty Hewes, and Rose Byrne is, well... still uneven, but I remain intrigued/baffled by her. I don't believe her to be a great actress, yet I want Rose to contiue acting. The series would have ranked higher on my list, had it not been for the season finale, which seemed to not make sense, and knocked some of the power out of the previous episodes. Oh well.
(to continue later...)
10. Southland (NBC)
I debated whether to put Southland or Brothers & Sisters in 1oth place, as they're both uneven series with great highs interrupted by groan inducing moments. Being the fresher series, I went with Southland. Going for it, the show features two great performances from Regina King and Michael Cudlitz (Emmy nods please), and seems to care more about the emotional core of each character, rather than the crimes they try to solve. The series has been compared to other cop series The Wire, Boomtown, which I both loved, and The Shield, which I always found hugely overrated, but I think if were to last through its second, Southland could find its own footing. Don't cancel it NBC!
9. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (HBO)
I'm not generally a fan of detective shows, but this series always left me with a smile on my face. Based upon a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, No. 1 Ladies'... follows Precious Ramotswe as she attempts to start a successful detective agency in her home country of Botswana. The series successfully evokes a foreign local, whether or not it's successfully Botswana I couldn't say, since I've never been there, and Precious is such an endearing character, you want to befriend her. Who knew singer Jill Scott could be a genuine TV star? The series also features one of the best love stories on the tube, with the emerging romancing between Precious and her suitor, the mechanic Mr. Matekoni.
8. Lost (ABC)
I will always love Lost. Attempting to solve the larger picture, can easily become an enjoyable obsession, but with that being said, I have to admit this was the series' weakest season. The fact it still remains in my top ten is proof of the show's overall quality. At its worst, Lost is still one of the best programs on television. My problem with this season stems mainly from the separation of the characters into different time periods. The show works best when its competing personalites are interacting/colliding/getting it on with each other. The series also left me cold with it Dharma plotline. I know it was necessary for the larger picture, but I didn't care, and the one Dharma Initiative character that peaked my interest, Amy seems to have been forgotten and of no importance. At least the season finale set up for a great final season. I hope.
7. The Office (NBC)
The Office was always a series I respected more than I loved. I could recognize the quality of its acting and writing, but it was never appointment television for me. That was until this season. What got me hooked? Well Amy Ryan's endearing performance in a recurring role as HR Rep Holly Flax, the hilarious Post-Super Bowl episode, and the Michael Scott Paper Company storyline. It takes really talented writers and actors to successfully carry a plotline over several episodes of a half-hour sitcom, andThe Office managed to accomplish as much with Michael quitting Dunder Mifflin to form his own comapny with a reluctant Pam and Ryan. Because of it, Steve Carrell was able to provide a lot more depth to his bumbling Michael Scott. The scene in which he negotiates the buy out of his company, displaying a never-before-seen, successful, buisnessman side of Michael, alone deserves an Emmy. Seriously Emmy voters, give him one!
6. Damages (FX)
The second season of Damages was a genuine improvement over the first, bringing in fresh blood with William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Marcia Gay Harden's boobies. The idea to expand the show with various plotlines and characters that don't necessarily all converge was an upgrade from the previous season's everything-is-connected viewpoint. Glenn Close is still a hoot, adding greater depth to her dragon-lady Patty Hewes, and Rose Byrne is, well... still uneven, but I remain intrigued/baffled by her. I don't believe her to be a great actress, yet I want Rose to contiue acting. The series would have ranked higher on my list, had it not been for the season finale, which seemed to not make sense, and knocked some of the power out of the previous episodes. Oh well.
(to continue later...)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Cop Shows, Cop Shows Everywhere
There's literally one popping up every minute! Police dramas, along with doctor and lawyer dramas, are the default television programs for networks when they resist taking risks. To a certain extent, I can't entirely blame the networks, as their choices are dictated by ratings, and currently, viewers are choosing procedurals which wrap up storylines by the end of the episode, rather than programs with plots that last several epsiodes or several seasons. CBS has built an entire schedule around the procedural and you can barely distinguish one mediocre program from another, but it's currently the most watched network, which is disheartening. A few years ago, the floundering ABC gained traction by taking risks with two new series Lost and Desperate Housewives. Being new and refreshing for network television, they became instant hits, appointment viewing and something you could talk about with you're friends/coworkers..."Oh my god! Can you believe what happened last night." Who really talks about what happened on NCIS or CSI the next morning? Over time the ratings slid for the programs - I think mainly because of DVR, internet downloads, and DVD sales - and other serials that came in their wake failed. As a result the networks have decided to fill their open slots which continue to hold up well for CBS. Of those new programs, I've watched ABC's Castle, which seems complacent with its mediocrity and The Unusuals, which I don't entirely get but love Jeremy Renner in, as well as NBC's Southland, which I actually have hope for. The series has an almost Altmanesque feel to it, as it follows the lives of several detectives and police officers in L.A., and while it does have criminal cases that get solved by the end of the episode, it also has a genuine heart about it, caring for its characters and their faults. Plus it has two great performances by usually under-used Regina King and Michael Cudlitz. I actually look forward to where this series is heading.
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