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We aren't always right,
but who the heck is?
of TheColumnists.com
For decades I’ve been providing my own handy dandy Emmy Awards ballot. I’m not saying I’m always completely accurate–there was the time I predicted best hairdressing would go to the series "Kojak," but what the heck. And more recently I thought Jensen Ackles was the actor to beat but he never even got a nomination.
My almost deadly accuracy has sometimes been stymied by voters choosing entirely inappropriate winners. But we all have had our off days. This time out I can fearlessly predict "The Sopranos" will win nothing this year (OK, so it finally went to rerun heaven). And I go back so far I can remember when cable TV series were not even eligible for nominations and this year cable fare dominates many of the categories.
So, without further ado, here’s the lisst of 2008 Bawden Predictions. And as you can see I’m not even bothering with hairdressing these days:
BEST COMEDY SERIES
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Nominees:
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"; "Entourage"; "The
Office"; "30 Rock"; "Two And A Half Men." Missing in Action: Excuse me, but where are "Ugly Betty," "Pushing Daisies" and "Big Bang Theory"? Should Win: "Big Bang Theory," but it isn’t even nominated, having been displaced by shows in the “geezer” category. Will Win: It will either be "The Office" or "30 Rock." I’ll go with "30 Rock," which is critically hot. |
BEST DRAMA SERIES
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Nominees: "Boston
Legal"; "Damages"; "Dexter"; "House";
"Lost"; "Mad Men". Should Win: "House" has become predictable, I like "Dexter" and "Damages," but not as much as "Mad Men." Will Win: "Mad Men" is the one they’re all talking about, but there may be a sympathy vote for "Lost," which has few acting nominations. |
BEST ACTOR (DRAMA SERIES):
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Nominees: Gabriel
Byrne ("In Treatment"); Bryan Cranston ("Breaking
Bad"); Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"); Jon Hamm ("Mad
Men") ; Hugh Laurie ("House"); James Spader ("Boston
Legal"). Missing in Action: Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights"). Should Win: Bryan Cranston broke all barriers for his deranged teacher schtick in "Breaking Bad," but how many voters actually caught this one? Will Win: Jon Hamm as the unfaithful husband and advertising whiz in "Mad Men" is the one viewers are talking about and rightly so. The Early Sixties get brilliantly recreated, especially in Hamm’s button down turn, the guy we admire and hate all at the same time. |
BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA SERIES):
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Nominees: Glenn
Close ("Damages"); Sally Field ("Brothers &
Sisters"); Mariska Hargitay ("Law And Order: SVU");
Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace"); Kyra Sedgwick ("The
Closer"). Missing in Action: Where is Patricia Arquette ("Medium"), I ask you? Should Win: Glenn Close in Damages is so on track that she’s this year’s wow factor. Will Win: I just think voters will prefer a regular 22-episode network performance and who better to win than ever so steady Mariska Hargitay? |
BEST ACTOR (COMEDY SERIES):
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Nominees: Alec
Baldwin ("30 Rock"); Steve Carell ("The Office");
Lee Pace ("Pushing Daisies"); Tony Shalhoub ("Monk");
Charlie Sheen ("Two And A Half Men"). Should Win: Lee Pace, only because he’s new and different and his show didn’t get a best series nomination. Will Win: Excuse me, but where are the guys from "Big Bang Theory"? Shalhoub and Sheen are in older shows and I just think it will be Alec Baldwin, who happens to be very funny. |
ACTRESS (COMEDY SERIES):
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Nominees: Christina
Applegate ("Samantha Who?"); America Ferrera ("Ugly
Betty"); Tina Fey ("30 Rock"); Julia Louis-Dreyfus
("New Adventures Of Old Christine"); Mary-Louise Parker
("Weeds"). Should Win: Cynical types will say Christina Applegate will win on a sympathy vote because of her recent double mastectomy, but she’s also that much better than the rest of the field. Will Win: I think it’s Applegate, a newcomer to the category, but critical acclaim insists it’s Tina Fey. |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (DRAMA SERIES):
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Nominees: Christian
Clemenson ("Boston Legal"); Ted Danson ("Damages");
Michael Emerson ("Lost"); T.R. Knight ("Grey’s
Anatomy"); William Shatner ("Boston Legal"); John
Slattery ("Mad Men"). Should Win: A pile of nasties dominate with Slattery and Danson making a particular impression, but Emerson emerges as the guy you really like to hate. Bill Shatner has two wins so far, but is vastly competitive. Will Win: I think Emerson will edge others out because "Lost" is so high rated, with few of its actors ever getting this kind of attention. |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (DRAMA SERIES):
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Nominees: Candice
Bergen ("Boston Legal"); Rose Byrne ("Damages");
Rachel Griffiths ("Brothers & Sisters"); Sandra
Oh ("Grey’s Anatomy"); Dianne Wiest ("In
Treatment"); Chandra Wilson ("Grey’s Anatomy"). Should Win: Who cares if Katherine Heigl turned down a nomination? She wouldn’t have won anyway with competitive veterans like Bergen and Wiest breathing down her neck. Will Win: Bergen or Wiest or why not a tie? |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (COMEDY SERIES):
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Nominees: Jon
Cryer ("Two And A Half Men"); Neil Patrick Harris ("How
I Met Your Mother"); John Krasinski ("The Office");
Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"); Rainn Wilson ("The
Office"). Should Win: Piven has his supporting Emmys and "Entourage" last season simply sucked. But Krasinski is steady and so is Wilson but they may cancel each other out. Will Win: Perhaps Harris can finally triumph here? |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (COMEDY SERIES):
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Nominees: Kristen Chenoweth ("Pushing Daisies"); Conchata
Ferrell ("Two And A Half Men"); Elizabeth Perkins ("Weeds");
Jean Smart ("Samantha Who?"); Holland Taylor ("Two
And A Half Men"); Vanessa L Williams ("Ugly Betty"). Should Win: Wonderful to spot vets Ferrell and Smart out there. And Chenoweth might have a better chance if only "Pushing Daisies" were more popular. Will Win: Still, I’d like Vanessa L Williams to get it, wouldn’t you? |
BEST TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES:
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Nominees: "The Andromeda Strain"(A&E); "Cranford"
(PBS); "John Adams" (HBO); "Tin Man" (Sci
Fi). Should Win: Somebody at the TV Academy must be kidding. Why even keep this category with so few entries left? TV movies have virtually disappeared and minis only exist infrequently on cable. Having said that, "Masterpiece Theatre"’s "Cranford" (PBS) was ahead of the tiny pack of contenders. Will Win: No comment. |
ACTOR: MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE:
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Nominees: Ralph
Fiennes ("Bernard And Doris"); Ricky Gervais ("Extras:
Finale"); Paul Giamatti ("John Adams"); Kevin
Spacey ("Recount"); Tom Wilkinson ("Recount"). Should/Will Win: In an uncrowded field, Paul Giamatti (John Adams) stood out. |
ACTRESS: MINISERIES OR TVMOVIE:
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Nominees: Catherine
Keener ("An American Crime"); Susan Sarandon ("Bernard
And Doris"); Dame Judi Dench ("Cranford"); Laura
Linney ("John Adams"); Phylicia Rashad ("A Raisin
In The Sun"). Should/Will Win: There is nothing like a dame as far as Judi Dench is concerned, right? |
BEST REALITY HOST:
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Nominees: Tom
Bergeron ("Amazing Race"); Heidi Klum ("Project
Runway"); Howie Mandel ("Deal Or No Deal"); Ryan
Seacrest ("American Idol"). Should/Will Win: Seriously, there is such a category, which demonstrates how low TV has fallen. So why not the lowest of the low, the ever unctuous Ryan Seacrest? |
BEST REALITY SERIES--COMPETITION:
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Nominees: "The
Amazing Race" (CBS); "American Idol" (FOX); "Dancing
With The Stars" (ABC); "Project Runway" (Bravo);
"Top Chef"(Bravo). Should/Will Win: I only watch "The Amazing Race," so AR it has to be. |
BEST INDIVIDUAL VARIETY/MUSIC PERFORMANCE:
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Nominees: Jon
Stewart ("80th Academy Awards"); Stephen Colbert ("SC
Show"); David Letterman ("Late Night"); Don Rickles
("Mr Warmth"); Tina Fey ("Saturday Night Live"). Should Win: What a category! Where is Jay Leno, one might ask? Stephen Colbert is up for his show, but Jon Stewart isn’t. Try to figure that out. Will Win: Colbert is the funniest, but Fey may edge him out. She’s that popular with the New York crowd. |
And if you disagree with my picks, you can sue me.
©2008 by Jim Bawden. This column first posted Sept. 15, 2008.
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