Comments on the Emmy nominations

I was away on vacation when the Emmy nominations were announced, and they didn't make a huge impression on the news pages I read besides the acknowledgement of my favorite "Friday Night Lights" for Best Drama.  However, going through the actual nominees today there were quite a few I was surprised by and others I was particularly happy to see.  I'll just go in the order they appear here on IMDB.

First, for it's final season (though rumors abound about a continuation), "Friday Night Lights" was nominated for Best Drama.  It also seems like a year it could possibly win - with "Dexter" and "Mad Men" and "The Good Wife" coming off solid, but hardly spectacular years, though "Game of Thrones" might throw a wrench in things, but as it's still airing, it might not have the votes this year.   And the Emmys do tend to award shows that have been solid, but are no longer on the air.

For a very strange coincidence I've already seen more than half of the Miniseries nominated this year, and another is in my DVR queue to watch.  Just odd that I've seen those this year.  Wish I'd caught Kate Winslet's "Mildred Pierce."

I honestly can't believe both Johnny Galecki AND Jim Parsons are both nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy series for "The Big Bang Theory" but since I adore the show, I'm happy for them both.  Parsons won last year, so I doubt he'll repeat and I don't think Galecki stands up to the other nominees, and it's Carell's last year.

The Lead Actor in a Drama is totally a toss-up with several newish nominees including repeat Kyle Chandler and first-timer Timothy Olyphant for "Justified" which is only improving with time I'm told.  Very big year for the men.

In the Lead Actress in a Comedy two big and welcome surprises - Melissa McCarthy for "Mike and Molly" and Martha Plimpton for "Raising Hope".  Both are the hysterical centers of their respective shows and have been creating some terrific TV.  I caught a bunch of "Mike and Molly" and "Modern Family" on my flights and they're terrific.

In Lead Actress in a Drama, not really surprises, but happy acknowledgements of very strong work for Mirielle Enos in "The Killing" (though her style of acting bothers me, she stares a LOT) and of course Connie Britton for "Friday Night Lights" in probably her strongest year.

Last year, the Supporting categories were full of terrific nuanced performances, and this year the four men of "Modern Family" were all nominated for good work, but really, no Neil Patrick Harris?  Seriously?   And for the women, yeah it's great that Betty White got nominated for "Hot in Cleveland" but no other surprises.
But men and women in a Drama had some good showings with Michelle Forbes from "The Killing" and Peter Dinklage from "Game of Thrones" and Josh Charles and Alan Cumming from "The Good Wife".

Finally, for the Reality stuff, it's nice to see "So You Think You Can Dance" thrown into the big prizes after winning lots of choreography and costume awards already.

Any thoughts from others?

HBO Movie: Temple Grandin

When Temple Grandin cleaned up at the Emmys a few weeks ago, I was intrigued about Claire Danes' biopic.  While I haven't seen all the other nominees in the categories they won, this is one of the best movies I've seen this year.  There aren't many movies where you just sit there when the credits start playing, thinking about what you've just seen and most of those include a tragic death or world-saving battle.  So it was all the more remarkable when it happened at the end of a movie about a still-living autistic woman who redesigned slaughter houses.   Claire Danes plays Grandin, from her early college days through graduate school in the late 1960s and 1970s.  She was diagnosed with autism as a toddler when she hadn't spoken by age 4, and her mother (played by Emmy winner Julia Ormond) fought like crazy to keep her daughter around and prevent her from losing out on a "normal life" - her mantra is something like "different, but not less". 

Claire Danes with the real Temple Grandin

We meet Grandin when she's arrived for the summer at her aunt's cattle ranch before going on to college (an idea that scares the crap out of her because there are so many people she doesn't understand and who don't understand her).  Catherine O'Hara is her understanding aunt who tries to help her figure out how to approach college.  One day when they're inoculating the cattle, Temple see this machine that holds the cattle still, calming them before their shot.  She realizes this could work for her too - the calming effect of a hug without actually having to touch another person.  When she arrives at college, with her own "hug machine", the university says no way (they think it has something to do with sex) until she does a scientific study showing that it helps most people feel calm, not just her. 

This sets her on a path of scientific inquiry - because she "sees in pictures" abstract thought is something really difficult (like learning a language or creative writing).  But the absolutes of science appeal to her nature and disposition, particularly because of the autism.  She continues after college at the University of Arizona studying animal husbandry and life sciences.  She is in a stockyard when she starts wondering why some cattle moo louder than others, and starts studying their behavior.  Because she can relate images together, she pieces together reasons for different cattle behavior, like moving in curves and not wanting to walk downhill.  She can relate to what scares them because she's particularly sensitive to sights, sounds, and textures.  She tricks her way into the stockyard for her masters thesis, and when she graduates she's asked to re-design a cattle "dip" (where they dip the cattle in a debugging liquid).  The old designs had a high mortality rate (from drowning) and would take more time and more people to run them than the design Temple creates which plays to cattle's own behaviors.  She finds a way to make cattle willing to enter the dip because they feel safe.  Ultimately, she figures out how to do the same for slaughterhouses, creating humane ways to herd the cattle right up until the moment they die.  Throughout all her schooling, her high school science teacher, David Strathairn, supports her vision, describing every step of her journey as "another door to walk through".  Visualizing walking through a door helps Temple actually do the next step in her career. 

The movie helps us get into the mind of Temple by showing some of the constant pictures she sees, and how they might relate.  It does a good job explaining her place on the autistic spectrum without having lots and lots of monologue.  She's actually quite aware of her own issues with the world, which is where the movie comes to an end - when she realizes she's a terrific candidate to educate the world about what it means to live with autism.  I'm not doing the movie justice, but you'll have to take my word that it's not cheesy, it's not cliched, it doesn't oversimplify her life too much, and yet, it still tugs on your heartstrings and gives your outlook on life a boost.  5 of 5 stars/lambs

Emmy Predictions 2010

I'm feeling a bit off my game this year.  I honestly don't feel like I can accurately predict the Emmys, so I'll mostly go with my own opinions.  Will they go to the terrific cast of newbies (Glee, Modern Family, The Good Wife) or to terrific returning shows (30 Rock, Mad Men) or even a last nod to canceled but great shows (Lost, The New Adventures of Old Christine)???  I know who I would pick in each category, so here you go for the big ones.  My picks are in italics. 

Outstanding Comedy Series
Nominees:
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2000)
"Glee" (2009)
"Modern Family" (2009)
"Nurse Jackie" (2009)
"The Office" (2005)
"30 Rock" (2006)

Outstanding Drama Series
Nominees:
"Breaking Bad" (2008)
"Dexter" (2006)
"The Good Wife" (2009)
"Lost" (2004)
"Mad Men" (2007)
"True Blood" (2008)

Outstanding Made for Television Movie
Nominees:
Endgame (2009/I)
Georgia O'Keeffe (2009) (TV)
Moonshot (2009) (TV)
The Special Relationship (2010) (TV)
Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)
You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)

Outstanding Miniseries
Nominees:
"The Pacific" (2010)
"Return to Cranford" (2007)
 
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)
Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005)
Larry David for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2000)
Matthew Morrison for "Glee" (2009)
Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory" (2007)
Tony Shalhoub for "Monk" (2002)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Kyle Chandler for "Friday Night Lights" (2006)
Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" (2008)
Matthew Fox for "Lost" (2004)
Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" (2006)
Jon Hamm for "Mad Men" (2007)
Hugh Laurie for "House M.D." (2004)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Jeff Bridges for A Dog Year (2009)
Ian McKellen for "The Prisoner" (2009)
Al Pacino for You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)
Dennis Quaid for The Special Relationship (2010) (TV)
Michael Sheen for The Special Relationship (2010) (TV)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Toni Collette for "United States of Tara" (2009)
Edie Falco for "Nurse Jackie" (2009)
Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2006)
Lea Michele for "Glee" (2009)
Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation" (2009)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Connie Britton for "Friday Night Lights" (2006)
Glenn Close for "Damages" (2007)
Mariska Hargitay for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999)
January Jones for "Mad Men" (2007)
Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife" (2009)
Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Joan Allen for Georgia O'Keeffe (2009) (TV)
Claire Danes for Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)
Hope Davis for The Special Relationship (2010) (TV)
Judi Dench for "Return to Cranford" (2007)
Maggie Smith for Capturing Mary (2007) (TV)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Ty Burrell for "Modern Family" (2009)
Chris Colfer for "Glee" (2009)
Jon Cryer for "Two and a Half Men" (2003)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson for "Modern Family" (2009)
Neil Patrick Harris for "How I Met Your Mother" (2005)
Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family" (2009)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Andre Braugher for "Men of a Certain Age" (2009)
Michael Emerson for "Lost" (2004)
Terry O'Quinn for "Lost" (2004)
Aaron Paul for "Breaking Bad" (2008)
Martin Short for "Damages" (2007)
John Slattery for "Mad Men" (2007)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Michael Gambon for "Emma" (2009)
John Goodman for You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)
Jonathan Pryce for "Return to Cranford" (2007)
Patrick Stewart for Hamlet (2009) (TV)
David Strathairn for Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Julie Bowen for "Modern Family" (2009)
Jane Krakowski for "30 Rock" (2006)
Jane Lynch for "Glee" (2009)
Holland Taylor for "Two and a Half Men" (2003)
Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family" (2009)
Kristen Wiig for "Saturday Night Live" (1975)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Christine Baranski for "The Good Wife" (2009)
Rose Byrne for "Damages" (2007)
Sharon Gless for "Burn Notice" (2007)
Christina Hendricks for "Mad Men" (2007)
Elisabeth Moss for "Mad Men" (2007)
Archie Panjabi for "The Good Wife" (2009)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Kathy Bates for "Alice" (2009)
Catherine O'Hara for Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)
Julia Ormond for Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)
Susan Sarandon for You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)
Brenda Vaccaro for You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series
Nominees:
"The Colbert Report" (2005)
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (1996)
"Real Time with Bill Maher" (2003)
"Saturday Night Live" (1975)
"The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" (2009)

Outstanding Reality Competition Program
Nominees:
"The Amazing Race" (2001)
"American Idol" (2002)
"Dancing with the Stars" (2005/I)
"Project Runway" (2005)
"Top Chef" (2006)

Emmy Nominations 2010

This was not intentional, but I happened to be watching the Today show when the nominations were announced, so I thought I'd share my glee (pun intended) with everyone.   First and foremost - Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton were each nominated for Actor/Actress in a Drama series for their exceptional performances as Coach Eric Taylor and his wife Principal Tammi Taylor.  This is the first nominations for the show in a major category (casting isn't a major category).  Hooray - my love for the show is shown here, here, and here.  The other great surprises were all the nominations for Glee, particularly in the supporting and guest categories.  Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer, and Kurt's Dad Mike O'Malley were all nominated.  I loved the relationship between Kurt and his dad this season, with all they went through when Kurt came out, and then dealing with Finn's homophobia.  Amazing that they were actually recognized for this work.  Also, Lost was recognized as a Best Drama series for the first time since it's first season, along with a first nomination for Matthew Fox (and Terry O'Quinn and Micheal Emerson, both previous winners) Otherwise, there weren't a lot of surprises, lots of regular nominees, but here's hoping some new people win. 
Here's the list of nominees:

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad

Michael C. Hall - Dexter

Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights

Hugh Laurie - House

Matthew Fox - Lost

Jon Hamm - Mad Men

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer

Glenn Close - Damages

Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights

Julianna Marguiles - The Good Wife

Mariska Hargitay - Law & Order SVU

January Jones - Mad Men

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Aaron Paul - Breaking Bad

Martin Short - Damages

Terry O'Quinn - Lost

Michael Emerson - Lost

John Slattery - Mad Men

Andre Braugher - Men of a Certain Age

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Sharon Gless - Burn Notice

Rose Byrne - Damages

Archie Panjabi - The Good Wife

Christine Baranski - The Good Wife

Christina Hendricks - Mad Men

Elizabeth Moss - Mad Men

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory

Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm

Matthew Morrison - Glee

Tony Shaloub - Monk

Steve Carrell - The Office

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Lea Michele - Glee

Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The New Adventures of Old Christine

Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie

Amy Poehler - Parks & Recreation

Tina Fey - 30 Rock

Toni Collette - The United States of Tara

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Chris Colfer - Glee

Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother

Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Modern Family

Ty Burrell - Modern Family

Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

Jon Cryer - Two and a Half Men

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Jane Lynch - Glee

Julie Bowen - Modern Family

Sofia Vergara - Modern Family

Kristin Wiig - Saturday Night Live

Jane Krakowski - 30 Rock

Holland Taylor - Two and a Half Men

Best Comedy Series

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Glee

Modern Family

Nurse Jackie

The Office

30 Rock

Best Drama Series

Breaking Bad

Dexter

The Good Wife

Lost

Mad Men

True Blood

Emmys review

I loved the opening number and the presenters were pretty terrific, and they finished on time, but Neil Patrick Harris' shtick about losing his award colored his humor the rest of the night. I liked the breakdown of categories, and the "look-backs" for the years in review in each category.

I didn't see Jon Cryer, Cherry Jones, Michael Emerson or Toni Collette taking their respective categories at all, though they all were terrific. For the rest, it was just my own idiocy not picking Alec Baldwin or Bryan Cranston to repeat their awards. Otherwise, I had a very good night. There were a lot of repeat wins with Amazing Race taking it again, Jeff Probst as the best host, 30 Rock and Mad Men. I was really happy that Kristin Chenowith and Shohreh Aghdashloo both took their awards. Not a particularly surprising night, but still fun to watch. Grey Gardens and Little Dorritt cleaned up too.

Emmy Predictions 2009

I thought I'd put together my predictions for the upcoming Emmy awards just in case people were interested.

Outstanding Comedy Series
Nominees:
"Entourage" (2004)
"Family Guy" (1999)
"The Flight of the Conchords" (2007)
"How I Met Your Mother" (2005) - Should win - this show has grown and yet still stayed so funny, I hope it wins, but it'll probably go to 30 Rock again.
"The Office" (2005)
"30 Rock" (2006) - Will Win
"Weeds" (2005)

Outstanding Drama Series
Nominees:
"Big Love" (2006)
"Breaking Bad" (2008)
"Damages" (2007)
"Dexter" (2006) - Should Win - The 3rd season was wonderful and brought the show up to a totally new level
"House M.D." (2004)
"Lost" (2004)
"Mad Men" (2007) - Will Win - I thought the second season was not as good as it's premiere, but I wouldn't be terribly disappointed when they win.

Outstanding Made for Television Movie
Nominees:
Coco Chanel (2008) (TV)
Grey Gardens (2009) (TV) - Will win and Should Win - It's an amazing series, see it.
Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Prayers for Bobby (2009) (TV)
Taking Chance (2009)

Outstanding Miniseries
Nominees:
"Generation Kill" (2008)
"Little Dorrit" (2008) - Will win (though I don't know anything about either, it already won tons of technical awards!)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)
Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005)
Jemaine Clement for "The Flight of the Conchords" (2007)
Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory" (2007) - Will win and Should win - He's the funniest guy in this list, and everyone else has been recognized (except Jemaine, but I don't think he's funny)
Tony Shalhoub for "Monk" (2002)
Charlie Sheen for "Two and a Half Men" (2003)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Simon Baker for "The Mentalist" (2008)
Gabriel Byrne for "In Treatment" (2008)
Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" (2008)
Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" (2006) - Should win - see comment above for Dexter!
Jon Hamm for "Mad Men" (2007)
Hugh Laurie for "House M.D." (2004) - Will win

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Kevin Bacon for Taking Chance (2009)
Kenneth Branagh for "Wallander" (2008)
Brendan Gleeson for Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Kevin Kline for "Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac (#37.8)" (2009) - I hope he wins, but I have NO idea! This was the only one I saw.
Ian McKellen for "Great Performances: King Lear (#37.11)" (2008)
Kiefer Sutherland for 24: Redemption (2008) (TV)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Christina Applegate for "Samantha Who?" (2007)
Toni Collette for "United States of Tara" (2009)
Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006) - Should Win and Will win - I'm not sure this category has the best set of acting on TV, they just seem to keep nominating the sames set of women. Not sure why I can't get behind these nominees, but I don't really care about this category this year.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2006)
Mary-Louise Parker for "Weeds" (2005)
Sarah Silverman for "The Sarah Silverman Program." (2007)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Glenn Close for "Damages" (2007) - Will win - she's pretty amazing, even if this past season wasn't.
Sally Field for "Brothers & Sisters" (2006)
Mariska Hargitay for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999)
Holly Hunter for "Saving Grace" (2007)
Elisabeth Moss for "Mad Men" (2007) - Should Win - she did a terrific job making her character interesting and important every time she was on screen
Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Drew Barrymore for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Jessica Lange for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV) - Will win - she was pretty amazing, but I chose Chandra.
Shirley MacLaine for Coco Chanel (2008) (TV)
Sigourney Weaver for Prayers for Bobby (2009) (TV)
Chandra Wilson for Accidental Friendship (2008) (TV) - Should win - this was a throwaway little made for TV movie, but her performance was terrific.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Jon Cryer for "Two and a Half Men" (2003)
Kevin Dillon for "Entourage" (2004)
Neil Patrick Harris for "How I Met Your Mother" (2005) It should be a tie between NPH and Jack McBrayer, but I think it will be NPH.
Jack McBrayer for "30 Rock" (2006)
Tracy Morgan for "30 Rock" (2006)
Rainn Wilson for "The Office" (2005)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Christian Clemenson for "Boston Legal" (2004)
Michael Emerson for "Lost" (2004)
William Hurt for "Damages" (2007)
Aaron Paul for "Breaking Bad" (2008) - Will win - I've heard great things about him, and I don't think any of the others had stand out performances this year.
William Shatner for "Boston Legal" (2004)
John Slattery for "Mad Men" (2007)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Len Cariou for Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Tom Courtenay for "Little Dorrit" (2008)
Ken Howard for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Bob Newhart for The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) (TV)
Andy Serkis for "Little Dorrit" (2008) - Will win - the series was wonderfully well received so I'm guessing here.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Kristin Chenoweth for "Pushing Daisies" (2007) - Should win - I just loved Pushing Daisies, mostly because of Kristin
Jane Krakowski for "30 Rock" (2006)
Elizabeth Perkins for "Weeds" (2005)
Amy Poehler for "Saturday Night Live" (1975)
Kristen Wiig for "Saturday Night Live" (1975) - Will win - she's had a terrific year, and created some wonderful characters, and they already honored Justin Timberlake for all of his wonderful work on SNL.
Vanessa Williams for "Ugly Betty" (2006)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Rose Byrne for "Damages" (2007)
Hope Davis for "In Treatment" (2008)
Cherry Jones for "24" (2001)
Sandra Oh for "Grey's Anatomy" (2005)
Dianne Wiest for "In Treatment" (2008)
Chandra Wilson for "Grey's Anatomy" (2005) - Should win and Will win - I think this is her year again, she had wonderful stories and did a terrific job.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Shohreh Aghdashloo for "House of Saddam" (2008) - Should win - I just love her and think she can do no wrong, but I doubt they'll choose something called House of Saddam.
Marcia Gay Harden for The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009) (TV) - Will win - she got such amazing reviews for this that I'm guessing she'll win.
Janet McTeer for Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Jeanne Tripplehorn for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Cicely Tyson for Relative Stranger (2009) (TV)

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series
Nominees:
"The Colbert Report" (2005)
"The Daily Show" (1996) - Will win - they're just awesome.
"Late Show with David Letterman" (1993)
"Real Time with Bill Maher" (2003)
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) - Might win - I think if SNL was ever going to win this will be their year.

Outstanding Reality Competition Program
Nominees:
"The Amazing Race" (2001) - Will win - they've never lost so I'm not going to bet against them.
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002)
"Dancing with the Stars" (2005/I)
"Project Runway" (2005) - Should win - it's just a fantastic show and had a terrific season.
"Top Chef" (2006)

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality - Competition Program
Nominees:
Tom Bergeron for "Dancing with the Stars" (2005/I)
Phil Keoghan for "The Amazing Race" (2001)
Heidi Klum for "Project Runway" (2005) - Should win - Heidi was awesome so she should win.
Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio for "Top Chef" (2006)
Jeff Probst for "Survivor" (2000) - Will win - he won last year, so I'm guessing he'll win again.
Ryan Seacrest for "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002)

Those are my predictions, we'll see how close I get on Sunday night!!

Can "The Wire" really be the best show on TV? YES!

A great fellow movie blogger recently posted a great essay on whether a war film can make for great entertainment. It hit me that we can ask that about a lot of the best shows on TV too. "The Wire", which aired on HBO and ran its final season over a year ago, is easily among the best shows ever shown on television. However, a summary of the series includes drugs, murder, corruption, conspiracy and overwhelming violence at times. How does this combination make for great TV, you might ask. And I did - I even had to rewatch the first 5 episodes in an effort to get hooked. Well, 55 episodes later, I watched the entire series and have become one of the proud to recommend it. The description of the series is much less than the sum of its parts, but I will try anyway. Overall, the series is about crime and law enforcement in Baltimore. Each season examines a central group of police officers and drug dealers through a greater lens within Baltimore. The first season sets up the characters and taking down drug kingpins through fastidious and careful law enforcement - specifically a wire tap. However, as in any animal kingdom, once one party finds an advantage, the other finds a way to counter that advantage. The second season examines the corruption and deterioration of Baltimore waterfront and the shipping industry. It does feel a bit like a whole different show for a little while, but eventually you begin to understand what the series is trying to do, and you can accept the second season as it is. It was my least favorite season, and in some ways the most violent and nail-biting and so does stand alone well. The third season brings us back to the streets of an unruly set of drug dealers who seem to be missing their leader. An "out of the box" thinking cop who has had enough of the crime associated with drug dealing on the corners of his district tries out a new paradigm of law enforcement: if you can get them into a single location away from local people - both dealers and fiends - then you'll have peace. Essentially he legalizes the drug trade. However, at the same time, the political machine is starting to get going and lasts through the end of the series. The fourth season, my favorite, examines how crime and the schools interact with each other. One of the cops from the first season has left policing and become a teacher, so we meet his students who all are at the point of making choices about being drug dealers, muscle for drug dealers, snitches, hookers, etc. The political side of law enforcement increases with the mayoral race in Baltimore. Favors are traded on the back of crime statistics and you see both police and politicians trying to make things appear however will best help them. The final season looks at the media's role in crime and solving crimes, specifically at the Baltimore Sun. Funding for the police force has been cut to help out the ailing school system, and our troubled, but heartfelt police set up a fictional serial killer, which they know will increase funding, aided by the stories written by the press bringing attention to the issue.

Throughout each season there are the changing leaders of the drug trade, and because all of our police are at some point part of the homicide division, we can keep in touch with the murders from the drug trade while still looking at another side of Baltimore. You must believe me that the experience far outweighs reading this summary. I highly recommend the entire series, particularly season 4. However, given that the dialogue is seemingly faithful to the culture of each group of people - the police jargon, the drug talk, etc. I recommend watching it with subtitles until you get used to the language, which I promise you do after a little while. Also, there is an incredible amount of violence throughout. They do a good job of making the viewers as inured to the violence as the dealers and cops already are, but yet they're still able to shock you with violence, and knowing that no one is ever safe pervades both the living and the watching this series. There is a lot of terrific acting throughout, and none really stand out above, but my favorite character adds a bit to nearly every season he's in. Andre Royo plays a dope addict named "Bubbles" who alternately snitches for the cops and lives on the street. He has a good heart, but can't seem to escape his addiction. His story line is carefully told over the entire series, rather than a single season, and he'll break your heart and show you redemption, all without being cliched or boring. He's a great actor and a wonderful character. While the show was only nominated twice for writing, the entirety of the show is what draws you in and moves you to appreciate how exceptional its quality really is, and thus what the average TV show is missing. Also, for a show with an enormous cast, they did a terrific job of including story lines with every character, but not ultimately revealing much about each individual character, but rather how it relates to the whole.

Emmy Nominations 2009

This morning the Emmy nominations were announced by Chandra Wilson and Jim Parsons, both of whom got nominated, Chandra twice! I recently posted my own list of the top 10 performances of 2009. Now, mine are based only on shows I watch, so I can appreciate that there are shows that would be nominated and thus kick out some of my choices, but there are a few snubs I'm surprised by. However, I did pick 2 that were in fact nominated: Jim Parsons for The Big Bang Theory and Simon Baker for The Mentalist. The other thing about this year's nominations that struck me was the increased number of nominations in certain categories. There were 6 nominated actors or actresses in most categories and 7 nominations for Best Comedy and Drama series and only 2 nominations for Best Miniseries. There were a lot of new faces nominated which is terrific for Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men) and Jack McBrayer (Kenneth on 30 Rock), and even some recent winners not even nominated, like Jeremy Piven (Entourage). I was very disappointed to see no love for Fringe or its actors, Joshua Jackson or John Nobel. I hope that doesn't affect the show's longevity. Ah well, it'll be an interesting awards ceremony, I'll make predictions in September!

A woman of excellent support...

Kathryn Joosten won another Emmy! Now you may be saying "Who exactly is Kathryn Joosten?" Well, she has come in many memorable, supporting characters. She first came to my attention as the sharp-tongued Mrs. Landingham on The West Wing. Though in the scene below she's an incredibly sympathetic mother going to honor her boys at another vet's funeral.



I also saw her on an early episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where she played the spooky housemother of lots of ghosty kids.

And now she's been honored with ANOTHER Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a comedy series! Now that you know who she is, you'll see her everywhere!