Emmys Continued...
(best shows)

No. We are not pleased.

Actor, Drama Series: Christopher Meloni, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC; Denis Leary, Rescue Me, FX Network; Peter Krause, Six Feet Under, HBO; Kiefer Sutherland, 24, Fox; Martin Sheen, The West Wing, NBC.

Who’s missing from this list? Seriously, who’s missing? Where the heck is Hugh Laurie? Where is my Brit who plays an American better than most Americans I know? Where is he? He, who plays a pain-killer addicted wunderkind of a diagnostician, who gets away with being a completely chauvinistic ass by saving lives, all the while letting his life whiz down the drain? Where is he, you Academy bastards?!

Ahem. I’m calm now. Seriously though, Hugh Laurie was there last year, and he needed to be back.

I’m not a fan of L&O: SVU, and because of that, I’m not a fan of Chris Meloni. I don’t feel the Emmy love, I’m sorry. Denis Leary does bring the love though, and the bits and pieces I’ve seen of Rescue Me, he’s definitely a major contender for the statue. And while I’m a confirmed whore for 24, I don’t think I can push Keifer for the gold. While the show is intense, and Jack Bauer is a wonderfully defined character (defined… BY HIS GUN!... sorry…), he just doesn’t inspire me to stand up and applaud (well, his actions do, but for that, I nominate the writers).

I think my favorite here is probably Martin Sheen. For seven years, he’s been the best president I didn’t have to vote for. He’s made me laugh, cry, punch pillows in anger, and feel pride in my country. While this last season was far from the best, he’s still been Jed Bartlet, President of the United States, and has made me proud.

My Hopes: Hugh Laur - … *sigh* Martin Sheen.
My Prediction: Denis Leary.

Actress, Drama Series: Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer, TNT; Geena Davis, Commander in Chief, ABC; Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC; Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under, HBO; Allison Janney, The West Wing, NBC.

Frances Conroy falls into the sad, dark pit of my knowledge of cable television shows, and Mariska Hargitay, while beautiful, is just not interesting enough to get me to want to actually watch SVU all the way through.

Geena Davis was good, but not good enough for the trophy, I think. While the role itself was incredible, Geena just doesn’t beat Kyra Sedgwick in my book. I’ve seen equal amounts of both shows (i.e., not nearly enough) and Kyra just holds my attention better. She’s spunky, she’s southern; she can scare the pee out of you one minute, and then trip over her own feet the next. Alison Janney is incredible as the Press Secretary turned Chief of Staff, and while she and Geena are probably the winners of “Best Role Model for the Daughters of the World” award, Kyra is just more deserving of the trophy this time around.

My Hope: Kyra Sedgwick (though I’ll take Alison Janney in a pinch)
My Prediction: Geena Davis (for what was still a very powerful turn as POTUS)

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: William Shatner, Boston Legal, ABC; Oliver Platt, Huff, Showtime; Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos, HBO; Gregory Itzin, 24, Fox; Alan Alda, The West Wing, NBC.

While I usually enjoy Oliver Platt, for me, it’s among Shatner, Itzin, and Alda. And dammit, what a hard decision to have to make. I could argue it for hours. Shatner has made me actually fall out of a reclining chair, laughing so hard. I’ve never actually leaped out of my chair wanting to strangle a character before Itzin’s President Logan, and I’ve always had a soft spot for Alan Alda, who actually made me almost like the Republican Party this last season.

Shatner does have an Emmy already for his work on Boston Legal as the Mad Cow Disease infected Denny Crane, but every time I see him, he always manages to surprise me with the different ways he can be promiscuous and chauvinistic at the same time, and in such amusing ways. His more serious moments are pretty powerful too, since Shatner can brood with the best of them.

Gregory Itzin… well, I feel sorry for him, actually. Since he’s been playing such an evil little weasel of a man, he’s been feeling it outside of the television show. He plays golf with Dennis Haysbert (the late President Palmer), and evidently people come up to them, giving Itzin the evil eye while singing praises on Haysbert. And who can blame them? President Logan was by far the scariest, slimiest politician seen on television since the Nixon era, and Itzin was perfect.

Alan Alda always puts in a good performance, and I’ve loved seeing the moderate Senator Arnold Vinnick from California (we have Republicans here?) go against the younger, Democratic opponent. One of my favorite bits is when we see Senator Vinnick for the first time after the election, a tired old man trying to figure out what to do with his life, looking a bit sad as he decides to try and run for election again in 4 years.

It’s an honest tie for me, though my evil side is rooting for the bad guy. No, not the lawyer, the President. Duh.

My Hopes: Gregory Itzin
My Prediction: Michael Imperioli. The Sopranos have been sung about all this season.

It's her birthday?

Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Candice Bergen, Boston Legal, ABC; Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Blythe Danner, Huff, Showtime; Jean Smart, 24, Fox.

Oh dear god. I don’t think a group of smarter, sexier, sassier women could be found anywhere on the planet. Blythe Danner has been damn good whenever I’ve seen her, so I can only assume Huff is the same, but going against the crazy First Lady Logan, the lovely Jean Smart? And then my girls from Grey’s Anatomy… I think a vein in my head is going to burst…

First, let me declare that Sandra Oh is *expletive deleted* awesome. And yes, the expletive needs to be there. And Chandra Wilson is unspeakably fantastic as The Nazi. These two make me pee a little from happiness every time they’re in a scene, they’re both so strong, funny, utterly unstoppable and completely unashamed.

But they’re not getting it in my books. Candice Bergen holds her own against the other insane lawyers at Crane, Poole, and Schmidt, and can keep Denny Crane in line (sort of), and still manages to be quite funny.

In this category, however, the hands-down winner is Jean Smart. She was perfect as the possibly crazy, but incredibly brave Martha Logan, the first lady to her evil President husband, in the end using her feminine wiles to keep the President distracted long enough for Jack Bauer to save the day. You can keep your Bond girls with their tight clothes and guns. Mrs. Logan is all I need to help save the world!

My Hope: Go Jean! It’s your birthday! Go Jean!
My Prediction: Either of the Grey Girls. Really, they’ve both done fantastic jobs.

Catch the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, August 27th, on CBS. You can go see if I actually guessed right, or if I need to go back to Psychic School.

Erin Frost