The Emmy Nominations: Not Much To Gripe About

The members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences are starting to grow a backbone, judging by the nominations for the 59th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards. Some good and deserving shows/actors have been chosen, while less worthy would-be nominees have been placed on the shelf for another day. Let's look at the major categories:

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES: "Boston Legal;" "Grey's Anatomy;" "Heroes;" "House;" "The Sopranos"
There's no doubt in its swan song season, the Soprano family will be the clan to beat (the show has 15 nominations overall.) And that series-ending finale...a lot of us are still talking about it! As for the other nominees, only "House" and "Boston Legal" have come close to "The Sopranos" this past season; "Grey's Anatomy" and "Heroes" are good shows, but not outstanding in my opinion. The Academy did right by not nominating "24" in light of a creatively off season, but where was "Lost," which rebounded from a sophomore slump? And no "Friday Night Lights?" Truly "the best series no one is watching," and its absence does not bode well for life beyond a second season. And how about the cable series that were truly top notch this past year--"Rescue Me;" "The Shield;" "Dexter;" "The Wire" and "Battlestar: Galactica?" But then, the now-cancelled "Studio 60" was shut out in the major categories (except for best direction). Still, overall, a better outcome than expected.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES: "Entourage;" "The Office;" "30 Rock;" "Two And A Half Men;" "Ugly Betty"
With eleven nominations in all, freshman "Betty" has the edge in numbers. But "The Office" could well take home a second Emmy in this category. Newcomer "30 Rock" deserves to be in this group, along with "Men" and "Entourage"--both good series powered by fine acting. Still, give props to the ignored "My Name Is Earl;" "Weeds;" "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Desperate Housewives," all of which came off very good seasons and deserved a place in the Emmy galaxy. And the always ignored "Gilmore Girls?" In past seasons yes, but the final year was not its best. Shame, ATAS, shame! Too little, too late.

DRAMATIC LEAD ACTING CATEGORIES
MALE: James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos"); Hugh Laurie ("House"); Denis Leary ("Rescue Me"); James Spader ("Boston Legal"); Kiefer Sutherland ("24")
FEMALE: Patricia Arquette ("Medium"); Minnie Driver ("The Riches"); Edie Falco ("The Sopranos"); Sally Field ("Brothers & Sisters"); Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: SVU"); Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer")

For the men, all worthy choices--and finally, the ATAS has seen fit to nominate Laurie. But his otherwise deserving performance as Gregory House could be wacked by Gandolfini in what's shaping up to be a "Sopranos" kind of year. Kudos also to Leary's nomination; he's the spark plug that makes "Rescue Me" fire on all cylinders. Look for a Gandolfini-Laurie fight, with "Legal's" Spader the dark horse.
Sally Field is the sentimental favorite to win an Emmy among the women, but she'll have to fight off the wonderful Sedgewick and the always-brilliant Falco, who could win on a potential "Sopranos" farewell salute.
Missing and deserving: Michael Chiklis of "The Shield;" Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of "Friday Night Lights." And if Driver was nominated for "The Riches," where was her on-screen hubby Eddie Izzard?

COMEDY LEAD ACTING CATEGORIES
MALE: Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock"); Steve Carell ("The Office"); Ricky Gervais ("Extras"); Tony Shalhoub ("Monk"); Charlie Sheen ("Two And A Half Men")
FEMALE: America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty"); Tina Fey ("30 Rock"); Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives"); Julia Louis-Dreyfuss ("The New Adventures of Old Christine"); Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds")

Shaloub is a past winner here; Sheen is no match for the others; and the talented Gervais is on a show that is only seen on HBO here in the States. That leaves Baldwin and Carell, and while I think Carell's performance hit a high peak this season, Baldwin was a revelation as GE/NBC executive from hell Jack Donaghy.
Among the women, little to complain about here; all five are great and came off strong seasons. But Fey is probably the dark horse here; Parker's "Weeds" is on relatively little watched pay cable network Showtime, and Huffman is a past winner. That leaves newcomer Ferrera and veteran Louis-Dreyfuss. I'd like to see Ferrera win, but if Louis-Dreyfuss wins her second Emmy for "Old Christine," I won't complain.
Missing and deserving: Zach Braff for the long-running "Scrubs;" Lauren Graham for the now-cancelled "Gilmore Girls."
That's it for my gripes. Check out the entire list of nominees at:
http://www.emmys.org/awards/2007pt/nominations.php

The awards will be handed out September 18th. Until next time, congrats to all the nominees--and happy viewing!