Fancast: Inside TV

While there aren’t many leading ladies in the world of comedy the Academy this is the one category where I don’t disagree with a single nominee. Quite simply, these are the five best comedy actresses right now.

Tina Fey (30 Rock) – 5:2
As much as Alec Baldwin is credited for 30 Rock’s success, Fey is equally important in her role as Liz Lemon.
Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) – 7:1
Despite the fact that critics have cooled on the women of Wysteria Lane, Huffman remains at the top of the pack.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) – 5:1
Despite winning last year against a relatively weak group of nominees, don’t expect Elaine (she’ll always be Elaine to me) to repeat.
America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) – 2:5
Ferrera was clearly the break out star of the season and Betty’s buzz makes her the likely victory.
Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) – 3:1
Mary-Louise is not only breathtaking and my future wife, but she’s downright magnificent in Weeds.

Who Will Win
America Ferrera (Ugly Betty)
Ferrera is great and I’m confident she’ll take the award over Fey and the future Mrs. Nadum (Parker), but of all the categories, I think she’s most vulnerable to an upset.

Who Should Win
Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds)
She’s my future wife. Who did you expect me to pick?

Omissions
Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris), Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Show)

Of all the categories, Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is the one where I found the least omissions. In reality, it’s likely yet another instance with 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin going up against The Office’s Steve Carell.

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) – 11:10
Baldwin delights as the high powered, slightly insane network executive on 30 Rock.
Ricky Gervais (Extras) – 7:2
Gervais only ever shows up in small doses (Extras called it quits at 12 episodes, although there will be a special to wrap things up) so anytime he does, it’s a treat.
Tony Shalhoub (Monk) – 9:2
The manic Monk shows up to defend last year’s crown.
Steve Carell (The Office) – 20:21
Carell doesn’t slow down at all in season three of The Office, helping lower the standards for employees all across America.
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) – 6:1
See: Spader, James. Laurie, Hugh.

Who Will Win
Steve Carell (The Office)
Carell is masterful in the role of Michael Scott and should finally lock up a much deserved Emmy.

Who Should Win
Ricky Gervais (Extras)
As long as it goes to Baldwin, Carrell or Gervais I can’t complain. I give the nod to Gervais because while 30 Rock and The Office will be around for years to come (hopefully), this is Extras only shot for an Emmy.

Omissions
Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris), Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), Zach Braff (Scrubs)

I can’t take too much issue with the nominees given the inclusion of Minnie Driver and the expected nominations of Kyra Sedgwick and Edie Falco. I do wish that the underrated Dirt could have got some love in the form of a Courtney Cox nomination.

Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters) – 9:5
Yet another famous actress moves to the world of television.
Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order SVU) – 8:1
Hargitay of the ever popular Law and Order: SVU doesn’t have much of a chance of repeating last year’s victory.
Patricia Arquette (Medium) – 7:1
Arquette should be a default nominee for any award show she’s available for based on her performance in True Romance alone.
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) – 2:1
It’ll be close between her and Falco, but The Sopranos factor should leave Sedgwick in the cold.
Minnie Driver (The Riches) – 3:1
Her very deserving nomination was an unexpected treat.
Edie Falco (The Sopranos) – 2:1
Falco was the rock that kept The Sopranos domestic storyline going for its entire run.

Who Should Win
Edie Falco (The Sopranos)
Edie Falco put in yet another stunning performance in the final season of The Sopranos.

Who Will Win
Edie Falco (The Sopranos)
Falco's victory should wrap up The Sopranos sweep of the major categories.

Omissions
Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica), Annabeth Gish (Brotherhood), Molly Parker (Deadwood), Courtney Cox (Dirt), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Ali Larter (Heroes), Andrea Roth (Rescue Me)

Another tough category to swallow. Ian McShane’s snub is right up there with The Wire’s omission. McShane’s performance on Deadwood was the best I’ve ever seen on TV or in film. Michael C. Hall not getting a nom is also disappointing.

Kiefer Sutherland (24) – 6:1
Jack Bauer doesn’t win Emmys, he takes them.
James Spader (Boston Legal) – 13:2
Spader’s performance led to the Outstanding Drama nod, so this nomination comes as no surprise.
Hugh Laurie (House) – 4:1
See: Spader, James.
Denis Leary (Rescue Me) – 9:2
Leary headlines the post 9/11 firehouse, playing one of the darkest characters on television in Tommy Gavin.
James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) – 1:5
Despite claims that The Sopranos dipped in quality as the years went by, no one can make the same claim about Gandolfini.

Who Will Win
James Gandolfini (The Sopranos)
Expect to see a lot of The Sopranos' cast and crew before the night’s out.

Who Should Win
Denis Leary (Rescue Me)
As great as Gandolfini has been, Leary gets the nod on account his amazing work in season three of Rescue Me.

Omissions
Jason Clarke (Brotherhood), Ian McShane (Deadwood), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), James Purefoy (Rome), Michael Chiklis (The Shield), The Entire Cast of The Wire.

Generally one of the hardest categories to predict, of this year’s nominees, NBC is a surefire bet to take home the Emmy with 30 Rock and The Office, two of the best comedies on television.

30 Rock (NBC) – 9:5
The fictional behind the scenes at SNL-clone ‘TGS' was the best new comedy of the season.
Entourage (HBO) – 3:1
Don’t count on ‘Aquaman’ making much of a splash.
The Office (NBC) – 5:6
The gang at Dunder Mifflin look to repeat last year’s Outstanding Comedy victory.
Two And A Half Men (CBS) – 13:2
TV’s highest rated comedy faces stiff competition.
Ugly Betty (ABC) – 5:2
In any other year, it might have a shot, but up against 30 Rock and The Office, Betty’s chances look ugly.

Who Will Win
30 Rock
While it’s a two pony race, The Office is a show about people who work for a paper company. 30 Rock is a show about people who work in the television industry. Not hard to see how this plays out.

Who Should Win
The Office
Both The Office and 30 Rock are smart, witty and beautifully acted. It’s really just a matter of preference and I went with The Office because of the ‘Creed Factor.’

Omissions
Everybody Hates Chris, Extras, How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Sons & Daughters, Weeds.

The Emmys' most important category suffers an unfortunate fate this year as the Academy completely ignored the great dramas this past season had to offer. And while the category is likely to be dominated by the fanfare surrounding the final season of The Sopranos, the biggest story should be the absence of HBO’s critical masterpiece, The Wire as well as other well-written, well-acted dramas (see omissions below).

All handicapping odds are courtesy of BoDog Sports Book as of September 14th, 2007.

Omission Picks of the Year are listed in Bold/Italics.

Boston Legal (ABC) – 13:2
After teetering on the edge, the ABC legal drama finally jumped the hurdle and made it to the main stage.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC) – 7:1
The chances of television’s most popular scripted television show winning are roughly the same as Isaiah Washington returning to the show.
Heroes (NBC) – 3:1
Does the Academy give points for heroic deeds?
House (FOX) – 9:2
Hugh Laurie carried the medical drama to a nomination. Ironic given his character’s trademark limp.
The Sopranos (HBO) – 1:6
The final season of the series that put HBO on the map.

Who Will Win
The Sopranos
The curtain call for one of television’s most influential series is a lock.

Who Should Win
Heroes
The supernatural serial in which everyday people discover they have super powers did a great job of improving on many of Lost’s previous mistakes.

Omissions
Battlestar Galactica, Brotherhood, Deadwood, Dexter, Dirt, Friday Night Lights, Hustle, Rescue Me, The Riches, Rome, The Shield, The Wire.

With a plethora of subplots (Kathy Griffin got the ball rolling with her comments at the Creative Emmys), the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, airing this Sunday at 8 p.m. on FOX should prove to be a deviation from the standard fare.

In a departure from the traditional comedy choice, the show will be hosted by American Idol front man, Ryan Seacrest. While Seacrest has already said he’s not a comedian and doesn’t plan to pretend he is, it’ll be very interesting to see what strategic plan he and FOX take.

Adding to the drama will be The Sopranos curtain call. Celebrating its final season, the show is nominated in all the major categories and many believe it could run the table (Outstanding Series, Lead Actor, Lead Actress).

Throw in a few highly publicized snubs (The Wire, Friday Night Lights, Ian McShane) and viewers should expect a nice combination of drama, intrigue and if we’re lucky – unintentional comedy.

HBO, NBC and ABC lead the pack with 6 victories each, CBS walked away with only one and FOX, the host of the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, walked away with absolutely none.

Outstanding Made for TV Movie
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO)

Outstanding Writer (Comedy)
Greg Daniels (The Office) - 'Gay Witch Hunt'

Outstanding Writer (Drama)
David Chase (The Sopranos) - 'Made in America'

Outstanding Director (Comedy)
Richard Shepard (Ugly Betty) - Pilot

Outstanding Director (Drama)
Alan Taylor (The Sopranos) - 'Kennedy and Heidi'

Outstanding Supporting Actor (Comedy)
Jeremy Piven (Entourage)

Outstanding Supporting Actress (Comedy)
Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl)

Outstanding Supporting Actor (Drama)
Terry O'Quinn (Lost)

Outstanding Supporting Actress (Drama)
Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy)

Outstanding Actor (Comedy)
Ricky Gervais (Extras)

Outstanding Lead Actress (Comedy)
America Ferrera (Ugly Betty)

Outstanding Lead Actor (Drama)
James Spader (Boston Legal)

Outstanding Lead Actress (Drama)
Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters)

Outstanding Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)

Outstanding Drama Series
The Sopranos (HBO)

Contact Nadum at Nadum_TV@comcast.com

There were some highlights -- and lowlights from the Emmys. Here are some of the more notable moments.

• Stewie and Brian of Family Guy break into song with a parody of the current television landscape.

• Sally Field's uncensored Emmy acceptance speech. Can't tell if she's flustered, excited, exhausted or on drugs.

• Steve Carell, who reprises Ricky Gervais' role from the original version of The Office, realizes more than most that stealing from Gervais is a pretty good career move.

• Kanye West and Rainn Wilson (Dwight Shrewt of The Office) duke it out. Kanye's take on the battle? "I never win."

• There's no video available yet, but Ray Romano's bleeped out sentence was "Frasier's ****ing my wife," a reference to his former Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Patricia Heaton. Heaton, who played Romano's wife on Raymond will appear alongside Kelsey Grammer in the new FOX series Back to You.

Last night's Emmys suffered the second lowest ratings ever for the award show, averaging 13.1 million viewers. By contrast, last year's telecast averaged 16.2 million and CBS pulled in 18.7 million viewers two years ago.

The 18-49 demographic was even worse, as the Emmys' 4.3/11 (rating/share) was demolished by NBC's Sunday Night Football (San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots) which drew a 6.7/17.

The second lowest rated Emmys of all time took it on the chin in the media today, with even its supporters providing nothing more than backhanded compliments.

Robert Bianco of the USA Today absolutely kills the broadcast, taking Ryan Seacrest to task, "Actually, 'amateurish' doesn't begin to describe Ryan Seacrest, who, thanks to his obnoxious performance on E!'s pre-show, became the first host to wear out his welcome before he came in. Had he been content to simply keep the show moving, he might have been bearable. Instead, he worked the crowd like he was back at American Idol, making more of a nuisance of himself with each appearance, apparently not realizing that the occasion called for a classier act."

Alan Sepinwall of the New Jersey Star-Ledger is equally upset, not so much at the presentation but by the winners. Tim Goodman echoes his sentiment, "No Falco, no Gandolfini. Does anyone have a TV at the Emmy dumbassification of America factory? And can the TV industry stop this anger at HBO? Really, this isn't galling anymore, it's just sad and wrong."

The NY Times was more moderate in its analysis, but didn't exactly give Seacrest a glowing review. "Not that Mr. Seacrest... is unpleasant, but his presence didn’t exactly bring the evening up a notch." The Hollywood Reporter also took the middle ground, "Whatever shortcomings Seacrest or the telecast exhibited, the show did have some memorable moments, a modicum of humor and a lot of surprises."

There's no denying that FOX took a risk. Unfortunately for them, it appears that it backfired.

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