Emmy Awards Sunday, August 29, 2010: Sr. Rose votes!

As with most award programs, the Emmy Awards were established in 1949 by the Academy for Television Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles  as part of a public relations program.  The Emmy statue is a winged woman to represent art holding an atom that refers to science.

The 62^nd Prime Time Emmy Awards will be held on Sunday, August 29, hosted by NBC’s Late Night comedian Jimmy Fallon from the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. For the first time, the awards will be broadcast simultaneously across time zones so there will be no lag to correct and language or wardrobe gaffs.

I watch a fair amount of television as a reviewer and I genuinely like television, though not all programming rises to the top of my must see list.

Here are my choices for 2010 Emmys in major categories and why:

Comedy Series:  this is easy for me: Glee. I am a complete Gleek. Catholics In Media gave the show its television prize this year  for its  heart, humanity, and humor. The show is populated by characters from the Gospels, therefore, all of us quirky people can find someone, or some theme with which to identify.

Outstanding Drama: My favorite new show from this season remains The Good Wife. The writers have created a role for Juliana Margulies profound talents  as the wife of a jailed politician and mother of two young teens. But what is a good wife? Subtle and rewarding drama; this good wife is a woman we would be proud to know.

Outstanding Made for Television Movie:  It is between Georgia O’Keefe, the artist, and Temple Grandin, the autistic  savant , scientist, author and professor, that created humane and healthy ways to process livestock into the food supply.  Claire Danes was exceptional as Dr. Grandin.

Outstanding Miniseries:  The Pacific will probably win, but my vote is for Return to Cranford. The Pacific was about war, and told the story well enough, but  endless battle scenes over several weeks do not a great miniseries make.  Costume dramas by the British and PBS are consistently good.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:  A very crowded field. Jim Parsons in The Big Bang theory is one of the most genuinely funny people to come along in ages; the show itself is laugh-out-loud funny. After all, nerds are people, too.  But I also like Matthew Morrison for his role as the glee club teacher in the campy Glee, so Morrison it is.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Hands down (or off), Michael C. Hall for Dexter.  It’s creepy, violent, dark, deep where morality is the key character. I do not understand the attraction to the formulaic sports family drama Friday Night Lights, which I consider to be rather  unimaginative.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:  Because I am a devoted Gleek, I vote for Lea Michele in Glee.  But Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie is excellent. Very dark humor, but deeply human in a way that touches the spiritual. Edie Falco can play a vulnerable and flawed human train wreck in ways that demand hope that people can change.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: this is really tough and I would be happy if any of these women would win, with the exception of  Connie Britton. She’s a fine actress, it’s just that Friday Night Lights is a poor vehicle for her talents. If I were a  voting member of the Academy, I’d give it to Juliana Margulies in The Good Wife.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: Crowded field, tough call. For reasons noted above, Claire Danes  as Temple Grandin.  Phenomenal interpretation of a  gifted woman who surprised everyone.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Gleeks rule: Chris Colfer as Kurt in Glee. He is the young man who must tell his father what he already knows,  that he is gay.  The episode where they reconcile and embrace one another for who they are is one of the most moving of the season.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Terry O’Quinn in Lost. His intelligent and nuanced character carried the series demonstrating that supporting actors are as necessary as the headliners. It takes a village, though here it lost one – or did it?

Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Movie:  Michael Gambon as the father in yet another rendition of Jane Austin’s Emma.  Great ensemble cast.

Outstanding Supporting actress in a Comedy Series:  Modern Family has a lot of nominations, but as a card-carrying Gleek, I vote for Jane Lynch as the outrageous  and devious Sue Sylvester in Glee.  She plays the villain, but even villains have hearts.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:  How to choose? This is a category filled with terrific actresses who gave consistently good performances. Archie Panjabi in The Good Wife. Truly, any of these ladies deserve the honor.  Rose Byrne as Ellen in Damages would be my next preference. The moral vicissitudes of Damages are more complex than The Good Wife, and Rose is at the center in Damages. But I like The Good Wife; the characters in Damages, not so much. Though they are eminently watchable.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: I really did not like HBO’s you Don’t Know Jack about Jack Kevorkian, though culturally I suppose one could make a case for it as being important as a way to try and grasp Dr. Death and his influence on our culture, so sorry Susan.  I am going to hope (and guess) that either Catherine O’Hara or  Julia Ormond take home an Emmy for their roles in Temple Grandin.

Outstanding Music, Variety or Comedy Series:  My sympathy vote goes to Conan O’Brien because of the way he was treated when NBC pushed him out of the Tonight Show slot to bring back Jay Leno.  But I am going to go with  The Colbert Report because Stephen Colbert is incisive, smart, and funny in ways that highlight truth. Sure, the same could be said of Jon Stewart, but I really like The Colbert Report.

Outstanding Reality Competition Show: The sisters in my community put me on to Project Runway, my younger sister made me watch Top Chef when I was visiting, I cannot stand The Amazing Race because I lived in New York for too long,  American Idol is getting boring (and I have really supported this show!), so this leaves me with Dancing with the Stars, which I really like.  In terms of art and creativity, however, I am going to vote for Project Runway (and hope that next year someone will nominate So You Think You Can Dance.)

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