The 2011 Emmys

As a bona-fide movie nerd, it surprises me to say that for the past decade or so, television has completely surpassed film in terms of quality output. The reasons why I think this is I'll save for a separate post. For now, here's a list of this year's Emmy nominees and, in red, who I think should win (and why):

Outstanding Comedy Series
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"
"Parks And Recreation""30 Rock"
I love "The Office" and "Parks & Rec", and "Glee" has some great moments (though to be honest, I tune in purely for the musical numbers), but MF is the best thing here. However, the fact is that "Louie" is not only the best comedy show on television right now, it is also one of the best shows of any genre on TV right now and one of the best comedy shows of all time.

Outstanding Drama Series
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Dexter"
"Friday Night Lights"
"Game Of Thrones"
"The Good Wife"
"Mad Men"

FNL and GoT are two of my favorite shows of all time, but they still pale in comparison to the brilliance that is MM. In fact, this season was the best yet.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
"The Big Bang Theory" - Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper
"The Big Bang Theory" - Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter
"Episodes" - Matt LeBlanc as Matt LeBlanc
"Louie" -Louis C.K. as Louie
"The Office" - Steve Carell as Michael Scott
"30 Rock" - Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy

No contest. Louis C.K. is masterful playing an at once funny, tragic, truthful hero/everyman.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
"Boardwalk Empire" - Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson
"Dexter" - Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
"Friday Night Lights" - Kyle Chandler as Coach Eric Taylor
"House" - Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House
"Justified" - Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens
"Mad Men" - Jon Hamm as Don Draper

This was a tough one. I think Kyle Chandler, Jon Hamm and Timothy Olyphant are all equally brilliant, but I had to pick one. All I can say is that they're lucky this most recent season of Breaking Bad was too late to qualify, otherwise Bryan Cranston would have (quite rightly) wiped the floor with all of them.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie
"Carlos" - Edgar Ramirez as Carlos
"The Kennedys" - Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy
"The Kennedys" - Barry Pepper as Bobby Kennedy
"Luther - Idris Elba as John Luther
"Thurgood" - Laurence Fishburne as Thurgood Marshall
"Too Big To Fail" - William Hurt as Henry 'Hank' Paulson

Tbh, have only seen some of "The Kennedys", "Too Big to Fail", and some bits of "Luther" (I know what you're thinking: how could I, of all people, NOT have seen "Carlos" yet, right?). However, having recently watched the excellent documentary about the financial crisis, "Inside Job", I can tell you that Hurt nailed it.


Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

"The Big C" - Laura Linney as Cathy Jamison

"Mike & Molly" - Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn

"Nurse Jackie" - Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton

"Parks And Recreation" - Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope

"Raising Hope" - Martha Plimpton as Virginia Chance

"30 Rock" - Tina Fey as Liz Lemon

Amy Poehler is just consistently brilliant in this, making an annoying character supremely likeable.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

"Friday Night Lights" - Connie Britton as Tami Taylor

"The Good Wife" - Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick

"Harry's Law" - Kathy Bates as Harriet "Harry" Korn

"The Killing" - Mireille Enos as Sarah Linden

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" - Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson

"Mad Men" - Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson

Mireille Enos was awesome and would be my pick any other year and I love Elisabeth Moss in MM, but Connie Britton is brilliance incarnate in FNL.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie

"Cinema Verite" - Diane Lane as Patricia Loud

"Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)" - Elizabeth McGovern as Cora, Countess of Grantham

"Mildred Pierce" - Kate Winslet as Mildred Pierce

"Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story" - Taraji P. Henson as Tiffany Rubin

"Upstairs Downstairs (Masterpiece)" - Jean Marsh as Rose Buck

Saw most of these and Winslet was by far the best.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

"Glee" - Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel

"Modern Family" - Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell

"Modern Family" - Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett

"Modern Family" - Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker

"Modern Family" - Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy

"Two And A Half Men" - Jon Cryer as Alan Harper

It may be obvious, but Stonestreet steals literally every scene he's in.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

"Game Of Thrones" - Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

"The Good Wife" - Josh Charles as Will Gardner

"The Good Wife" - Alan Cumming as Eli Gold

"Justified" - Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder

"Mad Men" - John Slattery as Roger Sterling

"Men Of A Certain Age" - Andre Braugher as Owen

If there was any justice, Walton Goggins would've won already for both "The Shield" and "Justified". John Slattery put in his best work on MM yet, this season, but Dinklage took incredible acting to another level. Of course, it helped that he had the best-written character, but still...come ON now...no effing contest

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie

"The Kennedys" - Tom Wilkinson as Joe Kennedy

"Mildred Pierce" - Guy Pearce as Monty Beragon

"Mildred Pierce" - Brian F. O'Byrne as Bert Pierce

"Too Big To Fail" - Paul Giamatti as Ben Bernanke

"Too Big To Fail" - James Woods as Richard Fuld

Seen all of these and Woods was at his hyper, machiavellian best in TBtF.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

"Glee" - Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester

"Hot In Cleveland" - Betty White as Elka Ostrosky

"Modern Family" - Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy

"Modern Family" - Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett

"Saturday Night Live" - Kristen Wiig as Various Characters

"30 Rock" - Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney

I love Jane Lynch so much and it would always be between her and Vergara. But Sofia deserves some recognition for an amazingly-perfect comedic performance.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

"Boardwalk Empire" - Kelly Macdonald as Margaret Schroeder

"The Good Wife" - Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma

"The Good Wife" - Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart

"Justified" - Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett

"The Killing" - Michelle Forbes as Mitch Larsen

"Mad Men" - Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris

I love Christina Hendricks in MM, but if anyone other than Margo Martindale wins for what I consider to be one of the all-time greatest performances by an actor in a TV show ever, someone will need to be stabbed.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

"Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)" - Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham

"Mildred Pierce" - Evan Rachel Wood as Veda Pierce

"Mildred Pierce" - Melissa Leo as Lucy Gessler

"Mildred Pierce" - Mare Winningham as Ida

"Upstairs Downstairs (Masterpiece)" - Eileen Atkins as Lady Maud Holland

Though she was awesome, Mare Winningham was barely onscreen in MP, meaning that Dame Maggie should get the prize.

Outstanding Miniseries Or Movie
"Cinema Verite"
"Downton Abbey"
"The Kennedys"
"Mildred Pierce"
"The Pillars Of The Earth""Too Big To Fail"
I loved MP so much, but Downton Abbey was and is a modern masterpiece. New season begins tomorrow night...eeeeeeee!! *squeals like a girl*

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series

"The Colbert Report"

"Conan"

"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart"

"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"

"Real Time With Bill Maher"

"Saturday Night Live"

I love ALL of these (yes, even SNL), but "Real Time..." is the smartest, funniest and most informative show on TV. Kudos to Bill for having Dems and Reps consistently on the panel/as guests.