Since it’s unlikely that the Emmys will reverse themselves as per my suggestion last week, I thought it might be fun to evaluate the nominees in the drama categories in advance of the awards show on September 18. Are any of the nominees from the shows that I watch deserving of the honor? Are your favorites?
The nominees for Outstanding Guest Actor: Bruce Dern (Big Love), Beau Bridges (Brothers & Sisters), Michael J. Fox (The Good Wife), Paul McCrane (Harry’s Law), Jeremy Davies (Justified), and Robert Morse (Mad Men).
Dern played super-creepy father to Bill Henrickson, Frank Harlow. I don’t think Dern is really what’s meant by “guest” actor … nor do I think he’s deserving of the award. I never thought much of Frank as a character.
I said when Michael J. Fox first appeared as Louis Canning on The Good Wife that “The man shouldn’t win acting awards merely for persevering,” and I maintain that opinion. However, to our fortune Canning returned stronger and stronger … for a job expertly done Fox earned this one fair and square.
The nominees for Outstanding Guest Actress: Mary McDonnell (The Closer), Julia Stiles (Dexter), Loretta Devine (Grey’s Anatomy), Randee Heller (Man Men), Cara Buono (Mad Men), Joan Cusack (Shameless), and Alfre Woodard (True Blood).
I caught a glimpse of Julia Stiles during her stint on Dexter when I tried the show for my column. She never much impressed me as an actress before … and her Lumen Ann Pierce did nothing to change my opinion of her.
Loretta Devine’s Alzheimer’s story on Grey’s this past season was interesting, but was that due to Adele, or the drama it caused Meredith, Alex, and Derek? The latter for me … definitely.
Joan Cusack’s Sheila on Shameless was a tough person to enjoy. I spent most of the season disliking her, partially because she liked Frank and partially due to her proclivities. But there was a different side to her when she started connecting with the Gallagher kids … and when she overcame her fears to go after Liam she made a powerful statement. But Emmy worthy?
Here I have to fly blind … I’m going with conventional buzz and giving it to Mary McDonnell. There aren’t a lot of people who can go toe-to-toe with Kyra Sedgwick and come out with the amount of accolades that McDonnell’s received. There’s got to be a reason for that.
The nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actor: Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Josh Charles (The Good Wife), Alan Cumming (The Good Wife), Walton Goggins (Justified), John Slattery (Mad Men), and Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age).
Josh Charles definitely came into his own this season on The Good Wife, but was his performance award worthy? Put it this way: I’m shocked by the nomination. On the other hand, Alan Cumming did a fantastic job in season two. I wasn’t a fan in the beginning, but now I can’t imagine the series without him. No matter how they do it, Eli must stay. And he’s a contender here.
I’m a huge John Slattery fan, but I don’t watch Mad Men, so all I can say about his performance is that, in the first half of season one — which I tried — he was given far too little to do. I hope his role has in fact expanded enough to have caught the eye of the nominating committee, but no matter what kind of work he’s doing it’s been bested.
By whom? Andre Braugher. Owen’s quiet suffering in season one of Men of a Certain Age boiled over perfectly in season two as he took over the dealership from his father and began to impose his own will and vision on it. And this should be no consolation prize, either; Braugher earned this with talent.
The nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress: Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), Christine Baranski (The Good Wife), Margo Martindale (Justified), Michelle Forbes (The Killing), and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).
I don’t get the raves for Kelly Macdonald on Boardwalk Empire. Sure she was good, no question about it, but great? Did she hold her own alongside Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Michael Shannon? I certainly didn’t think so.
Nominations for Archie Panjabi and Christine Baranski are head-scratchers. I think Panjabi’s Kalinda was fantastic in season one of The Good Wife, but in season two she fell flat way too frequently. As for Baranski … I’ve never enjoyed Diane’s character. I still wish Will and Bond had succeeded in booting her out. Looks like this one’s going to go to one of the three actresses whose performances I missed.
The nominees for Outstanding Actress: Kathy Bates (Harry’s Law), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Mireille Enos (The Killing), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men).
I’m kind of surprised at the selections in this category. Last season Kathy Bates managed to flop not only as Jo on The Office, but also as the titular Harry on Harry’s Law. An Emmy nomination? Huh?
I enjoyed Law & Order: SVU back when I watched it, and Mariska Hargitay is great fun, but top-shelf acting was never a skill of hers. I’m impressed by the repeat nominations, but I’ve never fully understood them.
Julianna Margulies is extremely solid on The Good Wife, but Alicia was not a main character on the show for most of the second season. I’m not suggesting that she’s in the wrong category, just that she didn’t turn in a year to honor.
Like I said above, I don’t watch Mad Men. But my wife does, and I’ve caught enough to know that, as heretical as this may sound, Elisabeth Moss is not a best actress. She could be good, she could be entertaining … but she does not exemplify the best a year in television has to offer.
Here I’m going to rely on the voices of others … I could never get into the show, but I know that Connie Britton turned in one hell of a performance on Friday Night Lights year after year. As a cumulative award — ala Lord of the Rings 3 at the Oscars — or standalone for her performance in the show’s final season, this one belongs to Britton.
The nominees for Outstanding Actor: Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House), and Timothy Olyphant (Justified). Although I don’t watch most of these shows, I actually have what to say about all of the nominees.
I feel like I haven’t seen enough of Connie Britton to call her best actress on my own evaluation, but I’ve seen enough of Friday Night Lights to say that Kyle Chandler does not deserve the same recognition. He’s good, but whether it’s the competition or something else, year after year there are a number of people who outshine him.
Michael C. Hall’s Dexter is tough. I can accept how exceptional people view Hall, but my problem with his performance — in the handful of episodes I’ve seen — is that because Dexter’s meant to be emotionless he’s kind of stiff. While I realize that, if that’s a characteristic of Dexter’s then Hall is spot-on, to me he’s lacking a dimension.
There’s plenty of controversy over the kind of man Jon Hamm’s Don Draper is on Mad Men, but one reason I got turned off by the show is that I found it boring. The other is that I didn’t find most of the characters to be interesting … Draper leads that pack.
Hugh Laurie for House? Is that a preselected box every year that’s un-editable? It’s been years since even huge fans of the show didn’t question Laurie’s regular inclusion on this list.
Justified is another show that I couldn’t get into but my wife watches. But I’ve seen enough to be able to form an opinion: Timothy Olyphant’s not there yet. He’s solid, don’t get me wrong, but he needs more time to fully become Raylan Givens before he’s an annual challenger for the honor.
On the other hand, Steve Buscemi slipped Nucky Thompson on like nobody’s business. Maybe it was his time on The Sopranos, or one of the other thousands of tough guy roles he’s played, but Buscemi makes Boardwalk Empire, and nobody did a better job in their role last season than he did. The Golden Globes got it right.
The nominees for Outstanding Drama: Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, and Mad Men.
This category is a gimme for Boardwalk Empire, but I think it’s Friday Night Lights that should hear its name called in September. As a cumulative body of work Friday Night Lights deserves the recognition of Hollywood, if even just for one night. I’m not saying it should have been winning awards all of these years, but it certainly didn’t deserve to be snubbed year after year. Let them walk out with their heads held high … Boardwalk Empire has time to collect tons of statuettes.
What do you think? Who should take home any/all of the seven drama Emmys up for grabs?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jul 21, 2011 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
I have a few disagreements.
I thought Kelly MacDonald carried Boardwalk Empire. A character that I didn’t quite see a use in at the beginning of the season became the main reason I was watching at the end. She was magnificent and added a lot of layers to that character. She is not the simple immigrant that she appears to be at first glance, not by a long shot.
Harry’s Law may not be an awards worthy show, but I thought Bates did a damned fine job on the show. I don’t find anything wrong with her nomination. There were probably others more deserving, but it’s not like she got nominated because she was really great in a big movie this year (*ahem* Melissa McCarthy *ahem*).
Elisabeth Moss is reason enough to tune in to Mad Men. This was her most impressive season yet, too. I would almost be surprised if she didn’t win.
As for drama. My heart says Game of Thrones (but the fact that a genre show got nominated at all is pretty stupendous), but I think it’s a toss up between Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. Boardwalk is new and probably the sexier pick, but Mad Men may have had its best season… how can it not win if season one, two, and three all brought home the award?
*POST AUTHOR*
I actually much preferred Margaret Schroeder as the innocent she began the series as. It was clear that she and Nucky would end up together, but I didn’t see her using crude methods of birth control and judging Nucky for who he was (at least not so soon) … I miss the Margaret who got stalked by creepy Nelson Van Alden.
I think it might just be a bias against Kathy Bates, but I saw two episodes of the show and I just wanted it all to stop. I can’t believe it was brought to us by David Kelley.
Elisabeth Moss is one of those people whose presence in Hollywood I find inexplicable, like Angelina Jolie or … well, maybe I’ve said too much already. I watched her through seven seasons of The West Wing and couldn’t believe that she landed another major role.
Best drama is a category I purposefully limited my comments on, because I only watch Boardwalk Empire. But, and this is an important but, I think it’s a monster hit that catapulted to the top of the drama category within its first hour. Whether or not another series did better I can’t say, but I do think that Boardwalk Empire earned itself recognition as best drama last season.
And I just have to … Mad Men’s so boring! :)
I will never claim that Mad Med is a fast paced show, but it’s still the best drama on TV if you ask me. (and you did)
What Bob said.//
I think fans of House have been questioning the integrity of the writing for some time now, but I don’t know many people who question Hugh Laurie’s chops. The show is not as good as it once was, but he is as good as he always was. If you ask me, he’s become a better actor over the past 7 years. The show doesn’t deserve a nomination, but Laurie does.
Agreed, I think Laurie has gotten better and better each season. I still have a lot of trust in the writers and I really enjoyed this last season. I was actually a fan of House and Cuddy b/c of the way House was able to grow while with her yet still remain and entertaining ass.
*POST AUTHOR*
jakesask and Debbie — Interesting. I’ve read a lot about how both the show and Laurie were sagging, and that last season’s psychiatric hospital plot line was the first shining moment for them both in a while. Is he like the All-Star who plays on the team that sets a record for futility?
Timothy Olyphant’s performance in Justified is the best I’ve seen in any drama this year, without question. It seems like you have little appreciation for Justified as a whole (which is why you didn’t discuss Margo Martindale, Jeremy Davies or Walton Goggins), and ignored the actual nuance of his performance in favour of shows you prefer.
*POST AUTHOR*
My wife is a fan of Olyphant’s performance as well. :)
It’s not so much that I’m ignoring or not appreciating Justified, it’s that I don’t watch it. My attempt here was to consider whether any of the nominated actors/shows that I do watch are deserving of Emmy gold … where I had what to say otherwise I did, but generally I couldn’t say much more about Justified than that it failed to catch my interest after three or four episodes so I passed on it.
nothing about SVU is “fun”. its a dark show.
Disagree.. In 911, Charisma an Undercover Hargitay was a amazing.
she has done some great work.
Even though she won it last year, no nomination for Kyra Sedgewick this time? Whyyyyyyy?
Especially since The Closer’s closing after this season.
kathy Bates is a fine actress, but her gig in Harry’s Law has not been her finest work.
Michael C. Hall is a bit stiff and lacks a dimension? Are you watching the same show we are? I’m just completely stupefied at this comment. I guess it takes all kinds to people this planet.