TV News and Reviews

There will be a lot of familiar faces at the Golden Globes this year, which in many cases, is fine with me. Here are the nominees for some of the top TV categories:

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
HOUSE (FOX)
IN TREATMENT (HBO)
MAD MEN (AMC)
TRUE BLOOD (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

SALLY FIELD - BROTHERS AND SISTERS
MARISKA HARGITAY - LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
JANUARY JONES - MAD MEN
ANNA PAQUIN - TRUE BLOOD
KYRA SEDGWICK - THE CLOSER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

GABRIEL BYRNE - IN TREATMENT
MICHAEL C. HALL - DEXTER
JON HAMM - MAD MEN
HUGH LAURIE - HOUSE
JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS - THE TUDORS

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 ROCK (NBC)
CALIFORNICATION (SHOWTIME)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
WEEDS (SHOWTIME)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE - SAMANTHA WHO?
AMERICA FERRERA - UGLY BETTY
TINA FEY - 30 ROCK
DEBRA MESSING - THE STARTER WIFE
MARY-LOUISE PARKER - WEEDS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

ALEC BALDWIN - 30 ROCK
STEVE CARELL - THE OFFICE
KEVIN CONNOLLY - ENTOURAGE
DAVID DUCHOVNY - CALIFORNICATION
TONY SHALHOUB - MONK

I notice that I’m not seeing those top-rated Nielsen shows on here…granted, not all of these nominated shows are airing at the moment, so the ratings might have reflected a few of these hits earlier in the year. I’m voting for Kyra Sedgwick to win, because she’s just fantastic in The Closer. That show was made for her, and she’s a joy to watch in every episode. Here she is after her 2007 win:

I admire Mariska Hargitay as well, though I don’t watch Law & Order: SVU like I used to. (A couple years back we were watching all three Law & Orders, plus reruns on TNT, and after awhile we just reached critical mass and couldn’t take anymore. SVU particularly went down a really dark road, drawing the police characters into heavy personal drama in addition to the violent and disturbing crimes each episode.)

The Golden Globes have always been more daring in their choices than the Emmys or Oscars, and it’s fun to see both a serial killer show and vampire saga in the drama category. Horror, sci-fi, and fantasy get notoriously overlooked by the  standard awards shows, so it’s good to see a little variety here. I still feel like 30 Rock is over-rated, and as much as I love Tina Fey, I don’t think she’s equal to America Ferrera or Mary-Louise Parker in this genre–and she would probably agree with me on that. The insane (and I mean that at a compliment) Alec Baldwin is always award-worthy and no doubt a large reason why the show has done as well as it has.

And just as an aside, I hope Colin Farrell or Brendan Gleeson wins for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. In Bruges was strange and twisted and darkly funny, and though it unfortunately lost its way at the end, both Farrell and Gleeson were brilliant in it. I might even have to give the edge to Farrell; it was a multi-layered performance of humor, sarcasm, bitterness, fear, vulnerability, and heartbreaking despair. Not an easy role to pull off, but he did it, and Gleeson was right there with him.

Visit the Golden Globes official site for the full list of nominations.

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