BEST COMEDY
30 Rock
Chuck
How I Met Your Mother
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Pushing Daisies
Scrubs*
Each of these shows is reliably funnier than, say, Two and a Half Men or Entourage, but this year, Scrubs bounced back from a couple weak seasons to charm me with the same quirky humor and great character relationships that have sucked me in so far. I laughed, I cried, I felt better about the world and so grateful to ABC for rescuing this gem.
Lead Actress: COMEDY
Tina Fey, 30 Rock*
Jenna Fisher, The Office
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies
Yvonne Strahovski, Chuck
Though Friel and Strahovski both completely rule and Jenna Fisher is one of the only things making The Office bearable, no one beats Tina Fey. You hear that, Miley Cyrus? NO ONE.
Lead Actor: COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock*
Zach Braff, Scrubs
Zachary Levi, Chuck
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies*
Is it really wrong for me to want to give away two awards here? Baldwin probably deserves it just for "The Generalissimo", but Pace gave a solidly impressive performance throughout the season and I want to see him recognized!
Supporting Actress: COMEDY
Kristen Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Swoosie Kurtz, Pushing Daisies*
Judy Reyes, Scrubs
Cobie Smulders, How I Met Your Mother
She may not be the most obvious comedic genius of the bunch, but would Pushing Daisies be the same without vodka-swigging adultress Lily? No, nor would the character come alive without her dry wit.
Supporting Actor: COMEDY
Adam Baldwin, Chuck
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother*
John Krasinski, The Office
Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies
Jason Segel, How I Met Your Mother
Though a big part of me wants to award Adam Baldwin's facial expressions alone, I have to root for NPH, largely on the grounds that he's most likely to usurp Jeremy Piven, who doesn't even deserve a nomination, much less another win.
Writing for COMEDY
Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts "Kerplunk" Pushing Daisies
Jack Burditt "The Ones" 30 Rock*
Tina Fey "The Bubble" 30 Rock
Chris Harris "The Front Porch" How I Met Your Mother
Bill Lawrence "My Finale" Scrubs
Even Tina Fey, who I of course love, admitted last year that Jack Burditt should have won (for "Rosemary's Baby"), and once again, dude has blown my mind, this time with possibly the most rapid fire jokes the series has seen.
BEST DRAMA
Battlestar Galactica
Fringe
Gossip Girl
Grey's Anatomy
Lost*
Mad Men
This one is tough, but for doing things I have never seen and never thought I would see, Lost has the edge. Yeah, a couple episodes were confusing and mediocre, but overall there was abundant brilliance with time travel, character development, and omfg what will the do next? advancement of the series mythology.
Lead Actress: Drama
January Jones, Mad Men*
Evangeline Lilly, Lost
Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Leighton Meester, Gossip Girl
Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy
This is the one category where I feel each woman is really a winner. Meester gave us Blair Waldorf's vulnerable side while still keeping us excited to watch, Pompeo took Meredith from dark and twisty to strong and self-realized, Lilly raised and lost a son, McDonnell battled cancer, and Moss gave by far the most impressive monologue of the bunch. But Jones made season 2 Betty's season, no longer weak and oblivious but a kick ass ice queen to be feared. Oh, and upon finding out she was pregnant, went out and boned Awesome from Chuck and then went home and ate fried chicken.
Lead Actor: DRAMA
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactica
This category is clearly a little depressing for me, since I can only muster two nominees and make no decision on a winner. Yeah, both Hamm and Olmos are undeniably awesome, but neither had his best season this year. Really, all I want is for the Academy to ignore James Spader. Please?
Supporting Actress: DRAMA
Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy
Tricia Helfer, Battlestar Galactica
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost************************************
Amanda Seyfried, Big Love
Again, a category in which they all gave devastatingly great performances (apparently, this is just a great year for women in dramas). Two lost babies, one had serious man troubles, and one was impressive enough to make me overlook the fact that I totally hate her. Alas, all pale in comparison to Elizabeth Mitchell, whose performance this season of Lost solidified her in my mind as by far the greatest actress on television today. Look no further than her face when Amy asks Juliet when she and "Jim" are going to have a baby. The clear longing for something she can't have and desperate desire to hide it with a smile-and that's just within a split second. She does stuff like that the entire time she's on screen, and my jaw just drops.
Supporting Actor: DRAMA
Josh Holloway, Lost*
T.R. Knight, Grey's Anatomy
John Noble, Fringe
John Slattery, Mad Men
I'm pretty sure even prior to this season, any Lost/Star Wars comparisons have declared Sawyer to be Han Solo, but it's never been so true until now. Particularly with "La Fleur" our once bad boy became an impressive action & romantic hero. Um, love <3
Writing for DRAMA
J.J. Abrams, "Pilot", Fringe
Michael Angeli, "Blood on the Scales", Battlestar Galactica
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, "The Incident", Lost*
Stacy McKee, "Elevator Love Letter", Grey's Anatomy
Ron Moore, "Daybreak", Battlestar Galactica
Elizabeth Sarnoff & Kyle Pennington, "La Fleur", Lost
Matthew Weiner, "Meditations in an Emergency", Mad Men
Another category in which I have to give props to someone I'm no fan of, but brilliant and fun as "La Fleur" is, it ain't no incident! I'm not sure I've ever seen another episode of television with better act breaks-no mean feat for a two-hour stint, and of course, most cliff-hangery ending EVER.
*Editor's note: I am a tool for initially forgetting Michael Angeli. If it's any consolation, I doubt the Academy will, since he's almost always nominated. Also, it should be known that I recognize the Fringe pilot (which apparently was JUST Abrams) because I read a few pages in class last spring and the action lines were beyond hilarious ("HIS FLESH LIQUIFYING-FUCKING MELTING").
