The TV Chick

The Oscars are more my type of Awards show (hey, we can all  have our guilty, non-TV pleasures, right?) but I enjoy the Golden Globes. The show is fun, and I like that they honor television and movies.

Take a look at the list of (most) Television nominees and my thoughts:

BEST TV SERIES – DRAMA

• Big Love
• Dexter
• House
• Mad Men
• True Blood

I think most of these are good choices. Noticeably absent however, is Lost.

BEST ACTOR – TV DRAMA SERIES

• Simon Baker, The Mentalist
• Michael C. Hall, Dexter
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Hugh Laurie, House
• Bill Paxton, Big Love

I support all these choices. They are all good leading men.

BEST ACTRESS – TV DRAMA SERIES

• Glenn Close, Damages
• January Jones, Mad Men
• Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Anna Paquin, True Blood
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

I adore Kyra Sedgwick, so I am happy to see her get a nod. Julianna Margulies has been wonderful in The Good Wife, so that nomination is well deserved. And Anna Paquin is just great in True Blood. Although where is Mariska Hargitay?

BEST COMEDY SERIES

• 30 Rock
• Entourage
• Glee
• Modern Family
• The Office

So, so, so, so, so glad Glee and Modern Family are on this list. Perhaps the 30 Rock era is done? Not that I have anything against the show, I am just so totally in love with Glee and Modern Family. I’m going to pick Glee to win by a narrow margin. The only series I would have liked to see up there is Parks and Recreation. They have had an amazing second season, and they deserve some recognition.

BEST ACTRESS – TV COMEDY

• Toni Collette, United States of Tara
• Courteney Cox, Cougar Town
• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Lea Michele, Glee

Lea Michele — for the win! I’m glad to see Cougartown represented there, and United States of Tara, but Lea Michele is unstoppable. I sense an Emmy nomination in her future.

BEST ACTOR – TV COMEDY

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Steve Carell, The Office
• David Duchovny, Californication
• Thomas Jane, Hung
• Matthew Morrison, Glee

I am so excited for Glee! I want to pick Matthew Morrison to win, but he is in a category with Steve Carell and Alec Baldwin, so I say it’s anyone’s game.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS- SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE

• Jane Adams, Hung
• Rose Byrne, Damages
• Jane Lynch, Glee
• Janet McTeer, Into the Storm
• Chloe Sevigny, Big Love

The nominees are truly wonderful. But if the Hollywood Foreign Press doesn’t honor Jane Lynch for her comedic genius, I’m pretty sure I may swear off the show next year. (Who am I kidding, I’d never do that–but I am clearly rooting for Lynch here)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE

• Michael Emerson, Lost
• Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
• William Hurt, Damages
• John Lithgow, Dexter

My heart wants Neil Patrick Harris to win. I absolutely adore How I Met Your Mother. However, John Lithgow is amazing on Dexter. We shall see!

Overall thoughts: I have been writing about Glee since Day 1. It feels so great to see it honored at the Golden Globes. Lea Michele and Jane Lynch are so incredibly talented (as is Matthew Morrison), and I can’t wait to see them recognized. Also, if Lea wanted to sing Don’t Rain On My Parade, I would have no objections. Modern Family has been one of my favorite comedies since the pilot. I wish it were nominated for more than just Best Comedy Series, but I’ll take it. Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell will get their nominations one day. I think that overall, I like most of the nominations. I think Ricky Gervais will make it an interesting night, and I can’t wait to see who wins. (But a preliminary congratulations to Lea Michele…)

Last night’s How I Met Your Mother, entitled The Playbook, centered around Barney’s antics after his breakup with Robin. Any episode that centers around Barney Stinson, has me hooked from the beginning. I’ve said before that I think he is one of the greatest characters on television (if not the greatest), and this episode truly featured him in the best way. Barney used The Playbook, which contained ridiculous ways of picking up girls, to well, you guessed it. It all started when Barney picked up a girl that was supposed to go out with Ted (Lily was setting them up). He used the “play” entitled Lorenzo Von Matterhorn, where he creates an internet celebrity persona and then gets the girl to look up his fake news stories and website, thus winning her over with his “celebrity.” Some other favorites were the “SNASA:” convincing a girl he was a part of “Secret NASA,” and he’s been to the smoon (secret moon), “The Ted Mosby:” where he goes up to a girl with a wedding ring and says he’s been left at the altar, the “Mrs. Stinsfire,” where he dresses up like Mrs. Doubtfire and becomes a house mother to a sorority, and the “He’s Not Coming,” where he goes to the top of the Empire State Building and says “He’s not coming,” to every girl until one actually believes him and seeks his comfort. While all of this playbook greatness is going on, Lily is trying to take away Barney’s playbook, because she thinks he can’t be up to his old ways anymore after his relationship with Robin. Meanwhile, Ted and Marshall pick on Robin, saying now that she’s not interested in a relationship and just “focused on her career,” she will be married in no time.

This episode may not have had a ton to forward the plot along, or find out who the mother is (but really, that may not really happen until the last episode), but The Playbook was pure brilliance. As HIMYM tends to do, I assume this will actually come out in book form sometime soon. The writers are just so creative and brilliant. The best play however, was not mentioned above, it was the final play, entitled The Scuba Diver. Barney had ripped this play out of The Playbook so the gang couldn’t read it. Ultimately it ended up that he planned/knew about the entire thing: that Lily stole the playbook, that she set the Empire State Building girl up, that she would try to interrupt the Scuba Diver “play” and that in the end, he would get the girl by voicing his non-existent insecurities. Basically, Barney Stinson is, and will forever remain, the player, and not the played.

I would have liked to see more Marshall in this episode, but I really love the way Barney has become such a strong character. Every episode, he truly pushes the boundaries, and it’s always hilarious. I still question whether Barney and Robin should have stayed together (although I feel like maybe another hookup is in their future), but I understand that the creative team needs Barney to stay true to himself. Eventually the player will settle down, but not quite yet…because we still need many more playbooks, bro codes, and lemon laws…you son of a beetch.

How I Met Your Mother airs on Monday nights at 8 pm on CBS.

The season premiere of How I Met Your Mother started off on such a strong note, I was hoping the 2nd episode could keep up the momentum. Like always, this show did not disappoint.

I was thrilled when the premiere of How I Met Your Mother’s 5th season came in the mail. I think Barney Stinson (NPH, you are amazing!) is one of the best characters on television, but the entire cast is just incredible. One thing that makes this show unique is that I can’t think of a bad episode. It is always funny, always heartwarming, and I am never disappointed.

The season premiere (titled Definitions) centers around Barney and Robin defining their relationship. When we last left them they were well…making out. And when we join them again they are still making out. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the premiere was great. Ted becomes a professor of architecture at Columbia! And I love Barney with Robin (even though I never thought I would say that). I love that the gang is back at MacLarens again. The only thing I hate is waiting a week in between episodes.

HIMYM premieres tonight at 8 pm on CBS. It’s going to be legend…wait for it…(it’s at a new time) dary!

Emmy night is finally upon us! I love the Oscars, and all awards shows, but the Emmys are where TV gets to shine. And for TV addicts like me, it’s a pretty incredible night. However, there is one thing that makes tonight’s Emmy awards even more exciting. Three words: Neil Patrick Harris. I’m excited to see him completely dominate this awards show. There is even going to be a Dr. Horrible-themed performance!

I know I previously made some Emmy nomination predictions, so today I’m going to make some Emmy winner predictions. Feel free to weigh in as well.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Big Love
Breaking Bad
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men X

OUTSTANDING COMEDY
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
How I Met Your Mother X
The Office
30 Rock
Weeds

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin “30 Rock” X
Steve Carell “The Office”
Jemaine Clement “Flight of the Conchords”
Jim Parsons “The Big Bang Theory”
Tony Shalhoub “Monk”
Charlie Sheen “Two and a Half Men”

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Simon Baker “The Mentalist”
Gabriel Byrne “In Treatment” X
Bryan Cranston “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall “Dexter”
Jon Hamm “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie “House”

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Christina Applegate “Samantha Who?”
Toni Collette “United States of Tara”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus “New Adventures of Old Christine”
Tina Fey “30 Rock” X
Mary-Louise Parker “Weeds”
Sarah Silverman “The Sarah Silverman Program”

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Glenn Close “Damages”
Sally Field “Brothers & Sisters”
Mariska Hargitay “Law & Order: SVU”
Holly Hunter “Saving Grace”
Elisabeth Moss “Mad Men” X
Kyra Sedgwick “The Closer”

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Cryer “Two and a Half Men”
Kevin Dillon “Entourage”
Neil Patrick Harris “How I Met Your Mother” X
Jack McBrayer “30 Rock”
Tracy Morgan “30 Rock”
Rainn Wilson “The Office”

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Christian Clemenson “Boston Legal”
Michael Emerson “Lost”
William Hurt “Damages”
Aaron Paul “Breaking Bad”
William Shatner “Boston Legal”
John Slattery “Mad Men” X

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth “Pushing Daisies”
Jane Krakowski “30 Rock”
Elizabeth Perkins “Weeds”
Amy Poehler “Saturday Night Live” X
Kristin Wiig “Saturday Night Live”
Vanessa Williams “Ugly Betty”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Rose Byrne “Damages”
Hope Davis “In Treatment”
Cherry Jones “24″
Sandra Oh “Grey’s Anatomy”
Dianne Wiest “In Treatment” X
Chandra Wilson “Grey’s Anatomy”

OUTSTANDING REALITY-COMPETITION TV PROGRAM
The Amazing Race X
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

There are a few categories that were extremely difficult for me to pick just one person. Lead Actor in a Comedy is such a strong field, so I went with Alec Baldwin who has won in previous years. Although I would love to see Steve Carell win too. Picking a winner in the Lead Actress in a Drama category was also very difficult. I love Mariska Hargitay and Kyra Sedgwick, but I just have a feeling Elisabeth Moss might win. As for the Supporting Actress in a Comedy category, I went with my heart. It is an extremely talented field of nominees, and I think anyone could take home the statue. In addition, the Emmy awards that have already been given out deserve a mention: Tina Fey for playing Sarah Palin on SNL, and Justin Timberlake for hosting SNL are two phenomenal winners. I’m excited for whatever tonight brings! The Emmy Awards are on CBS tonight starting at 8 pm. I will weigh in tomorrow with my post-Emmy thoughts as well.

Drama Series:

• Breaking Bad
• Big Love
• Lost
• Dexter
• Damages
• House

No real surprises here, good nominations all around.

Comedy Series:

• Entourage
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Office
• 30 Rock
• Weeds

Family Guy has been nominated before, but it’s a little strange to see it in a category with How I Met Your Mother. Flight of the Conchords is a nice surprise.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series:

• Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters)
• Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
• Glen Close (Damages)
• Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: SVU)
• Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
• Holly Hunter (Saving Grace)

My main girls are nominated again! Also, glad to see Holly Hunter up there for Saving Grace.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series:

• Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
• Michael C Hall (Dexter)
• Hugh Laurie (House)
• Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment)
• Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
• Simon Baker (The Mentalist)

I had hoped for a 2 year in a row Gabriel Byrne nomination and I got it! Here’s to hoping he wins, but there is definitely some stiff competition.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:

• Julia-Louis Dreyfuss (The New Adventures of Old Christine)
• Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?)
• Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program)
• Tina Fey (3o Rock)
• Tony Collette (United States of Tara)
• Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds)

This category has some much-deserving funny ladies. Sarah Silverman is maybe the most surprising, but very well deserved. I’d love to see her or Toni Collette pull out a win!

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:

• Jermaine Clement (Flight of The Conchords)
• Tony Shalhoub (Monk)
• Steve Carell (The Office)
• Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
• Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)
• Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)

All very funny men…my guess would be Jim Parsons takes home the statue. He was so cute when Chandra Wilson announced his nomination.

Made for TV Movie:

• Coco Chanel
• Grey Gardens
• Into the Storm
• Prayers For Bobby
• Taking Chance

Grey Gardens! Also, Prayers For Bobby was pretty great, so I’m happy to see it nominated.

Lead Actress/Miniseries:

• Shirley MacLaine (Coco Chanel)
• Drew Barrymore (Grey Gardens)
• Jessica Lange (Grey Gardens)
• Sigourney Weaver (Prayers For Bobby)
• Chandra Wilson (Accidental Friendship)

It’s nice to see some great, seasoned actresses in this category.

Lead Actor/Miniseries:

• Kevin Kline (Cyrano de Bergerac: Great Performances)
• Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm)
• Sir Ian McKellan (King Lear: Great Performances)
• Kevin Bacon (Taking Chance)
• Kiefer Sutherland (24: redemption)
• Kevin Brannagh (Wallander: One Step Behind)

Along the same lines, some incredibly actors in this category too!

Reality Competition Program:

• Amazing Race
• American Idol
• Dancing With The Stars
• Project Runway
• Top Chef

It’s nice to see the Bravo shows represented…I am pulling for one of those to win!

Outstanding Variety, Music, Comedy Series:

• Colbert Report
• The Daily Show
• Late Show with David Letterman
• Real Time with Bill Maher
• Saturday Night Live

Solid choices (pretty much the same as every year).

No supporting categories announced live, which is a little surprising, but here are more categories worth discussing:

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:

• Tracy Morgan (30 Rock)
• Jack McBrayer (30 Rock)
• Kevin Dillon (Entourage)
• Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
• Rainn Wilson (The Office)
• Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)

While I am thrilled for Neil Patrick Harris, I think he should have been nominated in the Lead Actor category. I’m obviously hoping he wins, because Barney Stinson is one of the best things to happen to television, but who knows. Jack McBrayer gets a very deserving nomination here as well…very happy for him.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:

• Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
• Kristen Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies)
• Kristen Wiig (SNL), Amy Poehler (SNL)
• Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty)
• Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds)

I am thrilled to see two ladies from SNL nominated (I totally called Amy Poehler’s nomination). However, I’m sad that Jenna Fischer didn’t get a nod. There’s always next year!

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:

• Cherry Jones (24)
• Rose Byrne (Damages)
• Sandra Oh (Greys Anatomy)
• Chandra Wilson (Greys Anatomy)
• Dianne Wiest (In Treatment)
• Hope Davis (In Treatment)

Dianne Wiest and Hope Davis were phenomenal on In Treatment…so here’s to hoping one of them wins (get it, hoping?)

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series:

• Jon Hamm (30 Rock)
• Steve Martin (30 Rock)
• Alan Alda (30 Rock)
• Beau Bridges (Desperate Housewives)
• Justin Timberlake (SNL)

All of these actors are great, but I am most excited to see Justin Timberlake nominated. He is one of the best SNL hosts out there, and I’m glad to see him recognized.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series:

• Jennifer Aniston (3o Rock)
• Elaine Stritch (30 Rock)
• Gena Rowlands (Monk)
• Betty White (My Name is Earl)
• Tina Fey (SNL-Presidential Bash 2008)
• Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory)

I totally called it. Apparently, I was not out in left field when suggesting Tina Fey needed to be recognized somehow for her Sarah Palin performances. Way to go, TV Academy, you did well!

So overall, most nominations weren’t surprising, but there were a few good (and not so good ones). I was really excited to see Dr. Horrible’s Sing A Long Blog nominated as well as Motherlover (SNL–sequel to Dick In A Box). I look forward to Emmy night!

So in the spirit of TV Squad’s Emmy wish list, I thought I’d post some thoughts of my own. I will be making a big post tomorrow (possibly live-blogging, or close to it) about the nominees, but I thought I’d list some hopes and wishes for tomorrow.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Jenna Fischer is one of my choices. She had a great season on The Office, and she really deserves a nod. The Jim/Pam moments this season were amazing.

But, I would love to see Amy Poehler get a nomination. Last year, she was nominated–which was a first for Saturday Night Live–and I think she deserves to be recognized again. She may have only been there for half a season, but lest we forget this…

Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program: Now this choice might seem a little out in left field. But, I think Tina Fey (for SNL) should be nominated in this category. She wouldn’t qualify for the Supporting Actress category for Saturday Night Live, because she wasn’t technically a part of the cast. However, her performances as Sarah Palin were absolutely brilliant. And I think the Academy should recognize this in some way. I know she will probably get a nomination for 30 Rock, which is well deserved, but I think Sarah Palin was her real niche this year.

Lead Actress in a Drama: I would like to see my main girls Kyra Sedgwick and Mariska Hargitay get nominated, and from what I’ve seen in the past, they are pretty much locked in. But, usually someone else comes and takes the award away from these deserving leading ladies.

Lead Actor in a Drama: In Treatment is a wonderful show, and I want to see Gabriel Byrne get nominated in this category for playing Dr. Paul Weston. In fact, I’d love to see all the cast members nominated in their relative categories.

Lead Actor in a Comedy: Neil Patrick Harris is one of the best actors out there and not to mention hilarious. Wouldn’t it be great to finally see him get his due while also doubling as a host on the same night? I am crossing my fingers for a legen…wait for it…dary night.

Outstanding Made For Television Movie: Grey Gardens. I’m calling it right now. Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange were quirky and fantastic.

In terms of shows in general, of course I want The Office to get nominated, as well as How I Met Your Mother, In Treatment and 30 Rock. I think it was a great year for television, and I look forward to hearing who the nominees are bright and early tomorrow morning.