Johnny Simmons

You thought you’d gotten away from me? Nope, I know I haven’t completed my Emmy ballot which of course accounts for the snubs at last week’s nominee announcement. So, yes, I’m liable for those snubs in the drama category. Here’s my ballot, and yes I have United States of Tara in drama which makes me wonder feel even worse about the snub it got – a whopping zero nods. But, television’s so weird now. Sometimes True Blood comes off comedic. Ah, well.


OUTSTANDING WRITING
Nominees:
-Big Love / Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa for “Exorcism”
-Boardwalk Empire / Terrence Winter for “Pilot”
-Dexter / Wendy West for “Everything Is IlLumenatyed”
-The Good Wife / Keith Eisner for “Ham Sandwich”
-True Blood / Alan Ball for “I Got A Right to Sing the Blues”
-United States of Tara / Dave Finkel and Brett Baer for “The Good Parts”

This is a ridiculously strong line-up of nominees. Sometimes I do think the Emmy’s are a bit over infatuated with dramas but it’s been a good year for television dramas – these six shows in particular. I wasn’t sure about this choice of episode for The Good Wife, the main case was a bit of a sleeper but the episode is filled with brilliant beats especially Kalinda’s hearing. The show does do well with its writing. At its best True Blood is a ridiculous supernatural romp and I have a penchant for what Alan Ball does when he gets into the writer’s chair. It sort of functions as the middle episode of the season and it does what the show does best – each character gets their important moments as Sookie finally meets Russell. The episode where Lumen finally gets into the grit of Dexter's madness is excellently done, both dark and comedic and just a perfect point for Stiles to do fine work. The same goes for Big Love and its penultimate episode, that faceoff with Alby, the craziness with Nikki was all adeptly handled. Sometimes Boardwalk Empire got a little gratuitous during the season, but the pilot was beautifully written. No one can touch the United States of Tara series finale, though, absolutely perfect – just the good parts.
Runners-Up: Dexter for “The Big One” / Mad Men for “The Good Parts / The Good Wife for “Getting Off” / Big Love “When Mountains Meet Men” / Boardwalk Empire for “The Ivory Tower” / The Closer “Living Proof”

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING
Nominees:
-Big Love / Adam Davidson for “Exorcism”
-Boardwalk Empire / Martin Scorsese for “Pilot”
-Dexter / John Dahl for “Hop A Freighter”
-The Killing / Patty Jenkins for “Pilot”
-True Blood / Michael Lehman for “I Got A Right to Sing the Blues”
-United States of Tara / Adam Bernstein for “Bryce Will Play”

I love The Killing most for that atmosphere which envelopes the story at times and that depends on the directing. The pilot episode set the tone excellently for the episodes to come. The penultimate Big Love episode felt so short, even as the script dealt with so much issues. It was directed as more as a closer than the actual final episode. True Blood. The madness of Bryce was probably the darkest theme the show has covered and it was his offing (not literally) of Dr. Hatiras that depended on the superb direction of the show. Dexter and Boardwalk Empire top the list both of them keeping a close watch on the protagonists and amping up the suspense. I’m not even sure that Scorsese completely steamrolls Dahl, it’s a bit of a tie.
Runners-Up: Dexter for “The Big One” / Big Love for “When Mountains Meet Men” / Boardwalk Empire for “The Ivory Tower” / The Good Wife for “Getting Off” / The Closer for “Living Proof” / Mad Men for “The Suitcase”

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR
Nominees:
-Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empirefor “Pilot”
-John Corbett in United States of Tara for “The Electrifying and Magnanimous Return of Beverlamp”
-Michael C. Hall in Dexter for “Circle Us”
-John Hamm in Mad Men for “The Summer Man”
-Bill Paxton in Big Love for “When Mountains Meet Men”
-Michael Pitt in Boardwalk Empire for “The Ivory Tower”

I must admit that sometimes I underestimate Paxton and Hamm, the latter especially – but I just don’t care for Hamm. Still, they’re both doing fine work in shows with luminous women, and sometimes they get lost in the shuffle. Bill Hendrickson’s swan song depended on Paxton’s excellence and as little as I care for Don Draper Hamm did good work with his development this past season. I wish that Corbett could get half the notices that Paxton and Hamm get. True, Collette is fabulous on United States of Tara, but Corbett’s quiet intensity is not to be ignored and with the series’ end he’s stepped up and turned into a true lead actor (category submissions, be damned). Honestly, I don’t understand in what universe Buscemi is the lead actor on Boardwalk Empire and Pitt is supporting. The show is a tentative back and forth between the young and the old and the two are the leads – the show reaches some of its strongest beats when Nucky and Jimmy have their conversations. The first two episodes are priceless, and though Pitt wins in the showdown they’re both outstanding. But, it’s still Michael C. Hall that I look to when it comes to the lead actors. Year after year (for five years) he’s been turning in superb work on Dexter.

Runners-Up: Peter Krause in Parenthood; Stephen Moyer in True Blood; Matthew Rhys in Brothers and Sisters

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS
Nominees:
-Toni Collette in United States of Tara for “Bryce Will Play”
-Mireille Enos in The Killing for “Missing”
-Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife for “In Sickness”
-Elizabeth Moss in Mad Men for “The Suitcase”
-Kyra Sydgwick in The Closer for “Help Wanted”
-Jeanne Tripplehorn in Big Love for “A Seat at the Table”

Once again, this is a solid line-up and I sort of don’t know who to start with first. True, Sevigny is who I think of first when I turn to Big Love, but the journey towards the end was significant for Barb trying to find her way and Tripplehorn was beautiful watch, oftentimes upstaging Paxton but at her best when working opposite her sister wives. Margulies and Moss are the actors that might face-off for the Emmy, who knows? Margulies exudes a coldness that makes it difficult for me to love her, but it’s that same coldness she uses to her advantage when she finds out about her husband’s affair and Moss is just brilliant holding down “The Suitcase”. Enos is a true find on The Killing. Her sombreness amuses me, but she never overdoes. Still, it’s the brilliance of “Missing” where I find her most interesting. She never gets hysterical, and her work opposite Kinnaman is golden. But, it’s about Collette and Sedgwick for me. One battled the LAPD, the other her demons. It’s not quite a tie, because Sedgwick carries her show on her shoulder more than any actor I can think of, but they’re both excellent. Naturally, neither of the two earned Emmy nominations this year.
Runners-Up: Anna Pquin in True Blood / Lauren Graham in Parenthood / January Jones in Mad Men

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Nominees:
-Boardwalk Empire
-The Closer
-Dexter
-The Good Wife
-True Blood
-United States of Tara
All ten of the shows above and below are excellent, and they’ve all had fine seasons. Of the six above The Closer probably seems like an odd one out, but the show had an excellent season last year and even as it develops as a typical procedural it’s an excellent one. Boardwalk Empire is brilliant new show and yet it’s my fifth favourite of the nominees which goes to show how much goodness we're working with here. I don't know how to rank the top 4. United States of Tara has been almost pitch perfect in its final season, and True Blood thrilled me, humoured me and thrilled me in its third season. The Good Wife and Dexter both focus on protagonists trying to do good, some better than other - one has a killer supporting cast the other has a killer lead - literally. It probably comes down to those two at the end, and I refuse to choose. But, wouldn't a Dexter/Kalinda face-off be brilliant?
Runners-Up: The Killing / Big Love / Mad Men / Parenthood
     
Previously: Comedies: Part One, Comedies: Part Two, Dramas: Part One
           
What would your drama ballot have looked like?

...there's always a woman...so, we're on to the Lead Actress predictions. The field looks good, but it seems a bit simple predicting who Emmy is going to fall for. Ryan and I are back with more predictions....
             

Andrew: oooooh, oooooh before I go or forget...did you watch the preview for Smash?

Ryan: If by preview, you mean that long-ish trailer that NBC showed the TV crix a few weeks back... then yeah. If it's something new they released recently... no?

Andrew: I don't know. Saw it on you-tube (it's like 5 minutes long). Did you like it? I have a feeling it could seriously bomb, but I watched it like ten times.
                
Ryan: LOVED IT. Glee for adults... with brains.
           
Andrew: and by ten times, I mean 50.
            
Ryan: It's one of my favorite new fall show preview. Probably second to Awake. You should see that.

Andrew: I'll get on that. Are there any shows premiering this summer that I should keep an eye on?
Ryan: I honestly don't know. Only thing I can think of is Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Andrew: Cool.

Ryan: Oh and there's this new show, Wilfred, starring Elijah Wood. Heard it was supposed to be good.

Andrew: Ah, yeah - that I've got to check up on. (A/N: Reviews coming tonight.)

Ryan: I didn't mean to make that rhyme.

Andrew: Ha. Now I'm thinking of Pushing Daisies, I was watching "Girth" earlier, the Halloween episode where the narrator was rhyming.

Ryan: Aw. Miss that show. My DVDs are circulating around my friends so I can't immediately re-watch.
Andrew: Did you see the preview of KC in Good Christian Belles?

Ryan: Yeah. I don't know. I mean it could be okay, but doesn't feel like the type of show I'd be into.

Andrew: It seems a bit drab, but I shall watch for Kristin. So weird seeing her being mean.

Ryan: BTW I'm pretty sure I saw most of the new fall shows previews. I made that a priority a few weeks back. Yeah, I'd totally check it out for KC. Hope it surprises.
           
Who are you hoping is going to get a Best Actress nomination?                   

True Blood has such an expansive cast (and a principally male ensemble) that the actors have little time to make their mark. Kwanten and Trammell have been most effective for the past season. Watching Kwanten do his usual dance between melodrama and comedy continues to be interesting and Trammell has never been as interesting as he was this past season dealing with a family from hell. Kartheiser continues to be underrated on Mad Men but he’s been incredible in season 4. Pete can be arrogant without losing his humanity and Kartheiser makes his attempts to balance his work and family more than a repeat of Don’s issues. I’ve not been especially fond of Marshall this season, but Gilchrist has been phenomenal. Sure, he was good in the New York episodes and dealing with Lionel’s death but it’s the confrontation with Bryce that I remember most. Shannon reaches a new level of creepy on Boardwalk Empire when he gets religious fever and Eli Gould is, as always, untouchable.

Three season finales - The Killing, Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara, the latter of which is also a series finale. So many people keep talking about Game of Thrones and, who knows, maybe I will catch up with it at some time – but I don’t when.
           
The Killing: “Orpheus Descending”

It’s a bit difficult to get my thoughts in order as I write about the season finale for the show’s freshman season. It was mere happenstance that led me to Alan Spinewall’s site late last week – he’s not a fan of the show and after watching the season’s closer I couldn’t help but sidle over to see what he thought of it. Unsurprisingly, he loathed it. For me, The Killing continues to be a character study in vignettes as we are privy to only bits and pieces of characters’ lives. Thus, the possibility of Richmond legitimately being the murderer was 50/50. The hunt to prove his guilt was well established, though. Even as I wondered why some of the trails weren’t investigated two weeks ago, the show’s world makes sense of it happening now and everything right down to that tense phone call that Sarah received in the plane worked. And even as they revealed that Holder had tampered with evidence I was still willing to believe that Richmond was the killer nonetheless. It was that cliff-hanger of Holder’s apparent duplicity which left me agitated, not so much the lack of finding Rosie’s murderer. Publicity placement or no, The Killing holds my interest because of more than “who killed Rosie Larsen” – at least I tuned out of who killed her weeks ago. There was something vaguely off, but I’m not sure what. For example, as good as Sexton was it was so random having him in Ahmed's room and talking to his wife, even if the scene was excellently played. It has its moments of strangeness, but I’ve liked the first season (proof).
[B]


United States of Tara: “The Good Parts”
I did not shed a tear when the credits finally began rolling for the final episode of United States of Tara, not because the episode wasn’t every bit as emotional a closer as you’d expect from the Gregson’s but because the episode was as perfect a series’ finale as any fan of the show could have hoped for. Except for a few moments of Bryce at the beginning the episode featured Tara without any alters and it’s proof that Toni Collette’s Tara is the draw for the series – not the alters. More than Tara, though, the show is brilliant when it examines all the issues of Tara’s families – her states, her good parts and it’s so nice seeing the curtains closing on Kate, Marshall, Charmain and Max in such a fine fashion. Will Tara ever be cured? That blink-and-you’ll miss it glimpse of Tee, Alice and Buck in Max’s truck suggest otherwise. But, the episode wrapped it all up so well that even if it Tara’s life doesn’t develop to perfect we’re satisfied with the parts we got. The good parts.
[A-]
      
Nurse Jackie: “deaf blind tumour pee test”
Honestly, I can’t stand Jackie. Edie Falco is great in the role and I do love the show, but for a lead character I feel not the slightest bit of interest in the machinations of Jackie. The ending of the season hit us with a confession of an affair, not from Jackie but from Kevin and as Jackie tells him to pack his bags I’m wondering just how further out of control she’s going to spiral. Who knows? In other news Coop’s birthday/wedding came off without a bride, and it was difficult watching Facinelli deal with that. The ending with him and [ ] was nicely done. Gloria continues her tirade of being one ridiculous boss, and that ending was nicely played as she disposed of Jackie’s urine test. It’s been a good season, and the show continues to be well developed. It’s managed to make me understand it’s comedic roots and it boasts one of the finest supporting casts on the small screen (Best, Wever and Facinelli are particularly brilliant). I’m looking forward to see what comes next.
[B+]

        
Standout Performers
John Corbett in United States of Tara A-
Toni Collette in United States of Tara B+
Mireille Enos in The Killing B+
Rosemarie DeWitt in United States of Tara B+
Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie B+
Brian Sexton in The Killing B+
       
Anyone watched the closers for The Killing and Nurse Jackie? Any final thoughts on the glorious three year run of United States of Tara? What did you watch this past week?

No the title of this piece has nothing to do with Friends. I was planning on taking something a sabbatical from blogging, but then I remembered by weekly TV column. I’m still on my break, I just decided I’d drop in some random television rantings because a) Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara both offered up fine episodes this week and b) the Emmy’s are coming up and with the thirty odd shows I’ve followed for the last season I have to get my own personal Emmy list in order.
 
So, Bryce is continuing to be a little shit on United States of Tara, in a really bad way and as the show nears its end I now realise how much I will miss it. I still don’t like Marshall, but Gilcrhist was on fire this episode as was Corbett and it’s interesting seeing how the family is being affected by this. It’s interesting watching Charmain holding on to Tara when Neal is encouraging her to leave. Then, on Nurse Jackie Jackie gets what should be a wakeup call, but knowing her it’s probably going to eb as ineffective as Zoey. Well, I like Zoey but she’s a softie (which is why we love her). Eve Best was absolutely brilliant this episode and made me realise that Facinelli has good chemistry with EVERYBODY. I wish they’d both get Emmy nods, but I’m not crazy. I know they won’t. UGH!
Nurse Jackie B+
United States of Tara B+/A-
     
Performances
Eve Best in Nurse Jackie A-
Keir Gilchrist in United States of Tara B+/A-
John Corbett in United States of Tara B+
Peter Facinelli in Nurse Jackie B+
Toni Collette in United States of Tara B+

Just because I want to ensure that when my personal ballot comes about that it’s as eclectic as I’d hope I’m trying to catch up on some shows I missed. I’m watching the pilot of The Killing later to see if I should make the jump. I should start recapping the last season in TV soon, but right now I’m still on that break.