TV Jots

BEST TELEVISION SERIES—DRAMA

• 24 (Fox)
• Big Love (HBO)
• Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
• Heroes (NBC)
• Lost (ABC)
• I am such a Heroes whore, so I’ll make this short and sweet. Last year’s winner, Lost, can get lost. It’s all the way in 2006 for Heroes, baby.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES—DRAMA

• Patricia Arquette, Medium
• Edie Falco, The Sopranos
• Evangeline Lilly, Lost
• Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
• I dare ya to guess who won this last year. … … … Okay, give up? It was Geena Davis of the oh so hot, oh so cold Commander In Chief. What was up with the sledgehammer-ish downfall of that series? Arquette and Sedgwick both had the honor of being beaten, as well, while Falco and Pompeo are fresh faces this time around. As much as I like her in real life, if Pompeo takes the statuette for playing that whiny, irritating-as-hell Meredith Grey, I’m moving to Namibia. (Yeah, right.) And Lilly?! Suuure, she’s got a really good chance. —wink, wink-nudge, nudge— That said, my fake money’s on Sedgwick, who is simply outstanding in The Closer. After only two years, I cannot even come close to imagining anyone else inhabiting the title role as well as she does. Sedgwick is Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES—DRAMA

• Patrick Dempsey, Grey’s Anatomy
• Michael C. Hall, Dexter
• Hugh Laurie, House
• Bill Paxton, Big Love
• Kiefer Sutherland, 24
• Snubbed by the Emmys but loved by the Globes, Laurie aced this category last year, to the delight of curmudgeon lovers worldwide. And, of course, Sutherland racked up at the Emmys. Still, I’m gonna root for Michael C. Hall anyway, just for putting all those serial killers six feet under in his freshman series Dexter. Whoever came up with the morbid premise for that show has my undying adoration for life.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES—COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Desperate Housewives (ABC)
• Entourage (HBO)
• The Office (NBC)
• Ugly Betty (ABC)
• Weeds (Showtime)
• Last year they said Desperate Housewives and the Emmys said The Office. This year, however, I say Ugly Betty, which couldn’t be more beautiful. Guys everywhere are probably rooting for Entourage, though, so we’ll see.

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

• Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives
• America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
• Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
• Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
• This category might as well have been officially named BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES last year since all four lead actresses—Cross, Hatcher, Huffman, and Longoria—were up for the honor, with Parker the lone standout. Good thing for Parker then that there were no Housewives snobs responsible for picking the winner because she ultimately triumphed. But what do I care? This is 2006, and all of my cheers are going to the one and only America Ferrera. Sure, last year’s winner of the Emmy counterpart, Louis-Dreyfus, is a hoot, as are the remaining three ladies. But America? Every week on Ugly Betty, she delivers big time, and she’s so refreshing and talented to boot. Let’s hear it for the youth.

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

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Zach Braff, Scrubs
• Steve Carell, The Office
• Jason Lee, My Name Is Earl
• Tony Shalhoub, Monk
• Well, what can I say here? Is it not great that each and every one of these nominees is not only funny, but totally deserving of such an honor? Last year’s picks Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) have been supplanted by Baldwin and Shalhoub, the last of whom has had a stranglehold on this category at the Emmys for three of the last four years, going all the way back to Monk‘s debut season. Could he win at the Globes? Definitely. But I’m still saving all my love for Alec Baldwin, the absolute bestest best thing about Tina Fey’s rookie ride, 30 Rock. Of course, I won’t shed a single tear if Braff, Carell (last year’s recipient), Lee, or Shalhoub win either. Like I said—all five, very funny, most deserving.

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Bleak House (PBS)
• Broken Trail (AMC)
• Elizabeth I (HBO)
• Mrs. Harris (HBO)
• Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS)
• Gosh darn it—I am torn! Broken Trail and Mrs. Harris were both rumored to be excellent (I saw neither due to a little problem with my old DVD recorder having a mind of its own and refusing to follow my timer instructions). But as much as I love Gillian Anderson, there are two, not just one, nominations featuring my favorite actress, Dame Helen Mirren. Yes, she is officially a Dame of the British Empire, since 2003, and, yes, she starred in both HBO’s Elizabeth I and PBS’ Prime Suspect: The Final Act. I’m all for exiting with a flourish, so my vote goes to the latter because it marked the end of the fantabulous British detective series Prime Suspect. How much am I going to miss that show? Tons.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Gillian Anderson, Bleak House
• Annette Bening, Mrs. Harris
• Helen Mirren, Elizabeth I
• Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect: The Final Act
• Sophie Okonedo, Tsunami, The Aftermath
• Gosh darn it—what are they doing to me?! Ditto for this category. The nominating committee gifted us five outstanding candidates, but once again I’m rooting for Mirren in Prime Suspect: The Final Act, although I certainly wouldn’t mind if she triumphed for Elizabeth I.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Andre Braugher, Thief
• Robert Duvall, Broken Trail
• Michael Ealy, Sleeper Cell: American Terror
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tsunami, The Aftermath
• Ben Kingsley, Mrs. Harris
• Bill Nighy, Gideon’s Daughter
• Matthew Perry, The Ron Clark Story
• What?! Does this category have seven nominees? Oh … yes … it … does. Go Michael! Go Chiwetel! Go Matthew! Braugher, Duvall, and Kingsley are all awards-show staples, while the illustrious Nighy is no stranger to acclaim either. I wanna see some fresh blood win, so I’ll root for the new guys on the block. And lest anyone get all huffy about my support of Perry given his Friends heyday and subsequent West Wing stint—all of that glory was for being part of two famous ensemble shows. This time, Perry’s on his own.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Emily Blunt, Gideon’s Daughter
• Toni Collette, Tsunami, The Aftermath
• Katherine Heigl, Grey’s Anatomy
• Sarah Paulson, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
• Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds
• Oddly, I have no opinions on these nominees at all. May the lucky winner and all of her fellow nominees be happy and live long, industrious lives.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Thomas Haden Church, Broken Trail
• Jeremy Irons, Elizabeth I
• Justin Kirk, Weeds
• Masi Oka, Heroes
• Jeremy Piven, Entourage
• Oh, I am such a bona fide Heroes whore. Masi! Masi! Yahoo! (Does anyone else also think it’s a shame that the supporting categories pit series actors against movie actors, most of whom seem to have phenomenal pedigrees? I mean, Jeremy Irons? Just a thought.)

Other New Stuff on TV Tonight:

• ABC: Wife Swap (8:00); Supernanny (9:00); What About Brian (10:00)
• ABC Family: Lincoln Heights (7:00); Wildfire (8:00)
• CBS: The Class (8:30); The New Adventures of Old Christine (9:30)
• Court TV: Beach Patrol (8:00/8:30)
• Discovery: Futureweapons (9:00); Stunt Junkies (10:00/10:30)
• E!: High Maintenance 90210 (10:00)
• ESPN: NBA Basketball (8:00/10:00)
• Food Network: Emeril Live (8:00); Unwrapped (9:00)
• Fox: 24 (8:00)
• Game Show Network: Best of High Stakes Poker (8:00); High Stakes Poker (9:00)
• HGTV: Buy Me (8:30)
• Lifetime: Gay, Straight or Taken? (8:00/8:30)
• MTV: My Super Sweet 16 (9:00/9:30); The Hills (10:00); Dancelife (10:30)
• MyNet: Wicked Wicked Games (8:00); Watch Over Me (9:00)
• Nickelodeon: Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide (8:00); SpongeBob SquarePants (8:30)
• PBS: Antiques Roadshow (8:00*)
• Sci Fi: Star Trek: Enterprise (7:00–11:00)
• TLC: Kids by the Dozen (9:00)
• TNT: NBA Basketball (8:00/10:00)
• Travel: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (10:00)
• USA: WWE Monday Night RAW (9:00)
• VH1: I Love New York (9:00); ego trip’s The (White) Rapper Show (10:00)

*All PBS times may vary—Check your local listings to verify them
  All times are EST/Eastern Standard Time
  Golden Globe photo courtesy of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association