« Town adopts 'West Wing's' Sen. Vinick as a favorite son and stumps for his presidential campaign | Main | Old favorites don't fade away in Emmy race »
July 12, 2005
'Housewives' to the rescue
by Noel Holston
Newsday
Whoever's bright idea it was to enter "Desperate Housewives" in the comedy category of this year's prime-time Emmy competition ought to be taken out and given a bonus.
Not only did he/she/they guarantee ABC's sordid soap-satire a nomination come tomorrow morning, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has been spared the embarrassment of a comedy category with only three or four legitimate nominees.
Remember, perennial faves "Frasier," "Friends" and "Sex and the City" are long gone. "Will & Grace" might as well be. And HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" didn't have new episodes during the period of eligibility (June 1 to May 31). Without "Desperate Housewives" (and with animated comedies such as "The Simpsons" banished to their own category), the academy would be looking to such sitcom milestones as "According to Jim" and the mismanaged "The Office" to round out its traditional five slots.
Here's how that category and the other major brackets are likely to fill up:
Comedy series
Expect past winners "Arrested Development" (Fox) and "Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) to be nominated again, and for "Housewives" (ABC) and "Scrubs" (NBC) to join them. "Housewives," the biggest self-starting hit in years, is undeniable. "Scrubs" will at long last make the cut not because it suddenly got better - it's been an ensemble miracle from the get-go - but because lead actor Zach Braff is now a hot, young movie director.
The fifth slot could go to "The King of Queens" (CBS), a well-established hit that's never enjoyed "Raymond's" critical praise, or "Two and a Half Men" CBS' designated heir to "Raymond." But the guess here is that the Hollywood creative community will show itself some love and nominate "Entourage," HBO's comedy about a male starlet and his posse.
Lead actress, comedy
The "Housewives" actresses will turn this category upside down. Look for Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher all to make the cut. Eva Longoria, however, will have a hard time elbowing previous winners Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle") and Patricia Heaton ("Raymond").
Lead actor, comedy
"Housewives" won't be a factor here; its actors are supporting players. Expect nominations for previous winners Tony Shalhoub ("Monk") and Ray Romano ("Raymond"), as well as for Braff, Jason Bateman ("Arrested Development"), and Kevin James ("King of Queens"). Charlie Sheen or Jon Cryer of "Two and a Half Men" might sneak in, and Steve Carell of "The Office" is a very long shot.
Dramatic series
This is going to be a bare-knuckled, eye-gouging brawl like you would see on HBO's "Deadwood," which is probably the dramatic series to beat. Two of last year's nominees, "24" (Fox) and "The West Wing" (NBC), are coming off better, reinvigorated seasons. "The Shield" (FX) got an energy boost from Glenn Close's joining the cast.
Academy members also can choose among seven first-time candidates that have earned some combination of critical acclaim and popular success - "Lost" (ABC), "House" (Fox), "Medium" (NBC), "Jack & Bobby" (WB), "Veronica Mars" (UPN), "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci Fi) and "Rescue Me" (FX) - as well as well-made veterans such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS) and "Without a Trace." HBO's "The Wire," a dramatic series without peer, is still waiting for its first academy recognition.
The likely five: "Deadwood," "The West Wing," "CSI," "Lost," "24."
Actor, dramatic series
James Spader ("Boston Legal," ABC) won last year. Most probably he will be nominated again, along with Ian McShane ("Deadwood"), whose legend grows; Matthew Fox ("Lost"), Keifer Sutherland ("24") and Hugh Laurie ("House").
Anthony LaPaglia ("Without a Trace"), nominated last year, might get another nod. Ving Rhames, star of USA Network's revived, reinvented "Kojak," has the big-screen credentials the academy members often genuflect to. Dominic West ("The Wire") probably will be ignored once again, though he's the most deserving actor after McShane.
Actress, dramatic series
Allison Janney ("The West Wing"), a previous winner, and Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), who won a Golden Globe last year, both will get another nod from the academy. Close, movie star that she is, would be recognized for her work on "The Shield" even if she weren't terrific.
Who will get the other two nominations is harder to predict. Jennifer Garner ("Alias") and Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia") were nominated last year, but I wouldn't be surprised if Christine Lahti ("Jack & Bobby") displaced one of them and Patricia Arquette ("Medium") knocked out the other.
TV movie
This has been largely an in-house HBO competition in recent years, and it probably will be again. HBO's original films "Warm Springs," about Franklin D. Roosevelt's battle with polio; "Sometimes in April," a dramatic microcosm of the Rwandan genocide; "Lackawanna Blues," adapted from a theater piece about a black family in upstate New York, and "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" look to be shoe-ins. But there are more non-HBO contenders than usual this yea.
Showtime's "Our Fathers" powerfully encapsulated the Roman Catholic Church's pedophile priest scandal. CBS had low-key gems in "The Magic of Ordinary Days" and "Back When We Were Grownups." TNT's "The Wool Hat" has star William H. Macy's popularity to propel it. ESPN's "3," like its subject, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, was a winner. And even though ABC's movie version of Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" had its flaws, it also had Halle Berry, an Oscar winner, as its star and Oprah Winfrey as executive producer. Betting against Oprah is always a risk.
Miniseries
Finding five to nominate could be tricky. Once past HBO's starry "Empire Falls," CBS' "Elvis" and ABC/Disney's shockingly good remake of "Little House on the Prairie," you're down to two-part potboilers such as "Category 6: Day of Destruction."
Here's hoping tomorrow's nomination announcement isn't also a natural disaster.
Posted by Jo at July 12, 2005 10:06 AM