If I Picked The Emmy Nominations, Vol. 5

I don’t know if it’s just that I’m getting more generous or if supporting roles are just better on the whole, but these categories are much more jam-packed and cutthroat than their Lead counter-parts (especially in Comedy), so I’ll try to be brief.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama

Amy Acker as Fred Burkle/Illyria on Angel – Revealed heretofore-unseen depth this season in dramatically different dual roles.

Samaire Armstrong as Anna Stern on The O.C. – She arrived from Pittsburgh like a breath of fresh air, stole Seth’s heart as well as mine, and then returned to Pittsburgh all too swiftly. The O.C.’s loss. Hanson's gain.

Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva on The Sopranos – This may have been Tony’s season, but de Matteo was it’s MVP. Probably the best performance by any actor this year on television. If she doesn’t win, there is no justice.

Janel Moloney as Donna Moss on The West Wing – The only Winger whose character actually got to take flight this season and gained some depth.

Kelly Rowan as Kirsten Cohen on The O.C. – Not as much fun as her husband, but Rowan did some solid work, especially when confronting her dysfunctional father, sister and *egads* step-mother!

Runners-up:

Reiko Aylesworth as Agent Michelle Dessler on 24 – Both Dessler and Aylesworth took control during that hotel incident.

Melinda Clarke as Julie Cooper on The O.C. – A deliciously bitchy MILF who only grew more complex and twisted as the season progressed.

Melissa George as Lauren Reed on Alias – Everyone hated her, but I liked what she brought to the dynamics of the show – especially after we found out who she really was.

Who I don’t want to be nominated:

If Stockard Channing gets another nomination for her two minutes of satisfactory work… well, I’d threaten to boycott The Emmys, but it’s probably gonna happen for her and I love awards shows too much.

My No-Guts-No-Glory Prediction in this category:

There’s three vacant slots up for grabs (not including Channing’s), so let’s put in Drea de Matteo, Janel Moloney and, oh, I have no idea (guess that means Channing’s safe). It’s probably going to be someone from a show I don’t watch, like Maura Tierney. Is Mary Steenburgen supposed to be any good? Are there any decent supporting actresses on C.S.I. or NYPD Blue? How about Without a Trace? Maybe Aida Turturro will stage a comeback (she was pretty good in her few appearances this season). What the hell, since I’ve got one more slot to fill, I’ll make a totally uninformed guess and go with Marianne Jean-Baptiste (I liked her in Secrets & Lies).

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama

Adam Brody as Seth Cohen on The O.C. – Breakthrough performance of the year. He is truly God’s gift to the one-liner and a role model for geek-boys everywhere. Oh, and as if that weren’t enough, he can do emotional, dramatic scenes, that over-talented bastard! At least I hear his band kinda sucks.

Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce on Angel – Has been on a roll since the third season. He got his chance to shine this year in the great episode “Lineage.”

James Marsters as Spike on Angel – Made the transfer from Buffy admirably, even though he didn’t get nearly as much scene stealing to do on Angel.

Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos – Always great. He was one of the many elements that made “Long Term Parking” so magnificent.

Jay Karnes as Det. Dutch Wagenbach on The Shield – The sick puppy.

Runners-up:

Walton Goggins as Det. Shane Vendrell on The Shield – I’ve never been much of a fan, but he went to some dark places this season and earned my respect.

Benito Martinez as Capt. David Aceveda on The Shield – Ditto.

Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman on The West Wing – It’s sad that of the usually stellar supporting cast, Whitford was the only male I could justify including here.

Who I don’t want to be nominated:

Steve Buscemi – Don’t get me wrong, I love him in movies like Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, Ghost World and most especially Con Air. But, and maybe it’s because of that cinematic baggage he brings, I just never felt that he fit in on The Sopranos.

My No-Guts-No Glory Prediction in this category:

Buscemi segues easily into Joe Pantoliano’s winning position (I felt the same way about him last season). And as long as I’m out on the limb, I’ll stick Goggins in John Spencer’s seat (or, if there’s some pocket of unashamed O.C. love, Brody could push aside Goggins, or even knock out the vulnerable Victor Garbor or Whitford). Unless some show like Deadwood has some strong Supporting Actors I don’t know about, in which case…

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Will Arnett as GOB Bluth on Arrested Development – Brilliantly smarmy!

Bryan Cranston as Hal on Malcolm in the Middle – He’s been the star of the show for the last few seasons, and he is game for anything.

Tony Hale as Buster Bluth on Arrested Development – Brilliantly retarded!

John C. McGinley as Dr. Perry Cox on Scrubs – Another Emmy mystery is how this performance has gone unrecognized for two years. Do they not see the show? Do they black out when insanely gifted actors are saying exquisitely crafted things? I’m just throwing these hypotheses out there.

Scott Patterson as Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls – Very good stuff.

Runners-up:

Michael Cera as George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development – Brilliantly awkward!

David Cross as Tobias Funke on Arrested Development – Brilliantly lame!

Donald Faison as Dr. Christopher Turk on Scrubs – Very good stuff.

Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland on Will & Grace – I just can’t blame these talented performers for their show sucking so horribly.

Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls – Got some meatier stuff to play with this season and took his character in new directions.

David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Niles Crane on Frasier – Always great, and nostalgia for when he first burst onto the scene almost pushed him into the top five.

John Mahoney as Martin Crane on Frasier – His character has had its ups and downs (occasionally bordering on ridiculous), but this season he was strong, and he was very good in the finale.

Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Eli Cartwright Goggins III on Ed – A welcome addition to the show who really brought some new life and a new perspective to the series.

Josh Randall as Dr. Mike Burton on Ed – I’ve been a fan of his under-stated and under-rated comedy for the last four years.

Who I don’t want to be nominated:

Brad Garrett, Peter Boyle and Jeff Garlin: I’ve said enough about their respective series.
Jeffrey Tambor – It’s not that I don’t think he’s great on Arrested Development (despite the fact that I couldn’t stand him on The Larry Sanders Show), it’s just that I know he’s the most high profile of his co-stars and the most likely to get a nomination, even though I think he hasn’t done enough to merit recognition before his brilliantly gifted co-stars.

My No-Guts-No-Glory Prediction in this category:

Will there be six slots again this year? Unlikely. So my gutsy prediction here is that nothing changes, except the erasure of Bryan Cranston. But you want a really gutsy prediction? I don’t really see it happening (because it would make too much sense), but McGinley could finally squeeze in (and squeeze Mahoney out). Or, possibly more likely, Tambor could be the one to oust Mahoney, insuring that everyone in this category has been nominated at least four prior times.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones on Sex and the City – She used the cancer arc to more fully flesh out her character while staying faithful to her flesh-pressing ways. She’s this category’s Drea de Matteo, and this has to be her year (unless the rumors of her diva-like behavior turn team-playing voters off).

Sarah Chalke as Dr. Elliott Reid on Scrubs – She’s come a long way from the second and fourth Becky. While this wasn’t her strongest season overall, just look at her work at the very beginning of the year and the very end. Great stuff.

Kristin Davis as Charlotte York on Sex and the City – Always my least favorite of the girls, but this season, she really made Charlotte human and finally stepped up her acting to the bar set by her co-stars. I would’ve liked to see where she might have taken the character after this.

Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes on Sex and the City – Always my favorite of the girls, always a top-notch performer.

Judy Reyes as Nurse Carla Espinosa on Scrubs – She blends strong self-confidence and neuroses seamlessly into one of the most three-dimensional women on TV. And she’s funny!

Runners-up:

Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls – Another actress who dialed back the caricature this season to find a more rounded character, complete with pathos a plenty.

Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development – My choice for Worst TV Mother of the Year, she’s the mother you love to hate. Her chemistry with all her children is subtly different, but always impeccable.

Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Funke on Arrested Development – Beautiful performance.

Megan Mullally as Karen Walker on Will & Grace – What I said about Sean Hayes.

Bitty Schram as Sharona Fleming on Monk – As everyone else on the show gets more cartoonish, she’s emerged from her ditzy, grating beginning as the lone human character on the show.

Lesley Boone as Molly Hudson on Ed – In later seasons, she was finally given some really interesting notes to play, unique within the realm of television.

Who I don’t want to be nominated:
Doris Roberts and Cheryl Hines. Need I say more?

My No-Guts-No-Glory Prediction for this category:

If Kristin Davis finally gets a nod, then someone has got to go. So long, Cheryl Hines. And while I’m tempted to name Bitty Schram as an upset, I just can’t see any more of last year’s nominees vanishing (although if I had to name one, it’d be Mullally).

Thanks for watching. I won’t be posting my reactions to the actual nominations until Monday night at the earliest. Until then, you’ll just have to form opinions on your own. I know, it sounds difficult, but I have faith in you.