Tuesday, September 13, 2005

EMMY WEEK EDITION: Three Cheers for the Supporting Drama Queens & Kings

Onward with day two of our Emmy Week coverage, and it's time to focus on the supporting actors and actresses of our favorite dramas. These guys (and girls) bring us plenty of intense, powerful, and interesting moments each week. Here's a look at the nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress for this year's Emmy Awards as well as my predictions and snubs. Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts and picks as well.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

William Shatner - Boston Legal
Oliver Platt - Huff
Naveen Andrews - Lost
Terry O'Quinn - Lost
Alan Alda - The West Wing

WHO WILL WIN: This is a very difficult category to predict because it contains a lot of possible scenarios. Emmy favorites Alan Alda (4 time winner) and William Shatner (winner last year for guest actor for the same role, but on The Practice) have a good shot of taking home the statue. But, this could be a very Lost-heavy awards show, which would tilt the scales in Naveen Andrews' or Terry O'Quinn's favor (both are first time nominees). Then there's Oliver Platt who has a role on a Showtime program, and the Academy has a history of adoring the premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime. Most likely, Andrews and O'Quinn will cancel each other out because they're so difficult to choose from, Platt will get lost in the shuffle, and it will come down to Shatner and Alda. With The West Wing's strong Emmy history and Alda's past Emmy wins, I think he gets the edge and the win.

WHO SHOULD WIN: I'd have a tough time choosing between the equally talented Naveen Andrews and Terry O'Quinn. Both actors have added a tremendous amount to Lost this season. Who can forget Locke's (O'Quinn) back story and how he used to be in a wheelchair? And how about Sayid's (Andrews) struggle between following orders and following his heart? This is a toss up for me, which is the reason why I think both actors will end up empty handed Sunday night, so I would be happy with a win for either of them.

WHO GOT SNUBBED: Most obviously, Tom Amandes from Everwood. How is it that arguably one of the best actors currently on television gets snubbed? Because, unfortunately, the Academy tends to ignore the WB and UPN. It's a tough pill to swallow for those of us who know how much talent can be found on these two networks. Amandes turns in amazing performances week after week, and it's an absolute shame to see his name omitted.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Sandra Oh - Grey's Anatomy
Blythe Danner - Huff
Tyne Daly - Judging Amy
CCH Pounder - The Shield
Stockard Channing - The West Wing

WHO WILL WIN: This category is chock full of acting legends and a relative newcomer who has generated a lot of buzz for her performances on Grey's Anatomy and the Oscar nominated Sideways. Sandra Oh is talented, but she's a new nominee and her buzz-heavy show was only on the air for three months before the summer hiatus. Blythe Danner is up for a whopping three awards in three different categories, so I don't see her winning this category (she's more likely to win the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie). Stockard Channing had a more diminished role this season on The West Wing, and the show has aged some over the years. She won this category back in 2002. That leaves Tyne Daly and CCH Pounder, two very gifted actresses. Daly's show was abruptly cancelled this season and she's an Emmy darling, so I'm giving the edge to her.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Probably Daly. She gave consistent, well-done performances over Amy's five season run. She always managed to make a huge impact on the episodes while playing the supporting role. I think the Academy will reward Daly for her work on Amy.

WHO GOT SNUBBED: Yoonjin Kim from Lost. Kim and co-star Daniel Dae Kim both have the added difficulty of reciting most of their lines in Korean, but still conveying the emotion through their facial expressions and body language. Yoonjin Kim is just amazing. She manages to convey everything that Sun is feeling without overstating it. It would have been nice to see Kim get recognized for her consistently beautiful performance.

Emmy News

The casts of Everybody Loves Raymond and Desperate Housewives will present at the telecast. There will also be a special appearance by the animated cast of The Family Guy. The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards air live September 18th with host Ellen DeGeneres.

Tomorrow we'll look at the lead actor/actress in a comedy categories. Be sure to leave a comment with your picks on today's categories!

QUICK CUTS

*Premiering Tonight!!! Gilmore Girls begins its sixth season tonight on the WB with a much anticipated answer to a season ending question. After that, you can catch the television premiere (it has been playing on Yahoo!) of the new paranormal thriller Supernatural. Over on Fox, it's the much anticipated second season premiere of the medical drama House. Before House gets started, it's the premiere of the new forensics show Bones. And, NBC is offering up its latest season of reality competition The Biggest Loser at 8 p.m. EDT.

*Information is out on Lost's second episode. One of the castaways goes down the mysterious hatch while others have to deal with a life or death situation out at sea. The episode entitled "Adrift" airs September 28th on ABC. For more information, including spoilers, visit The Futon Critic.

*And finally, a new survey says that viewers are tired of reality shows and talk shows, and interest is waning on crime shows. The poll, conducted by the AP and TV Guide, also found that most of the people polled (82%) feel that "reality" shows don't contain a lot of reality. So what do viewers want more of? According to the poll - news programming. For the full results, click on over to Yahoo! TV News.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow as we examine the lead actor/actress in a comedy categories. And as always, all the latest television news!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good overview! It's hard for me to comment, since I'm not really that familiar with most of those shows. I've seen Soonji Kim's (sp?)performance on Lost and it's awesome. She should definitely get a nomination. Which one is Tyne Daly? I enjoyed Judging Amy, but I only know the characters, not the actors *blushes*. Completely agree with you about Dr. Abbott (forgot the name!). He should definitely have got nominated at least. But as you say, the Emmys have their sweethearts (as Oscars do) and they never stray far from them.

TVFan said...

Tyne Daly played Amy's mother, Maxine.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh, completely agreed then. Loved her character, it was so strong. Hey, TV, sorry for my lack of comments lately. I'm getting home at insane hours everyday... I'll catch up over the weekend. Your entries deserve to be read, not just skimmed through, so I need more time. Why can't the day have 48 hours???