EMMY WEEK: Best Drama Ballot! Plus '4400' Finale Preview and 'Mars' Fans' Charity Efforts are Outta this World

BEST

Drama

We are down to the last category before the big show this weekend. So far, you guys have cast your votes for your favorite reality-competition shows, actors, actresses and comedy series, but it all comes down to your favorite dramas. Dramas are everywhere on your television and they come in many different forms: crime shows, law dramas, character-driven, soapy, procedural and even a hybrid of both drama and comedy. With all that drama, many of our favorites are bound to get left off the ballot. And the five that did make the ballot, are sure to keep it a tight race. Don't forget to make your pick in PTR's Emmy poll below.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Grey's Anatomy
House
The Sopranos
24
The West Wing

What Will Win: Momentum, buzz and the "it" factor say this is an easy win for Grey's Anatomy, and I agree. I think this show will walk away with the statue, and ABC will have that extra push it needs going into the season with a new timeslot up against CBS' ratings juggernaut CSI. Even though I'm not a Grey's fan, this show has certainly struck a cord with the right people, which should secure its win.

What Should Win: With TV's best drama (Veronica Mars) and second best drama (Lost) absent from this category, it makes the "should win" column seem a little fruitless. Nevertheless, we must forge on with the most deserving winner of this bunch. And there are plenty of deserving winners in this category, but House sticks out the most for me. It's the better medical drama with plenty of character minus the sudsy Grey's storylines. Plus, as far as I'm concerned, the Academy owes it to House after snubbing lead actor Hugh Laurie this year.

And now it's your turn to decide which drama you would like to see take the statue Sunday night. Please vote for your favorite below in the PTR Emmy Poll. And be sure to vote in all of the previous PTR Emmy polls as well. Yesterday's best comedy category can be found HERE, the drama acting categories can be found HERE, the comedy acting categories are HERE, and Monday's reality show poll is HERE. The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards air live this Sunday, August 28th on NBC.

Which drama gets your vote?
	Grey's Anatomy
	House
	The Sopranos
	24
	The West Wing
Free polls from Pollhost.com

FRIDAY FUN: SUMMER STYLE 'The 4400' Will Leave You Hanging!
Another fantastic season of USA Network’s The 4400 is about to come to an end. Is it just me, or does this show get better with age? I LOVED it when it premiered two years ago as a “limited series,” and I jumped for joy when USA decided to turn it into a weekly summer series. I wasn’t sure how the writers were going to sustain the quality, but they surprised me with the “Freak of the Week” format last season. I LOVED getting to know different 4400s and learning about their abilities (P.S. How fun must it be to write for this show and invent abilities?). I assumed that this format would carry through to this current season, but they surprised me again with a brand-new season-long arc. And after each season, I say to myself, “This was the best season ever!” There aren’t too many shows where I say the same. So this Sunday around 10 p.m., I will be sitting on my couch once again proclaiming that this season was the best ever! And this time, it will be right because this is the first season where I have been truly bummed to see the show end until next summer. But before the downer, there is a very exciting hour of television before us.


Executive producer Ira Steven Behr told Sci Fi Wire to expect some cliffhangers that will have a major impact next season when the third season wraps up this Sunday. “I think, because there will be some major chess moves made, I think we will be able to tell some interesting character-based [stories] with people we have not met yet, because there's going to be such an upheaval that we're going to want to hear and meet new people,” he explains. Star Jacqueline McKenzie (Diana Skouris) writes on her official Web site that the finale is "bigger than Ben Hur" and "an amazing script." One of the season-ending cliffhangers revolves around McKenzie's character, NTAC agent Diana Skouris. STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!! Diana and Ben (a.k.a. my new fave TV couple) have been trying to figure out this whole relationship thing, especially since Diana's sister April (Natasha Gregson Wagner) was originally dating Ben (Brennan Elliot). Well, things are about to take a more serious turn Sunday night, according to actor Brennan Elliot who plays the lovable Ben. "I've got a job to do in Spain, and she takes off with me," the actor explains to Marilyn Beck and Jenel Smith regarding his photographer character and Diana. "It's a bit of a cliffhanger." So, will Diana be back? That answer will have to wait until next season (END SPOILER). What will happen now that war between the 4400 and Ryland's promicin-taking army is inevitable? We'll have to tune in Sunday night at 9 p.m. (EST) on USA network to see how it unfolds.

QUICK CUTS

*And finally, fans of UPN's Veronica Mars just might be the most charitable group of fans in the history of television. As of August 22nd, the collective group "Cloud Watchers" has donated more than 400 season 1 DVD sets to local libraries across the country (see map to right). All 50 states and 100 top Nielsen markets are represented in the drive that PayPal donations and sales of fan-made VM-themed merchandise funded. The retail value of all the donations is just under $25,000 according to the group's press release. "By donating to public libraries, fans have been able to support a worthy cause while also introducing their favorite show to anyone with a library card," the group writes in the release. The campaign even caught the attention of the show's creator/executive producer Rob Thomas, who sent the group a message thanking them for their hard work. "That's all incredibly cool. Thanks so much for the tireless support. We REALLY appreciate it," he wrote. And the group isn't done with its push. They have set their sights on reaching a total of 500 donated sets by October 3rd, the date of Veronica Mars' 3rd season premiere on the new CW. To learn how you can help, click HERE.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for PTR's Emmy Blowout Edition! I'll have all the winners, your votes and the best (and worst!) Emmy fashions. And since I don't want to short change The 4400's season finale, be sure to come back Tuesday for all the details from this Sunday's big episode. Plus, all the latest television news!



To get more television coverage, including the network's new fall schedules and a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote with a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.