Spoilers could take home Emmy spoils
TV Goddess
Published: August 24, 2006
Last Modified: August 24, 2006 at 05:30 AM
Everyone has a prediction about the Emmy Awards (7 p.m. Sunday on NBC), but this season is as hard to call as any in recent years. With big shows -- and last year's big winners -- such as "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" nearly shut out of major nominations, key awards are up for grabs. So, with no telling how the night will play out, here's your guide to how it should happen:
Comedy series: The worst episode of "Arrested Development" is better than almost anything else on television -- comedy or drama. Even with a shortened season, this is the most deserving show. But it's been off the air for months and is likely to lose to this season's breakout hit, "The Office." Look for "Scrubs" as a spoiler -- and what a pleasant surprise that would be for this show after all these years.
Lead actor in a comedy: "The Office" might not win best comedy series, but if any award is a sure thing it's Steve Carell winning as Michael Scott. Carell is perfectly sleazy in the role, with just enough charm to keep audiences enthralled. The spoiler might be repeat winner Tony Shaloub for "Monk."
Lead actress in a comedy: Lisa Kudrow's ditzy, heart-wrenching turn as Valerie Cherish in HBO's short-lived "The Comeback" should earn her a second Emmy (she won one in the supporting category for "Friends") and a little vindication since no one watched her own comeback. Any actress could spoil in this category, though, and four of the five (Kudrow, Stockard Channing in "Out of Practice," Jane Kaczmarek in "Malcolm in the Middle" and Debra Messing in "Will & Grace") are nominated for shows that won't return.
Supporting actor in a comedy: The buzz in this category belongs to Jeremy Piven for his weasly agent Ari Gold in "Entourage." But the golden lady should belong to Will Arnett, the only acting nominee for "Arrested Development," and a deserving one at that. If the academy doesn't take this last chance to acknowledge Arnett for his superb work on the show, members might find themselves thinking "We've made a huge mistake!"
Supporting actress in a comedy: Jaime Pressly should win for her surprising, scene-stealing role as Earl's trashy ex in last season's only new hit comedy, "My Name Is Earl."
Drama series: "The Sopranos" had an off season, "24" has too many plot holes and "The West Wing" hasn't deserved to be nominated in this category in a long time. So, it's between sophomore favorites "Grey's Anatomy" and "House," with Hugh Laurie's titular Dr. House deserving the title. With that win, the academy could make up for ignoring Laurie in the best actor race.
Lead actor in a drama: As good as Denis Leary is on "Rescue Me" and as nice as it would be to see Christopher Meloni's acting honored on "Law & Order: SVU," the most deserving contenders are Peter Krause for "Six Feet Under" and Kiefer Sutherland for "24." Krause almost literally stole the show in its spectacular final season, but Sutherland has been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders for five long days ... er, seasons. It's time he gets his due.
Lead actress in a drama: Kyra Sedgwick should have this one locked up for her Southern crime-busting darlin' in "The Closer," but she faces tough competition from Frances Conroy ("Six Feet Under"), Geena Davis ("Commander in Chief") or Allison Janney ("The West Wing").
Supporting actor in a drama: Gregory Itzin joined "24" and changed the show by being everything its previous president wasn't. He was -- or at least seemed to be -- weak-minded, spineless and, ultimately, evil. Without him, Season 5 would have been just another day.
Supporting actress in a drama: On "24," Jean Smart played first lady to Itzin's president. If he wins, she should, too.
Viewers should also keep their fingers crossed that Stephen Colbert walks to the microphone a time or two -- he's nominated for his own show, "The Colbert Report," and for writing on "The Daily Show." His acceptance speech would be an Emmy highlight.
"Project Runway" rose to the top of the reality competition pack, and Cesar Millan should win the noncompetitive reality category for leading his own kind of pack as the "Dog Whisperer."
• TV reviewer and Portland, Ore.-based freelance journalist DeAnn Welker can be reached at deann@tvgoddess.com. To read more of her TV ramblings, visit www.tvgoddess.com.
Five shows to watch this week
Justice
8 p.m. Wednesday, Fox: Jerry Bruckheimer's slick take on crime solving -- or at least the way high-profile crimes play out in the media -- stars Victor Garber as one member of a powerful law firm. Fans of "Alias" will be happy to see Garber back on their screens every week, if the show can survive Fox's usually strict cancellation policy.
Monk
8 p.m. Friday, USA: Mr. Monk might have finally met the case that is too much for him to handle when a roadie is found dead at a rock concert in this fifth-season finale.
Psych
9 p.m. Friday, USA: As the first season wraps up, Shawn, our favorite psychic fake or otherwise, and his sidekick, Gus, should fit right in at a comic book convention, where they investigate a teenager's disappearance.
Bones
7 p.m. Wednesday, Fox: When they left us at the end of last season, Brennan and Booth were finally growing closer after the latest set of bones Brennan was investigating turned out to be her parents. This revealed something about her mysterious youth and close-to-the-vest lifestyle. But, of course, they can't grow too close before Brennan gets a new boss (played by Tamara Taylor), who also happens to have a past with Booth.
Inside 9/11
3 p.m. Sunday, National Geographic Channel: The cable network begins three nights of looking back at the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with this updated version of its Emmy-nominated miniseries. "Inside 9/11," a two-part, four-hour documentary, repeats at 7 p.m. Sunday. On Monday, the network offers "Triple Cross: Bin Laden's Spy in America," (5 p.m., repeats at 8 p.m.) about Ali A. Mohamed, who worked for the CIA, FBI and U.S. Army for years, all while feeding information to Osama bin Laden. Tuesday, "The Final Report: Osama's Escape" (6 p.m., repeats at 9 p.m.) shows how the world's most wanted man managed to get away and how he has continued to avoid capture.
-- DeAnn Welker
TUNE IN
The Emmy Awards
The 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards air at 7 p.m. Sunday on NBC, Channel 2. "The Emmy Red Carpet Special" begins at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.emmys.org.
