Emmy Chatter: Lead Actors

Why is that the lead actors’ races seem so boring to us? Is it because the pickings are slim or is it because we know Emmy is lazy in their choices? Ryan and I are back with my predictions, the Outstanding Lead Actors. We start off predicting and end up veering into discussions on Web Therapy and excel spread-sheets.
       
Andrew: So, the lead actors. It's in theory the top acting category, but I find the pickings really slim. Or is it just me?

Ryan: No, it's not just you. My long-list is not really that long to be honest.

Ryan: But I think most of that is also due to the Emmys sticking to the same 5-6 guys as much as they can whenever they can.

Andrew: Exactly. Because there are some great actors coming to mind, but I just know that Emmy is never going to nominate them.

Ryan: Most definitely. With that said, in Comedy and Drama there are people who aren't eligible or their shows ended, so they HAVE to pick new-ish people.

Andrew: So, which of the two to start with. Which is weaker, drama or comedy?

Ryan: Don't know about weaker per se, but let's start with Comedy first.

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy

Ryan: There are three locks, no?

Andrew: Parsons, Carrell and Baldwin?

Are these three poised for a nomination?

Ryan: Exactly. Last year's winner, sentimental favourite, and loved by the Emmys.

Andrew: Yup, yup, yup. I can already see that this is going to be one tepid discussion. (I'm sure our personal lists will be way more fun.)

Ryan: Most definitely. Though it will be interesting to see where the Emmys will go to fill the other spots. Would it be 2 or 3 more spots?

Andrew: Generally, it's six per category (for serial acting). I know you're not a fan of Morrison, but considering the weak field of persons they'd actually nominate I'd say he deserves a nod (and will probably get one).

Ryan: Ha! Actually when I was making my predictions I came up with five choices leaving out Morrison so I guess he could take that sixth spot for me. I wonder if the Emmys are still high on Glee though in general. I'd wish they'd branch out a bit more like Joel McHale even though he isn't the funniest in his cast.

Andrew :I think I'll save my thoughts on Glee acting for when we meet a particular category, but I think Morrison deserves credit for making a lot poor writing decisions work (most notably “Rocky Horror Glee Show” which he sort of sold).

Ryan: Yeah, I guess. I think I've just developed a sense of apathy towards Morrison's character which is sad.

Andrew: Heretic! And, incidentally, I'm wondering if McHale could get a nomination (although I like to pretend Community is just Glover and Brie.)

Ryan: It really all depends on if they think that Community was snubbed last year. Zero nominations in all categories! Which was especially stingy since they asked McHale to announce the nominations last year!

Andrew: AND Community was BRILLIANT last season, much better than this one.

Ryan: Yes, exactly I was just going to say that if this season had built up on the goodwill the first one had, then it'd almost be a no-brainer. But speaking of a brilliant show... Parks & Recreation... any thoughts on Rob Lowe's lead campaign?

Andrew: I think it's both brilliant and ridiculous...just like his character actually. It might work, and then again it might not, but maybe it might. On the topic of freakish submissions, I finished watching Episodes Season One and Matt LeBlanc is nowhere NEAR a lead actor. I have a feeling one of them will get in, but I'm not sure which...

Ryan: That's a bit weird. At least from the commercials I've seen it looked like LeBlanc's star vehicle post-Friends (because Joey never ever existed).

Andrew: (Drea de Mateo was ridiculously wasted on Joey. Ugh.) Nope, the Brits are the lead. The show is HILARIOUS, but Matt's hardly the draw for me. But, eh, he's a name actor. And, why has Duchovney never gotten an Emmy nod? I didn't watch this last Californication season, but he's great and he has a Golden Globe.

Ryan: Yeah, plus we already said it's a weak field. I was even tempted to put it Matthew Perry for the not-so-good Mr. Sunshine just for name recognition alone.

Andrew: Why haven't Perry and Kudrow gotten better post Friends shows? They're brilliant (PS. off topic, but have you heard Web Therapy is coming to the small screen?)

Ryan: I actually sort of dug The Comeback and Sunset Strip. They were both flawed, but at least Kudrow and Perry were damn watchable.

Andrew: Yeah, they were good but they both got cancelled well before their time!

Ryan: And yes, I can't wait to see how Web Therapy on TV. I need to catch up on the web series!

Andrew: Wow, we sort of derailed this conversation, that's how boring these men are. Okay, what do your nods look like?


Ryan: My predictions:
Alec Baldwin 30 Rock
Louis C.K. Louie
Steve Carrell The Office
Matt LeBlanc Episodes
Joel McHale Community
Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory
And yes, I'd rather be wrong than predict Matthew Morrison.

Andrew: To quote Sue, “your resentment is delicious!” So, you see Louie making it? I've never seen it.

Ryan: Never seen it either, but critics are loving it. And again, weak category.

Andrew: My predictions:
Alec Baldwin 30 Rock
Steve Carrell The Office
Rob Lowe Parks and Recreation
Matthew Morrison Glee
Joel McHale Community
Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory

Ryan: Rob Lowe! Delicious. Literally. Okay, Drama.

Outstanding Actor in a Drama

Ryan: This field is a bit more interesting. Maybe? Not really.

Andrew :Haha. What do you think of the field, generally? I think great potential nominees. Shame, Emmy hates them.

Ryan: Pretty much what I'm thinking too. Like Comedy, I see three locks. Buscemi, Hall, and Hamm.

Andrew: God, I want Hall to win so badly. Seriously, my mouth was on the floor when he lost last year? I mean cancer, a SAG, a Globe and the man STILL can't win an Emmy? Egads.

What does he have to do to win an Emmy?

Ryan: Yeah, I love love love Bryan Cranston and his character Walt in Breaking Bad, but he did not need to win a third time and certainly should NOT have won over Hall last year. I was so... confused!
Andrew: I mean, Rita died DAMN IT! Ugh. Okay, moving on - I'm getting caught up. Who do we see joining him? I say Chandler, easy as pie. (Not that pie is easy, but whatever.)

Ryan: Is it that easy really? I mean it was a great (and awesome) breakthrough for him and Britton to be nominated last year, but will they repeat? I guess in this case, Emmys complacency should help for once.

Andrew: I just feel like Chandler is EVERYWHERE now and the Super 8 (which I DID NOT LIKE) I just feel like he's in. I don't know. But then, Paxton has never been nominated (WTF??????) and his show ended too...

Ryan: Kind of odd to see Chloe Sevigny the only person to get noticed from that show, but neither here nor there.

Andrew: (and Sevigny did not get Emmy love, but I'm not even going there...not for now)

Ryan: Other than Buscemi, any other new blood? There's a lot of talk about Timothy Olyphant for Justified.

Andrew: I've never seen Justified, I love Olyphant but I'm a terrible fan...for some reason I think he could be easily snubbed...it's sort of half-and-half from where I sit. Same goes for William H. Macy in Shameless.

Ryan: And Sean Bean in Game of Thrones. Lots of maybes, who knows, we'll see...

Andrew: And Hugh Laurie in House. Geez, this category is actually looking packed.

Ryan: Gabriel Byrne in In Treatment is a former nominee.

Andrew: Irons for The Borgias, Byrne for In Treatment, Leary for Rescue Me. Wow...this is interesting.

Ryan: Yeah, plenty of people could be nominated it seems!

Andrew: I'm going to go ahead and lay down my picks; even though I have a feeling I'll be devastatingly wrong.

Ryan: Half of our picks will at least be right!

Andrew: (Always the optimist). Predictions:
Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire
Gabriel Byrne in In Treatment
Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall in Dexter
Jon Hamm in Mad Men
Bill Paxton in Big Love
I sort of feel Chandler and Paxton won't both be nominated, but I don't know which to chuck out. Paxton was great this last season, but then....he's always been good...Ugh.

Ryan: Wow, we both snubbed Hugh Laurie. Very interesting. My predictions:
Steve Carrell
Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall in Dexter
Jon Hamm in Mad Men
William H. Macy in Shameless
Timothy Olyphant in Justified
Um, Wow not Carrell... Buscemi for Boardwalk Empire.

Andrew: Ha. Now THAT'S a weird slip.

Ryan: Well Steve Carrell did make me cry this season! Bastard.

Andrew: I'm actually kind of sure that Paxton WON'T be nominated, but I don't want to predict him not getting in. I'd feel responsible if he doesn't...

Ryan: We have our own battles. Mine is not predicting Morrison, yours is predicting Paxton. We're good.

Andrew: So, hmm. The men are done. I'm having way more fun making up my fake ballots.

Ryan: I'll need to look over the list again to make my own picks, but yeah it'll definitely be way more fun.


Excel Sheets,
Andrew: When I say I'm neurotic, I'm not kidding. I've been making my spreadsheet since January. I have an entire excel sheet dedicated to my ballot.

Ryan: That is impressive. The closest thing I've done similar to that would be to keep an on-going list of movies I see and rank them relative to each other as soon as I see them so that by year's end, the list would be done. Oh and I also list all of the critic awards pre-Oscars to track down front-runners and whatnot.

Andrew: (I have another excel document for movies.)

Ryan: Of course you do!

Andrew: This is so screwed up.

Ryan: It's what we do. We all have our little obsessions.

Andrew: My own awards are more fun because I choose my own categories, wherever I see fit. Like when we discuss the supporting actors next (tomorrow?) you'll see how random some of the submissions are.

Ryan: I've looked them over already though nothing really looked out of place for me. I'm sure you'll point them out though.

Andrew: I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not…

Ryan: I'm not! For me, it was just funny seeing people submit themselves as if they have a chance to actually get nominated. So hilarious. Oh man now I sound overly pretentious... but seriously, some of these people... no.
              
We can’t give away the entire conversation. Supporting Actors are next, but what do you think of our predictions for the Lead Actor Ballot? Are we crazy for snubbing Laurie? Is Ryan crazy for snubbing Morrison?

Comedy Tonight Last Night

I am never particularly interested in the machinations of NBC, as a network they’re usually apt to annoy me or at least bore. Of course, all their faults (or whatever we wish to call them) are all eviscerated on Thursdays when week after week they give us a strong line-up of good old-fashioned (sort of) comedies. The thing is, I never count Community as part of this somewhat impenetrable line-up. It’s not that the show doesn’t have its good points, but I more than often end up missing its episodes. That leaves us with three. There’s the granddaddy of them all, The Office now in its sixth season. The (relatively) new and eccentric Parks & Recreation and the “cool” (I use the word loosely) one 30 Rock. Not to knock at 30 Rock, a show with a number of excellent units, but I’m often nonplussed as to why it usually ends up being the show with the most critically acclaim of the three.

Last night’s episodes for each show, though not the best of the season, perfect encapsulate the merits (and demerits) of each show and I wonder if 30 Rock will be the only getting any Emmy love when summer comes around. Parks & Recreation, I suppose I should admit, made a dubious last year – but I was a believer form the inception. I can’t say it is, but few shows on television are as glee inducing (pun unintended) as the exploits of Leslie Knope and her flawed workmates. Amy Poehler’s Leslie strikes me as a more subtle (but less self-aware) incarnation of Kristin Chenoweth’s Olive. I’m nowhere near as avid a TV lover as some are (here and here) but Poehler constantly does excellent work and is continually ignored. I probably have some sort of chip on my shoulder since her Saturday Night Live alumni Tina Fey manages to be continuously praised for her sometimes good (but often uninspired) work on 30 Rock. I don’t what my issue with Fey is, she’s a good writer – an excellent one even – but I’m never completely willing to believe her as actor, at least not continuously. To throw The Office into the group, each show’s protagonist Leslie, Michael and Liz (and no, Alec Baldwin is not a protagonist on 30 Rock, no matter what those awards say) is an extreme neurotic. Carrell’s Michael often moves between shades of excellence and hilarious (but cringe worthy) moments. Luckily, last night’s episode was more of the former. The thing is, Fey might be playing herself but I’m often feeling as if something’s missing.

Another thing the three shows shake hands on is in their necessity of peculiar supporting characters to balance the scales. Last night’s Office episode played it just right. So often I want to see more of the silly office employees and last night, though it wasn’t as expansive, it was fun. B. J. Novak continues to be one of the best comedic actors on TV with the least lines. Everyone loves Jim and Pam, or Andy and Erin but it’s Ryan and Kelly’s flawed and perverse relationship that I find most hilarious. They’re a bit like Jenna and Tracy on 30 Rock. Yes, they’re not a real couple, but those moments when the two come together to increase their craziness exponentially are some of the most fulfilling. Last night wasn’t one of those, though. I only find Tracy humorous when he’s combated by someone less over-the-top. The thing is Krakowski’s Jenna is not exactly sedate, but the woman has such a talent for holding back that I’m always blissfully aware that Jenna is playing every one in the room as if she’s in a prolonged TV show (pun intended). Like her cross-dressing boyfriend last night? Like she didn’t see that coming. Speaking of seeing things coming, who’d have thought Chris Pratt would be the Everwood actor to go on to biggest success (unless you count Marcia Cross’ guest roles as her being an Everwood alumni, too). Where Parks & Recreations edges in front of its ancestors (by just a smidgen) is that any pairing of the cast could result in comedy. The chemistry between the actors is just that good. It’s always a difficulty thinking how they’ll get Rashida Jones involved in the plot, since she doesn’t work in the office, but it’s always more hit than miss.

              

Each show had their issues last night, though. I could have done without Don Geiss’ peacock, as the main plot of the evening it felt really dull and when did Pam turn into such a…peppy person. I suppose it’s the baby, but it’s still weird and I wish the writers would examine Leslie's take on Mark and Ann's impending marriage a little more, still each was good in its own rite.

     

30 Rock, Argus – B–

Best Moment: Jenna kissing her boyfriend (who just happens to be made up like Jenna)

            

The Office, Body Language – B

Best Moment: Kelly and Ryan trying to sabotage a teenage foe on facebook.

Ryan: Tell her everyone in homeroom thinks she’s fat.

          

Parks & Recreation, 94 Meetings – B+

Best Moment: Leslie chaining herself to the gate and her ensuing embarrassment. “When a couple get married, two single people die.” It’s classic.

           

Did you watch any last night? Which impressed you most?