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PEARSON: Cable shows, past Oscar winners lining up for Emmys

By Mike Pearson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 17, 2008 at 6 p.m.

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For my money, the best TV miniseries of the year actually got the most nominations for this year's Emmy Awards: HBO's riveting look at American history, John Adams, snagged 23 nods.

Leaving that aside for a second, let's consider two significant trends:

* Cable networks dominated not only specialty categories, but for the first time the lead actor and actress drama categories.

Jon Hamm (AMC's Mad Men), Bryan Cranston (AMC's Breaking Bad), Gabriel Byrne (HBO's In Treatment) and Michael C. Hall (Dexter) joined Hugh Laurie (House) as drama lead actor nominees.

* Past Oscar winners dominated the lead actress in a drama or movie categories: Glenn Close (Damages), Holly Hunter (Saving Grace), Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters), Susan Sarandon (Bernard and Doris) and Laura Linney (John Adams). Other Oscar nominees nominated: Dianne Wiest, Catherine Keener and Judi Dench.

In some quarters, the big news Thursday was that Ryan Seacrest finally got an Emmy nomination for hosting the reality show American Idol.

No word on whether show judge Simon Cowell sat in front of his TV chewing broken glass as the names were announced.

Seacrest's nomination came with the adding of a category for best host of a reality competition. He was joined by Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars), Jeff Probst (Survivor), Heidi Klum (Project Runway) and Howie Mandel (Deal or No Deal).

Looking at this year's nominees, just a few thoughts.

* 30 Rock, last year's winner for best comedy series, leads its field this year with 16 nominations. Expect another win, including Alec Baldwin for lead actor.

* Byrne for best lead actor in a drama? He plays a shrink who spends most of his time sitting on a couch listening to neurotic patients. It's not so much acting as reacting.

* Dexter as a best drama series nominee? If you say so. I'm not a fan of the series, which started on Showtime before migrating to CBS after the writer's strike. Yes, Michael C. Hall is suitably creepy, but the show about a serial killer often favors style over substance.

* The supporting actress-comedy category promises to be one of the most competitive, with Jean Smart for Samantha Who?, Amy Poehler for Saturday Night Live and Kristin Chenoweth for Pushing Daisies. Any chance for a three-way tie?

* I'm torn between two contenders in the lead actress in a movie or miniseries category.

I loved Linney as Abigail Adams, but I must admit that Sarandon stole the show in Bernard and Doris. Her Doris Duke chewed the scenery, belittled the servants and then some.

At least Paul Giamatti was nominated for John Adams. Giamatti held this ambitious series together as the nation's first vice president and second president.

He was alternately strident and sympathetic.

Plus, he should get a special citation for having to wear those itchy 18th-century wool costumes.

With an Emmy-leading 23 nominations, John Adams has a chance to clean up when the awards are broadcast on ABC on Sept. 12. If you haven't seen it, it recently became available on DVD.

pearsonm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2592.

Comments

  • July 18, 2008

    5:36 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    LadyLes61 writes:

    I invite you to view Gabriel Byrne's performances in all 45 episodes of "In Treatment" again. His performance was riveting, to say the least. Only "reacting" to people would be VERY boring. Active listening is tremendously difficult. This actor was so riveting and commanding in conveying brilliant subtle nuances, only to reveal his own character's issues and conflicts with Dianne Wiest once a week, that whole groups of therapists have lauded his performances alongside critics, other actors, directors, columnists, and an international bevy of rabid female fans.

    Your written thoughts suggest that you might have missed the mark here or maybe didn't view Mr. Byrne's performances thoroughly. At the risk of a credibility problem on your part with this article, I strongly urge you to take another look or at least read the reviews written by other journalists which overwhelmingly validated the fact that Mr. Byrne's performances blew them away. Thanks a bunch.