Sunday Showdown!

There's quite a TV traffic jam tonight. I plan on recording or watching pretty much everything on this list and then making decisions as to what stays on my schedule. It's going to be a long night.

-Season Premiere (The 20th to be exact): The Simpsons - Fox 8/7c
-Season Premiere: Amazing Race 13 - CBS 8/7C
-Season Premiere: Desperate Housewives - ABC 9/8C
-Season Premiere: Californication - Showtime 9/8C
-Season Premiere: Brothers & Sisters - ABC 10/9C
-Season Premiere: Dexter - Showtime - 10/9C
-New Episode: Entourage - 10/9C
-New Episode: Mad Men - 10/9C


Photo: Hulu.com

A Few Remarkable Things About Tonight's Emmys

• It ended on time, even a few minutes early. Though it got a little annoying towards the end with every presenter reminding people the show was running late and that their jokes were cut. Worse? The jokes that stayed weren't that good. Watching Rickey Gervais blow a few minutes on a good bit was well worth it though.
• Just what were the hosts there for? They didn't even open the show (thanks Oprah!) and they only appeared once or twice the rest of the night. If this show is going to have hosts then they need to do something. It should be their job to move the show long. Otherwise, skip the whole job altogether.
• Other than an excellent Cartman impression the only thing Josh Groban did tonight was prove his voice only works with one style of music.
• My picks were pretty off for the better part of the night. Bad for me but great for some folks who surprised the oddsmakers and took home the awards. I definitely tip my hat to Bryan Cranston who foiled Emmy pools nationwide for his best actor in a drama series win over "sure thing" Jon Hamm. Here's the thing...I called Bryan Cranston's win not once but twice right here on this blog. I really should've double checked this thing before submitting my list.
• I really enjoyed the way they incorporated mock sets from old television shows. What a fitting tribute to some great programs. (And did I mention it was great to see Martin Sheen again? I just watched the finale of West Wing on Bravo last week and I realized just how much I miss it.)
• How much do I love that Tina Fey took home the biggies tonight? Almost too much. She's truly remarkable. I still don't quite get why folks aren't watching 30 Rock.
  
• Other than Tina Fey, the biggest winner of the night? Don Rickles. Funniest guy on stage. We need to welcome Old Hollywood back for these things every year.
  
• The Laugh-In folks can stay at home though. Laugh-In is usually much funnier, too bad that's the impression most young people will be left with after tonight. Check some of it out at your local media library folks. It was great 40 years ago.
  
• And briefly: Best Dressed: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Worst Dressed: January Jones...Yikes!
• Want a list of all the winners? Check 'em out here.
  

I'm already chomping at the bit for next year. I suppose the Golden Globes will have to tide me over.

It's Time For The Big Dance: My Emmy Picks

This is my Super Bowl. I've booked and scheduled every minute of my day today to ensure I can successfully be in front of my television and ready to watch in awe without feeling guilty about homework, job applications, etc. I've studied, I've read thousands of blogs entries and watched even more hours of TV in preparation for this night. This is my thing. This is the one night my medium gets to truly celebrate itself. After a long year with a Writer's Strike and turmoil with the actors, the industry needs this. Frankly, I need this too.

So here are my picks for the primary categories at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards. I pretty much stuck to party lines here (30 Rock & Mad Men) but in categories where I couldn't, I went with my instinct...even if it means Ryan Seacrest wins an Emmy.

COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men

My Pick: 30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

My Pick: Mad Men

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

My Pick: Alec Baldwin

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal

My Pick: Jon Hamm

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

My Pick: Tina Fey

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

My Pick: Glenn Close

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Rainn Wilson, The Office

My Pick: Neil Patrick Harris

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ted Danson, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

My Pick: John Slattery

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

My Pick: Amy Poehler

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

My Pick: Candice Bergen

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

My Pick: The Amazing Race

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal
Jeff Probst, Survivor
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

My Pick: Ryan Seacrest

BEST MINI-SERIES
John Adams
Cranford
Tin Man
The Andromeda Strain

My Pick: John Adams

BEST VARIETY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With John Stewart
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

My Pick: The Daily Show With John Stewart

Think I'm totally off base? TV Addict is holding an Emmy picks contest and the winner receives Season 2 of 30 Rock. Press your luck and enter here. Happy viewing folks!

Don Draper Would Tell Me I'm Being Childish

So it's no secret that I'm a little into Mad Men. This weekend that love hit a new level of potential fanaticism.

First, I spent sometime researching the title and artist of the MM theme song and downloading a copy. In case you were wondering, it's not an original song for the show. It's a electronic jazz piece called A Beautiful Mine by a group called RJD2. (By the way, that's really hard to say without saying R2D2.)

Anyway, I downloaded the MP3 and went over to Mobile17. If you're not familiar with the site, you can take any MP3 on your computer and make a ringtone 4-40 seconds long...for FREE! Go now. So anyway, I made myself a Mad Men theme song ringtone and now whenever my phone rings I wait a little bit to answer. Sorry if I missed your call today.

My second fanatical moment? I heard Jon Hamm will be hosting SNL in October and I screamed at the top of my lungs. Smoking and slick period costumes combined with Kristen Wiig and other funny folks? Swell news indeed.

Third, I am re-arranging my schedule tomorrow to ensure I can watch the Emmy's live tomorrow evening just so I can see the show continue to make history. I may Live Blog, we'll see if I've got the energy. However, for sure I'll post my Emmy picks tomorrow morning. Expect a lot of 30 Rock and of course...Mad Men.

Photo: http://electricityandlust.wordpress.com

I Want This Shirt!

Glarkware is selling this shirt dubbed "Office Manager." The silhouette bears a striking resemblance to Joan Holloway, Sterling-Cooper's curviest admin. Anyone secretly hoping the Mad Men cast wears period costumes to the Emmys?



Photo: glarkware.com

Hanks Dazzles on Mad Men

Colin Hanks (eldest son of Tom) did a superb job on tonight's episode of Mad Men. Hanks is playing Father Gill, a young priest in Peggy's church, as a part of a three episode arc.

He was charismatic and mysterious in tonight's episode and I am curious to see how his relationship with Peggy pans out. Plus the younger Hanks is a really underrated actor and it's nice to see him back on the small screen, as opposed to frittering away his time/talent on tripe like this.

Photo: New York Post

WWDDD?

A big-up to Mad Men for lifting me out of my summer TV doldrums like a small screen jaws of life. A second big-up to Vulture for turning me on to this hilarious blog, What Would Don Draper Do?

Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Yes I read half the posts.

I need new TV. Immediately.

PS: How cute was it when Don taught his little daughter how to make a Tom Collins last night? Adorbs.

Getting Yourself Prepared For The Return of Mad Men!

Mad Men returns tonight. Every blogger, TV enthusiast and old-timey ad-man alike is anxiously awaiting the second season of this critically acclaimed drama.

Want to get into the spirit before tonight's brand new episode? Here are a few tips:

• Make yourself a cocktail. Don Draper drinks whiskey old fashioneds. His lady friends tend to drink red wine or mai tais. Regardless of what you drink, hold it well. No one gets drunk at work, that's what election results parties are for.
  
• Take up smoking. I tried to count how many ciggarettes appeared in one episode and lost count after the first scene. Can you imagine if that America still existed? Watching all of that huffing and puffing seems so foreign. And don't worry about the actors, according to this painstakingly thorough article from the New York Times magazine, the articles are smoking herbal cigarettes (no nicotine, no tar).
• Read up. This season kicks off about 18 months from where we left off. It's Valentine's Day, 1962. So we won't get to see Pete Campbell's irreverent take on The Bay of Pigs, the beginning of the Berlin Wall, the Yankees winning the world series or the release of J.D. Salinger's Franny & Zooey. Tragic.
  
• Listen to some good music. The top songs from this time period remain classics today. Add Runaround Sue, Stand By Me and The Lion Sleeps Tonight to your playlist to get yourself in the mood.
  
• Buy the first season. iTunes is selling season one for $19.99, that's $20 off the retail prive everywhere else. If you don't mind watching it on your computer, that's certainly a steal.
  

Once you've done all that the only thing left to do is wait. You can read some of the "mad" press this show's received, especially in the past week. That might occupy your time. The season premiere airs at 10/9 central on AMC. Set your Tivos to stun.

Photo: AMCtv.com

Take A Look At The Emmy Finalists

For the first time, the folks over at The Emmys decided to let the fans in on the process and released the top 10 finalists in the Outstanding Comedy and Drama categories.

There's no voting or fan favorite or anything. They just want you to know who the heavy hitters were before the list gets narrowed down to five official nominees. It's kind of a neat idea.

Here are the lists. I took the liberty of highlighting my picks for you.

Outstanding Comedy Series Finalists

• Curb Your Enthusiasm
  
• Entourage
  
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords
  
• The Office
• Pushing Daisies - Great new show but it's a little soon to compete with the big boys.
• 30 Rock
• Two And A Half Men - Why God Why?
  
• Ugly Betty
• Weeds
  

This drama list is loaded with good stuff. I don't envy the Academy at all.

Outstanding Drama Series Finalists

• Boston Legal
• Damages
  
• Dexter
  
• Friday Night Lights
  
• Grey's Anatomy
• House
• Lost
  
• Mad Men
• The Wire

Guess, wonder, hypothesize, etc. All of the nominees will be announced on July 17.


Photo: HeroesTheSeries.com

Mad About Mad Men

Do you ever have a show you really enjoy, but it's kind of a secret? Maybe it's a cult favorite like Arrested Development, or a little engine that could like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Part of you wants people to watch it; it's good and you want it to stay on the air. The rest of you wants to keep it a little underground, just something you and the rest of TV elite can enjoy before it gets popular and everything changes.

I recently got into Mad Men, and despite all of the critical acclaim and a good number of fans, it's not exactly a ratings boom.

Then, I saw the cover of yesterday's New York Times Magazine.



There goes the neighborhood.

Photo: Vulture