What happened to Entourage? It's been a treat this season seeing the talented Adrian Grenier (pictured) actually get to act as Vincent’s star fades and the gang goes bankrupt—but watching the rest of the show go down in flames around him is torture. Instead of using Vince’s career drama as an excuse for, well, more drama, the show’s creative team has been piling on the stupid. Eric took on two new doofy, and vaguely offensive, redneck clients (guest stars Giovanni Ribisi and Lukas Haas). Johnny broke down live on The View. Turtle remained useless. And Ari feuded some more with nemesis Adam Davies. Their shockingly ridiculous car race through suburban L.A. was nearly the last straw for me. And I didn’t even blink when one sent the other a steaming bag of feces.
Then came last night’s self-discovery-themed episode, in which the boys (plus Eric Roberts) took a mushroom-fueled desert road trip so Vince could decide whether to headline Benji or fight for a supporting role in Smoke Jumpers. The hi-jinks? Unfunny. The philosophizing? Terrible. The episode? Just plain cringe-worthy.
Now, in no way do I want the show to go back to just being a boob-laden, LaLa Land lark. But as it heads into season six (HBO announced the show's renewal this morning), I need it to change for the better, or else I might jump ship. How about you? Am I alone in thinking the show has taken a turn for the worse? And if you ran HBO, how would you fix Entourage?
Welcome to a new PopWatch feature called "Winner of the Week," where we'll decide each Friday which entertainer had the most successful week. Our inaugural winner is Tina Fey. Her three acceptance speeches were highlights of an otherwise lackluster Emmy telecast. Her show 30 Rock got a much needed buzz boost by winning seven Emmys (more than any other comedy or drama series this year), including the top prize, Best Comedy Series, for the second straight year. (Even the loss of her purse at the Emmys earned her some additional sympathetic publicity.) Meanwhile, pundits started talking about the "Tina Fey" effect on Sarah Palin's poll numbers, citing a correlation between Fey's celebrated impression of her on Saturday Night Live on Sept. 13 and a decline since then in the vice presidential candidate's popularity. We even laughed again at Fey's updated American Express ad with Martin Scorsese, So congratulations, Tina Fey, on being PopWatch's first ever Winner of the Week!
Keep an eye out next Friday for the next Winner of the Week award. And if you have nominations, feel free to send them our way over the course of the week. (Oh, and if you disagree with this week's choice, go ahead and tell us who had a better week this week than Fey.) Meanwhile, enjoy Michael Ausiello's interview with Fey on the Emmy red carpet.
One moment said it all about last Sunday's Emmy Awards. Did you see when Bones' David Boreanaz presented the Outstanding Guest Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series awards alongside The Hills' Lauren Conrad? Usually the most affable of actors, Boreanaz, introduced by Heidi Klum as star of The Bones, could barely bring himself to look at Conrad. His dead stare and body-language said, "I was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, two great shows this academy barely even acknowledged. Now I'm acting in another hit show, and I have to hand out an award with a reality star? Get me outta here!"
And, indeed, many of us wanted outta there. The 60th annual Emmy Awards scored the lowest ratings since 1990 (12.3 million viewers, down from 13 million last year), and more Americans wanted to watch their Sunday night football. The use of five reality-show hosts — Klum, Howie Mandel, Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron, and Jeff Probst — to emcee the night led to more awkward pauses than the 90210 cast trying to order something off a KFC menu.
What to do to fix the Emmys? Start with these ideas.
• Make Neil Patrick Harris the new host. The smooth guy uttered the most succinct critique of the night—"Thanks to Howie Mandel's prattling, our bit has been cut"—and that's typical of his ad-lib aplomb.
• Cut it to two hours. What to remove? Here's a start: Don't bother airing the Best Miniseries/TV-Movie categories. The industry long ago ceded this genre to HBO (last year: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; this year: John Adams and Recount). There's already a nonbroadcast, pre-Emmy Awards ceremony for lesser categories, so let the cabler get its predictable slew of trophies off-camera.
Before we put a cork in our 2008 Emmys coverage, we're gonna do one last item in the hopes that we can help the telecast not suck so hard next year...
Name ONE THING you'd change/introduce to make the ceremony more enjoyable.
Mine, as previously pitched in our live blog: Have the late-night writing staffs nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program pen the patter for the presenters.
(A) The videos they submit for their category — i.e. The Colbert Report's, pictured — are always the best part of the show. (B) These people are used to writing jokes for which celebrities are a punchline. (C) Divide the telecast among the five nominees, and that's really only an extra half-hour of television we're asking them to script. So I don't want to hear that they're "too busy," especially in a non-election year.
The results of EW.com's first annual EWwys, honoring the shows and actors that coulda/shoulda been nominated in Emmys 10 major categories but weren't, are in. You'll find their margins of victory in our gallery of winners (that Best Drama race was T-I-G-H-T). After the jump, the rundown of EWwy recipients, as voted by you, the readers...
The 2008 Emmys telecast ended only a few short hours ago, and yet I'm hard-pressed to recall more than a couple specifics about the woeful performances of emcees Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Ryan Seacrest (all of whom were nominated for Best Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Show).
Sure, there was the initial shock when the five highly paid professionals opened the show with neither a single funny joke nor an effort to cut to the trophy-fest proceedings with businesslike brevity; instead, the quintet just stood around, shooting the breeze like bored strangers at a bad trade-show awards dinner, waiting for the buffet line to open. Then there was the general feeling of queasiness when Bergeron and William Shatner ripped off Klum's tear-away tuxedo, the former supermodel's shriek of shock just a little too convincing. (Yes, like Nina Garcia, I question the gag's taste level.) Other than those opening moments (and Probst gamely trying, but failing, to survive a set piece that put him in an old-tyme gumshoe costume), however, what else did the hosting panel do that couldn't have been handled by a trophy kiosk and an unseen voice-over announcer?
No joke, by the time I turned off my set at 11:01 p.m., it wouldn't have taken much to convince me that Seacrest had left the Nokia Theatre after the first 30 minutes of the show, only coming back long enough to find out he'd lost out to Probst in his division. (Seriously, has anyone ever seen the American Idol host so...muzzled?) Mandel, meanwhile, could've used a muzzle, as every one of his attempted punchlines fell to the stage with a thud louder than Bergeron dropping Klum like a mannequin to show the difference between comedy and drama.
I know, I know...hosting a big, nationally televised awards show is no easy gig, especially not with all the armchair emcees second-guessing you the morning after. But when a five-person emcee squad manages to get upstaged by the ten-thousandth airing of that (still hilarious) Tina Fey-Martin Scorsese American Express ad, it's time to rethink your strategy. I know I'm not alone, as Neil Patrick Harris and Jeremy Piven couldn't wait till the end of the show to express their annoyance (see clips below). Are you with me, or did you feel differently about the Klum-Bergeron-Probst-Mandel-Seacrest tag team?
Look, I didn't want to have to run another photo of Ugly Betty's Vanessa L. Williams on PopWatch this week -- okay, that's a blatant lie -- but after she got snubbed by Emmy tonight for the Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy statuette, I had no choice but to vent. No disrespect to Jean Smart, who's a terrific actress, but let me just say that Samantha Who? rhymes with "get a clue!" I know, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I just finished four hours of grueling live blogging, my brain aches a little, and nothing makes sense in a world where the woman who has given us two seasons of Wilhelmina Slater awesomeness still doesn't have a freakin' Emmy! So yeah, Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams is my pick for the biggest Emmy snub of 2008. (First runner-up goes to Lost, naturally. The show's total shutout on the Emmy telecast was completely screwy, though a well-dressed birdie tells me the ABC drama could still take home a little something from EWwy when those winners are announced right here on EW.com at 10 a.m. EDT today.)
It wasn't all bad, though. I let out a little "squeee!" when under-the-radar (but totally worthy) Zeljko Ivanek took home the trophy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his work on Damages. When you look at this fine character actor's IMDb page, you realize he's been in pretty much everything, without ever managing to become a household name. And so a night that finds him taking home one of his industry's most prestigious prizes can't be all bad. Not to mention that shows with small (but passionate) audiences like Breaking Bad, 30 Rock, In Treatment, Damages, and Mad Men got the kind of recognition that -- while it doesn't always lead to increased audiences -- can help to keep the Grim Reaper at bay for an extra season or two.
Anyhow, I'm wondering what you all thought of the 2008 Emmys telecast. What were the biggest snubs? Which winners had you cheering from your living room? Vent or celebrate or do a little of both on our message boards right now!
It's time, PopWatchers! The 2008 Emmy Awards telecast live blog, brought to
you by Michael Slezak, Mandi Bierly, Chad Schlegel, and Couture
Correspondent™ Meeta Agrawal. Enjoy!
Slezak: Fabulous Emmy quotes...including "Larry, Darryl, and Darryl"! And Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams doing a little Mary Tyler Moore action!
Mandi: Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams sighting No. 1!
Mandi: Oprah alert! I wonder if the audience would be this riveted if Ryan Seacrest, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, or Tom Bergeron would've opened the show...
Slezak: Oprah looks a-mah-zing, but she sounds like she's about to break into song.
Mandi: OPRAH IS LAUGHING AT THEM.
Slezak: I think she is!
Mandi: Heidi in a tux? Meeta?
Slezak: Heidi Klum, you better work!
Meeta: I do love a lady fashion inspired by menswear.
Meeta: But that is different than a lady in a man's tux.
Chad: Uh oh. This five host thing is already painful.
Meeta: Turns out not even Heidi can pull that off. And that's saying something.
Mandi: Tom Bergeron looks like he wants to die.
Chad: First Palin reference!
Mandi: Stephen Colbert said in the pre-show that ABC asked him and Jon Stewart not to do any political jokes. Good to know they didn't ask that of Howie Mandel.
Meeta: Heidi looks like she'd rather be serving drinks in that tux than on the stage with those four guys. Wow, more painful than Suede's Runway fashions.
Slezak: Five hosts + 0 funny jokes = My second glass of veenie.
Here it is, PopWatchers! The 2008 Emmys pre-show live blog, brought to you by Michael Slezak, Mandi Bierly, Chad Schlegel, and Couture Correspondent™ Meeta Agrawal. Enjoy!
Slezak: Alrighty guys, it's 7 p.m., which means we can no longer turn away from
the red-carpet heinoustries happening on E! (I saw Ryan Seacrest asking
Steve Carell about "enlarged balls" during hour 1 of the telecast,
and thus I placed this item under "The Bad Man Scares Me"). On the count of three, let's unmute our televisions and let the mockery begin!
Mandi: Jennifer Love Hewitt says the Ghost Whisperer set is haunted. One of the spirits must have given her a spray tan when she was sleeping in her trailer.
Slezak: Dana Delany is going to drink after the Emmys. Which means it's okay for me to have some wine right now, yes?
Chad: I'm waaay ahead of you.
Slezak: Also, her dress is made from the walls of Studio 54 "vintage from Lily et Cie."
Slezak: Giuliana would not be doing her job if she didn't ask about a SATC sequel. Or make mindless comments about handbags.
Mandi: There is clearly no one on the carpet if we're seeing J. Love AGAIN.
Slezak: I just heard Cynthia Nixon use the phrase "rediscover the joy in her life." I don't care for that.
Mandi: Patrick Dempsey just used the phrase "right on." I like that.
I'm not going to lie: The fact that the Emmys are only five hours away fills me with a cocktail of pure elation and nameless dread. (My use of the word "cocktail" in no way implies that I'll be hittin' the sauce while I live blog E!'s red-carpet pre-show and ABC's Emmys telecast with my colleagues Mandi Bierly, Chad Schlegel, and Couture Correspondent™ Meeta Agrawal. Though if Vanessa [L. Yeah] Williams doesn't take home the prize for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, I can't promise I won't numb the pain with vodka.)
But I digress! This blog post is all about the folks we're pulling for at the Emmys tonight (check out the list of Emmy nominees in the major categories here.) I'm leading the cheering section for L. Yeah (obvs), but would also be totally stoked to see Zeljko Ivanek (Damages) as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama, Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy) as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, and Lost land its rightful place as Best Drama. I fear Ivanek's heartbreakingly subtle turn as conflicted lawyer Ray Fiske will probably be overlooked in favor of one of the more bold-faced names in his division, but perhaps Wilson will grab a trophy for the way she uses righteous fury and humor to keep Grey's watchable even during its most irritating episodes.
Speaking of rooting interests, my colleague Michael Ausiello (be sure to try to outwit him before 8 p.m. ET in EW's new Emmy predictions game) worked the red carpet at EW's pre-Emmy party last night, and got House's Lisa Edelstein to make a case for why her co-star Hugh Laurie must win Best Actor in a Drama tonight (see video below). But Mad Men's Jon Hamm, who's up against Laurie, is betting on a different nominee altogether. Check out his surprising pick in the video embedded after the jump, then tell us your choices (and root-against nominees) for the night's major divisions in the comments section below.
Change the lame headline, change the lame headline.... No. Not gonna. Hey, all -- just a heads-up that you'll want to be RIGHT HERE at EW.com for everything Emmys this weekend. We'll have lots of lil' videos from Saturday night's EW party starting on Sunday morning. Later, as EW staffers report from backstage and in the audience on Twitter, Mandi and Slezak will graciously chain themselves, kicking and screaming, to hours of life-consuming live-blog duty starting with the last hour of E!'s red carpet coverage at 7 p.m. ET. After that, we'll post our usual backstage report and "Best and Worst Moments" photo gallery (check out the 2007 version for a trip down memory lane), plus a bonus red-carpet fashion awards gallery so you can marvel at L. Yeah (pictured)'s presumable excellent taste, or rip on Jane Krakowski if she decides to wear a new gown inspired by Dippin' Dotz or any other heavily processed food. (Fingers crossed!) On Monday, come back for plenty of exclusive red carpet videos from Michael Ausiello, plus a PopWatch discussion of the winners and who got snubbed.
On Monday night, while attending ABC's premiere party for season 3 of Ugly Betty, I made contact with the No. 1 person on my Celebrities I Want to Meet Before I Die List. Yes, PopWatchers, I got to shake hands with Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams. Unfortunately, my hand was not the only thing that shook. Other affected limbs included knees, elbows, ankles, jaw, spleen, and, well, let's just say I resembled a sheltered and skittish Chihuahua who suddenly finds himself on the 10-yard line during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. I blurted something about her "Did you just gesture at me when you said Kwanzaa?" line on Betty, my deep appreciation of her classic Comfort Zone disc, and my outrage over her lack of a richly deserved Emmy. For her part, L. Yeah was totally gracious and sweet, which is to say she did not call security. (Good thing my colleague Michael Ausiello was there on official business, and snagged an official interview with Williams and a chat with her fellow Emmy nominee America Ferrera -- do click and watch 'em, people!)
Anyhow, I bring up my hellaciously somewhat embarrassing encounter because this Saturday, Sept. 20, EW will be hosting its annual Emmy party in Los Angeles. I've had a sneak peek at the likely guest list, and suffice to say there are more than a few A-list TV stars (and Emmy nominees) (and EWwynominees) who are planning to attend. We'll have roving reporters (including Mr. Ausiello) in attendance, and we're hoping you'll do our work for us help us brainstorm some questions for the stars of your favorite shows. Yeah, I know, I can't share the guest list (my boss says it's strictly verboten!) but dream big. In a week where I got to meet the woman who plays Wilhelmina Slater, anything is possible. Let's just hope you (and your questions) manage to be a little more eloquent than yours truly.
So let's hear it: If you could meet any current TV actor at our party, who would it be, and what would you ask him or her? (Check EW.com on Sunday and Monday for video from the EW party to see if your questions made the cut!)
Don't you remember the SATs? The answer featuring a hyperlink and exclamation point is always correct. We'll be tweeting about the especially cool/funny/interesting stuff on EW.com, plus breaking news and random observations from interviews, photo shoots, live shows, and more. Be sure to sign up before Sunday night's Emmys -- we'll post live reports from the audience, backstage...and most glamorous of all, my littered-with-Thai-takeout sofa.
Winning a second Emmy would normally be enough to get you off of the D-list, but taking home the trophy for best reality show will always be D-list. Right?
The Creative Arts Primetime Emmys were held Saturday night in Los Angeles, and Kathy Griffin, who's dubbed them the "Schmemmys" because they're given out before the actual Emmy broadcast (Sept. 21 this year), once again accepted the award for her Bravo series My Life on the D-List. According to Gold Derby by Tom O'Neil, she started her speech with "Well, well, well! Here we go again, f---ers. Here we go again!" (I still don't get why she got in so much trouble last year.) Apparently, she and Cesar Millan weren't the biggest stars in attendance for once. She continued: "Hanks, Gandolfini — what the f---! I'm not going to tell anyone to suck it. I would make love to this thing if I could."
Speaking of making love, Sarah Silverman also accepted an award Saturday night for "I'm F---ing Matt Damon," which earned an Emmy for its original music and lyrics. According to People, she acknowledged her ex gracefully: "Thanks to the person for whom this whole video was made: Jimmy Kimmel, who broke my heart — ohh, who'll always have a place in my heart."
In case you forgot:
For a complete list of Creative Arts Primetime Emmy winners — including 30 Rock, Mad Men, The Simpsons, South Park, andBattlestar Galactica — click here. For EW.com's continuing Emmys coverage, including bracket games to name the best Emmy-winning drama and comedy of all-time click here. And, of course, don't forget to vote in our first annual EWwy Awards, which honor the series, actors, and actresses snubbed in the Emmy nominating process. (Last time I checked, Battlestar Galactica was tied with Bones for Best Drama, ahead of Friday Night Lights, The Wire, and Big Love.)
For William Shatner, scoring an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama has become an annual occurrence as predictable as geese heading south for the winter, Will Smith opening at No. 1 on July 4th weekend, and drug stores displaying Christmas merchandise at increasingly ungodly dates. (I kid you not: I saw a rack of hideous, holiday-themed plush toys at my local Duane Reade this morning. Rated Argh!)
But I've got exciting news for those of you who've ever been frustrated by the way the Emmys reward the same old nominees year after year after blasted, stinkin' year: Shatner and his Boston Legal cohorts all got snubbed in the first annual EWwy Awards, EW.com's brand new TV awards recognizing the great shows and performers who, for whatever reason, can't seem to get any love from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
We chose four nominees in every category from your passionate rants on our PopWatch message boards, then EW TV critics Gillian Flynn and Ken Tucker rounded out each list with a fifth "critics' choice" selection.
Click here to vote for the EWwys in five drama divisions -- the battle for best series is super-close; Battlestar Galactica, Bones, Friday Night Lights, and The Wire are all within reach of the coveted Golden Ewe trophy -- then come back to EW.com tomorrow when we'll reveal the nominees in five comedy races. The EWwy polls close Sept. 17, and every vote counts -- even Mr. Shatner's.
Today, EW.com launched its 2008 Emmys Prediction Game (pictured, with a shout-out to Monk's Tony Shalhoub, who celebrates his 100th episode tonight). Submit your picks in 13 major categories, and see how they stack up against those of EW TV expert Michael Ausiello. Come back after the Emmys (Sept. 21, ABC), and find out what position they earned you on the leaderboard. There are prizes — Amazon gift certificates — but we all know the real reward is bragging rights.
Tip: If, in a feeble attempt to speed up the game, you repeatedly click on a nominee and it somehow registers your selection for the next category as well, know you will have an opportunity to switch picks. (No one should have to bet on Dancing With the Stars, other than Annie.)
How nice that the TV Academy, marking a television season that was truncated while producers spent months deciding whether or not they wanted to pay writers, is honoring memorable lines of TV dialogue at this year's Emmy ceremony. According to the Hollywood Reporter, various TV personalities will be reciting classic phrases, along the lines of "Good night, John Boy," or "Live long and prosper." Let's hope the list of lines is not etched in stone yet, since I'm sure we all have plenty of suggestions for which lines they should honor, and who should say them, if the original actor isn't available. For instance, I'd love to hear Ed Asner get up there and recite his own most unforgettable line of TV dialogue: "You have spunk. I hate spunk," though I'm not sure enough viewers would recognize that one. Also, I'd be tempted to lard the list with quotes from House, since Hugh Laurie (pictured) gets better lines than just about anyone on TV. In fact, let's just save time and have the ridiculously talented Mr. Laurie recite all the lines, in whichever accent pleases him. But let's have your suggestions to the Academy below.
Usually, I set my DVR to record an awards show, start in an hour or so late, and fast-forward all of the long-winded, boring blah blah blah to get to the good stuff. For the Emmys? Best actor, actress, supporting, best comedy, best drama, and...scene! This year, though, I'm making sure to pay attention to the Outstanding Choreography category -- since the five nominees include some spectacular routines from High School Musical 2, Dancing With the Stars, and So You Think You Can Dance.
First up among the nominees are High School Musical 2's Kenny Ortega, Charles Kapow, and Bonnie Story -- SYTYCD fans out there, you might remember Story's daughter Kelli Baker, who tried out this season but didn't make the Top 20 -- for the routines "What Time Is It?" (embedded below) "Fabulous," "Work This Out," "I Don't
Dance," "You Are the Music in Me," and "For One." While I'm really only into HSM
to indulge in my barely legal love of Zac Efron, I have to admit that
the part with the basketball balancing is pretty fancy.
Check out the four dance numbers attempting to stop the HSM2 juggernaut -- then declare your favorite -- after the jump!
You remember how the PopWatch Duel works: We ask two people for their picks on a certain topic. You decide whose list is better by casting a
vote in the comments section. They try to tell themselves that they
don't care who wins.
In honor of today's DVD release of Robot Chicken: Star Wars — which just received an A- review in EW and, oh yeah, an Emmy nomination — we asked creators Seth Green (left) and Matthew Senreich (right) to each name The Five Geekiest Pieces of Pop Culture I Own.
So yeah, a bunch of super-worthy shows got dissed by the Emmy nominations today. (I guess we Friday Night Lights fans should be used to the world inexplicably ignoring the best drama on TV by now.) But here's some news that cheered me up immensely (h/t): HBO's Flight of the Conchords was rewarded with not one, but two Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics nods! Honestly, if it were up to me those kooky Kiwis would take all five spots in the category, but I can't complain when the Emmy deities recognized my absolute favorite Conchords tune, "Inner City Pressure," along with "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)." Since the "Inner City Pressure" clip is now firmly lodged in my brain once again, I'll use this occasion as an excuse to post it:
Aw, man. "Countin' coins on the counter of the 7-Eleven / From a quarter past six to a quarter to seven / The manager, Bevin, starts to abuse me / Hey, man, I just want some Muesli!" Such pathos. (The full version from the Conchords' CD is even better.) Anyone else feeling this? Or would you have nominated another song(s) from the HBO show (or some other series) instead?
Last weekend I had a dream where I was sitting in front of my TV set watching the Emmy nominations press conference, and was shocked/elated when Ugly Betty's Becki Newton received a nod for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. In my dream, I remember thinking to myself how this was impossible, seeing how earlier in the month, Gold Derby leaked the list of the top 10 semifinalists in the category (and the nine other major races), and Newton's name was inexplicably missing.
This dream tells me a few things: I'm unhealthily obsessed with the Emmys; my dream-life has an impressive degree of factual accuracy; and, yes, you can always count on a whopping number of boneheaded omissions in the major categories. This year, however, seems even worse than usual. Maybe it's because PopWatch favorites like The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, and Friday Night Lights all cracked one or more of the lists of semifinalists, and yet none scored a single major nomination. I spent all morning sending out positive Emmy energy into the universe, hoping it might result in a nod for Battlestar's glorious Mary McDonnell (apparently only former A-list movie stars and Mariska Hargitay need apply for Best Actress in a Drama), Medium's unheralded Jake Weber, or 30 Rock's Tracy Morgan, but nope… all of 'em got the hose. At least I can take consolation in the fact that Zelko Ivanek and Michael Emerson made the cut for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.(And of course, Wilhelmina Slaaaytaaaah!)
After the jump, check out the full list of major nominees, and then vent your snub rage/nomination elation (and those names you can't believe you're seeing yet again... like comedy actors whose names begin with "Sh") in the comments section below. (And do check back at EW.com later this morning for Emmy reactions from our TV critics Gillian Flynn and Ken Tucker, plus click here to get Michael Ausiello's snappy judgment on the nominations.)
The intrepid bloggers at Gold Derby continue to post the lists of the top 10 Emmy semifinalists in all the major acting categories -- recently adding the contenders for nods for Best Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama. And yet while my inner Emmy addict has an insatiable appetite for such scoop, there's a small part of me that hates myself for even looking. I mean, knowing that Battlestar Galalctica's Mary McDonnell has made the shortlist in her category will only make it more devastating when if she doesn't wind up on the final roll call of nominees; her President Laura Roslin is by turns brash, wise, sexy, powerful, petty, and conflicted -- in other words, deliciously fleshed out. She'd be a shoo-in if she wasn't the star of a sci-fi program. On the flip side, though, I was bummed to see that Ally Walker, so devastating in HBO's under-the-radar Tell Me You Love Me, isn't even up for consideration. (Doesn't it sometimes feel like Emmy reflexively favors actors with extensive movie backgrounds/Oscar nominations over its homegrown talent?)
The contenders: Patricia Arquette (Medium); Glenn Close (Damages); Minnie Driver (The Riches); Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters); Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit); Holly Hunter (Saving Grace); Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men); Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica); Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer); and Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love).
On the men's side, I would like to express my shock and outrage about the snubbing of CSI: Miami's David Caruso, who continues to redefine the term "acting" through the exhilaratingly nuanced repositioning of his sunglasses. (He should've followed my advice for a Very Special Episode.) And while I'm just beginning to check out season 1 of Friday Night Lights on DVD, I know a few of you will start a "PopWatch wave" down in the comments section at sight of Kyle Chandler's name on the list of Best Actor contenders, especially since his counterpart Connie Britton got bupkis.
Chandler's fellow contenders include: Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment); Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad); Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy); Michael C. Hall (Dexter); Jon Hamm (Mad Men); Eddie Izzard (The Riches); Hugh Laurie (House); Denis Leary (Rescue Me); and James Spader (Boston Legal).
Which contenders for this year's Emmy nods have you particularly stoked? Which ones really didn't deserve the accolades? And which omissions have you ready to punch a hole in the wall/write a strongly worded email? Let your emotions flow below!
Now that the Emmy semifinalist lists for Supporting Actors and Actresses in dramas have been leaked, it's time to vent. First, it's clear there's no love lost between Lost and the Emmy voters. Yeah, the cast is huge, but seriously, no room on the shortlist for Terry O'Quinn, who won the statuette last year? None for Henry Ian Cusick (upper left), who had the most emotionally satisfying character arc of season 4? None for Yunjin Kim (lower left), who had the most devastating arc? I'm also bummed that Robert Sean Leonard didn't get noticed for his heartbreaking turn on House (but then, the Emmys have never given the lead actor prize to Hugh Laurie either, incredibly enough). And like Gold Derby's Tom O'Neil, I'm irked that Friday Night Lights' Connie Britton isn't there, nor January Jones from Mad Men, though her co-star, hot-to-trot office manager Christina Hendricks (lower right), deservingly made the cut. (As O'Neil bluntly puts it: "In: Floozies. Out: Whiny wives with emotional baggage and babies.")
Actually, what's in, at least on the actress list, is Emmy royalty, women the Academy seems to recognize reflexively because of their pedigrees, regardless of whether they did extraordinary work this year. I enjoyed Rachel Griffiths on Brothers & Sisters and Jill Clayburgh on Dirty Sexy Money, but I'd toss them both overboard without remorse to get Britton or Kim on this list. There's some of that on the men's list, too (Shatner? Again? Really?), but I am happy to see Ted Danson (upper right) here for his chilly turn on Damages; Lost-ies Naveen Andrews and Michael Emerson; John Slattery for his Mad Men boss (and not, thankfully, his Desperate Housewives villain); Blair Underwood for his In Treatment patient (and not, thankfully, for his mysterious mogul on DSM); and Jake Weber for his understanding hubby on Medium. (Did I just see Michael Slezak doing a cartwheel past my office?)
Your turn, TV experts: Who are you pleased to see on these lists? Which of your favorites didn't make the semifinals? (Hey, where's cuddly Heroes standout Masi Oka?) And what else of interest do these lists reveal? (I'm glad Burn Notice mom Sharon Gless is in the running, but in the dramatic category? If Monk is a comedy, how is BN a drama?) Have at it, below.
The Emmys shortlists keep trickling in over at the swashbuckling Gold Derby -- here are the 10 baked hams in the running for America's Next Top Comedy Actress:
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? ("The Restraining Order") Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives ("Now You Know") America Ferrera, Ugly Betty ("Odor in the Court") Tina Fey, 30 Rock ("Sandwich Day") Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies ("Bitter Sweets") Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives ("Now I Know, Don't Be Scared") Eva Longoria Parker, Desperate Housewives ("In Buddy's Eyes") Julia Louis-Dreyfus, New Adventures of Old Christine ("One and a Half Men") Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds ("Bill Sussman") Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program ("Bored of the Rings")
Our selected image suggests we care that OMG TERI HATCHER WAS SNUBBED THIS YEAR. Not really. I'm of the opinion that to expect four actresses from the same not-always-hilarious series to get noms just because they're equally overexposed off-screen and get relatively equal time on-screen, is ludicrous. (And anyhow, isn't series newcomer Dana Delany's omission the real shocker?) Anyhow, I'll be surprised if Huffman, Longoria, and Cross all get nods in lieu of first-time potential nominees Applegate or Silverman, who carry their own shows. Rejoice or disapprove in the comments below, or if you just don't know what to think about the shortlist and airport security simply refuses let you through with that attitude, follow the fine example in the clip below!
Brace yourselves, TV addicts: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences have announced the top 10 finalists for Emmy nominations in the Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series categories. And before we get into snubs territory, it should be noted that fans of PopWatch favorites such as The Wire (left), Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, Flight of the Conchords, and Pushing Daisies have reason to celebrate. No, none of the shows have landed nominations (yet), but they're still in the running for their initial Best Series nods.
The shorlists are as follows. Under consideration for Best Drama are: Boston Legal, Damages, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Grey’s Anatomy, House, Lost, Mad Men, The Tudors, and The Wire. Still in the running for Best Comedy are: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, Family Guy, Flight of the Conchords, The Office, Pushing Daisies, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men, Ugly Betty, and Weeds. (Click here to get the specific episodes for which each series is being considered.)
Good news aside, my first response to the lists was this: Where the frak is the nail-bitingly awesome Battlestar Galactica (right)? I call SciFiPhobia! And coming off a particularly strong season, shouldn't Desperate Housewives have won a spot over Two and a Half Men and Family Guy? (Maybe the Emmy overlords feel the residents of Wisteria Lane aren't done paying the price for the Applewhite Incident?)
Who else would make your list of snubs? And which finalists have you doing the happy dance? Holla!
I haven't watched the Daytime Emmys since Susan Lucci actually won one, but I might tune in tonight (ABC, 8 p.m. ET, with hosts Cameron Mathison and Sherri Shepherd) to see the new format. It involves tables à la the Golden Globes, an open bar, and a 50 percent chance that someone will become a viral video star.
Yes, tonight, the producers are putting digital video cameras at the tables and asking attendees to document their evenings in self-shot footage, which will be uploaded to SoapNet.com. (I trust the Hollywood Foreign Press to steal this awesome idea for the Globes, so we can all witness those commercial break-time schmoozefests.) While I'm hoping someone gets tipsy enough to have a real Faith Hill moment after losing his or her category (and that he or she has a genuine enemy who's quick enough to capture it), I suspect there are soap fans who will be watching to see who wins. So tell us who you're rooting for, and we'll keep our fingers crossed. (Check out the full list of nominees here.)
I'm pulling for Van Hansis (pictured), Luke Snyder on As the World Turns, because I was on his set last month. And, I'm easy.
Currently, there is an email chain clogging the inboxes of EW's TV department, and it began with a link to Tom O'Neil's Gold Derby awards blog and the question, "She's trying to get out of the show, isn't she?"
The she is Grey's Anatomy Emmy winner Katherine Heigl, who was asked by Gold Derby to explain why her name wasn't on the TV Academy's list of Emmy contenders. Her response: "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an
Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the
academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an
opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."
Was this selfless act noble, presumptuous, or a clear attempt to piss off the Grey's producers so they'll send her far, far away (to a place where she can pursue that film career year round)?
My wish list starts with Damages' Zeljko Ivanek (left), whose heartbreaking portrayal of a morally dubious, sexually conflicted attorney might get overlooked by Emmy voters, considering his FX series last aired in October and featured standout performances by a couple of bigger names — Glenn Close and Ted Danson -- who seem more likely to get kudos. But seriously, I'm calling 911 and reporting a felony crime if Ivanek's name doesn't get included for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. Similarly, much deserved recognition for the aforementioned (and absolutely sublime) Ms. Williams and headliner America Ferrera on Ugly Betty might lead to a snub for Ana Ortiz (right), despite the fact that her season 2 work as Hilda Suarez went from heartbreaking to hilarious and back — often in the course of a single scene — and even though her reaction shots are among the best in primetime.
Also on my dream nominations list: the consistently gripping Battlestar Galactica for Best Drama (it's time to do the right thing, Emmy voters!); Chandra Wilson, whose mix of brass and brains makes Grey's Anatomy bearable even in its most indulgent moments; Jake Weber, the quiet balance to Patricia Arquette's more ballyhooed genius on Medium; Lost's Yunjin Kim (for that helicopter scene alone); and Mia Wasikowska for HBO's In Treatment (I'm only a few episodes in, but my word, she's tremendous, as you can see in the clip I've embedded after the jump).
Okay, your turn: Which actors, writers, and shows deserve Emmy
nominations? Speak now, or forfeit the right to gripe when the Academy
of Television Arts and Sciences inevitably gets it wrong next month.
Something surprising happened during Lynette's chemotherapy story arc on last night's terrific, funny episode of Desperate Housewives. (Spoiler alert!) No, I'm not referring to the revelation that Gaby (Eva Longoria, pictured at left, with Felicity Huffman as Lynette) had an aversion to hospitals — and to volunteering as one of Lynette's "chemo buddies" — stemming from a heartbreaking childhood incident. (That plot twist was hidden about as well as Teri Hatcher's lingerie-clad breasts.) No, the surprise was that I found myself fighting back tears as she recounted trying bravely to smile as a five-year-old watching her father succumb to cancer.
I know that, in the past, I've used PopWatch as a forum to praise Longoria's comic chops, but maybe last night's dramatic turn will provide her with an Emmy reel that'll shake voters out of whatever stupor has stopped them from nominating her the past three seasons. My sister admitted to me on the phone this morning that she was reaching for the Kleenex during the Gaby-Lynette scene, too, and I'm wondering if any of you experienced similar waterworks.
If not, then I ask you this: When was the last time a TV show gave you a case of the sad snifflies? 'Fess up, folks! Because much as I love Fergie, I vehemently disagree with her message that big girls (or guys, for that matter), don't cry.
Few of my EW.com colleagues agree with me, but I thought Lewis Black's rant during Sunday's Emmys was a hilarious highlight of a dreary telecast. It was also bravely suicidal, since the TV executives whom the Daily Show pundit was blasting were probably all in the audience, making mental notes never to hire him. Still, even as he worked himself into his usual apoplectic froth, I bet he spoke for millions of viewers in expressing his irritation at pop-up promos for the next show that distract you from the show you're still watching, crawling news tickers that add more visual clutter than valuable information, and end-credits that scroll past so fast that even Evelyn Wood couldn't speed-read them.
Did Black speak for you, too, PopWatchers? Were there other televisual annoyances he should have mentioned? Did he make you laugh or just make you afraid he was going to have a stroke onstage?
8:00 p.m. Slow clap: L-Yeah! L-Yeah! Oh wait, sorry, gonna try to be neutral here for at least five minutes. Em-my! Em-my! Em-my!
8:01 p.m. Seeing that this Family Guy medley isn't actually live, you think they could've come up with funnier stuff than a Charlie Sheen pedophilia joke and a bit about the age of the Desperate Housewives ladies. That said, rhyming Zach Braff with "doesn't have to make you laugh" made me chuckle. A little.
8:02 p.m. Oh Fox, so classy with that closeup of T.R. Knight during the Isaiah Washington Joke.
8:05 p.m. Uh-oh. Ryan's trying to be funny. And the audience is trying to be nice and pretending to laugh. But seriously, my dream of a shtick-free Emmys -- where every acting nominee gets a 30-second pre-awards highlight clip is about six minutes away from flatlining.
8:07 p.m. Tell me I did not just hear a Hayden Panettiere age-of-consent joke in the first 10 minutes of the telecast.
8:10 p.m. Maybe Ray Romano said something funny during that technical glitch where they cut to the ceiling? 'Cause I'm not really laughing at any of this mess.
8:11 p.m. Okay, that bit about Romano's sexual encounters ending the
same way as The Sopranos' final episode…that was kinda priceless.
8:13 p.m. I liked Jeremy Piven better when he was on Cupid. And I'm not just saying that because he beat Rainn Wilson.
6:08 p.m. Alrighty, P-Dubs. Just some light blogging for the first hour of red-carpet, since I'm trying to eat dinner, pray for Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams, and save my strength for four straight hours of furious typing.
6:11 p.m. If Ryan Seacrest's idea of comedy involves forcing Ali Larter to relive her whipped-cream bikini scene from Varsity Blues live on the red-carpet, we're in for a long night.
6:23 p.m. Salient point from Jon Stewart, trying to calm Seacrest's nerves about hosting duties. Even though pundits act as though "if this doesn't go well, people will die," rest assured, the Emmys will be back next year, no matter what happens.
6:26 p.m. Seacrest re. Sesame Street's Elmo: "He makes me seem bigger and more masculine." Y'know, that's not half bad.
6:30 p.m. America Ferrera has a list of folks she doesn't want to forget to thank if she scores an Emmy. Which is totally sweet. But seriously, nobody wants to hear lists. I mean, nobody.
Like Mandi, when I heard that Ryan Seacrest was tapped to host this year's Emmys, my reaction was something along the lines of "Really? Him?!?" Usually, awards shows are, how do you say, "better" when the host is funny and unpredictable enough to keep me awake between the annual montage o' death and the bit where the Academy president comes out to blah-blah-blah. You know, folks like Ellen DeGeneres and Jon Stewart and Chris Rock and Conan O'Brien... not Ryan Seacrest, whose brand of humor on American Idol — trading "I'm not gay, you're gay!" cracks with Simon Cowell — is undoubtedly a thing that makes me die inside. (Thankfully, he told Variety he's not even attempting an opening monologue.)
But this morning while IM'ing with Slezak, I learned something that softened me toward ol' Ryan a little. "Since Seacrest's doing the show," I asked, "who's doing the red carpet with Giuliana on E!?" Slezak's shocking reply: "Seacrest!" Yep, he's doing BOTH. C'mon — you have to admire that! If nothing else, the man is extremely hard-working, and always has been.
• Our coverage begins at 7 p.m. EDT with Slezak's live-blog of E!'s pre-show and, an hour later, Fox's three-hour broadcast of the ceremony — during which, according to this E! Online report, you may see a tribute to The Sopranos by the Jersey Boys cast, a Family Guy song-and-dance number, and a jokey hip-hop-style "showdown" between Kanye West (pictured, right) and Rainn Wilson (left).
• An EW.com video crew will tag along with Whitney Pastorek as she talks to folks on the red carpet.
• Adam B. Vary will be backstage at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium, hanging out with the winners.
• Awards-night vet Gary Susman will pick the best and worst moments of the ceremony for a photo gallery.
• And of course, we'll be keeping a running tally of the winners as they're announced.
I don't care what y'all say, I'm a big fan of Joan Rivers' red-carpet work. I love both her pointed barbs and her embarrassing gaffes. (I don't love her bland daughter Melissa, except when she rolls her eyes at Mom, but I'm willing to put up with her for Joan's sake.) With the Rivers gals (pictured) no longer doing their shtick for E! or the even the TV Guide Channel (which is replacing them with Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone), I was afraid that I would go through Joan withdrawal this Sunday at the Emmys. Not to worry: Joan's taking her act to the Web. Over at VH1's EyeCandy, where they've set up a special EmmysWithJoan.com page, Joan and Melissa will continue to offer live commentary about the red carpet fashions, only they'll be snarking from the comfort of their own couch, just like the rest of us. It sounds like a worthwhile experiment, not just because the 74-year-old comic is trying her hand for the first time at blogging, vlogging, and podcasting (her first vlog post is here, and it's not bad; it's also slightly NSFW), but because not having to lie to celebrities in person about how fabulous they look should be enormously liberating to Joan. I'm sure Rinna and Fatone will do a very nice job, but those of us who don't want nice now have somewhere else to turn. As for the awards ceremony itself, make sure to check out our own live-blogging of the event.
After this past weekend's announcement that "D--k in a
Box" has already won an Emmy, it seems that the digital age is well and truly upon
us. After all, if it wasn't for the massive viral success of the unbleeped YouTube
version of the song, the clip might have been another forgettable
Saturday Night Live skit in the archives. But with
all the big questions about whether online video will really make TV obsolete
and how the networks will survive, Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake's raunchy
R&B spoof has now exposed a more practical concern — what happens when an
uncensored Web video with an inappropriate name wins an Emmy, and then journalists
have to figure out a way to report it?
The resourceful folks at the New York Times came up with one solution, referring to the winning
video as "A Special Christmas Box." (Disturbingly, that sounds like
something I would present to my grandmother.) Meanwhile, the Associated Press just calls it
"(Blank) in a Box." Slightly less inspired. For our part, we would
like to suggest "Holiday Genital Container" as an acceptable
substitute for the NSFW title. Too bad there is no Pulitzer for "Most
Creative Euphemism for an Emmy-Winning Song"!
Got any other suggestions for "The Video That Shall Not
Be Named," PopWatchers? Journalistic integrity depends upon it...
I've pitched her as the new Bionic Woman, as a sub for Mariska Hargitay on Law & Order: SVU, and as the leading lady in the TV movie of PopWatch: Comments Section, but apparently Ally Walker knew better all along. The actress, who's only taken a handful of roles since leaving NBC's Profiler back in 1999, returned to the airwaves last night as suburban mom Katie in HBO's Tell Me You Love Me (get Karen Valby's full TV Watch here) and her performance was downright revelatory. I can't recall many recent instances of an actress (or actor) saying so much in so few words. From Walker's luncheon scene opposite Sherry Stringfield — discussing how a mutual pal's declining sex life led to divorce — to her heartbreaking therapy session opposite the equally effective Jane Alexander, Walker alternately conveyed fear, longing, desire, isolation, embarrassment, and anger all through the most subtle facial expressions. Thank goodness Walker hasn't followed so many of her contemporaries into the murky waters of cosmetic surgery. After all, there's far more beauty in the imperfection of human emotion than there is in the blank palette of one too many Botox shots — and Walker's performance was achingly powerful evidence.
And the first runner-up for this blog post's headline is... "No, this will not be another enthusiastic plug for Vanessa L. Williams in the Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Category." That said, if for any reason the winning headline is not able to complete its duties, the first runner-up will be asked to step in and take its place.
Seriously, though, P-Dubs, with the Emmys less than a week away, it's time to break out the homemade banners and declare your support for your absolute favorite nominee. And while I have to admit that 30 Rock probably gave me my biggest laugh of the season — courtesy of its "There is nothing like New York in the spring!" moment (watch it after the jump) — I'll be rooting hardest for Ugly Betty, the series that gave us "Did you just gesture at me when you said Kwanzaa?", come Sunday night. After all, Betty not only has the highest laughs-per-minute ratio on TV, but it also has the most snubs-per-supporting-cast tally among Emmy nominees. (Check out the Becki Newton highlight reel, also after the jump, if you don't believe me.)
Anyhow, now that I've declared my not terribly surprising Emmy loyalties, it's your turn. So riddle me this: Which show or actor absolutely needs to win an Emmy on Sunday? I dare you to narrow your list to just one! (And if you need a refresher course on the nominees, just in case you still can't believe Battlestar Galactica's not on the list, click here for EW.com's cheat sheet.)
So, yesterday, your intrepid EW.com staffers thought we might prepare for the Sept. 16 Emmy telecast by publishing a photo gallery of the most memorable moments of Emmy ceremonies past — only, we could hardly think of any. This was especially embarrassing for me, since I'm usually the one who writes the Emmys Most Memorable Moments galleryeveryyear as soon as the ceremony is over, and even I had a hard time coming up with unforgettable moments from the Emmy podium from recent years.
To be sure, the Emmys don't often lend themselves to memorable moments the way other awards shows do. Missing are the grandeur of the Oscars, the music and outrageous costumes of the Grammys, or the drunken shenanigans of the Golden Globes. Still, I was able to come up with a handful off the top of my head:
• Ellen DeGeneres hosting in 2001 (pictured). In the wake of Sept. 11 and the invasion of Afghanistan, the ceremony was pushed back twice, and no one seemed to be in the mode for an evening of celebrity self-congratulation. Yet Ellen saved the day with dignity and wry humor, as with her quip, "What would upset the Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"
Home
What happened to Entourage? It's been a treat this season seeing the talented Adrian Grenier (pictured) actually get to act as Vincent’s star fades and the gang goes bankrupt—but watching the rest of the show go down in flames around him is torture. Instead of using Vince’s career drama as an excuse for, well, more drama, the show’s creative team has been piling on the stupid. Eric took on two new doofy, and vaguely offensive, redneck clients (guest stars Giovanni Ribisi and Lukas Haas). Johnny broke down live on The View. Turtle remained useless. And Ari feuded some more with nemesis Adam Davies. Their shockingly ridiculous car race through suburban L.A. was nearly the last straw for me. And I didn’t even blink when one sent the other a steaming bag of feces. 
Welcome to a new PopWatch feature called "Winner of the Week," where we'll decide each Friday which entertainer had the most successful week. Our inaugural winner is Tina Fey. Her three acceptance speeches were 
One moment said it all about last Sunday's Emmy Awards. Did you see when Bones' David Boreanaz presented the Outstanding Guest Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series awards alongside The Hills' Lauren Conrad? Usually the most affable of actors, Boreanaz, introduced by Heidi Klum as star of The Bones, could barely bring himself to look at Conrad. His dead stare and body-language said, "I was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, two great shows this academy barely even acknowledged. Now I'm acting in another hit show, and I have to hand out an award with a reality star? Get me outta here!"
Before we put a cork in our 2008 Emmys coverage, we're gonna do one last item in the hopes that we can help the telecast not suck so hard next year... 
The results of EW.com's first annual EWwys, honoring the shows and actors that coulda/shoulda been nominated in Emmys 10 major categories but weren't, are in. 
Look, I didn't want to have to run another photo of Ugly Betty's Vanessa L. Williams on PopWatch this week -- okay, that's a blatant lie -- but after she got snubbed by 
It's time, PopWatchers! The 2008 Emmy Awards telecast live blog, brought to
you by Michael Slezak, Mandi Bierly, Chad Schlegel, and Couture
Correspondent™ Meeta Agrawal. Enjoy!
Here it is, PopWatchers! The 2008 Emmys pre-show live blog, brought to you by Michael Slezak, Mandi Bierly, Chad Schlegel, and Couture Correspondent™ Meeta Agrawal. Enjoy!
I'm not going to lie: The fact that the Emmys are only five hours away fills me with a cocktail of pure elation and nameless dread. (My use of the word "cocktail" in no way implies that I'll be hittin' the sauce while I live blog E!'s red-carpet pre-show and ABC's Emmys telecast with my colleagues Mandi Bierly, Chad Schlegel, and Couture Correspondent™ Meeta Agrawal. Though if Vanessa [L. Yeah] Williams doesn't take home the prize for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, I can't promise I won't numb the pain with vodka.)
Change the lame headline, change the lame headline.... No. Not gonna. Hey, all -- just a heads-up that you'll want to be RIGHT HERE at EW.com for everything Emmys this weekend. We'll have lots of lil' videos from Saturday night's EW party starting on Sunday morning. Later, as EW staffers report from backstage and in the audience 
On Monday night, while attending ABC's premiere party for season 3 of Ugly Betty, I made contact with the No. 1 person on my Celebrities I Want to Meet Before I Die List. Yes, PopWatchers, I got to shake hands with Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams. Unfortunately, my hand was not the only thing that shook. Other affected limbs included knees, elbows, ankles, jaw, spleen, and, well, let's just say I resembled a sheltered and skittish Chihuahua who suddenly finds himself on the 10-yard line during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. I blurted something about her "
Q: Uh...what's with the photo?
Winning a second Emmy would normally be enough to get you off of the D-list, but taking home the trophy for best reality show will always be D-list. Right?
For William Shatner, scoring an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama has become an annual occurrence as predictable as geese heading south for the winter, Will Smith opening at No. 1 on July 4th weekend, and drug stores displaying Christmas merchandise at increasingly ungodly dates. (I kid you not: I saw a rack of hideous, holiday-themed plush toys at my local 
Today, EW.com launched its 
How nice that the TV Academy, marking a television season that was truncated while producers spent months deciding whether or not they wanted to pay writers, is honoring memorable lines of TV dialogue at this year's Emmy ceremony. According to the 
Last weekend I had a dream where I was sitting in front of my TV set watching the Emmy nominations press conference, and was shocked/elated when Ugly Betty's Becki Newton received a nod for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. In my dream, I remember thinking to myself how this was impossible, seeing how earlier in the month, 
The intrepid bloggers at Gold Derby continue to 
Now that the Emmy semifinalist lists for Supporting 
The Emmys shortlists keep trickling in over at the swashbuckling 
Brace yourselves, TV addicts: 
I haven't watched the Daytime Emmys since Susan Lucci actually won one, but I might tune in tonight (ABC, 8 p.m. ET, with hosts Cameron Mathison and Sherri Shepherd) to see 
Currently, there is an email chain clogging the inboxes of EW's TV department, and it began with a link to 
The regular 2007-2008 season has come to its end, I'm about 90 percent caught up with my DVR backlog, and 
Something surprising happened during Lynette's chemotherapy story arc on 
Few of my EW.com colleagues agree with me, but I thought 
8:00 p.m. Slow clap: L-Yeah! L-Yeah! Oh wait, sorry, gonna try to be neutral here for at least five minutes. Em-my! Em-my! Em-my!
6:08 p.m. Alrighty, P-Dubs. Just some light blogging for the first hour of red-carpet, since I'm trying to eat dinner, pray for Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams, and save my strength for four straight hours of furious typing.
I don't care what y'all say, I'm a big fan of Joan Rivers' red-carpet work. I love both her pointed barbs and her embarrassing gaffes. (I don't love her bland daughter Melissa, except when she rolls her eyes at Mom, but I'm willing to put up with her for Joan's sake.) With the Rivers gals (pictured) no longer doing their shtick for E! or the even the TV Guide Channel (which is 
After this past weekend's announcement that "D--k in a
Box" has already won an Emmy, it seems that the digital age is well and truly upon
us. After all, if it wasn't for the massive viral success of the unbleeped YouTube
version of the song, the clip might have been another forgettable
Saturday Night Live skit in the archives. But with
all the big questions about whether online video will really make TV obsolete
and how the networks will survive, Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake's raunchy
R&B spoof has now exposed a more practical concern — what happens when an
uncensored Web video with an inappropriate name wins an Emmy, and then journalists
have to figure out a way to report it? 
I've pitched her as 
And the first runner-up for this blog post's headline is... "No, this will not be 
So, yesterday, your intrepid EW.com staffers thought we might prepare for the Sept. 16 Emmy telecast by publishing a photo gallery of the most memorable moments of Emmy ceremonies past — only, we could hardly think of any. This was especially embarrassing for me, since I'm usually the one who writes the Emmys Most Memorable Moments