Golden Globes Preview: Part 1

With the Golden Globes coming up this Sunday (on the Conan hating network of the oblivious) I thought I would give a few predictions, opinions on nominees, and condemnation of one or two who deserved nominations more than others.  The Globes are the second cousin to the more prestigious Emmy and Academy Award shows, but a fun precursor nonetheless by which to gauge the possible nominees of those greater honors.  First of this two-part write-up, a look at the television nominees.

The grand category of Best Series is split into two awards, Best Drama Series and Best Comedy Series.  This years nominees are an expected mix, with shows like Big Love, Dexter, Mad Men, True Blood, and House in the drama category, and 30 Rock, Entourage, Glee, Modern Family, and The Office in the comedy category.  In drama we have a group of tried and true favorites.  Mad Men had a great season this year, and the greatest season finale, while True Blood and Big Love delivered on some captivating storylines.  HBO and Showtime undoubtedly produce some of, if not the best television.  Creeping up slowly in similar territory however is cable's AMC network, with Mad Men, and the overlooked Breaking Bad, which had a year of stellar performances.  Also overlooked in this category is Lost, which I think had one of their strongest seasons to date.  Ultimately, I feel that Dexter should win the drama category, a show that has been consistently great over the years, but none even close to the greatness the show reached this season.

In the comedy category, I would love to see a win for newcomer Modern Family, hands down the funniest show all year.  Entourage, 30 Rock, and The Office, while still great shows, seem to be getting a bit tired with age.  Other newcomer Glee, is an alright show, but really started to feel drowsy and unoriginal as the season progressed.

In the acting categories, also split by genre, I feel the Best Actress in a drama award should go to the understated January Jones for Mad Men, or Julianna Marguiles in her timely portrayal in The Good Wife.  Best Actress in a comedy should go to Toni Collette, who portrays a character with multiple personalities in Showtime's United States of Tara.  I have a feeling the award will however go to Edie Falco for Nurse Jackie, a performance that is strong, but not even close to the difficulty of Colelette's portrayal.

In acting in a drama, I can't help but question the absence of Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad.  Not only should Cranston be nominated, but should also win in this category for his continual performance down the rabbit-hole of self hatred as Walter White.  With the pool of nominees that were included, I would choose Jon Hamm to win for Mad Men, although I wouldn't count out either Michael C. Hall for Dexter, or Bill Paxton for Big Love.  For Best Actor in a comedy, I feel the field is wide open between Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock, Steve Carell for The Office, and possibly even David Duchovny for Californication,or Thomas Jane for Hung, two provocative roles that may carry some weight with voters.

Finally, a note on the supporting actor categories, which lump the comedy and drama genres with made-for-televison movies as well.  For Best Supporting Actress, there is only one winner in my opinion, and she wasn't even nominated.  Jennifer Carpenter who plays Dexter Morgan's sister Debra in Showtime's Dexter had what was in my opinion the best female performance on televison all year.  Her charcter is the ENTIRE emotional core of the show, and the balance of emotions she had to act through this season was momentous, and expertly crafted.  So why the hell wasn't she even nominated?  It angers me.  Look for either Jane Lynch for Glee, or Chloe Sevigny for Big Love to win, but hope the Emmy's don't overlook Carpenter like the Globes have.  For Best Supporting Male, I would like to have seen Aaron Paul nominated for his desperate role in Breaking Bad, however there is one clear winner to me, the performance that more than any other in the past year, shook me to my core.  John Lithgow as the Trinity killer in this seasons Dexter was the most dynamic role in years, one that deserves this award and many more to come.

Catch the Globes this Sunday, hosted by comic genius Ricky Gervais.  Look for part 2, on the movie noms tomorrow.