We don’t see that very often.

I abandoned the pilot episode of Ugly Betty when it debuted last year. It didn’t strike a chord right away, so it was not deemed TiVO-worthy. Due to consistent raves across the board from friends and fellow bloggers, not to mention the many Emmy nominations that the show has earned, I have decided to reconsider my original assessment and commit to watching the show. I might be late to the game, but I have a front row seat and time on my hands. Right now I am purchasing all of Season 1 on iTunes.

My vote goes to Heroes, the best new show of 2007 by a landslide.

COMEDY SERIES
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Ugly Betty
Two and Half Men

With the exception of the last one, what a great category! I really like 30 Rock, but The Office is consistently brilliant and gets my vote every year.

The obvious vote here would be for Gandolfini, and although this wasn’t the strongest season of The Sopranos, he will probably win.  For me, it’s a toss up between Leary and Laurie.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Michael Emerson, Lost
Terry O’Quinn, Lost
Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos
T.R. Knight, Grey’s Anatomy
Masi Oka, Heroes

I am very happy for Minnie Driver, because she nails it on The Riches. And Sally Field is fantastic in Brothers and Sisters. But I’m giving this one to Edie Falco for those first few episodes while Tony was in a coma. Unbelievable acting.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers and Sisters
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy
Katherine Heigl, Grey’s Anatomy
Aida Turturro, The Sopranos
Lorraine Bracco, The Sopranos

Seriously? Turturro and Bracco made very brief and uneventful appearances during the final season of The Sopranos. I would have loved to see Elizabeth Mitchell’s name there instead, as she was the most compelling new character on Lost and my favorite supporting actress by a mile. So I’ll root for Wilson, because Dr. Bailey is the best part of Grey’s. Griffiths deserves to be the dark horse candidate to beat the Grey’s and Sopranos ladies.

I have a feeling that Ferrera will win (to complete her awards trifeca; she’s already won the Golden Globe and SAG Award), but I’m all for Tina Fey and Mary Louise Parker. I love Felicity Huffman, and she was the only reason I watched Desperate Housewives, but I abandoned that show early last season.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Conchata Ferrell, Two and a Half Men
Jenna Fischer, The Office
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
Jaime Pressly, My Name is Earl
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds

We get it, Emmy committee. You love Tony Shalhoub. Yes, he’s great, but no, we’re not watching. In addition, here are a few things I don’t understand about Charlie Sheen.

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

I love Piven, but it might be Wilson’s turn. Doogie is the dark horse candidate to win this category.

REALITY SHOW – COMPETITION
Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

Bravo, Bravo. I’m all for Top Chef or Project Runway.

WRITING, DRAMA SERIES
Battlestar Galactica: “Occupation/Precipice”
Lost: “Through The Looking Glass”
The Sopranos: “Kennedy And Heidi”
The Sopranos: “The Second Coming”
The Sopranos: “Made In America”

A very tough category indeed. Although the script for The Sopranos episode called “Kennedy and Heidi” was borderline genius, I have to side with Lost once again.

Look, I know people who swear by Colbert and Stewart. But I’m with Ellen all the way to the podium.

WRITING, COMEDY SERIES
Extras, “Daniel Radcliffe”
The Office, “Gay Witch Hunt”
The Office, “The Negotiation”
30 Rock, “Tracy Does Conan,”
30 Rock, “Jack-Tor” 

These nominees rule. They all deserve it. If you haven’t seen Harry Potter’s dirty little appearance on Extras, run out right now and rent it. Classic. But, and this should be no surprise, my vote is for the “Gay Witch Hunt” episode of The Office. No other show, sitcom or otherwise, has the capability to make you equally and simultaneously amused and uncomfortable.

RANDOM CATEGORIES

My beloved and prematurely canceled Deadwood garnered Cinematography, Costume, Hairstyling and Sound Mixing nominations.  Why couldn’t the voters show Ian McShane & co. the same love that The Sopranos earned?

Ever since Six Feet Under, I’ve been intrigued by clever opening titles. So I was very excited to see that Dexter

You just know that in the Original Music and Lyrics category, Justin Timberlake’s Digital Short ‘Dick in a Box’ is going to win. Even though both of the Scrubs songs were awesome, there hasn’t been a more catchy song/skit from SNL in YEARS.

SNUBS THAT STING

Hello, Friday Night Lights anyone? Why it was not nominated for Best Drama baffles my mind. But the lack of recognition for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton is just sad. They are the best couple on television, with chemistry that leaps out and off of the screen.

Um, Lost. You know how I feel about that one. I just don’t get it. There isn’t a better produced, filmed or written show on network television.

———————-

Knowing that Steven Spielberg was the Executive Producer of this movie gave me hope as I settled in to watch it last night. False hope, as it turned out.

Let me preface this review by stating that I do enjoy blockbusters and am a huge fan of comic adaptations. And I have seen/been entertained by most of Michael Bay’s films. My favorite was The Island, his last effort and the least popular among the many hits (Bad Boys, The Rock).

I will start with the very few positive points that I walked away with after seeing Transformers. Shia LaBeouf was surprisingly good. He has certainly earned the amount of hype that has all but dubbed him the It Boy of 07. I liked him in Constantine and I, Robot, but was unsure about his ability to carry such an action-packed film. Of course now he’s filming Indiana Jones 4 right now, so he’s well on his way. And the special effects were pretty good…but not jaw-dropping or groundbreaking. Frankly, I was more impressed with The Matrix Reloaded, and that was filmed five years ago.

Overall, Transformers was absolutely formulaic and cheesy (to the point where I was predicting what the characters were about to say and do with great accuracy). I don’t have high expectations for dialogue when it comes to action/adventure films, but this might take the cake and win Worst Script of the Year (which is quite a shame considering that the two screenwriters are Alias alum and are also co-writing J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek film). Additionally (and I know some filmmakers feel this is a necessary evil with regard to target audience and demographic), there were far too many unnecessary and gratuitous slow-motion shots of female characters. While there is plenty of eye-candy for the ladies (Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson), we certainly don’t see them rolling around the desert sand in their boxer briefs while battling the metallic scorpion.

And honestly, at various points during the movie, I found myself thinking “there’s his John Woo shot” or “that’s straight out of Superman.” From the stereotypical hot-girl-with-jerk-boyfriend-ignores-geek-until-he-saves-her (the wooden Megan Fox) to the funny-sidekick-friend-who-helps-save-the-day (Anthony Anderson, making the best of his brief yet scene-stealing role), I was alternating between covering and rolling my eyes.

You know what would have made Transformers an entirely different and better film? If the Transformers didn’t speak. I know – that would have royally pissed off the dedicated loyalists who have loved them since ’84 (just as making Bumblebee a Camaro rather than a Beetle had the fanboys up in arms).  But the opening narration, speech and delivery from all Autobots and Decepticons was painful.  Look, I like many guilty-pleasure movies and can take schmaltz and cheese in moderation (I was an extra for one season on The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers back in 1994 for crying out loud). But Transformers was dreadful and had me watching the clock and the doors for my escape from the opening sequence.