My Overall Reactions To The 2012 Emmys

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors you see during this post. Not only is it pretty late and I'm kind of drowsy but due to the necessary nature of the timing of this post it needs to go up now. Enjoy!

- Holy cow am I freaking awful at predicting Emmy award winners. I went 2/10 tonight for a whooping 20%. I'm pretty sure Adam Dunn's batting average is higher than my prediction ability.

- Wow, what a crazy night for Homeland. Claire Danes won for Best Actress (Drama) which was expected but Damien Lewis won for Best Actor (Drama) and the show won the big prize for best Drama Television Show which were both unexpected.

- Let's first start with Lewis who beat out the two Goliath's Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men). Here's the thing, if you asked me which actor had the best season: Lewis for Season One of Homeland, Cranston for Season 4 of Breaking Bad or Hamm for Season 5 of Mad Men I would say Lewis had the better single season so I'm not too upset that he won. I just really want to see Jon Hamm win an Emmy. Don Draper is one of the best characters ever on television and I hope one day his talents get recognized.

- Last night on Facebook, a friend of mine and I compared the Best Actor (Drama) nominees (Hamm, Cranston, and Lewis) to the three best movies of 1994 (The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump). We were saying that while all three are excellent and we can not make any disparaging remarks about any of the nominees, one was clearly better. We determined that Jon Hamm was Shawshank, Bryan Cranston was Pulp Fiction, and Damien Lewis was Forrest Gump. Lewis is Gump because it's the clear #3, Cranston is Pulp Fiction because it's the clear mainstream #1 and when we look back on this award in 20 years everyone will say Cranston deserved to win it, and Hamm is Shawshank because while it is the mainstream #2, it is my personal #1 and in 20 years I will argue with everyone else than Hamm/Shawshank deserved the award and not Cranston/Pulp Fiction (as great they each are). With Damien Lewis actually winning the award, like Forrest Gump, this analogy becomes that much more amazing.

- Now on to Homeland as a show overall. Homeland's rookie season was great and was better than Season Two of Downton Abbey (which was boring as hell), Season Five of Mad Men (boring for most of the season), and Season Two of Game Of Thrones (really good but too many characters and plot lines diluted the overall season). But it was not even close to Season Four of Breaking Bad (which is without hyperbole) the greatest single season of television ever. I take that back, Season Three might be better. But that's it. As great as Homeland was (which it was) it was not even close to B.B.

- Another huge night for Modern Family. This is no surprise but what was the surprise was the specific winners. Modern Family won for Best Comedic Television Show (to the surprise of no one) but Eric Stonestreet (who plays Cameron Tucker) and Julie Bowen (who plays Claire Dunphy) each repeated as Best Supporting Actor (Comedy) and Best Supporting Actress (Comedy), respectively. These repeats were huge surprises to me- especially considering Sophia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Ed O'Neill do not have Emmy wins. None of the six adult actors on Modern Family separate themselves from each other (they are all at a really high level) so it legitimately shocked me that the Emmy voters made a statement saying two of the actors are above everyone else.

- Seasons 1 and 2 of Modern Family were excellent. Season 3 was just sub par. Let's stop suckling at the teet of Modern Family. Parks and Recreation is by far and away the best comedy on television right now. Let's start creating a bandwagon for them.

- Can we please stop giving away Emmys to Julia Louis-Dreyfus like their free samples?! All the credit in the world goes to HitFix's Dan Feinberg for predicting this one correctly. She won a ton of Emmys for both Seinfeld and on the awful The New Adventures of Old Christine. It was really obvious to the world that she would win again for her performance on the critically acclaimed Veep.

- Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) defeated my predicted Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) for Best Supporting Actress (Drama). This was by far and away my worst selection because it was obvious by the crap ton of nominations that the Emmy voters really like Downton Abbey. This award was so up in the air and Maggie Smith is excellent on the show that of course she was going to win. My bad.

- An actor from Breaking Bad won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor (Drama). Right show, wrong person. As amazing as Aaron Paul was during Season 4 of Breaking Bad (and he was truly excellent and Paul did some of his best work during Season 4) he didn't come close to the excellence that was Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo Fring. Paul already has an Emmy win and Esposito can never win again for Breaking Bad. Not only was Esposito's performance better than Paul's but he just deserved it more.

- Jon Cryer (Two And A Half Men) defeated the powerhouse that was Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) for Best Actor (Comedy). The Emmy's couldn't give Steve Carell an Emmy for his Farewell Tour on The Office (which was excellent. Again, an example where Carell not only had the better performance but deserved it more because Parsons has already won an Emmy up to that point and Carell had never won one for portraying Michael Scott) but we can award Jon Cryer one because we still feel sorry for the (perceived) way Charlie Sheen treated him and the show?! What! If you're gonna proclaim that Parsons was the best actor last year then you need to pull a James Spader and just give the damn thing to him every year. Neither Parsons not Cryer deserve this award though.

- Some dude from Boardwalk Empire won the Emmy for Best Director (Drama). I have no idea how Neil Marshall didn't even get nominated for directing "Blackwater", the penultimate episode from Season Two of Game Of Thrones. It was the best episode that aired during this Emmy nominated period.

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2012 Emmy Predictions: Drama Series

And the nominees are:

- Mad Men
- Breaking Bad
- Homeland
- Game Of Thrones
- Downton Abbey
- Boardwalk Empire

MY REACTION TO THE NOMINATIONS:

Season 4 of Breaking Bad (the nominated season) is one of the greatest single seasons ever produced on television. The only thing that is probably better than Season 4 was Season 3 of Breaking Bad. I say this without hyperbole or exaggeration that Breaking Bad is the greatest television show ever made. It's just fucking awesome. If you disagree with me then you just haven't watched the show yet... Season 5 of Mad Man (the nominated season) was probably one of the worst seasons the show has ever had. It started off slow, then got good for a few moments, then it took a HUGE dip in quality, then the problem arose with Lane Pryce, and then the show ended on a really high note. That being said, a "bad" season for Mad Men is still better than 99% of the crap (and good stuff) put out there... Season 1 of Homeland was just excellent. Despite the show being run by a couple of people from 24, Homeland had amazing characters and character development. We saw the story and lives of two damaged people (one from genetics [Claire Danes] and one from external forces [Damian Lewis]) and they came together so beautifully to unwind and solve a (possible, maybe) terrorist plot.... Season 2 of Game Of Thrones (the nominated season) was very, very good but just wasn't as good as its first season. The main problem GOT had was that a) they were trying to cram too many characters and way too many plot points into an entire season and b) they did a more worse job explaining things to audiences like me
who did not read the book. This is a television show and as such it should be judged as a television show. That being said, the penultimate episode of the season, "The Battle Of Blackwater" was probably the single greatest episode that aired during this Emmy eligible period. [SPOILER ALERT FOR GOT] At some point I need the White Walkers/whatever lies North of The Wall and Dany and her fucking dragons to actually invade Westeros. I've invested two seasons around Dany and Jon Snow and there's been a looming threat of war for two seasons now and it just hasn't come. When I first began to watch GOT I was worried it would be too plot-driven with little characters and while the show is plenty plot driven it turned out to have some amazing characters that I've grown fond of (in particular Tyrion Lannister) but Season 2 moved away from that to focus more on the potential and upcoming wars. [END OF GOT SPOILER ALERT]... Season Two of Downton Abbey was extremely boring with the writers doing a terrible job by dragging on plot points FOR-EV-ER (think The Sandlot). The Emmy voters are full of old people who love this sort of crap but it's not for everybody- mainly everybody under the age of 55. Season One of D.A. started off super slow but then it really picked up in the second half. The last episode of Season One added an amazing plot point which I thought would make for an amazing Season Two. Oh, how I was proven wrong... Unfortunately I didn't get around to watching Boardwalk Empire but I'm sure it's great. And let's face it, anything's better than what Season 2 of Downton Abbey was.

If I Had An Emmy Ballot:

- Breaking Bad
- Mad Men
- Homeland
- Game Of Thrones
- White Collar
- Justified

MAJOR SNUBS:

Truthfully, I am proclaiming I would vote for Justified mainly just because I saw it. I'm sure if I also saw Boardwalk Empire then it would take Justified's place. Justified's Season Two was amazing but Season Three added too many characters which diminished the overall quality. I know many critics loved Season 3 and would claim it is a snub but I have no problem that it was left off of the list. Being typically me, I am being too critical of Justified because, like Mad Men, a bad season of it is still really, really good.

WHAT WILL WIN  / WHAT SHOULD WIN:

What Will Win: Breaking Bad
What Should Win: Breaking Bad

For the past four years Mad Mad has won the Emmy for Best Drama Series. If you were a betting man  you should bet on past winners being a repeat winner, but Mad Men already set the record for the most Best Drama Emmy's won by a television show ever when it won its fourth Emmy in 2011. If Mad Men wins for a 5th straight year it would be beyond unprecedented. This is absolutely a bit of a bold call by me but I just feel Mad Men finally loses out on the big prize.

If Mad Men does lose then I think Breaking Bad wins it. I'm probably discounting the Emmy love for Downton Abbey (I mean a vast majority of the Emmy voters are old white dudes which is Downton Abbey's ONLY demographic) but I just think Breaking Bad is so good and has been continuously good that it finally gets his due. Season 4 of Breaking Bad is just so much better than every nomination that I believe its quality will win out. This is probably just wishful thinking but that is my pick.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mad Men's 4 Emmy wins is tied for the most ever won by a television show. If they win this year they will set the record. Still don't think they do it.

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2012 Emmy Predictions: Best Lead Actor In A Drama Series

And the nominees are:

- Jon Hamm (Don Draper) in Mad Men
- Bryan Cranston (Walter White) in Breaking Bad
- Damian Lewis (Sgt. Nicholas Brody) in Homeland
- Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan) in Dexter
- Steve Buscemi (Nucky Thompson) in Boardwalk Empire
- Hugh Bonneville (Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham) in Downton Abbey

MY REACTIONS TO THE NOMINATIONS:

Where to begin? Let's start with one of my favorite characters on television: Don Draper. Don Draper has changed since his cheating and smooth ways of Season One. Don Draper is still one badass mofo and does whatever he wants to whomever he wants. But for the past two seasons we have seen a subdued version of Don Draper. But that doesn't diminish Hamm's amazing acting abilities, it's just really frustrating and it's 100% creator and head writer Matthew Weiner's fault. But my final point is that Jon Ham is awesome and can no wrong... Bryan Cranston has won this award every year he's been eligible and he deserves every award that comes his way. Breaking Bad is the best show on television and a lot of it has to do with the amazing performance of Cranston. The show could not work without him... I loved the first season of Homeland and while Claire Danes (deservingly so) has garnered all the acting buzz and all of the awards from Homeland, I think Damien Lewis did a much better acting job than Danes. I thought Lewis was superb and I hope he wins every award he's nominated for... Hugh Bonneville didn't do a horrible job on Downton Abbey and he is a very good actor but like most of the actors who have earned acting Emmy nominations from Downton Abbey, they didn't really sparkle on the screen like many other actors who were nominated. If I had to chose one actor from Downton Abbey for this category I would have chosen Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley because he was one of the few people on the show who's performance and acting stood out above the rest... While I stopped watching Dexter after Season 4, I find it hard to believe that Michael C. Hall and Dexter did anything *that* much different in Season 6 than in the first four seasons. I think it's safe to assume I can judge Hall based on his past performances and while his character is good, I think the field has caught up to Dexter and Hall... I have no excuse to why I haven't seen Boardwalk Empire. I would have much rather seen B.E. than Downton Abbey. Feel free to pelt me with rocks.

If I Had An Emmy Vote:

- Jon Hamm (Don Draper) in Mad Men
- Bryan Cranston (Walter White) in Breaking Bad
- Damian Lewis (Sgt. Nicholas Brody) in Homeland
- Timothy Olyphant (Raylan Givens) in Justified
- Matt Bomer (Neal Caffrey) in White Collar
- Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley) in Downton Abbey

(NOTE: I'm sure once I see Boardwalk Empire I'll put Buscemi ahead of Stevens but I don't want to take anything away from Stevens because he was excellent)

EDITOR'S UPDATE: Now that I have seen 11 out of the 12 episodes of Season Two of Boardwalk Empire, I feel I can accurately reflect upon the show and about Steve Buscemi's perfromance. Buscemi is great always put his performance both in Season 2 and in Season 1 were nothing spectacular and the real star of the show is Michael Pitt as Jimmy Darmody. I wish Pitt made himself eligible in this category but sadly he was only eligible for a Supporting Emmy. Since Buscemi's  Nucky Thompson is the only character eligible for the Lead Emmy nomination, I'm fine with my original selection and with leaving Buscemi off of my "If I Had An Emmy Vote" list and leaving Dan Stevens on. 

MAJOR SNUBS:

Um, how about Mr. Beautiful Timothy Olyphant! While I thought Season 3 of Justified took a huge step backwards from both Season 2 AND Season 1, that doesn't mean Olyphant wasn't great as always. Raylan Givens is one of the best characters on television and Olyphant deserves a nomination every year no matter what.

WHO WILL WIN / WHO SHOULD WIN:

Who Will Win: Bryan Cranston
Who Should Win (In General): Jon Hamm
Who Should Win (Solely Based Upon The Nominated Season): Damian Lewis

Last year Breaking Bad was not eligible to be nominated which means Jon Hamm did was not forced to go head-to-head with Bryan Cranston. This looked like a guaranteed lock for Hamm to finally win a Best Actor Emmy. But then this cocksucker named Kyle Chandler from Friday Night Lights comes along and because it was his last eligible season he wins the award. I guess Hamm will just have to accept his Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy for his (hilarious and legit deserves to win for this one performance) cameo on the live episode of 30 Rock this year or wait two more years when Mad Men is on Season 7 and Breaking Bad has stopped airing new episodes. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Hamm lost the Best Guest Performance In A Comedy to Jimmy Fallon last week. WTF Emmys?!]

If you are just looking at the six, actual nominations and ask me who deserves to win, it's Jon Hamm because it's insane he will never win a Best Actor Emmy for playing probably the greatest character in the history of television (seriously, Don Draper is amazing and this is not a hyperbole). But if you're asking me to choose who deserves to win by solely looking at how Hamm acted in Season 5 of Mad Men versus how Damien Lewis acted in Season 1 of Homeland, I'll take Lewis ten times out of ten.

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2012 Emmy Predictions: Best Lead Actress In A Drama Series

And the nominees are:

- Kathy Bates (Harry Korn) in Harry's Law
- Claire Danes (Carrie Mathison) in Homeland
- Glenn Close (Patty Hewes) in Damages
- Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary Crowley) in Downton Abbey
- Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) in Mad Men
- Julianna Margulies (Alicia Florrick) in The Good Wife

MY REACTION TO THE NOMINATIONS:

Despite all the sexism in Mad Men, the show is one of the best feminist, pro-women shows ever on television. The 1960's was an amazing time in our country not only for Blacks but also for women and Matthew Weiner sure as hell puts that on display throughout his show. The symbolism for the woman's movement is shown through Peggy Olson and, as always, Elisabeth Moss delivers another amazing season... What can I say about Claire Danes for her amazing performance as Carrie Mathison? Mathison suffers from bi-polarism and boy howdy does she play both manic and depressive and everything in between as the lead in Homeland. A great rookie year for all in the show and a great year for Danes.... Despite how boring and dreadful I thought Season Two of Downton Abbey was there were some really great performances. Michelle Dockery as Mary Crowley gets the most screen time as if you like the show you have to credit a lot of that to her. Truthfully, I never watched Dockery on screen and thought to myself, "Wow, she's just amazing" but in a truly weak category she really is one of the best. However, she's a far #3 behind Danes and Moss... I do not watch Damages or Harry's Law. But then again neither do Emmy voters or the rest of America... I don't have an excuse why I don't watch The Good Wife, except that I'm not a middle aged woman. From what I've heard The Good Wife is the best cable drama on television but that doesn't mean anything considered how amazing the programming on AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, and others are... Like the movies, there are just very few roles for women and that shows in television and this category as well. If you look at the eligible nominations for this category you will notice that this category as a lot less candidates than most of the other candidates.

If I Had An Emmy Vote:

- Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) in Mad Men
- Michelle Dockey (Lady Mary Crawley) in Downton Abbey
- Elizabeth McGovern (Cora, Countess of Grantham) in Downton Abbey
- Claire Danes (Carrie Mathison) in Homeland

MAJOR SNUBS:

While I watch a crap ton of T.V. and (at least what I think) a crap ton of good T.V. it just so happens that I do not watch a ton of shows with good leading ladies. Or really any leading ladies. Believe me, this is not because I'm sexist but it is because most of the best shows have men in the leading role or if the show does star a female then the show is just not very good.  If Lena Headey actually wanted to get an Emmy nomination it would be best for her to throw her name with the big boys (or "girls" shall I say), but since she is only eligible for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role she's not a snub (for this category this year) Same could be said about Anna Gunn. (Although Gunn might win a Emmy this year)

Also, I'm extremely glad that Jessica Pare (who played Megan Calvet) in Mad Men did NOT get a nomination. I know the blogosphere was HUGE on Megan this season and adored her but I thought the weakest episodes and story lines of the season surrounded Megan and I don't think it was a coincidence that when Megan's role diminished the show got better. It seems that the Emmy voters agreed with me on this one as she was one of the only actors from Mad Men to NOT earn an acting nomination.

WHO WILL WIN / WHO DESERVES TO WIN:

- Who Will Win: Claire Danes
- Who Deserves To Win: Claire Danes

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2012 Emmy Predictions: Best Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

And the nominees are:

- Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo Fring) in Breaking Bad

- Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) in Breaking Bad

- Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) in Game Of Thrones

- Jared Harris (Lane Pryce) in Mad Men

- Jim Carter (Mr. Carson) in Downton Abbey

- Brendan Coyle (Mr. Bates) in Downton Abbey

MY THOUGHTS ON THE NOMINATIONS:

I'm pleased to report that I have seen all four of these shows and their respective nominated seasons so I can accurately judge all of them... Gustavo Fring is one of the best T.V. villains of all time and probably one of the best villains in media period. Esposito was fantastic being the focal point of Season 4 of Breaking Bad and was both menacing at one point and then charming as a mofo in the next. He was just fantastic... Normally I am not a big fan of perennial guys like Aaron Paul to be favorites to win these kinds of awards because after a certain point, a character is what he is, but not Paul in Season 4 of Breaking Bad. Jesse devolved into chaos after the ending events of Season 3 and become detached and then re-attached to society throughout Season 4. His performance was great... God I love Tyrion Lannister and Peter Dinklage. The guy is just so charming and you can't help but root for him no matter what endeavor he attempts or how vile it is. Dinklage showed great range and depth of emotion in Season Two. He could go into a monologue about how shitty his family was to him one minute (where all you wanted to do was give him a hug) to plotting and scheming for King's Landing in the next. I love Dinklage's performance... I loved Harris' performance of Lane Pryce this year on Mad Men and as much as I love Roger Sterling in general as well as his acid trip, I feel Harris deserving earned the "Mad Men spot" this year over John Slattery. The show was in a huge lull and it didn't pick up until the end of the season once Lane Pryce starting having his problems... I really like Brendan Coyle and his portrayal of Mr. Bates but holy shit was his story line in Season 2 awful and it dragged on forever- most of it off screen. It's hard to blame the actor for poor writing, but then again we credit the actor for good writing (see: Breaking Bad)... Jim Carter had a lot more to do as Mr. Carson this season but his performance seemed like a dime a dozen... If I *had* to choose one person from Downton Abbey I would choose Rob James-Collier as Thomas Barrow- but for seem reason he's not even eligible.

If I Had An Emmy Vote:

- Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo Fring) in Breaking Bad
- Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) in Breaking Bad
- Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) in Game Of Thrones
- Jared Harris (Lane Pryce) in Mad Men
- John Slattery (Roger Sterling) in Mad Men
- Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson) in Homeland

NOTE: I really wanted to nominate Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman) in Breaking Bad, Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) in Mad Men, and Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder) in Justified but holy crap is the field super deep this year. EDITOR'S UPDATE: After watching Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire I really want to put Michael Pitt (who plays Jimmy Darmody) on this list. The problem is that this category is so damn deep I don't know who I would remove. In an ideal world this category would allow for seven actors to get nominated like they did this year with Best Supporting Actress (Comedy). I also want to give a shout out to Jack Huston who plays the creepy and wonderful Richard Harrow. The show realized what a gem they found in Season 1 and I'm glad they added depth to him in Season 2. He's great.

MAJOR SNUBS:

With a super deep class it's hard to say anyone is a snub but to me I can't believe Mandy Patinkin didn't get nominated. Homeland's first season was excellent and it was in large part due to him. Downton Abbey is good but it is no Homeland. With Damian Lewis, Claire Daines, and the show itself all garnering nominations, it is a shame the seasoned veteran got nothing.

WHO WILL WIN / WHAT SHOULD WIN:

Who Will Win: Giancarlo Esposito
Who Should Win: Giancarlo Esposito

Aaron Paul won this award two years ago and with Breaking Bad not eligible last year Peter Dinklage won it last year. Normally the Emmy voters will continue to vote the previous winner but not only did the voters make major, unexpected changes (which was a great thing) with the nominations this year but with Margo Martindale winning the Best Supporting Actress Emmy last year for her fantastic performance as the evil and sly Mags Bennett for Justified I think Emmy voters are not afraid to vote for amazing short-term villains. All Emmy voters watch Breaking Bad and I think they will notice and recognize Esposito's performance. If for some reason Esposito does not win the award then Dinklage will.

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2012 Emmy Predictions: Best Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

And the nominees are:

- Christina Hendricks (Joan Harris) in Mad Men
- Anna Gunn (Skylar White) in Breaking Bad
- Maggie Smith (Violet Crowley) in Downton Abbey
- Joanne Froggatt (Anna Smith) Downton Abbey
- Archie Panjabi (Kalinda Sharma) in The Good Wife
- Christina Baranski (Dianne Lockhart) in The Good Wife

MY REACTION TO THE NOMINATIONS:

I hate Skyler White. I hate her so much. I hate her face, I hate her personality, and I hate that she is trying to stop Walter White. I'm pretty sure that means that Anna Gunn is a great actress but it's hard for me to even root for Anna Gunn because I hate Skylar so much... Maggie Smith is amazing at everything she does and in a huge cast that (to me) doesn't distinguish themselves from one another, Maggie Smith is one of the few people who actually deserves a nomination for her role on the show. She's great... Sticking with Downton Abbey let's talk about Joanne Froggatt. I feel the same way about her as I did about Jim Carter's portrayal of Carson's, I have nothing against it but I feel like it didn't stick out either... Now on to the last of the performance whose performance I have actually seen and that's Christina Hendricks as Joannie. God, I love Joannie. Who doesn't? Hendricks is great against anyone who she is playing off of and in Season Five of Mad Men we got the rare Don Draper/Joan Harris scene where they drunkenly flirt together. Joan was a major part of Mad Men's 5th season and she was excellent dealing with both her terrible marriage as well as doing some terrible things at work... I don't watch The Good Wife or pretend to know anything about it.

If I Had An Emmy Vote:

- Christina Hendricks (Joan Harris) in Mad Men
- Kiernan Shipka (Sally Draper) in Mad Men
- Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) in Game of Thrones
- Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) in Game of Thrones
- Morena Baccarin (Jessica Brody) in Homeland
- Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan) in Dexter

MAJOR SNUBS:

I don't know if there are major snubs this year but if I had to pick one I'd pick Kiernan Shipka. The conventional view is that Lena Headey is the biggest snub and I wouldn't fight you to hard on that but for the sake of talking about someone no one is talking about, I'll go with Sally Draper. Nothing against Headey and she was excellent in Season Two of Game of Thrones going from wildly deceitful, plotting, and mean to being surprisingly thoughtful and generous and pulling off both. That being said, the emphasis on Sally Draper and how a youth is being affected by the changing and wild 1960's was some of the best stuff on an average season of Mad Men. Shipka's been great since becoming a full time Mad Men regular and I think she deserves to get praised for her great work.

WHO WILL WIN / WHO SHOULD WIN:

Who Will Win: Anna Gunn
Who Should Win (Nominated): Christina Hendricks
Who Should Win (Not Nominated): Morena Baccarin

This is probably the pick I feel weakest about. Margo Martindale won this award last year but she neither was nominated nor eligible to win for her amazing performance of Mags Bennett in Justified this year. Archie Panjabi won this award two years ago so that would lead one to believe she's a favorite to win it this year but with Emmy voters shocking everyone by bucking their own trend of consistency and actually mixing things up with the nominations, I think voters will mix things up as well by awarding this award to Gunn. This is surprisingly Gunn's first Emmy nomination and with Season 4 of Breaking Bad being as amazing as it is (the season Gunn is nominated for) and with BB coming off of an amazing Season Five I think the support goes to Anna Gunn.

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2012 Emmy Predictions: Best Comedy Series

The nominees are:

- 30 Rock
- The Big Bang Theory
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Modern Family
- Veep
- Girls

MY THOUGHTS ON THE NOMINATIONS:

While I'm a huge television watcher and I watch a disproportionate amount of comedies than dramas, this year I seem to be out of the loop when it comes to the laughs. Out of the six nominations I have only seen two out of the six seasons: 30 Rock and Modern Family... I saw the pilots to both Girls and Veep and was not impressed with either of them. I know they both have gotten a lot of critical buzz and I should know better than to judge a comedy by its pilot (because comedies usually need a few episodes, if not an entire season to actually get to their sweet spot) but alas I have... I always say I can't watch Curb Your Enthusiasm because while I like Seinfeld I could never watch a Seinfeld but with George being the main character and that is what I feel Curb is. But that being said I have watched a handful of episodes from the latest Curb and they're all hysterical... I hate what The Big Bang Theory has become. I know it's super popular and people love Sheldon but a) not only can I not stand Sheldon anymore but b) I absolutely hate that they essentially added female Sheldon with Amy Farrah-Fowler. I really think the show have Jumped The Shark for me... I love Modern Family and it's first two seasons but it had a pretty down season in this Emmy nominated 3rd season. After the season ended I wanted to say it shouldn't win the Best Comedy Show Emmy but considering this field, I wouldn't have a problem with it.... The first two season of 30 Rock were so good that I think I had unfair expectations for its Season 6 but overall it was a really solid season. Although I said this at the time, I'm kind of upset the way the show treated Jack and Liz when Liz started dating Criss. I'm inherently fine with comedies not developing their main characters (most notably Seinfeld) but the way Liz always wanted to change and the way Jack was always trying to make her change, I'm upset that change didn't happen. Nevertheless, in a weak year for long-standing comedies, 30 Rock was one of the season's best.

If I Had An Emmy Vote:

- Parks And Recreation
- New Girl
- 30 Rock
- Modern Family
- It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
- Community

MAJOR SNUBS:

To me, the two biggest snubs are Parks and Recreation and New Girl... Parks and Recreation is not only the best comedy on television right now but you can make the argument that it's the best television show out right now. The cast is great and funny and sweet and just overall amazing. Considering that Parks and Rec have been nominated before AND gets other Emmy nominations I'm completely surprised that it didn't get an nomination this year... I love New Girl. it's got a great and simple concept with a small cast that you grow to love. While the advertisements leading up to the show was all about Zooey Deschanel, the show realized it's bread and butter was to focus on Nick and Schmidt. It had a great pilot, some on and off episodes in the beginning, but a great second half to the season. I think it's a really fantastic show... Just one final note, while It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia has always been really good but it's last season was excellent and one of its best. Parks and Rec is clearly the Best Comedy show out there right now but New Girl and It's Always Sunny are both just a nose behind it.

WHAT SHOULD WIN / WHAT WILL WIN

What Will Win: Modern Family
What Should Win (Nominated): 30 Rock
What Should Win (Not Nominated): Parks and Recreation

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