Emmy nominations were announced this morning, and the good news: Comedies like “30 Rock” and “The Office” are in the mix for best series, as well they should.

The bad: I swear the only reason “The Wire” isn’t among the best drama nominees is because lazy Emmy voters—i.e. most of them—never saw the show. Despite a phenomenal fifth and final season, it’s only up for one writing award. Its only other nomination, also for writing, was back in 2005.

Geez. Where’s the acting love for Lance Riddick (Daniels), Clarke Johnson (Gus), Michael K. Williams (Omar) or Sonja Sohn (Kima)? The only rationale for no acting nominations I can think of is that so many talented “Wire” actors have split the vote over the last five seasons.

“John Adams” led the Emmy nomination pack with 23, and “Mad Men” (17) and “Damages” (16) were the first basic-cable series to be up for top drama.

I’m sure you’ll hear more Emmy commentary from many of us in the weeks to come before the Sept. 21 broadcast, but here’s the crucial info you need to know.

Drama: “Boston Legal,” “Damages,” “Dexter,” “House,” “Lost” and “Mad Men.”

Comedy: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Entourage,” “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Best actor—drama: Gabriel Byrne (“In Treatment”), Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Hugh Laurie (“House”) and James Spader (“Boston Legal”).

Best actress—drama: Glenn Close (“Damages”), Sally Field (“Brothers and Sisters”), Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), Holly Hunter (“Saving Grace”) and Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”).

Best actor—comedy: Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”), Steve Carell (“The Office”), Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”), Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) and Charlie Sheen (“Two and a Half Men”).

Best actress—comedy: Christina Applegate (“Samantha Who?”), America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”), Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) and Mary-Louise Parker (“Weeds”).

And here’s the complete list of 2008 Emmy nominees.

UPDATE: More good news/bad news, this time in the category of best supporting actress in a comedy series. A long-overdue and well-deserved nod has been given to “Saturday Night Live’s” Amy Poehler, but how in the world is Jenna Fischer snubbed for her work on “The Office”? Instead, the category includes Jean Smart for “Samantha Who?” and Holland Taylor on “Two and a Half Men.” As Poehler herself on Weekend Update would say, “Really?!”

(Photo courtesy of Fox.)

I’ll admit it. I’ve never seen an episode of “Lost.”

I know, people tell me it’s amazing. I’m also fiercely intimidated by joining a complicated show so late in its run, which is why it took me so long to give “Deadwood” a try—and wow, I’m glad I did. But I’m also unmotivated to catch up on a series with season after season on DVD, especially when that honor is currently bestowed on “The Wire.” I just finished the fourth episode of Season 2, when Freamon looks 10 years younger than he does in Season 5 and Daniels is slowly working his way up the po-lice ladder. And it’s fantastic, obviously.

But there’s no disputing the powerful, almost cult-like fan base of “Lost.” One friend of mine only watches one show with any regularity and it’s “Lost.” And even people who feel like the show has lost its footing still watch it every week, much like fans of “The Sopranos” would complain that it would never live up to the quality of its first two seasons, but watched all the way through to the end for fear they’d miss something groundbreaking. (Insert joke about that series finale here.)

For a cliffhanger show like “Lost,” the stakes for season finales are much higher than, say, “30 Rock” (which I love, by the way). So when crazy things happened and new twists were revealed—can you tell I didn’t see it?—a heckuva lot of you (31 percent of voters) seemed to like what happened and voted accordingly in the latest Remote Access poll, deeming it the best season finale among fall series we regularly cover on this blog.

Placing second with 26 percent of the vote was “Jericho,” which filmed two endings and wound up using the one that worked more as a series finale.

Placing third (too low!) with 8 percent of the vote was the finale of “The Office,” which was by far the best episode of Season 4 and featured a command performance by “Wire” veteran Amy Ryan, as evidenced by this classic one-minute snippet when she endears herself to Michael and millions of “Office” fans:

Tied for fourth were the finales for “Heroes” and “House,” with 6 percent of the vote. Find out the rest of the results—and our latest poll—after the break. Read more of this entry »

For the first time ever, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is announcing the 10 finalists for the Best Comedy and Best Drama categories.

My personal choices for the top 5 in each are in bold. The top 10s are:

Top 10 Comedy Series Finalists

Top 10 Drama Series Finalists

Despite the fact that so many of the shows we follow on this blog involve killing people and blowing things up, many of our favorite actors and actresses are vegetarians.

PETA is holding its annual Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity contest, and here’s the stars from Remote Access shows who are in the running (sorry if I missed anyone!) — and you can vote for one woman and one man, so you can choose your favorite two:

The women

The men

Uh oh.

TV’s new No. 1 network (sorry, CBS) announced its new lineup at yesterday’s upfronts and it’s pitting “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” against NBC’s “Chuck.”

That’s bad news for sci-fi/action fans who like both shows and good news for ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars,” which crushes almost everything in its path, and CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother,” which often scores higher ratings than “Terminator” or “Chuck’s” 8 million some-odd viewers. Without a shift in time slot and because the fall run of “Chuck” rarely if ever conflicted with the spring run of “Terminator,” I’m guessing one of those action shows will be canceled by season’s end.

There’s interesting news for “Idol” fans, who have been abandoning the No. 1 show in droves lately. The Wednesday night results show has mercifully been reduced to a half-hour. It’s one thing to keep an audience wondering; it’s another to bore them to tears. Long overdue move there.

As for new fall shows, the network is debuting only two. “Fringe” (pictured right) is a one-hour sci-fi drama by an up-and-comer by the name of J.J. Abrams. Slated to air Tuesdays this fall before “House,” “Fringe” stars former “Mighty Ducks” trilogy/”Dawson’s Creek” star Joshua Jackson as a scientist who investigates paranormal activity with a female FBI agent.

The other fall debut is “Do Not Disturb” (formerly called “The Inn”), a half-hour Wednesday comedy starring recent “Carpoolers” star Jerry O’Connell as the general manager of a hotel and “Reno: 911’s” hilarious Niecy Nash.

Like any J.J. Abrams project (see: “Lost” and “Cloverfield”), “Fringe” has a lot of buzz. And it’s hard to frown upon anything affiliated with an “Arrested Development” alum, who in this case is Jason Bateman; he directed the “Do Not Disturb” pilot.

In the spring, expect more debuts: The Joss Whedon project “Dollhouse,” starring Eliza Dushku, whom I’m convinced is most famous for being hot; the animated “The Cleveland Show,” a “Family Guy” spinoff; and another animated series, “Class Dismissed” (or “Sit Down, Shut Up,” depending on the source) featuring voice-overs by “Arrested Development” stars Bateman and “30 Rock” regular Will Arnett. Also in the mix is “Secret Millionaire,” a reality show version of “The Prince and the Pauper.”

Beyond that, expect a lot of familiar fare (“Idol,” “House” and the 20th[!] season of “The Simpsons”), including a ton of reality programming ranging from the inane (“Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader”) to the insane (“The Moment of Truth”). And if someone wants to tell me why “Prison Break” is still on the air, I’d be willing to listen.

Among the shows not to return this fall are two sitcoms with great stars but poor execution: the Parker Posey-Lauren Ambrose vehicle “The Return of Jezebel James” and the Kelsey Grammer-Patricia Heaton-led “Back to You.” Fans of “The Office” might be disappointed AND relieved that the talented Rashida Jones’ awful sitcom, “Unhitched,” was axed.

Also gone, according to the (New York) Daily News: “Anchorwoman,” “Canterbury’s Law,” “K-Ville,” “Nashville,” “New Amsterdam” and “The Next Great American Band.” (The lesson on that last one: There’s only one “American Idol.” You’d think they would have learned that lesson after the frightfest that was “American Juniors.”)

After the break, check out the full Fox fall schedule for 2008. (Thanks to BuddyTV and E! for making this easy for me.) Read more of this entry »

Monday, “House” returns with first-run episodes. No need to worry about tube amnesia here. Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is always bedeviling his assistants, looking down Dr. Cuddy’s blouse even as he considers how to outmaneuver her, putting upon the put-upon Dr. Wilson and diagnosing lupus. Thank goodness for misanthropic consistency.

Now if we could only get “Life” back on NBC (alas, not till the fall). I also have my fingers crossed for the autumnal return of “New Amsterdam,” although I’m not loving the way our hero, John Amsterdam (the estimable Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) fell into and out of bed with his beloved.

More sexual tension, less sex, please.

A week and a half ago, Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam on “The Office,” and Brad Beyer, who plays Stanley on “Jericho,” were deadlocked among Remote Access readers who voted in a poll to determine the supporting actor “most crucial” to his/her show.

After a tie of 171 votes apiece, Fischer broke away from Beyer and claimed the honor. She finished with 222 votes; Beyer claimed 203. (Photo of Jenna Fischer courtesy of NBC/Universal.)

Like last week’s results, actors from their shows also filled the poll’s next two slots: Rainn Wilson (92 votes), Dwight on “The Office,” and reader-submitted Skeet Ulrich (73 votes), Jake on “Jericho.” (I’d still contend that Ulrich is a lead actor, but it’s an interesting poll trend regardless.)

Rounding out the top 10 were Michael Emerson as Ben on “Lost” (43 votes); Robert Sean Leonard as Wilson on “House, M.D.” (36 votes); Tricia Helfer as Number Six on “Battlestar Galactica” (32 votes); Summer Glau as Cameron on “Terminator: The Sarah Conor Chronicles” (25 votes); Masi Oka as Hiro on “Heroes” (18 votes); and Allison Mack as Chloe on “Smallville” (17 votes).

Our new poll, in the right margin of this page, is all about elbow grease: Who is the hardest-working TV personality? We’ve even given you a few suggestions to get you started.

From “Lost” to “Cloverfield,” it seems like JJ Abrams is everywhere these days. “Daily Show” alumnus Steve Carell rocks “The Office” and is an A- or B-list movie star at this point. “Saturday Night Live” alumna Tina Fey is the MVP writer/producer/star of “30 Rock” and also has movie cred with “Mean Girls” and “Baby Mama.” Ryan Seacrest hosts “American Idol,” the Emmys, “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” his own radio show, E! newscasts, “American Top 40” and pretty much everything that needs an emcee. And Oprah Winfrey’s talk show continues to rule and her presence extends into prime time, politics and international charity work.

As we like to do here at Remote Access, we’re giving you the option to submit your own nominations as well. So feel free to do so. Remember: We’re looking for people who got their start and/or are best known for their contribution to television. Movie stars making a TV cameo now and then shouldn’t count. Vote, vote, vote!

Check out the rest of the results of the supporting actor poll after the break.

More than a month ago, Rickey over at Riding With Rickey tagged yours truly with a meme. Revenge for a meme I’d tagged him with, I suppose.

Anywho, I kept meaning to hold up my end of the bargain, and I finally have. It’s the movie meme, and the idea is that I’m supposed to look up my 15 favorite movies on IMDB, choose quotes from them, list them here and make you figure out what movies they are.

Aha, but this is a TV blog, I hear you thinking! Never fear, I’ve got that all figured out. No worries, I didn’t choose a bunch of Lifetime women-as-victim movies. Rather, I started with actors from our favorite TV shows. Then, I found relatively well-known characters they played in movies, found quotes from them and posted them here.

So not only do you have to figure out what movie the line is from, but you also have to figure out which actor uttered it. To make things a weeeeeee bit easier, I’ll tell you the actors I selected, but they’re not in the same order as the quotes. I’ve alphabetized the actors, by last name:

Adam Baldwin (Chuck)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy)
Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Jim Krasinski (The Office)
Hugh Laurie (House)
Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies)
Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)
Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy)
Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica)
Donald Sutherland (Dirty Sexy Money)
Kiefer Sutherland (24)
Skeet Ulrich (Jericho)
Ray Wise (Reaper)

NO CHEATING. You may not look the quotes up on IMDB and then get all the answers correct. You must use your brain; you know, the part of your brain that stores all that useless movie trivia. You all have it; if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading a television blog now, would you?

After the break, the quote list:

Fox announced its post-writer’s strike return dates for its series and confirmed beyond any shadow of any doubt the horrible news that 24 won’t come back until next January (as reported previously here). It’s not clear how many new episodes Fox will have of each of these, but as you can see, Fox is endeavoring to ensure that everyone is as confused as possible as to the actual return dates of anything, by airing most shows at least once before settling them in to their time periods.

I’m publishing the info as given by Fox, because to rewrite it would be even more confusing, I think. Brand-new, midseason shows also are included in here:

Back to You:
Tuesday, Feb. 26 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT) Original episode
Wednesday, Feb. 27 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT) Original episode
Wednesday, April 16 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) Time period premiere with originals

Unhitched:
Sunday, March 2 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT) Series premiere

Another week, another zillion things I didn’t get to.

• NBC Universal announced this week that the fourth season of Doctor Who is coming to the SciFi Channel in April, along with its new spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures. The latter has the same creative team as the former, and follows the adventures of Sarah Jane, one of the Doctor’s former companions. “Having traveled the universe with The Doctor, Sarah Jane is used to alien encounters. Accompanied by her new young friends Maria, Luke and Clyde, she becomes embroiled in an offbeat world of mystery and danger.” As for the good Doctor, his new companion for the season is Donna Noble (the bride from the 2006 Doctor Who Christmas special “The Runaway Bride,” played by Catherine Tate), though Martha (Freema Agyeman, who I personally loved in the role) will return midseason.

• Speaking of NBC, the network is picking up a show from CTV, a Canadian network. The Listener “tells the story of a young man who can read people’s thoughts, and act on them.” NBC ordered 13 episodes. It’s already in pre-production up north and is set to begin shooting in the spring. That’s another way around the American writer’s strike.

Here’s a look at who won, and who your Remote Accessories thought were going to win:

Here we go:

Best TV drama:

Best TV comedy or musical

The Golden Globes Press Conference airs tonight on NBC. Sure, it’s hardly the same drama and pageantry as it usually is with the champagne dinner, but there’s still a whole lotta hardware handed out.

So I snagged the Remote Accessories’ Golden Globes picks from a previous post and reworked it to make it easy for you to see our picks and our predictions for each of the television categories. Come back later to see how right (or wrong) we were.

Will 30 Rock and Damages walk away with armfuls of trophies? Stay tuned.

I almost forgot about this: The People’s Choice Awards were announced last night.

Here’s a look at the TV winners. Go here to find out all the other winners. My commentary after the break.

Favorite female TV star: Katherine Heigl
Favorite male TV star: Patrick Dempsey
Favorite talk show host: Ellen DeGeneres
Favorite scene stealer: Chandra Wilson
Favorite TV drama: House
Favorite TV comedy: Two and a Half Men
Favorite reality show: Dancing with the Stars
Favorite game show: Deal or No Deal
Favorite sci-fi show: Stargate Atlantis
Favorite animated TV show: The Simpsons
Favorite new TV comedy: Samantha Who?
Favorite new TV drama: Moonlight

So this is what I have to say:

I’m serious. I think all the networks are trying to make sure that no one ever knows when the shows they want to watch are on anymore. Can there be any other explanation for the changes made here?

New Amsterdam (co-produced by Bedford’s Lasse Hallstrom and Larchmont’s Leslie Holleran) and Canterbury’s Law (starring Senden’s Landing’s Aidan Quinn), will air Monday nights, creating a whole new LoHud Monday, to complement the LoHud Wednesday of the fall season.

OK, but this is all confusing, so try to keep up with me:

New Amsterdam:
• “Debuts” at 9 p.m. March 10. But there will be “special previews” of the first two episodes at 9 p.m. March 4 and 6. Its last episodes of the season will air in a two-hour finale starting at 8 p.m. April 7.

Canterbury’s Law:
• Debuts at 9 p.m. April 14, replacing New Amsterdam.

But wait, there’s more:

As usual, we’ll just present the TV nominees here, but if you want to see the film nominees too, go here. As usual, my picks in parentheses, but I haven’t seen the vast majority of the TV movie/miniseries nominees, so no comments from me on those.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Michael Keaton / James Jesus Angleton – The Company (TNT)
Kevin Kline / Jacques – As You Like It (HBO)
Oliver Platt / George Steinbrenner – The Bronx is Burning (ESPN)
Sam Shepard / Frank Whiteley – Ruffian (ABC)
John Turturro / Billy Martin – The Bronx is Burning (ESPN)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Ellen Burstyn / Posey Benetto – Mitch Albom’s For One More Day (ABC)
Debra Messing / Molly Kagan – The Starter Wife (USA)
Anna Paquin / Elaine Goodale – Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO)
Queen Latifah / Ana – Life Support (HBO)
Vanessa Redgrave / Woman – The Fever (HBO)
Gena Rowlands / Melissa Eisenbloom – What If God Were the Sun? (Lifetime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
James Gandolfini / Tony Soprano – The Sopranos (HBO)
Michael C. Hall / Dexter Morgan – Dexter (Showtime) (my pick)
Jon Hamm / Don Draper – Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie / Dr. Gregory House – House (FOX)
James Spader / Alan Shore – Boston Legal (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Glenn Close / Patty Hewes – Damages (FX) (my pick)
Edie Falco / Carmela Soprano – The Sopranos (HBO)
Sally Field / Nora Walker – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Holly Hunter / Grace Hanadarko – Saving Grace (TNT)
Kyra Sedgwick / Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson – The Closer (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin / Jack Donaghy – 30 Rock (NBC) (my pick, though Carell is a close second!)
Steve Carell / Michael Scott – The Office (NBC)
Ricky Gervais / Andy Millman – Extras (HBO)
Jeremy Piven / Ari Gold – Entourage (HBO)
Tony Shalhoub / Adrian Monk – Monk (USA)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate / Samantha Newly – Samantha Who? (ABC)
America Ferrera / Betty Suarez – Ugly Betty (ABC)
Tina Fey / Liz Lemon – 30 Rock (NBC) (my pick)
Mary-Louise Parker / Nancy Botwin – Weeds (Showtime)
Vanessa Williams / Wilhelmina Slater – Ugly Betty (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boston Legal (ABC)
The Closer (TNT)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC) (my pick)
The Sopranos (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC) (my pick – close, but as an ensemble, The Office slightly edges out 30 Rock)
Ugly Betty (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
24 (FOX) (my pick – c’mon, what’d you think I’d choose?)
Heroes (NBC)
Lost (ABC)
Rome (HBO)
The Unit (CBS)

Screen Actors Guild Awards 44th Annual Life Achievement Award
Charles Durning (He’s done so much on TV as well as movies, so I figured I’d include him here. Most recently on the small screen, he’s been playing Tommy’s dad (that’s even how he’s credited!) on Rescue Me. By the by, did you know he was born in Highland Falls, just outside the LoHud, by West Point?)

As I previously posted, the Golden Globe television nominations (by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) were announced this morning and lots of new shows got their due.

Well, my fellow Remote Accessories and I have had a chance to mull these over and here’s some of our picks (and predictions) for winners, after the break

Released this morning, the Golden Globe television nominations (by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) had lots of love for critical (and ratings) darling Pushing Daisies, as well as lots of cable fare, particularly Damages.

Here’s a look at the (television only) nominees, with my picks noted (as well as what I think will actually win):

Best TV drama:
Big Love (my pick — this season was outstanding!)
Damages
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Mad Men (what I think will win)
The Tudors

Best TV comedy or musical:
30 Rock (my pick)
Californication
Entourage
Extras
Pushing Daisies (will win)

I loved this “by the numbers” item on one of the TVGuide.com blogs. Fascinating stuff, at least to me, a total sucker for lists.

Highlights follow, but check out the full post here.

$63,000 — This is the median income for homes that watched ABC’s Big Shots, Dirty Sexy Money and Private Practice. Only NBC’s The Office ($73,000) and its lead-out Scrubs ($68,000) are higher. …
24.1 percent — This is the “lift” in viewership for NBC’s The Office when you include the people who play back the show on their DVRs the same week. It’s the highest percentage, followed by Heroes (22 percent), Reaper (18.7 percent) Grey’s Anatomy (18 percent), House (17.6 percent) and Friday Night Lights (17.1 percent).
45.2 — The median age for NBC’s prime-time audience, down almost two years from last season, making it the youngest of the four major networks. CBS is still the oldest, with half of its viewers aged 52.6 or older. But ABC, thanks to Dancing with the Stars, has seen its audience age the most, going from last season’s 47.4 to 49.

Because it’s awards season, the International Press Academy (who? I dunno, either) announced its nominees for the 2007 Satellite Awards (never heard of them, either, but this is apparently the 12th annual ceremony, to be held Dec. 16). Awards will be given in 49 categories, in television, film, DVD and “new media.”

Here’s a link to the official list of all the nominees and past nominees and winners, too). Variety also reported that Mad Men won a special achievement award for best ensemble cast, but I couldn’t find that on the official list.

Miniseries:
Jane Eyre, BBC/WGBH
The Starter Wife, USA Network
The Company, TNT
Five Days, HBO
The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard, BBC/Kudos Productions

Motion picture made for television (otherwise known as the made-for-TV movie, or, now, MPMFT):
The Wind And The Willows, Masterpiece Theater, PBS/BBC
Mitch Albom’s For One More Day, ABC
Longford, HBO/Channel 4
Life Support, HBO
The Trial Of Tony Blair, Channel 4
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, HBO

So, the People’s Choice awards approach. This is where you, the people, get to choose the best shows. So long as they’re in the list of shows that the People’s Choice people decide you get to choose from.

Anyway, here are the TV nominations:

Favorite sci-fi show: Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Who, Stargate Atlantis (my choice: BSG)

Favorite new TV comedy: Aliens in America, Back to You, The Big Bang Theory, Carpoolers, Cavemen, Chuck, Reaper, Samatha Who? (my choice: Reaper)

Favorite TV comedy: The King of Queens, My Name is Earl, Two and a Half Men (my choice: this is a choice?)

Favorite animated comedy: Family Guy, King of the Hill, The Simpsons (my choice: The Simpsons)