'Lost' up for best drama, Emerson for supporting actor
By MIKE HUGHES
Gannett News Service
A cable-TV drama surge muscled into the Emmy nominations in this year's nominations, it was announced yesterday.
In the process, some ABC shows were nudged aside, though the O'ahu-filmed "Lost" earned a best drama nod, as did "Lost" star Michael Emerson, nominated for supporting actor in a drama series.
There were no best-show nods, however, for "Grey's Anatomy," "Ugly Betty" or "Desperate Housewives"; the main housewives didn't even get acting nominations.
Instead, first-year cable dramas ruled.
"Mad Men," on AMC, has 16 nominations, including best drama, best actor (Jon Hamm) and two for scripts.
"Damages," on FX, has seven nods, including best drama and best actress (Glenn Close).
The stars of "Saving Grace" (Holly Hunter), "Breaking Bad" (Bryan Cranston) and "In Treatment" (Gabriel Byrne) earned individual nods.
In addition, second-year show "Dexter," which aired on Showtime and reran on CBS, got its first nods for best series and best actor (Michael C. Hall).
That didn't leave much room for the noncable dramas. For best drama, ABC's "Lost," "Boston Legal" and Fox's "House" go against "Mad Men," "Damages" and "Dexter."
The comedy category skipped newcomers. There were best-series nominations for NBC's "30 Rock" and "The Office," CBS' "Two and a Half Men," and HBO's "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
In sheer quantity, a few HBO films dominated. There were 23 nominations for "John Adams," including best miniseries; there were 11 for "Recount" and 10 for "Bernard and Doris," including best movie.
Other programs with multiple nods:
Guest appearances on "30 Rock" brought nominations for three men (Will Arnett, Steve Buscemi and Tim Conway) and three women (Carrie Fisher, Edie Falco and Elaine Stritch).
In general, it was a good year to be Tina Fey or to know her.
Individually, Fey was nominated for best actress ("30 Rock"), best comedy script ("30 Rock") and best performer in a variety show (hosting "Saturday Night Live"). She's also one of the producers of the nominated "30 Rock."
Her former colleague, Amy Poehler, has a rarity: Her "SNL" work drew a nomination for supporting actress in a comedy series. It was a morning of husband-wife nods for Poehler, who is married to Arnett.
"SNL" was also nominated for best variety series. It faces "The Daily Show" and the late-night shows of David Letterman, Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert.
HBO led in overall nominations with 85, but more than half of those came from two movies and a miniseries. There were 76 for ABC — despite disappointments for three of its big shows — followed by 51 for CBS, 50 for NBC, 33 for PBS and 28 for Fox. Showtime had 21 and AMC, an Emmy bystander until recently, had 20.
In the first year with a category for best reality host, nods went to Jeff Probst of "Survivor," Ryan Seacrest of "American Idol," Tom Bergeron of "Dancing With the Stars," Heidi Klum of "Project Runway" and Howie Mandel of "Deal or No Deal."
Their shows were also nominated for best reality competition, with one exception — "Top Chef" replaced "Deal or No Deal." That category has been won by "Amazing Race" for five straight years.
In addition to "John Adams," the nominated miniseries were Sci Fi's "Tin Man" (nine nominations overall), PBS' "Cranford" (eight) and A&E's "The Andromeda Strain" (seven).
HBO had three of the movie nominees: "Recount" (11), "Bernard and Doris" (10) and the "Extras" finale (six). Others are ABC's "A Raisin in the Sun" (three) and Lifetime's "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" (the film's only nomination).
There's a final nod for the late George Carlin. His HBO special is up for best variety, music or comedy special. It faces ones featuring Maher, Don Rickles, Kathy Griffin and James Taylor, plus the "Kennedy Center Honors."
And the overlooked ABC shows will have to settle for a few nods. "Ugly Betty" has six nominations, including star America Ferrera, "Grey's Anatomy" has five, including co-stars Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson and guest star Diahann Carroll. "Desperate Housewives" has four, including guest stars Kathryn Joosten and Polly Bergen, in their recurring roles of Mrs. McCluskey and Stella Wingfield.
