Unsolicited Golden Globe Opinions

The Golden Globe nominations have been announced and now it’s time to examine the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s silly little ideas of TV excellence (Sarah Paulson? I’d laugh if I got the joke).

DRAMA
My pick of the nominees: Big Love. It’s compelling and interesting. Its exploration of family life and plural marriage is at once deeply familiar and completely foreign.

Overlooked: I love Veronica Mars, but if I have to pick one, I’d say Friday Night Lights. This show appeals to a much broader demographic than VM and the fact that it’s not appointment viewing for more people is a shame. Degrassi may have bogarted the expression, but FNL really does go there.

ACTRESS (DRAMA)
My pick: Kyra Sedgwick. I love The Closer and though the rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, I can’t take my eyes off Sedgwick.

Overlooked: Kristen Bell for Veronica Mars. Lead actresses on critically acclaimed teen shows have been recognized by the HFPA in the past (Keri Russell for Felicity, Amber Tamblyn for Joan of Arcadia), so why does KB keep getting snubbed? She’s the heart of one of the most compelling and entertaining shows on TV and she deserves some props.

ACTOR (DRAMA)
My pick: Bill Paxton. As a thoroughly modern polygamist patriarch, he manages to make me sympathize with someone I would normally find fairly abhorrent. Beyond the foreign concept of his life style, he is simply a father, husband and son stretched to the very limit.

Overlooked: Kyle Chandler for Friday Night Lights. From the accent to the demeanor, everything about the way Chandler inhabits Coach Taylor is dead on.

MUSICAL OR COMEDY
My pick: The Office. I laugh, I squirm, I tune in week after week and am rarely disappointed.

Overlooked: Old school multi-camera sitcoms aren’t dead. Seriously, just ask How I Met Your Mother. While you’re at it, ask why Desperate Housewives stole their Golden Globe nomination.

ACTRESS (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
My pick: Mary-Louise Parker is spectacular on Weeds, but despite the show’s comedy label, she gives what I would dub a dramatic performance. That said, I would give the trophy to America Ferrera for her effervescent turn on Ugly Betty.

Overlooked: Anne Heche for Men in Trees.

ACTOR (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
My pick: Alec Baldwin is beyond brilliant on 30 Rock. His sly turn as a corporate stiff among creative bafoons makes me thank God he's not being wasted on something higher brow like Studio 60.

Overlooked: John Krasinski for The Office. Steve Carell is great, but the most affecting performance has been Krasinski’s and after taking the reins for the Stamford portions of the show, he has graduated from supporting character to capable leading man.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My pick: Elizabeth Perkins is black comedy gold (would that make her comedy oil?) on Weeds. She’s awesome as a thorny (and horny) cancer survivor whose family and community at large kind of hate her.

Overlooked: Ginnifer Goodwin, Chloe Sevigny and Jeanne Tripplehorn for Big Love. Without the perfect combination of spouses, Bill Paxton’s performance would be nothing.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
My pick: Justin Kirk for Weeds. Completely overlooked by the HFPA for his performance in Angels in America, it’s about time he get some recognition for being so dead-pan awesome.

Overlooked: Neil Patrick Harris for How I Met Your Mother. He’s easily my favorite part of a damn fine show and Harris has proven that his hilarious cameo in Harold and Kumar was no fluke.

Ugly Betty, Weeds, The IT Crowd

The lack of Friday Night Lights and Veronica Mars last night gave me a chance to reflect on some of the shows I’ve been watching outside of primetime.

Ugly Betty is pretty awesome. The show’s available online at abc.com so I generally watch it on Saturday morning, when it’s not interfering with The Office and the Chef and the Subletter are watching football. America Ferrera is so lovely as Betty that I love her in spite of her complete earnestness. I generally prefer my heroines with a shot of sour bitch (see: Veronica Mars, Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me), but her poise and winning attitude in a world of fembots is refreshing. Plus Amanda and Marc fill my bitch quotient quite nicely.

The second season of Weeds may be finished on Showtime, but I’m only about halfway through. What was initially a black comedy about keeping up appearances in suburbia has been pervaded by a sense of dread. Silas sabotaging a condom to better insure that his girlfriend can’t leave him broke my heart and made me nauseated all at once. And as Nancy gets deeper into her position as a grower and her relationship with her DEA agent husband of convenience, I can’t help thinking of Heylia as the Cassandra who saw it all coming. Weeds is, in a word, compelling.

The IT Crowd… I’m still not sure if I’m supposed to pronounce it as “I.T.” or “it,” but it’s a strangely enjoyable show from the UK about the nerdy tech department of a major corporation. Though it’s set to be adapted by NBC for the US, it’s has more in common with the Fred Savage sitcom Working than with The Office. It’s over the top, surreal and pretty dead-on in its satirical portrayal of socially awkward smart people. You can find episodes online through Google Video. If asked to cast the American version, I'd go with Dave Foley (or any of the Kids in the Hall) as the blowhard boss and Christina Hendricks (Saffron from Firefly) as Jen. Ooh! And the older Pete from Pete and Pete as Roy. You know, just in case anyone cares.