The only thing I learned from BSG was how to be an alcoholic

I have been trying to write something that can properly express how important Battlestar Galactica has been to me and no matter what, it always comes out sounding a little bit pathetic. That doesn’t matter to me, not really, I just want to write something more coherent than ‘OH GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW WHY IS IT ENDING?!’ Trust me, it would be easy to do, and I have been on my Livejournal. Here though, I want to try and explain how I ended up loving this show and why it has made such an impact.

Even though I would love for people to think I’ve been watching this show since the mini-series aired back in 2003, I have to be honest: I had no clue about this show or what it was even in the 80s. That’s how much I dislike the sci-fi genre. I’ve never seen an entire Star Wars movie completely through, I only saw Star Trek once when Whoopi Goldberg was a part of the cast and…honestly, I think the closest I ever came to sci-fi was the Power Rangers when Rita lived in space. When someone handed me a copy of the mini-series DVD in the summer of 2006, I waited until about the end of September to actually watch it. Actually making the time to want to sit still through some stupid outer space show was so not my cup of tea. I started watching, IMing snide remarks to a friend about how slow it was already, and then Six walked on screen, snapped an infant’s neck, and my away message went up, saying something to the effect of: ‘holy shit what am I watching?’

Lucky for me, season three had just started when I finished the mini-series. So when ‘Exodus Part 2’ aired, I watched and of course had no idea what was going on. I just remember incredibly vividly how intense it was to watch Galactica jump into New Caprica’s atmosphere and watch those Vipers launch. Talk about edge of your seat, folks. After an intense watching of seasons one and two and the downloading of the first two season three episodes I missed, by the time the next new episode happened? I was all caught up. Honestly I’m not sure how I did it, and I don’t remember doing it. My commitment to the show was that intense after seeing what I had. It then became my mission to convince everyone I knew that this show was for everyone, not just the people who love sci-fi. I was a smoker back then, and while watching the episode ‘33’ I think I went through an entire pack. Then I did the same thing when I got to ‘Epiphanies’. By the time ‘Taking A Break From All Your Worries’ came around I was a full fledged alcoholic.

Somehow, I managed to convince my dad to watch this show. And by ‘convince’, I mean he couldn’t walk due to a recent surgery and therefore could not prevent me from loading the DVD and forcing him to watch it. He yelled just as loud as I had that he would hate it, and then he was hooked as well. I think for him it was the smut within twenty minutes of the show starting but you know; to each their own. It became a tradition for the two of us at that point to watch the show together, and to date has been one of the only things we can debate about and not get all huffy over. Except when he told me that Adama just wanted to get laid on New Caprica and that he didn’t really care about Laura at all. We did argue over that; oh yes. My brother has been a more casual viewer in that when he watches, it’s once a season or if I’m having a marathon. He loves what he sees but has the attention span of Gaius Baltar, so it’s pretty pointless to corral him into the living room on Friday nights. I’ve recapped this show for a while now in one forum or another and that, combined with watching with my dad has been a tradition for so long that I’m not sure what I’m going to do come Friday the 27th. I’m almost positive I’ll be curled up in a ball on the floor suffering from withdrawals.

This show, for me, hasn’t simply been about who is paired together, or not being able to wait and see what struggle the fleet is going to be hit with next. That stuff is interesting yes, but I am so invested in the human story and emotion; the cylon’s story of life and creation; death and destruction. I need to know how Adama is going to eventually break down. It’s been scary to see him deteriorate from stoic leader to a man slowly losing everything and at the end of his rope. It has absolutely made my heart ache to see Caprica Six finally grow and learn what it truly means to have human emotion only to lose her child and the man she loves. (Because it certainly doesn’t seem like Tigh stuck around after the death of Liam.) It’s those personal story lines that I have to see resolved before the end of the show. Most importantly (for me) will be knowing where they all end up. There are only two possible scenarios in my mind: They all jump back to Kobol or New Caprica (but let’s go with Kobol since it didn’t look like a craphole) because those are the two planets that haven’t been nuked, or they all die. That’s all I can come up with in my head and it’s making my stomach twist up in knots just thinking about it. I’m trying to come to terms with Laura’s death; even though we may not see it. Even though it may not even happen at this point. Let’s face it, if they don’t show her death I’m going to pretend a magical unicorn cured her. And if she dies? Well, I’ll give out the directions to the shiva later.

I can’t explain anymore how important this show is to me by being serious, so let me give some examples. If I had the choice between watching a new episode of this show for one hour and going on an all expenses paid trip to Disney World? I’d watch the new hour. (Let’s pretend that I have no DVR for these scenarios.) If my friends wanted to go out and celebrate a sudden surge in the economy and a new episode of BSG was on? Sorry friends, I’ve got more important things to do. I suppose one good thing about the show ending will be the resurgence of my social life on Friday nights. In trying to come up with a way to cope, I’ve even formed crossover ideas. Here’s my favorite pitch: Galactica is using one of the few jumps it has left before it falls apart. The island on LOST is also jumping through time and it just so happens that Galactica jumps at a time the island is having one of its flashy moments. The crew crash lands and the island cures Laura’s cancer. It turns out the Oceanic Six are the important ones because they are the descendants of the Final Five Cylons. Laura and Bill become King and Queen of the island, they adopt Ben and Daniel, Jack cries a million tears after becoming part of the Lee/Kara/Anders affair, and Kate gets tossed out of an airlock. I like my idea.

It has been a blast and an honor talking about this show so often and recapping it over at The Two Cents.com. I’ve honestly not had a better time with any show, even my first real love, The X-Files. Battlestar Galactica trumps all in the end, and I suspect it always will. Until twenty five years go by and Bodie Olmos plays Adama, the kid who played Boxy plays Lee, and Amy Adams plays Laura Roslin.

So say we all.

Internet - make my life decisions for me, please.

So, I have a question for all of you. I'm letting my T.V. Guide subscription lapse. I think the writing is blase and very childish; besides that anything I need to know I can get on the internet without paying a subscription fee. I honestly don't even know why I thought I needed a subscription anyway, but I do have to say that I'm glad it didn't lapse before I got the Battlestar Galactica collector's edition. I'm also letting my O magazine subscription lapse. Mostly because I've found that for a magazine geared towards Oprah's watchers who are not insanely rich, there's a whole lot of shit in there I can't afford. Also, I'm not a hip young soccer mom and I have not reached the age where I find my aha! moment. So, whatever Oprah. Your magazine does not cater to me.

Anyway, all of this to say I'd like to subscribe to something else. I have a subscription to EW that I will not let go of until the day I die and even then, I'll probably be paid so far in advance that issues are delivered to the nursing home where I died. My question is, what should I subscribe to in place of O and T.V. Guide? I could go with People, and I do enjoy that magazine but if there's something even better, well then, I'd love to know it. And I don't want a subscription to Star or US Weekly or any of that stuff - I have Oh No They Didn't for that. So what should it be? I'm even willing to look at online magazines if they have good material.

Enlighten me, internet. I'm counting on you!

(Also, keep in mind that I am a t.v. fan so it's a huge plus if the magazine is somehow television related.)

Lost speculation!

In which I argue

Can I share with you three things I noticed about the Battlestar Galactica mini-series right quick? Then I promise we'll get to the meat and potatoes of my post:

Number one (and this is nit-picky of me): Tigh pronounces Gaeta’s name ‘Guy-tuh’. I could chalk this up to the show being new, but only the character of Tigh says his name this way. So it makes me wonder if Michael Hogan just couldn’t say Gaeta at the time. This is kind of the same deal with how Ron Moore says Kara’s name. Every single person on the show pronounces it one way, and he’s off in his own verse calling her Car-uh. I don’t get it – it’s his show, he could get everyone to pronounce it any way he wants.

Number two: This is my own personal happy moment, but every single time Adama and Laura bickered, and especially during their talk about running and having babies, I couldn’t help but think about how far this relationship has come. It has easily been one of the most natural progressions of a relationship I think I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t a rushed ‘hey let’s get together because it’s the end of the world’ thing. They hated each other for a minute, then started to like each other, and then the respect reached an all time high after New Caprica. Or maybe during New Caprica; we’ll never really know because all we ever got to see was the pair getting high. (I’m still bitter about not getting a reunion between them after the exodus, but I digress.)

Number three: The mini-series is shot in a way that is unique from the rest of the series. Now when I watch the show, it has dark undertones (because this is the most depressing show on television, maybe?) but watching the mini series it seems that the lighting is much better. The footage however, seems grainy, as if someone put a scratch texture over the camera lens. Has anyone else noticed that or is my DVD just playing tricks on me?

Recently, a mutual friend posted on her Livejournal 12 Reasons You Have to Watch BSG. I normally don’t advocate telling people they have to do something (hypocrite; see my post on 30 Rock and Mad Men) but there are a few things that were brought up within the comments of that post that I wanted to address here. Mostly because I never got a response from the people I questioned, but more over because I’m planning my own farewell post on the best and worst aspects of Galactica at the end of March. I have not linked back to the Livejournal post because I don’t want any specific user to feel ganged up on, and two, I don’t want the particular journal to suddenly be flooded with comments. These are simply my views and how I feel about some of the points made against the show.

One of the ‘points against BSG’ was the fact that it was an actual sci-fi show. I hate to break it to you, but I’m not sure what you thought a show called Battlestar Galactica would be about. I didn’t love the show right away; in fact someone had to force me to watch the mini series in 2006. I’ll tell you the exact moment I was hooked: As soon as Adama made the speech that [they] were at war. Admittedly the mini-series is long and it feels like it takes an extremely long time to get to that point, but once the Cylons actually attack it’s a roller coaster ride to the end. The final reveal that Sharon is a cylon just about threw me on the floor. The next day, I bought seasons one and two on DVD and got caught up just in time to start watching season three live.

Another point against watching the show was that ‘it has not satisfactorily ideal couples’ because love interests are swapped. For example: Dee/Billy/Lee, Lee/Kara/Anders…and you know what? I have no argument for that. It’s really not my favorite part of the show. I get that Lee and Kara are both messed up but really, please commit already. I’m not even counting Gaius as one of the people in this argument because it’s been pretty firmly established that he’s a whore. So, points go to you argumentative person. However, I don’t think the romance factor is a reason to throw in the towel on the whole show. If it were, I would have stopped watching when Billy was killed.

The fact that a reason against the show was ‘there are too many young and pretty actors’ to make it watchable proved to me that the person clearly has not been shown one single episode of the show and/or lives in a bubble. ‘Young’ definitely does not describe Mary McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, and Michael Hogan. And while Mary McDonnell is drop dead gorgeous, Edward James Olmos is not exactly ‘pretty’. I mean, I love that man to pieces and personally find him incredibly sexy, but these are the leads of the show; actors in their fifties and sixties respectively. I believe the person is probably referring to Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Jamie Bamber, etc. when talking about ‘young and pretty’, but I don’t even understand why this would be something negative. Every show on television features ‘pretty’ people because we like looking at pretty people. Is that narcissistic of us as a species? Oh yes, you’re damn right it is. But I challenge you to find a show that doesn’t feature pretty, if not an all young cast. Please.

The show being liked by too many people on the internet made the list too, and I just sat in confusion looking at the screen. Is that a back handed compliment? Is someone trying to say that people on the internet have no taste and could therefore not watch a show that is intelligent? Or is someone trying to say that so many people like the show that there’s no way it could actually be that good? You know what? I’d love for someone to explain how people on the internet liking something is a bad thing.

The last argument worth mentioning was that the commenter doesn’t like the plot device of surprise pregnancies. Well, seeing as how one of the Cylon’s goals is reproduction, I’d say a surprise pregnancy or two is probably understood? I mean, I’m going out on a limb here…but it’s not as if Laura Roslin is going to pop into Adama’s quarters waving a pregnancy stick and demanding Maury Povich.

I know this has turned into a long winded post, but the point is: You can find something wrong with any single show on the planet if you look hard enough. Of course you as a viewer know what you do and do not like and I can respect that. But how - how - can you know if you’ll like or loathe something unless you give it a chance? That’s my biggest pet peeve; never making an actual informed decision about something. If you do decide to take a crack at the show, I suggest you start with the season one episode ‘33’. It explains the war, it gives you a good background on the characters, and is one of those ‘edge of your seat’ episodes. If you still refuse to at least try the show on for size, then that’s your prerogative, of course. We’ll just keep this television prize-winner all to ourselves.

uhhh whoops

I say it's time for a new post, how about you? I can't believe that I haven't updated in so long, time honestly did get away from me. What with LOST and Battlestar Galactica both coming back, I've been sucked into some weird alternate universe where the only thing that exists is a continuous loop of those two shows with 30 Rock sometimes mixed in.

Speaking of 30 Rock, congratulations for sweeping the awards! From Alex Baldwin to Tina Fey, my belated congratulations goes out to you. And also to Mad Men! Although, Jon Hamm, what was up with your hair on award night?

In other television news, Amy Poehler's new NBC show finally has a name. Parks and Recreation will be debuting...well, we don't know when yet, exactly. What we do know is that it is in the same vein as The Office, only it is 100% totally NOT a spin off. It will take place in Indiana of all states (I didn't know that state was known for its sprawling parks) and will also star Rashida Jones and Aziz Ansari. (His character was recently fired from Sacred Heart on Scrubs.) Read more about the upcoming show and see some previews right over here.

Apparently LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell (what a pairing) will be starring in a NCIS spin-off that is as of right now untitled. It looks like NCIS is joining the ranks of Law and Order and CSI with it's number of spin-offs. And really, LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell? I just can't even imagine what that will be like. I'm hoping lots of sideways glances and LL saying cool things like 'TAKE ME BACK TO THE GHETTO' every other sentence. Read more about this here.

While I've never watched the show, HBO's Big Love did get a confirmed renewal. So yaaay polygamy! Renewal info is here.

BOB SAGET! He's back! No, not in a Full House reunion which is what everyone wants, let's face it. He's returning to the small screen to play a suburban dad. Wait a minute...I thought this wasn't a Full House reunion? Oh well CW, you may have just lost out on a show that could help your ratings on Sunday nights. Your loss! Read more about the show here.

That's all I have for you kids today, but before I go, how totally awesome is the feud between Etta James and Beyonce? Honestly, one of them is old enough to know better and the other should retire and give up singing. You guess who should do what in the comments!

The Final 10

On January 16th, Battlestar Galactica will return for its final ten episodes ever. On March 20th, it will bow out gracefully, on its own terms which is what every great show hopes for. As of Friday, it has been 217 days since the last new episode. Somehow, through all of that, I have been able to remain spoiler free. Rumor has it we're supposed to find out who the 12th and final cylon is extremely early in the ten episodes but that's all I know. Apparently, someone leaked the information of who that final cylon is and I have to say: Shame on the people who can't wait through (at most) 10 episodes to find out something we've been waiting to know for what feels like forever. I've been guilty of the occasional spoiler, and I do know the saying about casting stones. At this point though, googling who the final cylon is will feel like cheating. It's one of the only times I can remember that I've been so adamant about staying spoiler free. (The only other show I'm like this with is LOST; it's so much fun to speculate theories and then slowly figure out which ones are right and which are wrong.)

But enough about how I feel regarding spoilers. No one came here for that; no...I have a confession to make. A confession, then a list of the 10 episodes you have to watch between now and Friday. My confession is this: Any time I tell people that I watch BSG or that I'm a fan, I preface with: "I know it's sci-fi but..."

Why, my dear readers, would I ever feel like I have to defend such an amazing television show? It might stem from how I originally felt about the show before I'd ever watched an episode: that sci-fi immediately equaled geeks who'd previously been Star Trek fanatics and a love for all things Star Wars. I definitely don't fit into that mold. I only know enough about Star Trek to recognize important moments in television history (the first interracial kiss on screen!) and Star Wars...well, that's right over my head. But with Battlestar Galactica, I strongly feel that if people would just give it a chance, they'd realize it was so much more than sci-fi. It's life and death and war and love. It's an amazing allegory for the state of the world and before people judge it, they should see an episode. Unfortunately, there is a bias against sci-fi, not just among my peers, but on the award show front as well - but that's a whole other post.

And now, the 10 episodes you have to watch before the Friday!

***

33 - This is the episode that I use to hook people on the show. It has worked 9 times out of 10. The only reason I make it a must see is because it not only gives you a good feel for what happens on the show without having to make a newbie sit through the two hour mini-series, it also gives you the raw emotion and downright amazing acting from all of the characters. To get back into the feel of Galactica, and to get your adrenaline pumping, watch this episode.

***

Resistance - Everything seems to be going to hell in a hand basket after Adama's been shot and is in extremely critical condition. We also get a number on how many cylons are in the fleet - eight. This episode also served as the introduction of Anders. Get ready to bump that number up to nine.

***

Home Part 2 - For the first (but not the last) time, Adama goes to get his woman off of a planet. After recovering from his gunshot wound, he heads down to Kobol to tell Laura that he's sorry for throwing her in jail. And he also tries to choke Sharon to death since that was the Cylon model that tried to kill him. The map to Earth is also revealed, in a scene that still gives me goosebumbs.

***

Resurrection Ship Part 2 - After the Pegasus, another battlestar, was found with the tough as nails Admiral Cain in charge, Adama and crew slowly realized that Cain was a killer. Hell bent on revenge against the cylons, she doesn't give two cents about the survival of the human race. Laura tells Bill that he has to assassinate Cain, while Cain comes up with a similar plan to assassinate Bill. Neither plan is carried out, and the cylon Cain's crew had been torturing eventually shoots and kills the Admiral. Laura and Bill finally kiss after she promotes him to the Admiral position. (Literally?)

***

Exodus Part 2 - For the second time on the show, Adama is going to get his woman. Okay, so he's going back for the rest of humanity too, but the rescue scene from New Caprica ranks as one of the best scenes in this show. Back story: Under the reign of President Baltar, a planet is found and humanity attempts to colonize. A year later the cylons find them and the planet turns into one big detention camp. The reuniting of the fleet is touching, though I still feel a little let down that there was no reunion scene between Adama and Roslin.

***

Unfinished Business - Nothing really happened plot wise; instead we go back to that time on New Caprica before the cylons came back. Adama with his pornstache got high with Laura as they cuddled under the stars, Lee and Kara slept together and screamed their love to the world, then Kara went off and married Anders. What the frak? All of this shown to us in flashback as everyone releases some tension in the boxing ring of Galactica.

***

Taking a Break From all Your Worries - Or, The Episode Where Laura Lost Her Mind on Gaius Baltar. Fed up with the man on a human level, she threatens to airlock him, then with the help of Cottle and Adama, attempts torture to get the information she's wanting regarding his part in the destruction of the Colonies. When all is said and done, as Laura lays in the Admiral's quarters, they decide that ultimately, they have to give the man a fair trial for crimes committed against humanity.

***

Crossroads Part 2 - Gaius gets a trial and is eventually found not guilty. Not innocent though, mind you. Starbuck was dead and now she's alive again, Laura's cancer is back, and Tigh, Tory, Chief and Anders are all revealed to be Cylons.

(This is where it gets kind of hard. I know that there were some amazing moments in the first part of season 4, but this is a top 10 list. And yes, I totally picked one of these because of my complete love of Adama and Laura.)

***

The Hub - Laura and Gaius plus some crew members are stuck on a cylon base star after the Hybrid jumps away from Galactica. Laura and Gaius try to get the Hybrid to stop jumping in a rare comedic display. When Gaius is hurt, he finally admits to Laura that he helped the Cylons in the initial attack on the Colonies and she almost lets him die. That is until, through a series of internal dialogues she realizes that she just can't let the man die. She also realizes that she loves Adama, and when he goes to get his woman (for the third time on this show!) she finally tells him so. 'Shippers everywhere rejoice. (But can we get a kiss?)

***

Revelations - Years of searching for Earth has come down to this: Caprica Six is pregnant and Tigh is the baby daddy. When Adama finds out that his best friend for decades is a Toaster, there is emotional fall out. Lee has been President due to Laura's absence and nearly airlocks Tigh, Anders and Chief, until Starbuck saves the day with the coordinates to Earth. The cylons and humans make a shaky agreement not to kill one another anymore and there is much rejoicing as they all head down to the planet that is to be their salvation...

...and it's a total nuclear wasteland. Frak.

***

What happens next?! Who is the 12th Cylon?! What happened to Earth?! Questions will be answered as we watch our show take its final curtain call starting this Friday, January 16th at 10/9 central. I leave you all with this quote about the upcoming episodes:

"I'm resigned to the fact that the final Cylon will be controversial. Some people will love the choice, some will really hate it. And I can live with that. But the revelation itself doesn't answer every question. The viewers still won't know what the Final Five's relationship is to the other Cylons or to the mythology of the show." - Ron Moore in the January 12-25 issue of TV Guide.

Nominations

Being in the business of TV (okay wanting to be in the business of TV.), I felt that I should bring you all the Golden Globe and Screen Actor’s Guild nominations as well as my predictions. And as usual (since 2004) here is my rant at both panels: You suck for not including Battlestar Galactica, Edward James Olmos, or Mary McDonnell in any way, shape, or form.

That rant gets shorter each year but I suppose there’s no accounting for taste, right? Enough about my personal bias, here are your nominations, and my predictions are in bold. Also, I only care about TV related categories, so nothing else has been included.

The Screen Actor’s Guild Awards

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Boston Legal (ABC)
Dexter (SHOWTIME)
House (FOX)
Mad Men (AMC)
The Closer (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 Rock (NBC)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Weeds (Showtime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Michael C. Hall – Dexter Morgan; Dexter (SHOWTIME)
Jon Hamm – Don Draper; Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie – House; House (FOX)
William Shatner – Denny Crane; Boston Legal (ABC)
James Spader – Alan Shore; Boston Legal (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Sally Field – Nora Walker; Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay – Olivia Benson; Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Holly Hunter – Grace Hanadarko; Saving Grace (TNT)
Elisabeth Moss – Peggy Olson; Mad Men (AMC)
Kyra Sedgwick – Brenda Johnson; The Closer (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin – Jack Donaghy; 30 Rock (NBC)
Steve Carell – Michael Scott; The Office (NBC)
David Duchovny – Hank Moody; Californication (Showtime)
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)
Mary-Louise Parker – Nancy Botwin; Weeds (Showtime)
Tracey Ullman – Various Characters; Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union (Showtime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Ralph Fiennes – Bernard Lafferty; Bernard and Doris (HBO)
Paul Giamatti – John Adams; John Adams (HBO)
Kevin Spacey – Ron Klain; Recount (HBO)
Kiefer Sutherland – Jack Bauer; 24 (FOX)
Tom Wilkinson – Benjamin Franklin; John Adams (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Laura Dern – Katherine Harris; Recount (HBO)
Laura Linney – Abigail Adams; John Adams (HBO)
Shirley MacLaine – Coco Chanel; Coco Chanel (LIFETIME)
Phylicia Rashad – Lena Younger; A Raisin in the Sun (LIFETIME)
Susan Sarandon – Doris Duke; Bernard and Doris (HBO)

The Golden Globe Awards

Best Television Series - Drama

Dexter (SHOWTIME)
House (FOX)
In Treatment (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical

30 Rock (NBC)
Californication (SHOWTIME)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Weeds (Showtime)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: SVU
January Jones – Mad Men
Anna Paquin - True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment
Michael C. Hall – Dexter
Jon Hamm – Mad Men
Hugh Laurie – House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical

Christina Applegate – Samantha Who?
America Ferrera – Ugly Betty
Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Debra Messing – The Starter Wife
Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Steve Carell – The Office
Kevin Connolly – Entourage
David Duchovny – Californication
Tony Shalhoub – Monk

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

A Raisin in the Sun (ABC)
Bernard and Doris (HBO)
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture made for Television

Judi Dench – Cranford
Catherine Keener – An American Crime
Laura Linney – John Adams
Shirley MacLaine – Coco Chanel
Susan Sarandon – Bernard and Doris

Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture made for Television

Ralph Fiennes – Bernard and Doris
Paul Giamatti – John Adams
Kevin Spacey – Recount
Kiefer Sutherland – 24: Redemption
Tom Wilkinson – Recount

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture made for Television

Eileen Atkins – Cranford
Laura Dern – Recount
Melissa George – In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters
Dianne Wiest – In Treatment

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture made for Television

Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary – Recount
Jeremy Piven – Entourage
Blair Underwood – In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson – John Adams

There's an obvious bias here towards 30 Rock and Mad Men; feel free to let me know what your pick are!