Emmy Dream Ballot: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2012-2013)

The men of drama caused quite a stir this year, ranging from a man battling a zombie apocalypse and losing his wife to man posing to a regular everyday American, but is actually Soviet spy in an arranged marriage.  This year's list is filled with many new comers ousting out some old favorites.  These men while complex and flawed prove that there are still great roles for men out there....wait, that's always been true.  What's most important about the evolution of this category is the wide range of men who have filled these five or six spots over the last decade have become more and more interesting.  Please note not one of these men is from a network television series.

Bryan Cranston as Walter White in Breaking Bad

Cranston is the only veteran returning for a fifth time; he has the most nominations, and has not missed a year in my own personal awards.  Cranston took Walt to new levels with Gus dead, and him in charge.  Walt took to new levels of darkness while trying to cling to being a part of his family.  As Skylar zoned out, Walt turned into a darker more intense man who is starting to get hooked into the game.  Watching him with that look in his eyes as he took control, and even killed was one of the most intense experiences of the last season of Breaking Bad.  Cranston takes Walt to new levels and is one of the best working in actors in all of television and film today.

Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy in The Newsroom

While some called Will one note, I think he is one of the most interesting characters of the 2012-2013 television season.  Daniels has become a force to reckoned with on stage and screen, and he has developed one great character within this show.  Will's rant alone in the first episode about the collapse of our society and journalism is reason enough for him to score a nomination, it is one of my favorite monologues from a television series.  Daniels is great in this show, and I love the way he flexes his pen is mightier than the sword wit on the camera it is truly a work of art.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead

Wow, is all I can say.  While Walking Dead started to lose me with all of that Andrea/Mayor stuff, Lincoln kept me engrossed in the show.  Andrew Lincoln was the reason to watch this past season of Dead, his performance when he lost his wife Laurie was heart wrenching, and the after math even more.  Watching Rick struggle through not only the loss of his wife, but the battle with "the Mayor" was also worth the watch.Lincoln is one of the most underrated actors working on television, and this past season is proof that people need to take him more seriously.

Damien Lewis as Nicholas Brody in Homeland

The episode "Q&A," nuff' said.  While many folks complained that Homeland was soapier than season one, and that is namely because of the back and forth romance between Carrie and Brody, but the performances took things beyond that level.  Lewis was the all star of season one, and that level performance continued this season as he tried to not only play a double agent but stay true to his mission.  During the interrogation the intensity in Brody was some of the best acting Lewis has ever done, and watching him slip as he lost everything, or was about to lose everything including his family was some great acting.

Matthew Rhys as Phillip Jennings in The Americans

Kevin Walker, is that you? What a transformation.  While the show itself had growing pains in my opinion, the acting was top notch and Rhys himself was one of the best performers of the year.  Watching him fight to keep his family together, and avoid being found out as a Communist spy was some of the most intense television of the year.  One of Rhys best scenes was where he confronts the man who raped his wife, and kills him.  The intensity in Phillip's face as he kills the man proves that there is more this than an arranged marriage.  Rhys proves his acting chops here, and makes this show even better with his performance.

Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood in House of Cards

Who said you can't break the fourth wall?  This works so well in this show, and Spacey is a master of the theatrical.  Franics Underwood is representative of what I assume most politicians in DC to be like, sneaky, manipulative, and mainly out for themselves.  There is honestly nothing redeeming about this character; he uses people and spits them out, all on his way to getting what he wants.  Yet over the course of the season Spacey creates one of the most layered anti-heroes on television (well Netflix) proving like with Don Draper being a "good guy" or having redeeming qualities can be over rated.  Spacey hits every note and action with grace making you remember why he has two Academy Awards.

Runner Ups: Hugh Dancy as Will Graham in Hannibal, Timothy Olyphant as U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens, 

Unlikable Television Characters Part 3: Television Wives

One of the most interesting trends in television today is impeccable television dramas.  Today's dramas are making films are growing better than films.  There are just two problems, most of the films are completely driven by male lead characters, there are obviously a few exceptions, like The Good Wife, Revenge, Once Upon a Time, and Homeland (to some extent).  The Good Wife and and Homeland are praised by critics, while Revenge and Once Upon a Time clean up with critics.

Most of the shows out there center of male leads, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Newsroom, Dexter, Boss, and NCIS. While many of these shows are ensemble shows or focus on a duo most shows still focus on a man at the center.  Game of Thrones is the one show on the air which trascends all logic (way to go George R. Martin).  Within these male centered shows one of the other trends is the fact that many of the female characters/wives are some of the most unlikable, and fans rage against them in the message boards.

Let's start with my least favorite, Jessica Brody played by the talented Morena Baccarin.  Baccarin is a great actress, and she plays the role well, but Jessica Brody is currently the most annoying wife on television.  Throughout the first season Jessica was a mild annoyance, from sleeping with her husbands best friend when she thought he was dead to constantly over crying and over emoting her frustration with Brody, I almost used to lose, but then she would nail a great scene, and the character's frustration would come down to a mellow level.  Seasons two's Jessica has become this high and might Congressman's wife, trying to impress politicians' wives, calling her husband crazy for being a Muslim.  While I understand the fear and adjustment in the character, I never think the character nails these emotions without being melodramatic.  I have only finished episode four, but Jessica has continued on the same trajectory so far, and her character has not proven she is changing, her is to hoping they develop her further.

I asked my friends for thoughts on some of the other unlikable television wives out there, and my friend Eric reminded me about Lori on The Walking Dead.  Lori is another over the top wife, and granted the situations warrant her going out of her mind, because she's pregnant, being chased by zombies and trying to protect her son.  In this case I feel as though the actress is up to the challenge, and the role would have been better suited for someone better.  Sarah Wayne Callies is by no means a bad actress, but I never feel as though she is tough enough or up to the challenge her character has to face, this could also be the writing/direction.  The show's character development for many of the group have hit a plateau.

Next on the list would be Betty Draper (Francis), while Betty is no longer the wife of Don Draper; she is by far one of the most unlikable television wives and mothers of all time.  Jessica Pare plays Don's second wife Megan Draper, and like Betty she is another unlikable wife on this television show.  Matthew Weiner and crew know how to write women well though.  The writers have constructed three female characters that are incredibly strong in Peggy, Joan, and Sally.  All three characters have developed into some strong women, minus Joan selling her body to become partner.  Most of the character development seems to based in the cultural milieus of the time, and the roles women had to play.


The last couple of women that could fit on this list are Anna Gunn who plays Skylar White and Betsy Brandt who plays Marie Schraeder.  Gunn and Brandt are both solid actresses but their characters have these obnoxious streaks where they become melodramatic about their lives.  Skylar's character has had her ups and downs, but Marie has pretty much been consistently a shrill character.  While Vince Gilligan is a genius, who has created one of the best shows of all time, does he and his writing team have a hard time writing for the women in the lives of the men in the show.  Skylarhas started to her up her game in the last two seasons, and I expect with the end of season 5.1; she she will continue to do the same.

Are writers/producers to blame for the direction of their female characters?  Many of these shows have strong female characters, Homeland has Carrie (Claire Danes), Mad Men has the three listed above, and Breaking Bad has improved Skylar, yet these women still seem to be incredibly unlikable.  I often wonder why, is it because the shows have large male audiences?  Could be, but many of the female viewers dislike these ladies as well.  Looking at these ladies is an interesting cross section of television at the moment, and the role women play in these television shows.  Hopefully time will prove these women played an important development in television rather than just remaining archetypes of the evil wife.

Gory Matters Here: The Walking Dead Returns

Last Fall a phenomenon hit the small screen and AMC brought to life a graphic about zombies, called The Walking Dead.  The Walking Dead followed a group of people who were attempting to escape zombie attacks and find sanctuary near and in Atlanta.  The genius behind the scenes was creator and executive producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile). Tonight the show kicked off the first part of second season with a 90 minute episode entitled "What Lies Ahead."

The first season of the show (only 6 episodes) ended with an explosion and the main cast on a caravan to find sanctuary.  The second season starts with our group on their drive, and they are stopped by a road block of cars.  While they get trapped by this road block a large group of "walkers" approaches the scene.  Everyone climbs under their car, but one of the young girls on the road with group Sofia is found and she is chased into the woods by the "walkers."  The episode centers around the hunt for this young girl and works to attempt to tie up the loose ends from last season.

The first episode was one of the best episodes the show has produced since the pilot.  The show was well paced and set a strong tone for the rest of season two.  The search for Sofia held a lot of emotional context. Rick Grimes (the leader of the pack) took to the rescue.  Meanwhile Dale pretended to fix a radiator so the caravan could continue, while the radiator was already fixed.  Dale's sentiments show the desperation of the cast.  Dale stated that he did not want this action to prevent survival of the many to have an impact the survival on an individual.  Dale's fear was that the group would want to move on from the search for young Sofia.  The Walking Dead is more than a show about zombies.  This show represents the ethical principles of human nature.

What does man and woman do when they are forced to deal with struggle in an extreme circumstances?  There are more television shows and movies that are using symbolic mechanisms to get their message across, and I think The Walking Dead does an amazing job of not only have truly suspenseful moments but it understands its characters and human nature.

This past summer the show fired creator and executive producer Frank Darabont.  Many of the cast, crew, and fans think that AMC has made a huge mistake.  Darabont has put his heart and soul into this show, and there is fear that without him this show will turn into a lifeless mindless, well zombie of a show.  I know that Darabont still had input into the first half of the season so I can understand why this episode was great, but I hope the show stays true to itself with their executive producer.  At the end of tonight's episode I screamed out "No!" and now I am ready for another five episodes this fall.  This is one of the most creative shows to grace television and I hope its strong start is a signal of more greatness to come.