General Hospital Dominates the Daytime Emmy Awards within a Slightly Better, but Boring Ceremony

The show started with a song from one of my favorite Sesame Street characters Oscar the Grouch singing and bantering with Anderson Cooper was cute and straight to the point, but isn’t there more to Daytime than Luke and Laura?

The first award was presented by the four nominees for Outstanding Younger in a Drama Series announcing the winner for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.  Anthony Geary who plays Luke on General Hospital was the victor, and is now the most honored acting winner at the Daytime Emmy Awards with 7 trophies with 30 years of nominations, his first being 1982 when Luke married Laura.  This started the award show train for General Hospital on Saturday night.

I liked the concept between the way they present this award, but showing no scenes was in poor taste.  Yet Geary was a consument professional, and stated it was “a great way to start an evening” and proving that Daytime Dramas are still relevant, and that cancelling GH for “a boob job bonanza” would be a mistake.

Why Daytime?  A producer talking about Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune proves how important this genre is.  Then the women of The Talk poking fun at the confusion between of their show while presenting Outstanding Game Show was terrific.  The eventual winner was Todd Newton from Family Game Night.  I have never seen the show, but his genuine speech made me happy for former E! fame.   The ladies then presented Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show went to Jeopardy.

The show then went on to show people who weren’t just actors, but the costume designer from All My Children, and this theme throughout the night was great, and truly honored the brilliance of what Daytime means.  In a bit of a surprising twist Days of Our Lives won for Outstanding Writing in a drama series, the show has not won the prize since 1976.  Quickly followed Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama series where Jonathan Jackson won for the second year in a row. 

Days of Our Lives was nipping at General Hospital’s heals when Chandler Massey won the award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.  Barbara Wlaters then presented Bill Geddie with the Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor he deserves with his producing.  I like that they took the time to honor him even with the show feeling rushed.  Dr. Drew took the stage soon after to announce the Outstanding Morning Show Award, which went to The Today Show.

In the same style as Outstanding Lead Actor, the four Younger Actress nominees presented the Outstanding Lead Actress Award to Heather Tom; she is the first person in Daytime to win in every single acting category..  This made two big record breaking moments in the lead categories.

Like the actual award show I am going to speed up the commentary and go right to the point.  The show should have skipped a few of the awards, and honored two of of the Daytime Dramas that left the air All My Children, and One Life to Live better.  Susan Lucci’s tribute was sweet, but was not enough.  Inviting Cameron Matheson along with Lucci is a slap to the history of All My Children, although I was glad they asked Erika Slezak to help honor leading the tribute.  These three just talking about recently cancelled shows was just not enough.  I am mad that the Emmys did these shows wrong like this.

The night ended with General Hospital helping sweep the evening with a win in the best Drama Series category.  The show was better than most recent years, but the quick pacing, and lack of attention to this past year's cancelled shows makes it worse. See the full list of winners below.

Complete List of Winners (Major Categories)

Outstanding Drama Series

General Hospital

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer on General Hospital

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Heather Tom as Katie Spencer in The Bold and the Beautiful

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer on General Hospital

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Nancy Lee Grahn as Alexis Davis on General Hospital

Outstanding Young Actor in a Drama Series

Chandler Massey as Will Horton on Days of Our Lives

Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series

Cristal Khalil as Lily Winters on The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

General Hospital

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series

Days of our Lives

Outstanding Talk Shoe (Entertainment)

Live with Regis and Kelly

Outstanding Talk Show (Informative)

The Dr. Oz Show

Outstanding Talk Show Host

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa-Live with Regis and Kelly

Outstanding Game Show

Jeopardy

Outstanding Game Show Host

Todd Newton-Family Game Night

Women are Funny!

I hate to give this story any merit, but my own thoughts are inspired by the day to day events within the world of popular culture.  Today a story came out from the New York Post that Adam Carolla stated the following regarding working with women: 

"No. But they make you hire a certain number of chicks, and they're always the least funny on the writing staff. The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks. If my daughter has a mediocre sense of humor, I'm just gonna tell her, 'Be a staff writer for a sitcom. Because they'll have to hire you, they can't really fire you, and you don't have to produce that much. It'll be awesome."


He then compared working with a female comedy team, or hiring female comedy writers to picking a basketball team


"When you're picking a basketball team, you'll take the brother over the guy with the yarmulke. Why? Because you're playing the odds. When it comes to comedy, of course there's Sarah Silverman,Tina Fey, Kathy Griffin—super-funny chicks. But if you're playing the odds? No."


Man of you may or most likely may not remember this personality as one of the hosts of the Comedy Central television series The Man Show (1999-2004).  The series ran for five years and propelled host Jimmy Kimmel to a successful career as a late night host at ABC.  Carolla has landed on the D list along with the above mentioned Kathy Griffin, and has only starred in crappy reality television like Celebrity Apprentice.  The ironic thing is that I never found Carolla's show The Man Show funny; he is this crass person who uses fart and tits humor to get laughs, and while that may be funny to some people that brand of humor lacks the intellect many of female counterparts within the comedy world.


Carolla works within the realm of stereotypes, which can be funny when used wisely; he also equates them to truth working in the real world.  In his rationale Carolla uses an "affirmative action" type argument to state why female comedy writers exist.  I also have to disagree with his assertion that the "reason we know more funny dudes than chicks" is because comedy is still a boys club and fewer women are given the opportunity to prove their worth.  If you look at the history of funny women in television time after time they have proven their worth in front of the camera.


From Lucille Ball to Tina Fey women have proven to be some of the funniest and most memorable characters in the television landscape.  In the 1950s up until today people always cite Lucille Ball as one of the funniest comediennes of all time, and to be honest this distinction crosses the gender line.  Ball's distinct brand of humor was great; her physical humor stole the show.  As time went by especially in the 60s the boys club ruled, but the 70s and 80s stirred up a revolution.  Shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, Rhoda, Alice, One Day at a Time, 227, The Golden Girls, Designing Women, and Murphy Brown (all centering on women) proved that the women could compete with the men on the comedy front. While a half of these shows were created by men a few had female creators, and women writers like The Golden Girls, Designing Women, and Murphy Brown, which were all products of the mid to late 80s.  While these shows may not be up Carolla's alley (mainly because they don't involve girls on trampolines) there is no denying that these shows are regarded as some of the best and funniest shows of all time.

Carolla does not use the past to defend his comments rather current funny women and a slight to fact that Jewish men can't play sports.  Carolla has cited three working female comediennes whom he would not pick for his team, one being his former partner's (Kimmel) girlfriend Sarah Silverman, another being Kathy Griffin, and then Tina Fey.  While  Silverman and Griffin are incredibly polarizing I would argue both are funny than Carolla, and are more recognizable personalities than he is today.  I am going to run with his citation of Tina Fey, and the impressive comedy work she has created within the last 12 years or so.

Tina Fey was offered a writing position for Saturday Night Live in 1997 by head writer and former Second City pal Adam McKay.  Although Fey struggled in the beginning, partly because she had to navigate the boys club; she soon carved her own niche and put together some of the best female driven sketches the show had seen, and made the show a more diverse playing ground.  In 1999 Fey was offered the job as head writer for the show; she was in fact the first female head writer for Saturday Night Live.  If you compare her to Seth Meyers you can see where her talent outshines his by leaps and bounds (something she would never point out).  Fey was the head writer of the show for seven years and left at the end of 2006.

In the middle of her tenure as head writer she wrote one of the funniest films about young teenage girls in high entitled Mean Girls (2004).  Mean Girls starred Lindsay Lohan when she had talent, and created one of the funniest/meanest characters of all time, Regina George.  While the film was not a massive success at the box office there was a lot of traction with word of mouth when it was released on DVD and it gained a bit of a cult following, and can heard quoted by many women and gay men today.

Soon after Fey ended her run as head writer on SNL she jumped into another project, a television comedy entitled 30 Rock.  30 Rock is a show that takes place in an SNL like environment where Fey plays Liz Lemon the head writer of TGS.  Fey is great in the show, but of course Alec Baldwin steals the spotlight on screen.  Many people cite his performance as their favorite on the show, but in reality his character exists because of Fey.  Fey is a creator on the show, and writes many of the episodes; she has won Emmy awards for acting, writing and producing the show.  The show has won 3 Best Comedy Series Emmy Awards.  I think Fey is someone I would pick on my comedy legend team without a doubt.

Carolla's comments probably fall of deaf ears for many, but still perpetuate the stereotypes within the entertainment industry.  Throughout the last couple of years magazines, journalists, an bloggers keep declaring the years women.  I remember many declaring 2011 "the year of women" because of films like The Help, and Bridesmaids, more strong dramatic roles women and great comedic television roles for women like Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation.  I remember a famous female winning an award (I forget which one) and being offended by this statement saying something to affect of women star in movies all the time this isn't an anomaly.  Whoever said this is correct, and it's not as though women have never been funny, nor have they never created anything funny, but at this point in history people are finally taking notice more (rightfully so) and people like Adam Carolla with no real career are just jealous.  Stop being a baby, and be the professed man you are, women have always been funny.

Television's Critics Choice Announce their Winners and Sherlock, Homeland, and Community score big

I wish the list of winners below would be the actual winners this year.  Some of these winners area realistic, especially within the drama category.  These could actually be the four acting winners this year.  Homeland has a shot, but I think Breaking Bad will break the Mad Men streak.  On the comedy front Community would be lucky to get a nomination, but I am glad this show finally won something.  Burrell and Bowen are already Emmy winners, and I love that duo.  I am glad to see the well made Sherlock take the award here as well, BBC is taking things by storm.  Listed below is the full list of winners.

Best Drama Series-Homeland
Best Actor in a Drama Series-Bryan Cranston-Breaking Bad
Best Actress in a Drama Series-Claire Danes-Homeland
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series-Giancarlo Esposito-Breaking Bad
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series-Christina Hendricks-Mad Men
Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series-Lucy Lui-Southland
Best Comedy Series-Community
Best Actor in a Comedy Series-Louis CK-Louie
Best Actress in a Comedy Series-(tie) Amy Poehler-Parks and Recreation and Zooey Deschanel-New Girl
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series-Ty Burrell-Modern Family
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series-Julie Bowen-Modern Family

Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series-Paul Rudd-Parks and Recreation
Best Animated Series-Archer
Best Mini-Series/Movie-Sherlock

Best Actor in a Mini-Series/Movie-Benedict Cumberbatch-Sherlock
Best Actress in a Mini-Series/Movie-Julianne Moore-Game Change
Best Reality Series-Anthony Bourdain-No Reservations
Best Reality Series (Competition)-The Voice
Best Reality Show Host- (tie) Tom Bergeron-Dancing with the Stars and Cat Deely-So You Think you Can Dance
Best Talk Show-Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Dream Ballot: Outstanding Drama Series

Finally the main even is here!  All of the other drama series categories have built up to this, the dream nominees for Outstanding Drama Series.  This year most of the shows are in their second season, there were few first year shows that lived up to the hype.  Most of the shows in their first year fell flat, which is unusual.  This just proves that shows are maintaining strong quality throughout the years as opposed to failing to deliver quality television. (Next up is the comedy categories).


Breaking Bad (AMC)-Like a good wine this show gets better with age.  Like throughout most of the other seasons there is an incredible buildup, and show runner and series creator Vince Gilligan continues to push things to a constant build up.  In season four Gus's story line was working towards its peak and the showdown between and Walt and Gus came to a head.  Gus was a brilliant creation; he started out as this simple restaurant manager/drug dealer, in the same way Walt was school teacher/drug deal and manufacturer.  The tension between Walt and Gus was at a high and this drove the drama.  The shows rich intense feeling mixed with the gripping "war on drugs" vs. battle over drug territory and family struggles makes this easily one of the best drama series of all time.

Downton Abbey (PBS/BBC) Season two shows a war torn Europe during World War I, and the way the family, and the servants lives changes a result of having to deal with everything.  The show has this mystical quality that moves time forward quicker than most shows, and doesn't mice words only creates a show with a terrific family dynamic, and also talks about issues of their time.  Julian Fellows who created the show which was originally considered a mini-series has grown into a phenomena.  Losing Mr. Bates for a time was heartbreaking.  Watching Mary actually fall in love was beautiful (even if it is her relative), and watching Maggie Smith in anything brightens my day. 

Game of Thrones (HBO)-The episode entitled "Blackwater" is enough to make this show a nominee this year.  While the second season was just under the level of quality for the first season the show still continues to deliver week after week making the battle for the iron throne a must watch event.  The series does not use major star power, but rather the story of these different families battling for power, and uses this compelling narrative to hook you in week after week.  Characters like Tyrion Lannister played by Emmy winner Peter Dinklage command the screen with great acting and indelible wit.  The show has also created some of the best female characters I have ever seen from young Arya Stark who fights onward as a young girl to no longer be deemed a lady but wants to be a warrior to Cersei Lannister the Lady Macbeth type female.  This show is brilliantly run/written by creators David Bennioff and D.B. Weiss, on a side note HBO get over the GW head on a stick thing it was a joke.

The Good Wife (CBS)- The only network television series that comes close to making this list is The Good Wife.  The show has one of the best casts on television and utilizes their guest stars better than any show I have seen in recent history.  This season our heroine Alicia Florick stepped out from her husbands shadow, and worked on her for a change; she bucked her normal careful behavior and finally owned up to her feelings  for her boss and partner at her law firm Will Gardner.  The relationship eventually faded but Will had his own things to deal with, and was under grand jury investigation and almost lost his license to bar license.  The show is consistently the one of the best I watch, and they never become heavy handed while incorporating their procedural aspect into the story lines of their characters.  Creators Michelle and Robert King should be proud they have the best network television drama.

Homeland (Showtime)- The only series in its first year to rise above the rest and fit into this category. Every episode of Homeland had me on the edge of my seat, and built the tension masterfully.  Claire Danes and Damien Lewis are one of the most dynamic/tragic duos to grace the small screen.  Their game of cat and mouse in the shadow of the world of intelligence investigation, terrorism, and and the general fear in today's society is hard to hate. The show fires on all cyllinders, there was a not an episode where you can sit on your laurels, something is always happening, and writing and direction help to make this one of the best shows of the year.  The supporting cast including Many Patinkin, and Morena Baccarin also shine as they are part of the worlds of the lead characters and have to struggle with dark and twisted destinies.

Mad Men (AMC)-The advertising agency was missing from television for about 18 months, and faithful viewers were excited to see everyone back in action.  After five seasons the shows quality has dipped, but even with the quality dipping ever so slightly it's still must see television, and one of the best shows.  Don was married to Meghan (one of the shows most hated characters, ever), Peggy was fighting back more, Roger was taking revelatory  LSD trips, Pete got punched in the face and slept with Rory Gilmore, Lane played with the companies money to a dangerous level, and the star of the season Joan Harris fought back with her husband who returned home from war, and sold her body to become a partner at the firm.  Doesn't sound boring, it wasn't, but this year the show took an evolutionary path, and made new steps in many directions.  The show stands on solid ground, and I am ready for it to be back already.

Somebody Stop Adam Sandler!

Today when I went to the movies to see Prometheus I walked by the theatre for Adam Sandler's new film That's My Boy.  Boy is the latest in his anthology of craptastic films.  I would like to try sound more intelligent, but based on the type of films Mr. Sandler produces/ stars in that is the best characterization of his films.  Boy is about Todd (Andy Samburg) who was raised by his single father Donny (Sandler) for his entire life.  Todd leaves home at 18 and has not seen his father in four years, and as Todd is about to get married Donny resurfaces because Todd is marrying a wealthy girl and Donny comes back.  Not only is it problematic that 34 year old Andy Samburg is play a 23 year old, and 46 year old Sandler is his father.  That would mean Sandler's character would have been 12 when he fathered him, that may sound plausible for a Sandler film, but this is not even the biggest problem.  This film resembles the same terrible "bro" humor, the only problem is that as he makes more films they become less and less funny.

How did it get this far?  Where did Sandler go wrong?  Adam Sandler started out as a stand up comedienne, and then eventually landed a gig on Saturday Night Live in 1990, and lasted on the show for five years.  Sandler's most memorable moments on the show were the opera guy and his Chanukah song on Weekend Update; he was part of a few memorable skits like the gap girls, but was never seen as a massive scene stealer (in my opinion).

While on Saturday Night Live, Sandler landed supporting roles in films like Coneheads (1993), and Mixed Nuts (1993); he also made three of his biggest career roles Billy Madison (1995) , Airheads (1994), and Happy Gilmore (1996.  Billy Madison gained more of a following in a post theatrical release world, the film only grossed 25 million.   Happy Gilmore made only 38 million dollars, but together these films were magic for young Sandler.  These two films combined were like making Captain Planet.  Alone each film was like a separate ring, sure Billy Madison could control earth like Kwami, but together these two films were potent, and made something even better.  I think the best part about these two films was that even though both of them were stupid they were fresh, and funny.  Sandler does not always appear to try to hard; he doesn't need to, but there was heart, and it seemed as though he cared.

After 1996 Sandler's career took off.  In 1998 he made my personal favorite film The Wedding Singer, the film is funny, there is a lot of heart, and he has great chemistry with Drew Barrymore.  The film also made 80 million dollars.  Sandler's box office take doubled, and the quality of his films improved. 1998 proved to Sandler's most successful year of his early career in the 90s.  Sandler released The Waterboy his largest grossing film at the time which made 161 million dollars proving his entire box office intake that year to be 240 million domestically.  What a great year.  Although The Waterboy is terrible.

After 1998 year after year Sandler released a new film; he has become a machine churning out different things Big Daddy (1999), Little Nicky (2000), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Mr. Deeds (2002), Eight Crazy Nights (2002), Anger Management (2003), Spanglish (2004), 50 First Dates (2004), The Longest Yard (2005), Click (2006),  Reign Over Me (2007), I Know Pronounce you Chuck and Larry (2007), You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008), Bedtime Stories (2008), Funny People (2009), Grown Ups (2010), Just Go with it (2011), Jack and Jill (2011).  18 films in 14 years, what an impressive feat, the problem is that most of these films are pretty terrible.  So in reality Sandler has continued to push shlock on the masses for years.  Even when you think people are walking away his films; he makes something that pulls them back.

So why now?  Why do I think enough is enough?  I like Adam Sandler; he is funny, and has talent.  As he films get even closer to the bottom rung I can't help but think he is ruining his own brand.  Sandler has his own production company,Happy Madison, and the films he makes are usually pretty cheap to make.  I like that he changed things up with Punch-Drunk Love, and Funny People; he was also great in both films.  I would like to see him at least balance out his Jack and Jill type movies with more films that showcase his talent better like Funny People (even though I hated the film).  I write this to implore, Adam, please do better, try and think outside of the box, upcoming films like Grown Ups 2, and The Valet just sound like laziness.  You have the talent, use it please.

Prometheus is an Interesting Chapter to Alien Story, but Fails to Capture the True Spirit and Loses Itself in Exposition

Prometheus (3 out 5 Stars)

Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down)

Written by Joseph Spaihts (The Darkest Hour), Damon Lindelof (Lost)

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Idris Elba, Michael Fassbender, and Charlize Theron

When I looked at the June film releases I was giddy with excitement.  Snow White and the Huntsman looked fun and like it would be the most entertaining of the legends adaptations.  Rock of Ages looked fun, but with its release today it feels as though the fun has been sucked out of 80s music (which is hard to do).  Next week is Pixar's first film with a female lead entitled Brave, another giddy moment.  As reviews have trickled out the film looks less like Wall-E and Up and more like Cars or a decent Dreamworks film.  I was excited for Magic Mike (and the gay man in me still is) but the trailers make this film look awful.  Prometheus was a part of this group for me.  

Prometheus is a part of the Alien world.  The build up for this film was massive.  When the film was announced there was this immediate response from fans of the quadrilogy assuming this was a prequel to all of the four films.  This rumor was dispelled, but the creative team behind the film said that the film was a part of the "Alien world."  The trailers helped with the build up, they made this film seem irresistible, a can't miss.  This was actually one of the best trailers because it did not give away too much of the story, and made fans and non fans alike want to line up to see what the hype was all about.

The reason the trailer was good at not giving away the plot was because the plot is hard to giveaway.  The film centers on two scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall Green) who have found a pattern of cave drawings throughout the entire globe that fit the exact same pattern.  These patterns fuel their belief that their is a life form out in space that connects all the pattern of these cave drawings.  Two years after the discovery the two become part of a space expedition to explore the place that aligned with the cave drawings.

That's about as specific I can get about the plot without getting into spoilers or the material that makes the film too expositional. Joseph Spaihts and  Damon Lindelof scripted a film that has an brilliantly close feel at the start to the first film, Alien.  As the film progresses I can only assume that Lindelof, from Lost fame made the film more of an expositional.  What do I mean by expositional?  The film gets sidetracked by myth and lore rather than focusing on the simplicity that could exist within this Universe.  

Ridley Scott must take some credit for the direction of this film; he has a wonderful vision and created and inspired landscape.  Scott's is a masterful direction, and his connection with this world is apparent.  The problem is that even within interviews Scott gives in to the myth as well.  There are numerous connections to spirituality, like a cross Elizabeth wears, and this eternal belief she and Charlie have in something greater.  While the myth has its moments that make the film interesting it sometimes bogs down the material, and makes you feel like within religion that the belief that this should be good overpowers the actuality that things may not be what you expected.

While the film was not everything I expected there were some aspects that steadied the ship and kept things from sinking too far.  Michael Fassbender acted as the savior to this film; his role as the robot David was fantastic.  David was meant to appear human, and there were times you almost felt as though he was, but even David himself says that he was made to look human for this sole purpose.  Fassbender played manipulative and caring at the same time, but being that he was a robot he was not meant to have any emotions so conveying these concepts shows the skills this man possesses.

Along with Fassbender  the film's technical aspects are strong.  Dariusz Wolski's cinematography captures the starkness of the planet while also utilizing the lighting to capture some haunting images in the caves, and even in the ship Prometheus.  Combined with the art direction, sound, editing, and visual effects, these elements make this film more than a lost soul, but a visionary world.  Love it, hate it, or even if you do not get it this film will get you talking, and that is something that helps it rise above other films.

Dream Emmy Ballot: Drama Guest Acting Categories, Directing, and Writing

The ugly step sister categories at the Emmy Awards are some of the most fun to dream about.  We often remember our favorite shows regular players, but sometimes the guest stars, or recurring players are the glue to the story line. The same can be said for the writers and directors.  I love when a television series goes through their opening credits and informs me who directed, and who wrote the episode I am about to watch.  As a fan of the series this is important information.  Writers and directors are behind the scenes players who put the words to page the actors read, while the directors set the stage for the actors action.  Together these three elements make up some of the most important elements of a regular series.

This year's guest nominees made the audience feel as though they were a part of the thread work of their series.  If you are a fan of The Good Wife think about Michael J. Fox and his character Louis Canning, Canning is not a series regular but people know him within connection with the show.  Lucy Lui and Fiona Shaw did something similar but different they created characters for short one season arcs, and even though we knew they might not last long they became an incredible part of the worlds of Southland and True Blood.  They carried a tremendous burden to make them memorable in a short span of time.  In years past these categories did allow people to submit in this category who were in more than five episodes.  The rules were changed, and now they can be recognized in the proper category.

None of these terrific guest acting performances could be possibly without the directors and writers.  Game of Thrones proved that direction in a television series could create an hour that rivals most film direction.  Can you imagine watching "Blackwater" on a giant screen?  This is some of the most impressive direction I have ever seen on television.  The simplicity is also welcome and televisions Mad Men knew exactly how to construct the beauty of the obscure in their episode, "The Phantom."  The direction in this episode created one of the most inedible images in the shows history with the camera focused on the backs of the five partners as they stare outside the window of their new office.

Just as the director's set the action in motion, with well, their direction, the writers put the words and actions to the page of the script.  Can you imagine the cat and mouse action of Homeland's episode "The Weekend" not being this interestingly complicated,sexy, and twisted without the words of Merdith Stiehm?  This was one of the best episodes of the season, and writing hits with a punch at every corner.  Vince Gilligan wrote (and directed) the season finale of Breaking Bad entitled "Box Cutter."  Throughout the season the writing had built to this ultimate nail biting conclusion, and Gilligan masterfully ends things with this dark and deadly action.  What a season finale, and what a well written piece of television.

Together these three elements contribute and make a drama series an incredibly strong viable piece of work. Shows often misuse guest actors, and waste talented directors/writers.  When a series uses all of these elements properly they make shows rise to a level of excellence that is unmatched.

Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Dylan Baker-Damages

Jere Burns-Justified

Mos Def-Dexter

Michael J. Fox-The Good Wife

Chris Messina-Damages

Matthew Perry-The Good Wife

Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Loretta Devine-Grey’s Anatomy

Lucy Lui-Southland

Carrie Preston-The Good Wife

Anika Noni Rose-The Good Wife

Fiona Shaw-True Blood

Chloe Webb-Shameless

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

Breaking Bad– Crawl Space- Scott Winant

Breaking Bad– Face Off- Vince Gilligan

Downton Abbey–Series 2: Episode 7-by Brian Percival

Game of Thrones –Blackwater- Neil Marshall

Homeland –Pilot- Michael Cuesta

Mad Men-The Phantom-Matthew Weiner

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series

Breaking Bad-Box Cutter-Vince Gilligan

Downton Abbey-Series 2: Episode 7- Julian Fellowes

Game of Thrones-Blackwater-George R.R. Martin

Homeland-The Weekend-Meredith Stiehm

Justified-Harlan Roulette-Dave Andron

Mad Men-The Other Woman- Semi Chellas & Matthew Weiner