AFT Awards: Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

This is the tenth category of the 1st Annual AFT Television Awards to be announced. Episodes listed in parantheses for actors and shows indicate a great sample of their work, however I look at the entire season when choosing my nominees and winners. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order.

Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

KEVIN CONNOLLY AS ERIC, ENTOURAGE (Three's Company)
Everyone on this show plays their roles perfectly, but Connolly has the task of playing perhaps the most difficult character and succeeding very well. Eric is likeable but always the "bad guy" when it comes to making decisions to have fun or choose work. Connolly's best work comes when a drunken Sloane suggests a threesome, and Eric becomes a bit too obsessed with and nervous about the idea.

TONY SHALHOUB AS MONK, MONK (Mr. Monk Is At Your Service)
I have said this several times, but I always thought Shalhoub was a bit overrated and won a few too many Emmys, especially over Steve Carrell this past year. But Shalhoub is really very good as obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk, and his performance is always a pleasure to watch. Seeing him as an unwillingly private eye, an overeager basketball coach, and an overeffective butler is a treat. Extra credit for his dramatic work opposite Steven Weber's cruel DJ in the episode "Mr. Monk Is On The Air".

STEVE CARRELL AS MICHAEL, THE OFFICE (The Merger)
No matter what his plotline, Carrell is falling-on-the-floor-laughing hilarious in every episode of this deadpan sitcom. From his troubled lovelife to his "Survivor"-like test to appoint a successor before being hired for a better job, Carrell is so constantly excellent as dimwitted boss Michael Scott. His interactions with suck-up underling Dwight ("Dwight, you ignorant slut") and crazy girlfriend slash boss Jan are particularly priceless.

JAMES RODAY AS SHAWN, PSYCH (Cloudy, Chance of Murder)
I have only seen a few episodes of "Psych" but Roday instantly won me over with his suave performance of fake psychic Shawn Spencer. His constant lying and love for pretending to be people he is not (like an exhibit operator at a planetarium) make Shawn a wonderfully entertaining character. He is at his best tormenting Chief Lassiter and bickering with his pal Gus.

ALEC BALDWIN AS JACK, 30 ROCK (Fireworks)
Forget the episode choice. Putting aside a brief decline towards the close of the show's first season, Baldwin was unflinchingly excellent in nearly every episode. As TV executive Jack Donaghy, Baldwin delivered every single line with such determination and sarcasm. One of the best scenes of the entire TV season features Baldwin wearing a tux, supposedly for a benefit. Tina Fey enters and discovers the benefit is not for a few nights. Asked why he is wearing the tux, Baldwin replies, "It's after 6. What am I, a farmer?" That is Jack Donaghy for you, and Baldwin comes with the package.

And the winner is...
ALEC BALDWIN, 30 ROCK

Tomorrow: Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series