Sunday, November 28, 2010

Golden Globe Musings: Best TV Series – Drama

Golden Globe nominations for this year will be announced in just a few weeks, so here’s a survey of the contenders and the most likely predictions at this time. Weigh in with your thoughts, and let me know if I’ve left off anyone important. A reminder that last year’s nominees mean zilch at the Globes and that the race is almost entirely unpredictable.

Last year’s nominees:
Big Love
Dexter
House
Mad Men
True Blood


New contenders:
Boardwalk Empire
Hawaii Five-O
Justified
Parenthood
Treme
The Walking Dead


Potential first-time nominees:
The Good Wife

Past nominees:
In Treatment
Lost


In evaluating this race, only one nominee is truly secure, and that’s Mad Men. Given the fact that “Big Love” has been nominated all three times it’s been eligible, that’s a good bet too, and Dexter is still going strong. Swap out the fading House and declining True Blood for Emmy-nominated drama The Good Wife, which won Julianna Margulies the Golden Globe last year, and one of HBO’s new offerings. Boardwalk Empire is much hotter than Treme ever was, so that’s the frontrunner to take down three-time champ Mad Men. As far as a new FX series goes, The Walking Dead is a dark horse for a nomination, though I'm thinking that will be in the Miniseries or TV Movie category. I don’t think that former nominee Lost can return to reclaim any glory – the Golden Globes don’t usually work that way; once a show’s out, it’s out.

Current predictions:
Big Love
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men

3 comments:

Richter Scale said...

I'm going to take this opportunity to let you know that I am now caught up with Dexter and I'll be watching the last three episodes of Season 5 along with anyone. I have to say, I liked Season 3 a lot more than you did. I appreciated the tension of it and I thought Jimmy Smits was fantastic and deserving of that Emmy nomination. I was also really involved with Dexter's journey to forgive Harry for all the lies he had told, and it was interesting that they started using him as Dexter's conscience from Season 3 onwards. Of course, Season 4 was everything they said it would be and John Lithgow is fantastic (I agree with you that Hungry Man is the best episode that season by the way) and Season 5 so far, while slow to start with, has really peaked my interest and I am really liking Julia Stiles in it.

I also have to say that I never found Rita annoying at all. She was an obstacle for Dexter, of course, but I don't think that automatically made her annoying. She just made things harder for Dexter, and that was her role in his life. She wanted him to be a husband, and he needed to kill people. I was sad to see her go.

As for this, well, Boardwalk Empire is a fantastic show as well and I do think that if any show can dethrone Mad Men it's BE, but I still think Mad Men is better, and I would even prefer Dexter to take it. I also worry because I don't want Steve Buscemi to win an Emmy before Jon Hamm or Michael C. Hall (not that Buscemi is not fantastic, he is, but these two other gentlemen have been waiting for a while).

Greg Boyd said...

Is "FNL" eligible for these awards this year? Just curious. It's possible that the Globes might recognize it for Drama Series where the Emmys did not.

Also, tell me: do "The Shield's" seventh season just get better and better until the end? Episode six was just stunningly intense.

Movies with Abe said...

Richter: Glad you enjoyed the show. My roommate is also catching up and he's currently in the middle of "The Dark Defender," my favorite season two episode, as we speak. While I would say season three was the weakest, I still think it was a good season. Four and five (not to mention one) have just been better in my mind. As far as Rita is concerned, I remember reading about how a lot of people hated her and that probably influenced my opinion of her, but I just never loved some of her storylines later on in the show. You're right that both Hamm and Hall deserve a trophy before Buscemi, though keep in mind they've both won Globes already. BE is almost definitely going to take it since the Globes tend to reward new programming and "The Good Wife" is already a bit old.

G1000, FNL is eligible but the Globes are even less on track with honoring shows they should have for a while than the Emmys. Michael Emerson's nomination last year disproves that theory, however, so maybe it can break through, but I doubt it. And you're correct about "The Shield" - I've been away so I haven't been keeping up with your site but I will do so as soon as I get a chance. I look forward to reading your thoughts on the finale!