The Emmy Awards are this Sunday night on NBC.

I’m not going to go through a long list of who I think should win. Some catagories, frankly I don’t care. But there are a few that I am passionate about.

BEST COMEDY:

“30 Rock” has won this for the last three years I think because there wasn’t any competition. Well this year, “30 Rock” will need to step aside. This year in my book it’s between “Glee” and “Modern Family.”

While I love “Glee” and appreciate it as a unique show, I feel it’s already peeked. (Sorry Gleeks.) But is it really a comedy? 

That’s why I say the best COMEDY this year, hands down, is ABC’s MODERN FAMILY.  

BEST DRAMA:

I’m a LOST fan. But the show won the big prize in its first season. The fact it was nominated in its final season is a big honor. I know “Mad Men” has won this the last couple years…but I wouldn’t mind seeing something new get the honors this year. How about Showtime’s “DEXTER” or CBS’s “THE GOOD WIFE?”

BEST ACTOR-DRAMA:

Michael C. Hall from Dexter is impressive. But here is where I would love to see LOST get some love. Give it to MATTHEW FOX.

BEST ACTOR- COMEDY:

The Emmys like to give the trophy to the same actors year after year. As long as Tony Shaloub doesn’t win AGAIN for “Monk.” I want to see JIM PARSONS from “The Big Bang Theory.” The guy will ALWAYS be Sheldon…so give him a trophy for it! Just no “Monk.” Oh yeah, and Alec Baldwin, you still rock on “30 Rock”…but not this year, okay?

Couple other awards…would love to TERRY O’QUINN win for Best Supporting Actor -Drama for LOST; Jane Lynch should get Best Supporting Actress – Comedy for GLEE. And I don’t want to see Mariska Hargistay win again. How about CONNIE BRITON for FRIdAY NIGHT LIGHTS? And TY BURRELL should get the nod for Best Supporting Actor comedy for MODERN FAMILY.

UPDATED POST:

My good friend Sandwich has chimed in with his thoughts:

30 Rock is the most overrated show on television….it’s okay but it’s not “Best Comedy” worthy.

Hands down, Modern Family is the the best comedy on TV and, dare I say, the best SHOW on TV. That’s saying something (Full Disclosure: I also like “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad”).

I hope Jim Parsons from BBT has a good agent….I find it hard to believe that he will find another job in the business after this gig….Google Gilligan.

Amy Poehler nominated for “Outstanding Actress in a Comedy”? Really? REALLY?????

The rest of the nominations are listed below. Make your picks!

OUTSTANDING DRAMA

Lost

Breaking Bad

Dexter

Mad Men

True Blood

The Good Wife

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)

Mariska Hargitay (Special Victims Unit)

Glenn Close (Damages)

Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

January Jones (Mad Men)

Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Jon Hamm (Mad Men)

Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)

Hugh Laurie (House M.D.)

Michael C. Hall (Dexter)

Matthew Fox (Lost)

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

John Slattery (Mad Men)

Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)

Martin Short (Damages)

Terry O’ Quinn (Lost)

Michael Emerson (Lost)

Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Sharon Gless (Burn Notice)

Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)

Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)

Rose Byrne (Damages)

Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)

Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)

COMEDY

OUTSTANDING COMEDY

Glee

Modern Family

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Nurse Jackie

30 Rock

The Office

Curb Your Enthusiasm

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Lea Michele (Glee)

Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Toni Collette (The United States of Tara)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine)

Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)

Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

Matthew Morrison (Glee)

Steve Carell (The Office)

Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)

Tony Shalhoub (Monk)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Chris Colfer (Glee)

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)

Jon Cryer (Two and A Half Men)

Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)

Ty Burrell (Modern Family)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Jane Lynch (Glee)

Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)

Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)

Julie Bowen (Modern Family)

Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)

Holland Taylor (Two and A Half Men)

REALITY

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST

Ryan Seacrest (American Idol)

Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race)

Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars)

Heidi Klum (Project Runway)

Jeff Probst (Survivor)

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITION

Project Runway

Top Chef

The Amazing Race

Dancing with the Stars

American Idol

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES

The Colbert Report

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Real Time With Bill Maher

Saturday Night Live

The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien

MINISERIES OR MOVIE

The Pacific (HBO)

Return to Cranford (PBS)

OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE

Endgame (PBS)

Georgia O’Keeffe (Lifetime)

Moonshot (History)

The Special Relationship (HBO)

Temple Grandin (HBO)

You Don’t Know Jack (HBO)

This week the sixth and final season of “LOST” is released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Long live “LOST.”

I found “LOST” to be one of the most interesting experiences to watch and enjoy as it played out each year, not knowing just where the producers were going to take the show.

Now that we know the ultimate arc of the show and the entire series is available for review, I thought I would take one last look back.

While I did found the finale very emotionally satisfying, I have to admit in retrospect, I was a little disappointed with the final act. Don’t get me wrong, the characters, the storytelling, the emotional involvement of the show was terrific. What I found lacking wasn’t so much that I wanted all my questions answered. What I was looking for was seeing that all those elements that had been introduced over the years were somehow connected.

They weren’t.

I had always understood from an early interview with one of the producers that all the pieces would fit together like a puzzle in the final scenes. 

Actually, this puzzle had some pieces you really didn’t need.

But my quibbles are small. The show was a knowing but rare blend of drama, action even comedy that I savored through the finale.

The new DVD/Blu Ray completes the set!

One point to make…they are promoting a “bonus chapter” or epilogue that is supposed reveal answers to many questions left open. The scenes were filmed when they were doing the finale and were intended to live on the DVD sets.

With the title “The New Man in Charge” they set you up to believe you will see Hurley and Ben in action on the island AFTER the series finale. Don’t expect too many answers. But they do reveal what happened to one major character that we haven’t seen much of since the third season. (I don’t want to reveal any spoilers…) But in typical LOST fashion, the new “chapter” leads to as many questions as it does answers!

I guess that’s why I love LOST.

Will viewers flip for new cast of DWTS?

ABC announced that the cast of season 11 of “Dancing with the Stars” will be announced LIVE during the Monday, August 30th edition of “Bachelor Pad” on ABC and RTV 6.

Hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke will handle the honors.

There has been plenty of speculation about the cast for this new season. Former Rams football quarterback Kurt Warner and Cowboys QB Troy Aikman have been rumored. Bachelorette Ali is also rumored. But it is just that, rumor at this point.

The pressure will be on to top last season’s line-up (Pamela Anderson, Kate Gosselin etc) that brought huge ratings and lots of attention to the show.

The new season of DANCING WITH THE STARS kicks off with a 2 hour premiere on Monday, September 20.

*****

I watched the Swedish film version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” over the weekend.

I had just finished reading the popular bestseller the previous week.

So how did it stand up?

Pretty well.

It can be difficult to adapt books to film. If you adhere too closely to the original book you can sacrifice the strengths of cinema. They are very different mediums. The Swedish version of “Tattoo” stays faithful but jetisons some extra story and rearranges some of the plot to better take advantage of telling a story for the movies.

I think I preferred the book just a bit more only because there are some pretty dramatic plot points (that I will NOT mention here.)

But the film holds up well.

Book'em Dan-o! Many changes, but the theme remains the same!

Hollywood is making a version that David Fincher (“Seven,”"Zodiac,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) will direct.  Daniel Craig and relative newcomer Rooney Mara will star.

****

The show with the most buzz for the new television season?

CBS’s new take on “Hawaii Five-O.”

That’s according to a poll of 1,000 COMCAST customers.

McGarrett, Dan-O and the rest will be returning to the TV screen in September.

#2 on the list is ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” with Michael Chiklis as the dad of what appears to be a live action version of “The Incredibles.”  

**** 

LOST auction: Wanna buy a part of a plane?

“LOST” is still making headlines…the show is auctioning off the props from the six seasons of the show.

You can bid on-line for everything from Dharma beer, costumes, even a portion of the crashed Oceanic Air cargo hatch! Most bids start at $200.

Here’s a link in case you want to throw some money at TV history…

DVRs love Patrick Dempsey...

Nielsen Media Research just released info on the usage of DVR’s.

So what TV show is the most popular DVR’d program for 18-49 year olds?

Call the doctor, stat!

ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” take the crown with an additional 2 million people watching the show each week on a delayed basis via DVR.  

That means over 16 million watched the drama each week.

Other popular DVR shows:

“The Mentalist,” “House” ”Lost” and “The Office.”

****

Play with a virtual dog at Foo Pets.com

Moms and dads…do you know what Foo Pets are?

Since we don’t have a dog or a cat in our home, my kids have found the next best thing…a virtual pet site on-line.

Similar to the on-line site Webkinz,  Foo Pets is a digital pet store that lets you choose a pet (dog or cats) and name them.

Want to throw a frisbee to “your dog?” Go for it.

Play with a ball? Not a problem.

Pretty clever programming.

And nothing to buy. Of course, I don’t want to suggest a website beats the warmth, fun and companionship of playing with a real dog or cat…but at least you don’t have to clean up any messes!

You can check it out here.

****

The late, great Dennis Hopper made many terrific and varied movies over his career.

Watch this movie...you'll be glad you did

“Rebel Without a Cause,” “Easy Rider,” “Hoosiers,”"Speed” and “Blue Velvet” were cited by many reviewers after the actor passed away a few weeks ago.

I just re-watched one of Hopper’s movies this week that is an underrated classic. 

It’s called “Red Rock West.”

It is showing this month on the IndiePlex HD movie channel available through Dish Network. “Red Rock West” was released in 1992.

The movie is a contemporary film-noir that stars Nicholas Cage as a down on his luck drifter, mistaken as a hired assassin when he enters the town of Red Rock, Wyoming.

Lara Flynn Boyle (from “The Practice” and “Twin Peaks”) is the woman Cage gets mixed up with.  The great J.T. Walsh (one of those character actors you’ve seen in so many movies and TV shows) plays a crooked local bar owner and husband. Hopper plays “Lyle from Dallas” the real hired killer, and easily one of the actor’s meanest, craziest characters ever.

The movie was written and directed by one of the most underrated writer/directors, John Dahl. This guy makes great movies! 

Hopper’s great. Cage is excellent. Damn, this whole movie is good!

It’s lean, it’s intense. This is a great thriller.

If you are looking for something to rent this weekend I can easily recommend “Red Rock West.”

I give it a “9″ on the Sandwich Scale.

(And since I know Sandwich himself is a fan or the movie, I bet he would give it a “10.”)

See it. Enjoy it.

I’d been looking forward to the conclusion of the LOST saga, ever since they announced during the middle of season three that the show would end after six years.

As much as I was looking forward to it, I found myself really saddened by the idea that the ride would be over.

Saddened because the creators of this weekly, one hour epic drama made something truly wonderful.

And truly profound. And in LOST fashion, confounding.

They created a facinating mix of interesting, sometimes unpredictable characters that I found irresitable.

For all the mysteries and intrique of the island, the reason this show was so terrific was the people.

Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Ben, Locke, Sun and Jin, Michael and Walt, Charlie and Claire, Desmond, Miles, Mr. Ecko, Juliet, Lapeidus, Daniel, Richard and oh so many more characters made this show worth watching.

When friends (that did not watch the show) would ask me what LOST was about, I described it is like a Stephen King novel: everyday people caught up in a strange and supernatural situations. King’s best novels work best when you identify with those characters.

LOST is like that.

LOST is also like a long, great novel, with twists and turns. It combines drama, mystery, humor and tragedy.

I love LOST.

As much as I enjoyed the show it is the shared experience with other fans of the show that really makes LOST unique.

I really relished the long debates about the meaning of the show and pondering the themes of good and evil, destiny and fate and science versus faith.

I will miss the creative discussions about the inspired hidden references and clues that the show’s producers hid within the content. Those little “extras” really made the show different. Like the names of characters inspired by famous authors or scientists, to the many literary flourishes. Book titles that the creators loved were often sprinkled throughout the series. I especially appreciated the pop culture references to “The Wizard of Oz” and “Star Wars” that even appeared in the final episode.

The creative storytelling (flashbacks, flashforwards and flash sidesways) inspired so much talk… and for me, admiration. It was television inspired by Quentin Taritino’s lens of looking at a story told in unusual ways. They made revelations made the so much more fun.

LOST happened at just the right time at a time when social media and the internet allowed the producers to shape their storytelling. When they got off track, the producers read the blogs and got immediate feedback and fixed their story.

Does that mean the audience made LOST? In a way, yes. 

The audience helped influence the storytellers focus their efforts.

So how was the final episode?

SPOILER ALERT:

In two words…emotionally satisfying. It was a payoff six seasons in the making.

All those wonderful characters coming together, in a remarkably fast-paced, epic and very emotional conclusion. (save for all the commercial breaks.)

This season, this entire series seemed to point to one thing…Redemption. Characters finding themselves better people because of their relationships, their shared experiences.

I cried. I laughed. I cheered.  

For all the science fiction elements, the mind-twisting mysteries, the time-traveling leaps, this final episode of LOST really proved it was all about the characters.

I’ve already been asked, “Did everyone die?”

Like Christian Shepherd, Jack’s father says in the finale  ”All of us die.”

But in my interpetation (yours may be different) this story was all about Jack (Matthew Fox) and his life and death and eventual redemption. 

Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Richard, Claire, and Lapedus escape the island on the jet; Desmond sails home;  Hurley becomes the new Jacob with Ben as his second in command.  They survived. But they eventually die and that’s how we see them in the end, after their own deaths. (Remember when I described the show as confounding…if you don’t know the show, that last statement can be a real head scratcher.)  

It was a bittersweet yet entirely appropriate ending. The show opened with Jack’s eye as he literally comes to life laying in a bamboo field after the plane crash. It finished with his eye closing as Jack dies in the same field, with Vincent the dog by his side.

Bravo.

Six years. So satisfying.

It was worth every minute.