The Emmy Awards are this Sunday night airing at 8PM on ABC and RTV 6.

30 ROCK

I have a real love/hate thing for the Emmy Awards.

Sometimes I love the Emmys because they recognize what I think are terrific shows and performances. Then other times I hate the Emmys because once they discover a show or performance, they tend to recognize them year after year, often at the expense of truly outstanding shows and acting.

For example, I thought Dennis Franz of “NYPD Blue” turned in remarkable performances as Detective Andy Sipowitz. Problem is, the Emmy voters thought so too…THREE YEARS IN A ROW! Gimme a break!

The same for Best Supporting Actress Doris Roberts from “Everybody Loves Raymond.” They gave her the statue several years in a row. Same for Allison Janey from “The West Wing.” THey are all fine actors. But winning once is nice, twice is pushing it…more than that is doing a disservice to many other fine actors.

Recently, “Boston Legal,” a show I enjoy and really admire, has gotten more than its share of Emmy love than it really deserves. Shatner and Spader are great, but recognize other great characters and actors, will ya!

LOST

Yeesh!

Now that I got that off my chest, take a peek at the nominees…and my picks! 

COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men

“Entourage” is alright, but I would have preferred to see ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” in this category. Part of the charm of the Emmy Awards to me, is showing some love to shows that may not have been discovered by a bigger audience yet. Thus a show like “Daisies,” one of last year’s more innovative and interesting shows could have gotten a boost here.

Glad to see ”Two and a Half Men” here as it deserves attention. It is certainly one of the funnier shows on the air. But I think “30 ROCK” deserves this year’s Emmy Award. Tina Fey and Alex Baldwin are soooooo good.  

MY PICK: 30 ROCK

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Tony Shalhoub in “Monk” SHOULD NOT BE NOMINATED ANYMORE!!! GIVE ME A BREAK!!! This is what drives me crazy about the Emmys. But they make up for it by nominating Lee Pace of “Pushing Daisies” But Alec Baldwin deserves this one…

MY PICK: ALEC BALDWIN

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

America Ferrera is fine, but borders on Emmy love overkill. Christina Applegate deserves a shot because she is so good as a comedic actor. Plus, this character is so different from her Kelly Bundy from “Married with Children.” Her recent health scare may influence some voters, too.

But Tina Fey has come into her own not only as a writer and a producer, but as a performer as well. Think Sarah Palin can do it all? She’s got nothing on Tina Fey! And Tina Fey is way funnier (and does a better Palin than Palin does!)

MY PICK: TINA FEY

DRAMA SERIES

MAD MEN

Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

Good entries in this catagory. I’m especially happy to see “Mad Men” make this cut. I’m even happier to see “Lost” here again. To me, “Lost” is the best show on TV. It won this catagory its first year. It’s back and better than ever this year. This is a tough one, but since I find LOST obsessive, I gotta go with my gut on this one…

MY PICK: LOST

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal

Hugh Laurie deserves this one. Or Jon Hamm from “Mad Men.” The Academy may embrace “Mad Men” so if Jon Hamm wins, the best drama nod could go to “Mad Men,” too. Gonna toss it up and go with…

MY PICK: HUGH LAURIE

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Sally Field is an Academy favorite. So is Mariska Hargitay. Please, oh please Academy, surprise me with either Kyra Sedgwick or Glenn Close. But my gut tells me the thing I hate about the Emmys may come home with this catagory with Mariska winning again.

MY PICK: GLENN CLOSE

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ted Danson, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

I like John Slattery from “Mad Men.” He also had a good turn as the crooked Mayor on “Desperate Housewives” this season. If there is a “Mad Man” mania, he could get swept up in this…but as I felt “LOST” was so good this year, I have to go with Michael Emerson and his creepy factor. He’s so creepy…and good.

MY PICK: MICHAEL EMERSON

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy

I would love to see Chandra Wilson’s Bailey get this…but her character was neglected on a so-so “Grey’s” last season. So what about Rachael Griffiths? She is Australian and does a remarkable American accent. Why not?

MY PICK: RACHAEL GRIFFITHS 

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

I gotta go with the witty and popular “Dancing with the Stars.” It deserves it. Where else could you see Marie Osmond feint…and Helio win! Besides, I do a “Dancing” blog, too!

MY PICK: DANCING WITH THE STARS

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal
Jeff Probst, Survivor
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

This is the first year for this catagory. I gotta go with the man, Tom Bergeron. The guy has a comeback for anything! Perfect for a live program!

MY PICK: TOM BERGERON

REALITY SERIES
Antiques Roadshow
Dirty Jobs
Extreme Makeover
Intervention
Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List

MY PICK: DIRTY JOBS (Love Mike Rowe…show wouldn’t work without him!)

 VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES

THE DAILY SHOW

The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

Four of the five are great…SNL is still pretty lame. I think “The Colbert Report” is a tougher show to write and pull off (which they do almost every night) but in an election year, gotta vote for Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show.”

MY PICK: THE DAILY SHOW

*****

There will be many, many more awards on Sunday night. But I am especially looking forward to seeing Josh Groban performing snippets of dozens of famous TV theme shows. From classics like “Cheers” and “The Andy Griffith Show” to the “Simpsons.” Should be a fun bit.

And hopefully the whole evening will be fun to watch. You can see it Sunday night at 8pm on ABC and RTV 6. BTW, Jimmy Kimmel is doing a special show leading into the awards from 7pm to 8pm.  

Groban works up a tribute to TV Theme songs!

Here are a few of my summer time viewing guilty pleasures.

ACE OF CAKES (Food Network)

A crew of pastry chefs in Baltimore make amazing looking cakes for all sorts of occasions. Chef Duff, leads a very entertaining and personable crew. Fun and entertaining. The cakes look great…but I wonder what they taste like? Rarely ever see anyone eat one of these pieces of art!

HOW IT’S MADE - (Science Channel)

Just like the title says, its all about how things are made. In 30 minutes, this series from Canada showcases three or four products and shows how they are made. From fireworks to flashlights to asphalt and buses, this program is particularly good to watch in HD. (And offers a real variety!) Who doesn’t love to see the mechanical devices and assembly line techniques that put everyday items together. My favorite…seeing how marshmellow cookies are made! Yum!

MYTHBUSTERS - (Discovery Channel)

Silly but entertaining and a great how’d they do that that shows you everything on how they did that. Adam, Jamie and their team go to extraordinary engineering to prove whether something you’ve heard is possible…or not. I was particularly entertained by their special “Shark Week” edition where they de-bunked some of the liberties taken by director Steven Spielberg in the classic “Jaws.” Could a Great White ram a hole into a wooden boat? Yep. Could an oxygen tank blow a shark up when a rifle shoots it? Nope. But it sure would’ve given a real shark a headache!

ALMOST LIVE FROM STUDIO DC (Disney Channel) 

The Muppets are back with a new variety show, this time on their new home, The Disney Channel. My kids and I caught some of the premiere on Sunday night with Disney bringing all their stars out for the occasion - Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus jamming with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem; the Jonas Brothers singing with Miss Piggy; and Ashley Tisdale singing a duet with Kermit the Frog (and Piggy, of course.) Very much like their old variety show from 25 years ago. Nice to see the Muppets are aging well (and still very entertaining.) 

MAD MEN (AMC)

I did not see the first season (but I will.) This show is Emmy nominated and one to pay attention to. It captures the tone and feel of the sixties. I’m gonna keep watching to see how it evolves. So far, I’m impressed.

WIPEOUT (ABC)

My kids love this show. My wife and I enjoy it. How can you not be entertained by a show with big red balls?