I'll get to "Pushing Daisies" shortly, but I wanted to say a few words about the Golden Globe TV nominations (with a full list) after the jump...
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is such a weird group that there's no point in getting worked up about their choices for nominees and winners. (Not that the Emmys are much more credible these days, of course.) But while everyone focuses on the movie nominations, I'm always interested in their TV choices. The HFPA may be a joke, but they invariably nominate a more diverse (and often deserving) batch of shows and actors than the same-old, same-old Emmy voters.
The drama series nominees, for instance, include big hits like "Grey's Anatomy" (sigh...) and "House," but also newbies like "Mad Men," "Damages" and "The Tudors," plus under-the-radar "Big Love." The acting nominees include Michael C. Hall and Jon Hamm, of whom I would be pleasantly stunned to see on the Emmy roster come July.
Showtime, as usual, gets more love than it ever gets from the Emmys ("Brotherhood" is their only major series to not get a nomination, I think), and even BBC America gets some attention, with a few nominations for "The State Within" and "Jekyll."
I'm not in love with all of these nominations -- "Grey's," "Entourage," "Californication," no "Shield" and almost no "Sopranos" -- but they at least acknowledge that TV changes and evolves each year, and that new and obscure shows are just as worthy of celebration as the familiar hits.
My friend Rich Heldenfels has this theory that Hollywood awards shows are basically like Chamber of Commerce awards: they're not about what's best, but what's best for business. So it makes more sense to reward shows that film in industry towns, that are ratings hits or feature movie stars "slumming" on the small screen, etc.
The HFPA has its own starstruck qualities, and their love of the new also means they lose attention quickly, but at least there's something to talk about with these nominees beyond, "God, not them again!"
Here are all the nominees for TV (to read the full movie list, you can go to the official site):
Series, Drama:
Actress, Drama:
Actor, Drama:
Series, Musical or Comedy:
Actress, Musical or Comedy:
Actor, Musical or Comedy:
Miniseries or Movie:
Actress, Miniseries or Movie:
Actor, Miniseries or Movie:
Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie:
Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: