Raw Rundown 08/08/2011

Welcome everyone to the Raw Rundown!

We start off with The music of the COO, The game HHH.  Basically the gist of the segement is that the champion vs champion match is going to be one for the ages and it needs to have an undisputed finish.  In order to do so it needs a larger then life refferee and HHH believes that to be him self so he will officiate the match.  He also says both Cena and Punk will be in matches tonight with Cena's right now.  Cena comes out and they exchange some words off mic.  

I dont know how i feel about HHH as the ref.  I think the match was big enough on its own and it does not really need him to put it over the top.  It also makes me think that Cena is winning because of something HHH does, so that will further the HHH/ CM Punk angle.  While that program might be very entertaining, id rather see Punk march on as the champ.

John Cena Beats Jack Swagger Via Pinfall @ 5:21

Your typical boring Cena match.  1.5 stars

Next we hear from Alberto Del Rio, who will be facing CM Punk.  He call Punk the voice of the gutless because he ran way when Del Rio was going to cash in MITB.  Tonight he is going to show Punk what would have happened that night in Chicago if Punk stuck around

We get a recap of the start of the Truth/Morrison feud.  We then get a standard R Truth promo that makes no sense.  he says he hates spiders because they are creepy and quiet.  He yells at the audience to stop "Whating" him.  He says his mom used to make Spider Stew and the only person who ate it was little Jimmy.  Tonight he is going to step on John Morrison like a spider and squash him.  Ok....  Next up is Rey Vs Miz

Miz attacks Rey from behind on his way down to the ring and really goes to town on him.  After being stopped officials, Miz walks to the ring to be interviewed by Michael Cole.  Miz is mad that he doesnt know who he is facing at Summerslam.  He is sick of the attention Punk And Cena are getting.  He is the one who is all over doing PR and he is the most must see champion in history.  He demands a ref come down and call him the winner via forfeit.  A ref comes down and says that HHH has decided that Miz needs to compete in a new match now.  His opponent will be Kofi Kingston.

The Miz Beats Kofi Kingtson Via Pinfall @ 10:31 (With commercial)

Decent little TV match.  2.5 stars. 

We go backstage to hear from CM Punk.  Punk says he is not surprised that HHH made himself the ref because he has a bigger ego then his father in law.  For someone who resigned Punk because it was good for business, he should know that whats good for business is him keeping his big nose out of the match.  Whats good for business is CM Punk beating John Cena.  Whats good for business now is him kicking Alberto's teeth down his throat.

CM Punk Beats Alberto Del Rio @ 4:40

Kind of surprising they put Punk over so easily, but i dont mind.  2 Stars

We get a recap of the Beth Phoenix heel turn last week.  Its about damn time.

Beth Phoenix Beats Eve @ 2:52

After the match Beth grabs a mic and reasserts how sick she is of women like Eve and Kelly Kelly in the WWE. Beth says there will be no more "booty popping" or "stinkfaces" and then goes to leave, but she gets jumped from behind by Kelly Kelly with the Diva's title.

Alex Riley Beats Dolph Ziggler @ 1:33 via DQ (Vickie Slap)

Not rating this match.  Sure it was just done to have Riley earn a title shot for Summerslam this Sunday.

R Truth beats John Morrison @ 4:04 Via Pin

Seems very strange to not only blow off a 4 month feud in a 4 minute match, but on a Raw 6 days before a PPV?  Not really sure about this.  1 star from me.  Very confused by this booking

Everyone should watch this raw just for the Punk/Cena recap video.  It is pretty epic.

Next week, Rey faces whoever is WWE champ after SummerSlam

Christian is backstage and says he has a major announcement to make on Smackdown on Friday.  He says he thinks HHH should be there

We cut back to the ring for our main event contract signing with Triple H and John Laurinaitis​ already in the ring. Punk is out first, followed shortly by Cena. Both men sit down at the table in the middle of the ring but before they can sign the contracts, Punk picks up a mic and decides to talk for a bit. He wonders out loud when the last time was when they had a contract signing that didn't end in a physical confrontation and he asks Cena if he should just flip the table over now and get the fight started already. Punk talks about feeling like a movie star getting ready to plug his latest film on Conan and then takes a shot at Triple H for the dismal sales of The Chaperone. Punk says he in fact does have a clip from a movie star for Cena, and introduces a clip from none other than The Rock! In the clip The Rock cracks some jokes about Cena's goofy ring attire and calls him a bloated transvestite Wonder Woman​ lookalike among other things. He mimics Cena's theme song and does his usual Cena impersonation. He talks about Cena going to his own hometown in Boston and getting booed and about how the majority of men around the world don't like Cena because they see through his bullshit and can smell a phony punk from a mile away as the clip wraps up. Crowd really liked that last bit Rock had to say. Cena goes on a rant about how he knows that he'll never win over alot of WWE fans and he begrudgingly agrees with Punk about his recent comparison of Cena to the New York Yankees. Cena continues to get some pretty big heat here from most of the men in attendance, but he puts over his own fans again and we get the usual rousing cheers from the women and children. Cena turns the tables on Punk and accuses Punk of being a phony for continuing to play up his role as the "voice of the underground". Triple H agrees with Cena on that and Punk asks Johnny Ace if he personally let the recently released Vladimir Kozlov​, Chris Masters​, and DH Smith​ know they were fired. He's (sort of) shooting again kids! Punk talks about when he won his first title in the WWE (the ECW title) and how Cena went up to him afterwards and told him that he had "almost given up on him", and Punk accuses Cena again of being a phony and a failure, bringing up his bodybuilder training and his time spent in UPW. Punk promises to walk out this Sunday the Undisputed champion and we wrap things up with both men signing their contracts and getting into each other's faces. Punk knocks Johnny Ace down and Triple H separates him and Cena again. Punk asks Hunter if "the fix is in" and we go off the air with the crowd chanting "CM Punk!" as the two champions stare each other down.

This was a fantastic promo to close the show.  CM Punk really is in the zone, and crowds are reacting which is great to see considering they are no longer in Chicago.

My Thoughts On: Breaking Bad "Bullet Points"

""  Oh, God. How did everything get so screwed up?"

Breaking Bad, much like most AMC programming, is show built on the development of its characters.  Because of this, the show often moves at a pace that some may describe as slow.  I feel like this can be one of the shows strengths, but i also realize that it is not for everybody.  For those of you complaining that the beginning of this season has been too slow, I am guessing you werent complaining after this episode

What started out as an episode that seemed like it was not going to feature Jesse at all, became very Jesse centric by the end.  The episodes starts with a long scene between Walter and Skyler.  They are basically scripting out the way they are going to lie to the rest of their family.  They are very committed to the "Walt has a gambling problem" lie, going as far as attending a gamblers annonomoys meeting to see how those people talk.  I know a lot of people don't like Skyler, but i think that those people are not looking at the situation as a whole.  By keeping this awful secret from her, Walt has put her in a position where she can either cut him out of her world compeltly and go flat broke, or take his money and forced to live the rest of her life as a lie.  Does she go way over-the-top in preparing for the dinnertime confession to Hank and Walter Jr? Absolutely.  But its what Walt does all the time, and what the show is about.  She is, at this point, Walt's only moral compass.

In a way, no body is really thinking all to clearly in this episode other then Jesse.  Its clear that everything has become or is about to become a huge mess.  Clearly we show that Gus is far from done with the fall out from murdering Cartel members last season.  Walt is so busy going forward and ignoring his horrible deeds in the past that he's especially thunderstruck to see Gale singing karaoke at him on TV.  Jesse on the other hand has no false images of what he is at this point.  He is a cold blooded killer and criminal.  The only way he can get through the day is by keeping a group of degenerates around him, and a steady flow of narcotics inside of him.  In fact, when his partner Walter brings back the awful memory of what Jesse did to Gale, all Jesse can do is pay someone to throw him out.  Aaron Paul is amazing here just with his facial expressions.

But Jesse can not continue living life like this forever.  Either he is going to completely lose it, or he is going to cause a lot of problems for Walt, Mike, and Gus.  They realize he is a liability and something must be done.  Walt can't get through to Jesse. Jesse's not afraid of Walt, and no doubt blames him for what his life has become. But Mike at least has the gravitas and muscle to put Jesse in a car to a destination and solution unknown.  Clearly i don't think this is the last we have seen of Jesse Pinkman.  Walt discovering that the moving camera in the lab cant follow both of them sure ensures that we will see the return of Jesse.  But that leaves us with the question, Where is Mike taking him?


QUICK HITS:

Saul Bring up a way for Walt and his family to disappear.  Could this be how the show will end?

Hank believes Gale was Highsenberg, How long will that last?

Brain Cranston may be the best at acting without saying anything

We see the brief return of Gus on screen.  With him being a series regular, i would have to assume his role is about to pick up

Fantastic episode.  9 out 10.

My Thoughts On: Big Brother 13 "Week 5 Nominations"

Last we left our Big Brother hamsters, the Veterans were dealt there first big blow with the elimination of Brendan.  Danielle knew she know had an x on her head.  That coupled with the fact that as the outgoing HOH she could not compete in the next HOH competition, pretty much made it a must that Kalia had to win HOH.  Much to the relief of Ms. Donato, Kalia did win HOH and that brings us to tonight's episode where we find out who is going to go up on the block.

Prez Obama better not fuck with my DVR tonight.

Adam is sadly out of his elf suit.  I think i enjoyed Enzo in the penguin suit last year more.  I miss the brigade.  Theres no good alliances this season.  We start with 5 solid minutes of recap.  Kalia is very happy about being HOH.  She starts crying.  Rachel is not happy.  This was basically the worst case scenario for her.  Jeff thinks hes in trouble.  Jeff also realizes that Porsche kind of screwed there alliance over by making him and Shelly go against each other.  Porsche realizes she may have pissed off Jeff and is now trying to be buddy buddy with Kalia and Danielle.  Rachel is crying alone in the have not room. Enter Porsche and Jordan to console her.  Its like the First Wives Club, without the big musical number at the end.  This week, the person that gets evicted will have the chance to come back.  After a pep talk from Jeff and Jordan, Rachel is back into fighter mode.  Oh goodie.

Kalia's HOH room is like every other HOH room.  Shocking!  Something about her mom makes her cry like a baby.  The highlight is Rachel standing right behind her smirking.  Ah, nothing says high school girls like Big Brother.  Danielle is coaching Kalia.  She tells her not to agree to anything.  Rachel is the first one in to try to butter up Kalia.  Rachel asks Danielle to leave the room.  BURN.  Rachel now respect Kalia because she won an HOH.  Kalia does not seem to care.

Were back with Kalia and Shelly and Kalia talks about her hard life as a black woman.  I think im going to throw up.  Kalia is now sleeping on a hammock and Shelly feels the need to be a prankster.  She sneaks under the hammock and freaks out Kalia.  Its finally time for the Have/Have not competition.  Its a food competition.  There are two teams and someone on the team has to mix a disgusting drink and the other team mates need to guess whats in it.  Jeff starts for team Blue and Lawon for Red.  Jeff guesses first and guesses correctly.  He also gets the 3nd ingredient correct.  He gets the last one wrong however.  Lawon also gets 2 of 3.  Now they need to chug there drinks to see who wins.  Jeff wins the point.  Porsche beats Shelly in the next round to tie it at one point each.  Last round is Danielle for Red and Jordan for Blue.  They tie and now have to have a chug off!  Oh man this is gross.  Danielle wins.  So the have nots for the week are Jeff, Jordan, Shelly, and Rachel.  Jordan is sad she made he team have nots.  Shes adorable, i must say.  The Have Not menu is Coconut and Catfish.

Jeff and Jordan are in the have not room and Jordan is angry at the amount of floaters in this house.  I have to agree with her, there are so many people this season who are just blah and not doing much.  I guess that was the flaw with giving people a pass for so many weeks until they were in the top ten.  Kalia calls Shelly into the HOH room because she doesn't know where she sits.  Shelly has been the biggest flip flopper so far in the house.  She says as much in her talking head.  Jeff and Jordan are next in line to talk to Kalia.  Kalia wants to put up Rachel and Jeff so Jeff and compete in veto.  J and J don't like this at all.  Kalia insists shes straight shooting, but Jordan has had enough of Kalia's bullshit and chews her out and leaves.  Atta girl!  Now Jeff is tearing her a new one.  Kalia just really screwed herself over.

Kalia has locked in her nominations.  I'm fairly certain  we are seeing Rachel and Jeff here.  In a hilarious scene,  Rachel literally sits right next to Danielle, like almost on top of her.  Danielle scoots over, and Rachel follows.  How i love cattiness.  and in a shocker to nobody,  the nominations are Jeff and Rachel.  Kalia goes into normal excuse mode.  She makes some awful analogy about having wings.  Rachel tries to instigate Danielle again.  Jeff calls her Big Kalia!  That was classic.  See ya guys Wednesday!

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Lead Actor In A Drama

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch

The Brain Cranston domination finally comes to an end this year with Breaking Bad not being eligible.  And with Matthew Fox not being eligible either, we are guaranteed at least 2 new nominees.  With such a deep field, those 2 spots may not be enough, but at least it’s something.

This has to be the year that Jon Hamm wins an Emmy right?  I mean it really is a tragedy that he has not won one yet because Don Draper maybe one of the 2 most iconic dramatic characters in the last 10 years (The other being Tony Soprano).  His nomination is a lock, and without Brian Cranston to take the award, he should be a near lock for winning.  Do yourself a favor and go back and watch "The Suitcase".  If you don't think Hamm deserves an Emmy after that, then there is something wrong with you.

Words can not explain how happy i was that Kyle Chandler finally got nominated last year.  Coach Eric Taylor has been my favorite person on television for a while now and it was about damn time he got a nomination. This season, Chandler did some of his finest slow-burn frustration to date. But it was Chandler's work with Aimee Teegarden in the season's middle episodes and with Connie Britton down the home-stretch that ought to make him a lock for a second consecutive nomination.

 

I didn't love Boardwalk Empire as much as i usually like big budget HBO dramas but no one can deny that Steve Buscemi nailed the role of Nucky Thompson.  Buscemi had played gangsters and criminals before, but his Nucky Thompson has been consistently surprising and revelatory, as the three-time Emmy nomination has rarely been able to showcase his leading man chops to this degree 

  

A show usually makes a leap in quality from season one to season 2.  Justified gave new meaning to that and the major reason was the phenomenal work of Timothy Olyphant.  If Olyphant makes the field, "Reckoning" should be a good enough submission episode that he could also be in the hunt to win, but it's just one of many episodes that make him a deserving nominee.

 

You can not have a discussion of actors who portray realism without bring up Peter Krause.  Like Justified, Parenthood made the leap in season 2, and Krause was able to stick out even in such a talented ensemble.  Krause was even better in the second season of "Parenthood" than in its first. His Adam Braverman got in a supermarket fight. He got high. He dealt with his daughter having sex. He got into loud confrontations with his brother. 

"Terriers" probably gave Donal Logue the best role of his career and the "Life" and "Tao of Steve" veteran captured what was likable and capable about Hank Dolworth without ever glossing over what was self-destructive about the character. He'll have a hard time topping this one.  This nomination is not very likely because Terriers was canceled and that really is a shame because there were a lot of deserving performances .

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Supporting Actress In A Drama

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch.

Elisabeth Moss has correctly opted to move up Lead Actress. Rose Byrne isn't eligible after "Damages" took a year off in its transition from FX to DirecTV. At the very least, then, that means two new nominees.

The Good Wife is a show that I want to like a lot more then I actually do.  It is full of actors and performances that I like but it just doesn’t hold my attention from week to week.  That being said, Archie Panjabi is fantastic.  She brings a huge sense of realism to the performance.  Panjabi's Kalinda had one dynamite episode after another in the season's second half as a string of secrets unraveled the character's closest relationships. Panjabi's inclusion and then win were slightly surprising last year, but she's gone from underdog to clear favorite in no time.

When I learned that Margo Martindale was going to be the main bad guy, I knew it was either going to go up in flames or be a piece of casting genius.  Well casting genius was an understatement.  Mags Bennett has taken her place in the pantheon of small screen adversaries and Martindale elevated the performance of all around her every time she came on screen.  Emmy voters usually have a hard time recognizing that FX exists, but if Martindale does not receive a nomination, I am calling the cops an reporting a robbery.

Mad Men had their best season since season one.  And now with Elizabeth Moss going back to the lead actress category where she belongs, that leaves the door wide open for Christina Hendricks to stick around in this category.  She wasn’t really a main focus of the season but Joan relationship with Roger was quite fascinating and provided ample opportunity for the two great supporting actors to really demonstrate their acting chops.

Grey’s Anatomy has received a creative resurrection in the last season and a half and that should mean a return to the Emmy fold for some of the people involved.  That includes five time nominee Sandra Oh.  Oh had several Emmy-ready arcs this season, including her character's PTSD from last year's finale shooting and subsequent decision to quit and then her end-of-the-season baby drama. As always, Oh was terrific with everything she was given and her inclusion in this category will never get an argument.

Oh was not the only who benefited from Grey’s resurgence. Sara Ramirez not only had a great season, but she got her very own showcase episode in the Greys Anatomy musical experience.  As silly as that episode was, Ramirez was a knockout in it and nailed every scene she acted in and nailed every note she sang.  It's a strong enough single episode that if Ramirez makes the cut for a nomination, she may instantly become the favorite to win.

Parenthood made the leap in to great show territory this past season.  A major reason was Mae Whitman.  She played a confused teen so well that it’s hard to remember that she is already an acting veteran at this point.  With Friday Night Lights set to go off the air, She is set to take over for Aimee Teagarden as the most realistic teenager on television.  Whitman and co-star Lauren Graham were good enough in the season's last couple episodes that they ought to be in any merit-based Emmy conversation.

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Supporting Actor In A Drama

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch.

Four of last year’s best supporting actor nominees are not eligible this year.  Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Martin Short (Damages) have their seasons starting too late and Michael Emerson (LOST) and Terry O’Quinn (LOST) are not on the air anymore.  That makes this the category that should have the most turnover from last year, and could be wide open as far as who gets nominated.

After getting a suprising nomination last year, John Slattery is almost a lock to get nominated this year for his work on Mad Men.  Roger Sterling was much more involved this year and was at his best when playing off his chemistry with Joan (Christina Hendricks).  Slattery has become a force on the show and even stepped behind the camera to direct 2 very strong episodes.  Not only will he be nominated, he is the favorite to win.

While I was not as in love with Boardwalk Empire as most people, the work of Michael Pitt could not be denied.   Some may argue that he is just as much the lead in this show as Steve Buschemi, but it is better for him to submit in the supporting category because its more wide open.  He's also holding his own against a cast of veteran scene-stealers, giving a performance that ranges from muted and repressed to tortured and visibly disturbed.

Without any question, if I'm determining the Emmy nominees, Walton Goggins gets a nomination. Goggins, Margo Martindale and Timothy Olyphant all deserve recognition for the giant leap "Justified" took this past season. His Boyd Crowder has the conscience of a criminal, the soul of a reverend and the silver tongue of a con man. It's a great character and a great performance.  Plus they need to make it up to him for never nominating for his great work in The Shield.

When "Terriers" premiered, Donal Logue was the known quality and Michael Raymond-James was the guy who did the intentionally bad Cajun accent on the first season of "True Blood." By the end of the season, it was a more-than-equal partnership. If Emmy voters watched "Terriers," Raymond-James would be a lock for a nomination. And if Raymond-James were a lock for a nomination, Laura Allen would be as well, because their scenes together, especially late in the season, were dynamite.

If I could combine work on 2 shows into one nomination, Michael B. Jordan would be a lock.  Even so, his work on Friday Night Lights in the last season of the show, is just too good to ignore.  The storyline with his family and his returning father was one of the strongest arcs of the season and Jordan killed it in every scene.  He managed to make Vince one of the newer kids that I actually cared about as much as all of the originals.  Maybe if he sticks around on Parenthood, he can turn into an perennial force.

When Parenthood first started, I viewed Dax Shepard as a decently funny guy who was at his best when he was screwing with people on Punk’d.  Turns out, the guy is a hell of an actor.  Parenthood made the leap into great show territory in season 2 and a major part of that was Shepard.  He turned Crosby from a Peter Pan like man child into a fully grown man with adult feelings and emotions.  Almost every actor on this show could be nominated in this category, but Shepard is the best

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Comedy Series

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch.

After Last season gave birth to a bunch of new, hilarious comedies, this season gave us barely any that stuck around.  That was not for lack of trying, and basically every network tried to put out comedies about the exact same thing, but none of them were successful (Except for maybe ABC’s Happy Endings).  Most of the shows I have selected were in there 2^nd season, which shows just how strong last season was for debuting comedies

Community is easily the most daring comedy on television.  They take risks that no other comedy would take.  And I’m not talking about pushing the envelope of offensive humor, I mean just when it comes to their ideas for episodes.  Yeah having so many episodes follow one specific theme may cause some people to dislike the show, but every theme they take on, they have executed flawlessly and they deserve recognition for that.

In baseball there is this rare feat known as a perfect game.  Its when a pitcher is flawless and does not let up a hit or a walk.  Parks and Recreation had a perfect season.  Every episode was spot on and had the perfect mix of story advancement and comedy.  It may be a long time until we see a season of comedy as good as this show was this past season

Even if the second season of Modern Family maybe wasn't quite as acclaimed as the first, it remains one of TV's most popular and admired comedies and in all honesty is still one of the funniest.  The ensemble was just as strong this season, With Ty Burrell and Ed Oneill really stepping up their game.  Look for Modern Family to once again dominate in the comedy field.

No comedy on TV defies the sitcom formula with the vigor and emotional depth that Louie achieves week in and week out. Louie can break your heart one episode and have you on the verge of soiling yourself in the next. In terms of writing, direction and performance, "Louie" is unique.

The League took giant leaps in its 2^nd season and along with Louie, Always Sunny, and Archer, helped turn FX into a comedic powerhouse.  With a variety of established comedians all lending their minds to the show, it has grown from something that was a fun idea for a few episodes to what could be a comedic juggernaut for years to come

Will somebody give Chuck some love?  The show has almost been canceled 243289732489 times already and it keeps trucking along with the same fantastic mix of comedy, drama and action.  There is no other show like it on TV and it also has one of the more passionate fan bases of any show still on the air.  Chucks nomination is a pipe dream, but in my book, it could not be more deserved.

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Lead Actor In A Comedy

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch.

This Category is almost as competitive as the supporting actor category.  With Monk finally gone (Thank God) and Curb Your Enthusiasm not eligible for voting this season, there is a good chance we will see a surprise or two in the nominations.  So much so, that I would say only 2 of my picks are locks to actually get nominated.

The Office had, as has been the case in recent years, a very up and down season.  But Steve Carell was anything but up and down.  In Carell’s final season, he was able to have extremely funny and meaningful moments with almost every member of the ensemble cast.  The fact that he has never won an Emmy before and it is his last year don’t only make him a lock to be nominated, but a strong contender to finally win.

A comeback season for "30 Rock" meant prime Emmy bait for everybody and the show's 100th episode let Alec Baldwin play three or four different versions of himself.  Baldwin has been nominated the last 4 years and this was the strongest season of the show in the last couple so there is no reason Baldwin would not get nominated

Other than Amy Poehler, Rob Lowe is the biggest name in the "Parks and Recreation" cast, even if his introduction has done nothing to boost the show's ratings and even if he's not a Lead Actor on the show by any stretch of the imagination. He's still hilarious in his supporting role, and makes while not on screen as much as the other actors in this category, makes me laugh just as much as anybody on television.

Louie is a one man show, and that one man is Louis C.K.  He stars, writes, directs, produces and edits the show.  And it is one of the funniest shows.  Its genius is in its simplicity.  I really don’t think he has a realistic shot at getting nominated, and that really is too bad because when it boils down to it Louis C.K may be the most talented person in this category.

No man is willing to act to extremes quite like Danny McBride on Eastbound and Down.  So even though the show itself is a little over the top sometimes, when it is funny it is very funny.  McBride should be recognized for his commitment to such a ridiculous character.

Zachary Levi has been one of the most refreshing, entertaining actors for the last 5 years now.  Judging by ratings for Chuck, very few of you would know that.  The guy can nail every emotion and constantly has to stretch himself more than most comedic roles due to the dramatic aspects of the show, and due to its hour format.  GIVE THE GUY SOME LOVE ALREADY!

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Lead Actress In A Comedy

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch.

This is always the weakest category in my opinion, which is a shame because there are so many funny women on TV; they are just not in leading roles for one reason or another.  Hopefully after the Box Office success of Bridesmaids that will change, but this year I had a difficult time coming up with 3 nominees, let alone 6.

30 Rock had a comeback season last year and whenever "30 Rock" does anything well; a lot of the credit goes (totally deservedly) to Tina Fey. She can get nominated in this category in her sleep.   While Baldwin is the dominant actor on screen, Fey has to get a lot of credit for being able to keep up with such a strong acting personality

Her show may have been cancelled, but don't cry for Toni Collette. With two nominations and a win for "United States of Tara," she's gotten good value out of her move to Showtime and she should be back for another Emmy run after what has been, in many ways, her best season of acting work.  I don’t expect her to stick around TV now that this show has been cancelled, so she may get a nostalgic farewell Emmy

Parks and Recreation had a perfect season.  I don’t think they had one week episode all season and for that, credit has to be given to the star of the show, Amy Poehler.  If not for the Showtime women, I'd be thinking this would be a great year for Poehler to score her first career Emmy win. Instead, she'll watch a movie star in a half-hour drama take the comedy prize she deserves.  She gets my Emmy, so if someone wants to tell her that, she can come accept it whenever she would like.

If you're going to get cancer, be sure to get the flamboyant Showtime cancer. At least that way, you're guaranteed a few Emmys before passing into the afterlife.  Laura Linney is really great on "The Big C" and her track record is worth considering: She's 3-3 at the Emmys, with wins for "Wild Iris," "Frasier" and "John Adams." She's going to be very hard to beat on Emmy night. 

One of 2 nominations that I am not sure is really deserved, but I was grasping for straws in this category.  In season 2 of Cougar Town, Courtney Cox was less of a star and it turned more into an ensemble comedy.  She needs to get some credit for that because the show was actually damn funny in season 2.  And because she was forced to dominate every scene, her comedic work actually got much funnier in smaller doses.

Lea Michelle had an ok year on Glee.  She is still by far the best singer and a good enough actress.  That’s really all I have to say.  Hey, I said this was a weak category.

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch.

I had a lot of issues with the best supporting actress in a comedy category last year.  I thought a lot of deserving actresses got left out in the cold.  It seems a lock that Jane Lynch will win again, but i thought the character of Sue Sylvester on Glee was pretty awful this year.  Here are the six people that i believe are most deserving of a nomination.

Modern Family had another solid season in its 2nd season of airing.  A lot of the funniest parts had to do with Sofia Vergara.  This season, instead of having her just say things in a funny manner, the writers actually realized that they had a very funny actress on there hands.  Vergara only grew more confident with her timing and with physical comedy. She's earned her place back in the nomination field.

While Glee had a fairly poor season in my opinion, I do think there is a worthy nominee in the field, and it's not Jane Lynch.  Heather Morris really accomplished.  She took Brittany, a character who barely spoke in season 1, to the most developed, funniest character on the show.  So much so, that they even gave her her own stand out episode with the Brittany Spears episode.  Did i mention that i am in love with her?

Community is an ensemble comedy.  What started as a vehicle for Joel McHale has quickly turned into an exhibit of a lot of the funniest people on television.  While Pudi and Glover get to be silly funny, the best performance on the show is turned in by Allison Brie.  Check out episodes like "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" and "A Fistful of Paintballs" and even "Basic Rocket Science." When Brie is given enough to do, it benefits "Community."  Plus she had one of the funniest scenes of the season when she chloroformed everyone.

I'm convinced Aubrey Plaza should get nominated for this award for her funny looks alone.  Sure she has a ton of funny dialogue but she has the funniest facial expressions of anybody i have seen since maybe Jim Halpert in the first couple years of The Office.  She also has completely redefined the idea of deadpan comedy.  Her relationship with Andy equals comedic gold.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia has always been a funny show.  Kaitlin Olson has always been a funny actress.  However last year's pregnancy arc -- necessitated by Olson's real-life pregnancy, but wonderfully woven into the story in the "Sunny" universe-- may have been the best ongoing material Olson has had to work with since the first 2 seasons of the show.

Chuck has always been the show that is the hardest to classify.  Is it Comedy?  Is it Drama?  I think it fits more as a comedy.  And while Yvonne Stahovski may not be the funniest actress on this list, she is a fantastic actress and an integral part of what makes "Chuck" Chuck.  She also had what may be the best showcase episode of any supporting actor or actress this season in "Chuck Vs The Phase Three"

Please Help With Any Information on Lauren Spierer

Early in the morning on Friday June 3rd, Indiana University student Lauren Spierer went missing on her way home from a night out.  Since then, an intense search consisting of law enforcement, independent agencies and volunteers has spanned the Bloomington are and has moved into surrounding towns.  Lauren also has a rare heart condition that requires her to take medication, so finding her soon is absolutely imperative.  Please if you have any information on the disappearance of Lauren, contact the Bloomington Police department.  Below you will find a photo of Lauren and other websites you can visit for updates and ways to help.

Here are some links of interest:

Donations and Volunteer info

 http://www.iuhillel.org/

http://www.findlauren.com/

Facebook

 http://m.facebook.com/Lauren.Spierer.Family.Updates?_rdr#%21/a/profile.php?fan&id=225047564191647&gfid=AQDrW5zQMHL3BTOn&refid=0

Email if you have information

helpfindlauren@gmail.com

Bloomington Police

812-339-4477

Follow Lauren on twitter @NewsOnLaurenS

Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy

With the announcement of Emmy nominations right around the corner, I think it is time to break down what I believe should be the Emmy nominations for the year.  As always, these are just my opinions and are based on the shows that I watch.

The Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy is loaded every single year and this year is no different.  I could think of at least 20 people who could realistically deserve nominations, but I finally settled on these 6, which ironically only come from 3 different shows.

If it were up to me, Danny Pudi of Community would have won this award last year.  He followed up his season 1 performance with a very strong season 2.  Often times he didn’t even feel like a supporting player, but an equal to Joel McHale.  He is the one that allows Community to try so many different styles and tones.  Community is the gutsiest comedy on television and it is because of Pudi’s commitment to Abed that this is true

If I Could nominate Pudi and Donald Glover together for their work on Community as one person, I would do it and they would be a lock to win.  It is very hard to remember the last time 2 people had such great comedic chemistry together.  But in season 2, Glover came into his own as a comedic actor.  He no longer had to be on the screen with Pudi to be hilarious.   Whether he was being over the top in meeting Levar Burton, or playing it more straight on his 21^st birthday, Glover made Troy a standout in a very talented ensemble

If there is one person on TV that can make me laugh seriously just be making facial expressions, it is Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreations.  Obviously, Ron Effing Swanson is one of the best-written characters on television, but Offerman's absolute conviction, his willingness to do anything and his charisma make Ron not only incredibly funny, but somehow believable.

Parks and Recreation was so good this past season that I could honestly nominate 6 guys just from that show.  My next choice after Offerman would be Rob Lowe, but he has submitted himself in the lead actor category.  My next choice would be Adam Scott.  Adam Scott plays deadpan and straight so well that you could put him in a textbook. 

Last year modern family owned half this category.  In my ballot this year, that is lowered to one third.  Ty Burrell was nominated last year. He also had a better Season Two than Season One, as Phil Dunphy actually became a human being this season, rather than just the butt of easy (often quite funny) jokes.

Rounding out the list is grizzled veteran Ed Oneill. He should have been nominated last year and it was a mini upset that he was not.  That should be remedied this year.  O'Neill had several very fine showcase episodes this season, as a number of episodes seemed to revolve around milestones in his character's life.