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« Rodyssey's Odyssey
Rod's 2007-08 TV Awards: Comedy
Hello again, blog buddies!
Yesterday was the drama awards. Today we get the comedy awards.
Here are my picks for the best performers and shows in the comedy category for the 2007-08 tv season.
COMEDY
Lead Actress:
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who
Tichina Arnold, Everybody Hates Chris
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Amy Pietz, Aliens in America
Lead Actor:
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Zachary Levi, Chuck
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
James Roday, Psych
Supporting Actress:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Judy Davis, The Starter Wife
Angela Kinsey, The Office
Becki Newton, Ugly Betty
Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty
Kristen Schaal, The Flight of the Conchords
Jean Smart, Samantha Who
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
Supporting Actor:
Adam Baldwin, Chuck
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Simon Helberg, The Big Bang Theory
Tyler Labine, Reaper
Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies
Chris Parnell, Miss Guided
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Michael Urie, Ugly Betty
Guest Actress:
Sarah Chalke, How I Met Your Mother
Sara Gilbert, The Big Bang Theory
Sharon Lawrence, Monk
Amy Ryan, The Office
Molly Shannon, Pushing Daisies
Sherri Shepherd, 30 Rock
Brooke Smith, Weeds
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock
Guest Actor:
John Amos, Psych
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
Tim Bagley, Monk
Matthew Bomer, Chuck
Wayne Brady, Everybody Hates Chris
Rhys Coiro, Entourage
Stanley Kamel, Monk
Freddy Rodriguez, Ugly Betty
Ensemble Cast:
The cast of 30 Rock
The cast of The Flight of the Conchords
The cast of How I Met Your Mother
The cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The cast of My Boys
The cast of The Office
The cast of Pushing Daisies
The cast of Ugly Betty
Best Comedy:
30 Rock
Chuck
Extras
The Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
Ugly Betty
Weeds
Don't know who some of these names are?
Want to know who came so close to making the list and got an "honorable mention" instead?
Click here to find out.
Coming Wednesday: Bonus Awards (Best New Show, Breakthrough Award, Best Villain, etc...)
Coming Thursday: Even More Bonus Awards (Best Couple, Best Dynamic Duo, Hottest Chicks, Hottest Dudes, etc...)
Thanks for reading! Please feel free to let me know which ones you think I got right and which ones you think I got wrong. (Just for the record: I don't watch Scrubs, Earl, or Christine, so that's why you won't find any winners from those shows here.)
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Jun 10, 2008 10:12 AM
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Hi Rod! I don't know if you found this true while working on your lists, too, but I'm having a much harder time narrowing down the comedy candidates to a few people than the drama ones. Maybe I watch too many comedies, but I think, overall, they had better seasons than most dramas this year. Maybe the Writer's Strike didn't hit them as hard. Okay, here I go trying to pick one person from your lists:
Lead Actress:
Tina Fey, 30 Rock--So many good people, but I think she really came into her own as an actress this year; and the show doesn't work without Liz as its center.
Lead Actor:
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock--The "Tracy in Therapy" scene decided this one for me, but he is great every week.
Supporting Actress:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies--She took a character that people could have hated (she IS trying to come between tha main characters) and made her absolutely loveable.
Supporting Actor:
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies--I got this narrowed down to Neil and Chi and couldn't decide. I say it is a tie!
Guest Actress:
Sarah Chalke, How I Met Your Mother--Wow, these ladies were all really great. For sheer impact on the show I went with Sarah.
Guest Actor:
Will Arnett, 30 Rock--So funny. So creepy, but funny.
Ensemble Cast:
The cast of The Office--The biggest of the ensembles, but also the strongest overall.
Best Comedy:
30 Rock--Genius.
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Jun 10, 2008 10:38 AM
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Well, since I chose individual winners for Drama, I feel like I should try to do the same with Comedy. But this group is much, much harder! And that's not even including Scrubs, which despite an off year, still had some noteworthy performances.
COMEDY
Lead Actress:
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who
Tichina Arnold, Everybody Hates Chris
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Amy Pietz, Aliens in America
A very tough choice, and I don't even watch Starter Wife or Weeds! In the end, I chose Amy Pietz because this character is so very different from other characters she's played and she just totally BECAME her. Although I enjoyed Christina Applegate and Anna Friel, and Tichina Arnold is always amazing and I adore America Ferrera, I thought this year's best performance was Amy's.
Lead Actor:
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Zachary Levi, Chuck
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
James Roday, Psych
Another very difficult choice with lots of my favorites! James Roday and Zachary Levi play two of my favorite characters on television today and Lee Pace is always adorable. But I'd like to see all three characters developed a little more and see what the actors can do with them. In the end, it comes down to Jim Parsons, who created a character of whom there is no equal on television, and Alec Baldwin for his spot-on performance of an equally unique character. Jim Parsons wins it by a hair.
Supporting Actress:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Judy Davis, The Starter Wife
Angela Kinsey, The Office
Becki Newton, Ugly Betty
Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty
Kristen Schaal, The Flight of the Conchords
Jean Smart, Samantha Who
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
I think the problem comes up when I've seen too many of these shows and I know how fabulous they all are! The only two shows on this list I haven't watched regularly are Starter Wife and Conchords. Becki Newton is just one of my favorites all together--wouldn't you love to see her with Zachary Levi some day? Jean Smart did an excellent job as Sam's annoying yet adorable mother. Angela Kinsey and Kristen Chenowith frequently steal every scene they're in. But I'm giving it to Ana Ortiz for her heart-wrenching portrayal of a woman in mourning. It's tough to portray something so dark in a comedy and she did it with heart and truth and without alienating her audience.
Supporting Actor:
Adam Baldwin, Chuck
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Simon Helberg, The Big Bang Theory
Tyler Labine, Reaper
Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies
Chris Parnell, Miss Guided
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Michael Urie, Ugly Betty
This one's easy: Neil Patrick Harris, no contest. There is only one Barney and only one character who could make us forget that NPH was once Doogie Howser, M.D. Adam Baldwin and Michael Urie tie for second and Chi McBride comes in third.
Guest Actress:
Sarah Chalke, How I Met Your Mother
Sara Gilbert, The Big Bang Theory
Sharon Lawrence, Monk
Amy Ryan, The Office
Molly Shannon, Pushing Daisies
Sherri Shepherd, 30 Rock
Brooke Smith, Weeds
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock
I don't watch Weeds and only watch Monk sporadically, but this one came down to the two Sara(h)s. I chose Gilbert over her former co-star Chalke because her BBT character was so different from Darlene whereas Chalke's Stella was not too much of a departure from Elliot (on Scrubs). Man, that show Roseanne really had a lot of talent, didn't it? Makes you wonder what happened to D.J.
Guest Actor:
John Amos, Psych
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
Tim Bagley, Monk
Matthew Bomer, Chuck
Wayne Brady, Everybody Hates Chris
Rhys Coiro, Entourage
Stanley Kamel, Monk
Freddy Rodriguez, Ugly Betty
This category was so tough I actually went back and changed my vote!! I love Matthew Bomer and seeing him on Chuck made it just a little easier to deal with the untimely death of Traveler (which could have been on right now stupid ABC!). Wayne Brady was a lot of fun on EHC. And John Amos on Psych? Should become a recurring part. I'd chosen him originally then came back and switched to Freddy Rodriguez. When you can make a guest actor feel like he's already a regular, that's quite a gift you've got there! He wormed his way into Betty's heart and did the impossible feat of turning America (both the viewers and Betty) away from Henry.
Ensemble Cast:
The cast of 30 Rock
The cast of The Flight of the Conchords
The cast of How I Met Your Mother
The cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The cast of My Boys
The cast of The Office
The cast of Pushing Daisies
The cast of Ugly Betty
I love Pushing Daisies and they did a phenomenal job this year, but I think the cast is still coming into its own (it's nearly there). So, I had to go with HIMYM.
Best Comedy:
30 Rock
Chuck
Extras
The Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
Ugly Betty
Weeds
I eeny-meenie-miney-moe'd this and went with Pushing Daisies because it was just so beautiful and unique and managed to turn a basic procedural into a comedy--but in a completely different way from Bones! That's pretty cool. And Bones doesn't have Digby! I loved Chuck too--and if push came to shove I'd say I enjoy Chuck just a teeny bit more. But I had to reward PD's creativity.
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Jun 10, 2008 10:51 AM
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ROD - I feel kind of left out here! You have totally omitted my favorite, and most watched comedy on TV today TWO-AND-A-HALF-MEN completely! I don't necessarily think that Charlie Sheen or John Cryer deserve the lead or supporting awards, but I do think that Conchata Ferrell deserves the best female supporting actress award! There is no one funnier on TV than Conchata as Berta, Charlie Harper's housekeeper!
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Jun 10, 2008 11:05 AM
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Hi Rod,
Since this is also hard for me to narrow down this year, I'm going by The Most LOL Moments I had.
Show - Tie between How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.
Actor - Jim Parsons (TBBT) Hands down the funniest guy to grace comedy television since David Hyde Pierce.
Actress - Alyson Hannigan (HIMYM) I know she's not a lead actress, but IMHO she deserves her own show.
Supporting Actor - Adam Baldwin (Chuck) He does Big Bad with a smile better than anyone.
Supporting Actress - Melissa McCarthy (Samantha Who?) She is a stitch and a half - I've had many snort worthy moments from her.
Ensemble Cast - Tie between favored HIMYM and TBBT, 'cause it's so darned hard to pick between the two.
Guest Actress - Laurie Metcalf as Sheldon's Christian Fundamentalist mother on TBBT. I just love her.
Guest Actor - Eddie Cibrian on Ugly Betty, 'cause he's so purtty.
(Yes, I'm a shallow, shallow person.)
Looking forward to your next awards list!
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Jun 10, 2008 11:38 AM
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*sneaking in at work*
Just like with yesterday's drama, here are CA's picks if I could only chose one:
Lead Actress:
Amy Pietz, Aliens in America
Lead Actor:
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Supporting Actress:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies -- Ugh. This was a hard one!
Supporting Actor:
Adam Baldwin, Chuck
Guest Actress:
Sarah Chalke, How I Met Your Mother
Guest Actor:
Matthew Bomer, Chuck, okay, really this should go to Will Arnett but Matthew Bomer is a cutie so I am going to be shallow in my selection and go with a person that makes my teeth sweat 
Ensemble Cast:
The cast of 30 Rock, if for no other reason then the "Midnight Train to Georgia" segment. One of the funniest things I've seen on TV.
Best Comedy:
Extras, and just like with the Drama one, I hate this catagory because I can go with just about all of them, especially Chuck (and I would have put Aliens In America on my list as well, but not Flight, I've never seen that show) but Extras was just hysterical from beginning to end so it gets my vote.
*sneaking back to work*
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Jun 10, 2008 11:54 AM
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There sure are a lot of Whedonverse nods on your list, Kath!  (Alyson, NPH, Adam)
Guest Actress - Laurie Metcalf as Sheldon's Christian Fundamentalist mother on TBBT. I just love her.
I agree! She was pretty darn hilarious! She should've been on your list, Rod.
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Jun 10, 2008 11:56 AM
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Lead Actress:
I'm going to go with a tie:
Tichina Arnold, EHC
Amy Pietz, Aliens in America
Their roles are so different, it's the old apples and oranges quandary--I like them equally.
Lead Actor:
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Another tie. I love Alec Baldwin's sly, subtle performances and Ricky Gervais's ability to be laugh-out-loud hilarious and pathetic at the same time.
Supporting Actress:
Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty
Conchata Ferrell, Two-and-a-Half Men
I'm going to add my vote to Ranger's for Conchata Ferrell's performance as Berta on Two-and-a-Half Men. I know you don't watch it but, trust me, if you did she would be on your list.
I'll also put Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty) on my list. I love Becky Newton's performance as Amanda, but Ana makes me root out loud for Hilda to find success and happiness.
Supporting Actor:
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Tyler Labine, Reaper
Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies
Michael Urie, Ugly Betty
Sorry, but I just can't choose.
Nobody but NPH could be Barney on HIMYM. For a long while, Taylor Labine was the only reason I stuck with Reaper until it finally got kick-started again after the writers' strike. Chi McBride is my very favorite character on Pushing Daisies. And Michael Urie is laugh-out-loud hilarious on Ugly Betty.
Guest Actress:
Sarah Chalke, HIMYM
No ties here: Sarah is so smart, funny, and endearing as Stella, she's made most of us want her to be the mother.
Guest Actor:
John Amos, Psych
Freddy Rodriguez, Ugly Betty
Another tie. I've loved John Amos since his days as Gordy, the weatherman on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. I'd love to see him again on Psych (or any other show for that matter).
And Freddy completely turned me around from rooting for Betty/Henry to rooting for Betty/Gio. What a cojonesless putz Henry turned out to be. I hope Betty sent him packing back to New Mexico. Gio made us feel that he would always be there for Betty no matter what.
Ensemble Cast:
How I Met Your Mother
For me, this is the most seamless and cohesive cast among the comedies. I can imagine all of these people being friends in real life.
Best Comedy:
Pushing Daisies
For pure creativity and enchantment. I've been watching television for many decades, and this is one of the most original and enchanting programs I've ever seen.
Thanks, Rod. Another great job.
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Jun 10, 2008 12:53 PM
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Yes, Famin, Joss certainly knew how to pick the talent! And I can't wait until next season when Dollhouse is on the air...Eliza and Amy in one show will be the MUST SEE of the new shows for me.
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Jun 10, 2008 2:08 PM
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Rod - I see you gave Ashley Jensen an honorable mention for Extras. That is one of my favorite characters - she kills me. I also liked Carrie Fisher in 30 Rock and see you have her as an honorable mention too. I think that was one of the most memorable guest appearances this year as well as Molly Shannon on Pushing Daisies.
You hit all the high points except maybe 2.5 Men and New Adventures of Old Christine. They fall closer to classic sitcoms but not exactly and I think they are really well written. I would have put Blair Underwood as a nominee for guest appearance on Old Christine.
I would really, really be hard pressed to pick winners here with one exception - Kristin Chenoweth. I can't even express how much I love Olive Snook and her portrayal. I'd vote for her every time.
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Jun 10, 2008 2:20 PM
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Cindy - Thanks for bringing up Blair Underwood's performance on Old Christine. While I was watching him as the charming Mr. Harris on Old Christine, I was watching him as the tormented Alex on In Treatment. What an amazing range that was for an actor.
I also loved Ashley Jensen on Extras and Kristin Chenoweth on Pushing Daisies. These were very hard choices to make.
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Jun 10, 2008 2:50 PM
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Hi all! Thanks for popping in and picking your favorites. I am personally amazed and jealous of those of you who were able to narrow a category down to just one or two. I don't know if I could to that. (Hell, I couldn't even narrow it down to 5 or 6!)
Megan... I don't know if you found this true while working on your lists, too, but I'm having a much harder time narrowing down the comedy candidates to a few people than the drama ones
You ain't kidding. I found the comedy category very challenging, particularly because there is such a wide variety of shows that now fall under the "comedy" category. Traditional sitcoms like Mother and Big Bang in the same category as more adult-themed shows like Weeds and Californication in the same category with hour-long dramedies like Ugly Betty and Chuck, and the new laugh-track-free sitcoms like 30 Rock and The Office. Sheesh!! Don't get me wrong, I love all of the choices that viewers have nowadays, but trying to compare them all on the same playing field is not easy.
I can't wait to see your picks when you post them!
Famin... I'm sitting here in awe of your excellent reasoning and commentary skills on these categories.
He wormed his way into Betty's heart and did the impossible feat of turning America (both the viewers and Betty) away from Henry.
Could.Not.Agree.More. At the beginning of this season I could not have imagined that I would have abandoned the Betty/Henry bandwagon, but now I can't imagine ever rooting for Henry again... especially over Gio. I hope Betty got on that place to Italy with Gio and didn't go to the desert to play second fiddle to Henry's baby mammma.
Ranger... Sorry about Two and Half Men. I've tried that show a few times, but it just doesn't do anything for me. Ditto for Rules of Engagement.
Kath... Any Whedonesque love is more than fine on this blog. Like you, I can't wait for Dollhouse. I just hope that FOX doesn't screw it up with crappy scheduling or silly promotion or any of the 100 other ways they use to kill quality programming on that network.
CA... The cast of 30 Rock, if for no other reason then the "Midnight Train to Georgia" segment. One of the funniest things I've seen on TV
That scene and the Alec Baldwin therapy scene alone could secure the emmy for 30 Rock. That wasn't just laugh-out-loud funny, it was pee-your-pants funny!
Hi Marci!... Thanks for your great picks. I don't know how you were able to do it, especially since we watch so many of the same shows.
What a cojonesless putz Henry turned out to be. I hope Betty sent him packing back to New Mexico
Ditto! Ditto! Ditto!
CindyA... thanks for checking out the "honorable mentions" too. It was tough to leave Ashley Jense off the main list for best actress for Extras. Watching her on Extras makes me think that Ugly Betty is wasting her by giving her a sub-par baby plotline and reducing her screen time. She is comedy genius, and Ugly Betty would do well to start showcasing that more.
I didn't watch Christine, but Blair Underwood is quite impressive. Not only was he on Christine and In Treatment (where he was fantastic as a tortured navy pilot), but he was also an important player on Dirty Sexy Money last season too.
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Jun 10, 2008 3:35 PM
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