I couldn't let some of these terrific performances go unacknowledged...
Best supporting actor in a drama:
William Shatner (ABC's "Boston Legal"), Ted Danson and Zeljko Ivanek (FX's "Damages"), Michael Emerson (ABC's "Lost"), John Slattery (AMC's "Mad Men").
Shatner not so much. The "Damages" guys were both good - Danson really reinvented himself. And Slattery was terrific, although I think "Mad Men's" Vincent Kartheiser was even better. But the nod here has to go to Michael Emerson (right), whose Ben became the fulcrum around which "Lost" revolves. I think he'll get it, too, although Slattery could win if "Mad Men" comes up huge, and Danson has many friends in Hollywood.
Best supporting actress in a drama:
Candice Bergen (ABC's "Boston Legal"), Rachel Griffiths, (ABC's "Brothers & Sisters"), Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson (ABC's Grey's Anatomy"), Dianne Wiest (HBO's "In Treatment").
I would have put Mia Wasikowska of "In Treatment" in here, as well as Christina Hendricks of "Mad Men," instead of any of the ABC actresses. Wiest was terrific, but how many people saw the HBO show? I'm going to guess Sandra Oh, but honestly I have no prediction here.
Best supporting actress in a comedy:
Kristin Chenoweth (ABC's "Pushing Daisies), Jean Smart (ABC's "Samantha Who?"), Amy Poehler (NBC's "Saturday Night Live"), Holland Taylor (CBS' "Two And A Half Men"), Vanessa Williams (ABC's "Ugly Betty").
I'm betting Chenoweth takes this - it will be the one big win for "Pushing Daisies," because Lee Pace hasn't got a chance in the lead actor category, and Chenoweth is a known quantity. I think anyone has a chance though, except Williams, and there's a chance that liberal Hollywood might want to give Hillary one win this year by picking the actress who played her on "SNL." Let's argue about whether sketch performers belong in this category at another time.
Best supporting actor in a comedy:
Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon (HBO's "Entourage"), Neil Patrick Harris (CBS' "How I Met Your Mother"), Rainn Wilson (NBC's "The Office"), Jon Cryer (CBS' "Two And A Half Men").
Cryer is a lead actor, and only wins in a big 2.5 sweep. "Entourage" is so over. Wilson could take it, but I think this might finally be Harris' year - and a way for the Emmys to acknowledge the criminally overlooked "Mother."
