Deserving Emmy Nominees in the Categories of Best Actress
Glenn Close delivered the performance most deserving of a nomination in the lead actress category and should be the one to beat on Emmy night.
Yesterday this column made clear the challenge facing voting members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as they
attempt to narrow down to a mere five the many lead actors in drama series deserving of Emmy nominations this year. (The nominations will be announced July 14.)
The selection of five lead actresses in drama series as nominees in their category is similarly difficult, although there aren't quite as many extraordinary performances from which to choose. Among
those who should be nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series one name stands out from the rest: Glenn Close. She sizzled and stunned as take-no-crap Captain Monica Rawling in FX's The Shield, immediately moving to the foreground of the show without overshadowing the performances by the established cast, including previous Emmy winner Michael
Chiklis. Watching Rawling take quiet command of the treacherous, corrupt circumstances around her with uncompromising restraint and the unwavering expectation of respect and dignity was one of the great television pleasures of the last few months. (Watching her finally vent her rage and
allow herself long overdue emotional release was thrilling, too.) This is the performance most deserving of a nomination in this category and, obviously, should be the one to beat come Emmy night.
It will come as no surprise if routine nominees Allison Janney of NBC's The West Wing and Jennifer Garner of ABC's Alias are acknowledged once again. It will be infuriating,
however, if Janney wins a fifth statue for her performance as White House wonder woman C.J. Cregg. Despite her character's promotion this season from press secretary to chief of staff, Janney wasn't given any material that allowed her to do anything new or dynamic with the character. Garner didn't have her strongest season on Alias, either, but recognition of her work
on this show is long overdue, making her the default favorite should Close not be the voters' choice.
The other two slots belong to Christine Lahti of The WB's Jack & Bobby and Amber Tamblyn of CBS' Joan of Arcadia, two actresses who delivered consistent standout work this
season and continued to soar even as the shows around them fell apart. Indeed, Lahti would probably be the front-runner in this category for her portrayal of a fiercely intelligent, stridently liberal, deeply flawed university professor and single mother of two teenage boys, one destined to
become president of the United States, had Jack & Bobby lived up to early expectations and the tantalizing promise of its pilot. Tamblyn remains one of the most natural actresses
working in film and television today, putting most of the young women who land bigger roles in better projects to shame.
Among the other leading actresses deserving of recognition (should one or more of the above not make the final list of nominees) are Joely Richardson of FX's Nip/Tuck and Kristen Bell of
UPN's Veronica Mars. Richardson dazzled as the fragile and resentful Julia McNamara, a woman dealing with a failed marriage, lingering feelings for a former lover, a crushing midlife crisis and a domineering mother (played by Richardson's real-life mother Vanessa Redgrave, who
should be recognized with a nomination in the guest role category). Bell carried a complex season-long murder mystery (and several other demanding storylines) with seemingly effortless skill. Both are more deserving of a nomination this year than Janney, Garner or Frances Conroy
and Rachel Griffiths of HBO's Six Feet Under, two other frequent Emmy nominees.
Clarification:
Yesterdays Jack Myers Entertainment Report MediaVillage.com Poll Results were based on online poll results from specific questions asked at www.mediavillage.com. Site visitors were presented with the opportunity to select specific new summer series as their favorites, and were presented with specific cancelled shows to identify as programs they would like to "save." All results reflect specific closed ended questions, and the respondent base should not be considered to reflect a national universe.
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