The Alternative Emmy Award winners

By Darren Bevan, Kate Saunders, Stacey Hunt & Sarah Pritchett

Published: 1:11PM Wednesday September 16, 2009 Source: ONE News

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With the biggest night in American television just around the corner (Monday our time if you didn't know - we'll be live blogging for all of you that will be at work), we thought it was time to look at those actors and shows that will not feature on the awards stage.

Don't get us wrong, we love the likes of Grey's Anatomy, The Mentalist, Brothers & Sisters and Desperate Housewives (we work for a television station - we kind of have to be TV junkies).

But how frequently does your favourite miss out on an Emmy nod, let alone a win? Here at tvnz.co.nz we found that a number of the shows and people that hook us in and make us watch telly never really get noticed, so we thought we'd pull together a list of our favourites. You might think we're barking mad, but this is what we like and we're proud!

If you disagree we'd love for you to tell us your favourites on the message board below.

Best Actor
John Noble as Walter Bishop

It was John Noble that started it all for us here at tvnz.co.nz. There really is no contest to the Fringe star in this category. The actor who plays Walter Bishop makes insanity appealing. He's intelligent and always has an alternative and sometimes inappropriate comment in times of crime. For example, when a high ranking FBI agent's friend lies dying and Walter is his only hope, Walter's only thoughts are to source a piece of gum. He's the actor who made Fringe rise above another X Files rip off and avoid the mire of CSI: Spooky.
CLICK HERE TO WIN A FRINGE PRIZE PACK!


Best Actress
Jennifer Love Hewitt - Ghost Whisperer

Okay this one's going to be controversial, but there is sound reason behind the decision. Ghost Whisperer is one of the most popular programmes on US television for one reason...Jennifer Love Hewitt. Let's face it; Ghost Whisperer doesn't have the best scripts in the world. But somehow Love Hewitt takes the material and turns it into a compelling performance. She expresses a range of emotions with a single glance, and her nuanced crying is an absolute marvel. Every episode calls on Love Hewitt to cry. And every episode she finds a new and different way to do so. Whether it's a 'single tear and a brave smile' or an 'anguished wail and a fall to the floor', she gets us every time. Jennifer Love Hewitt deserves an Emmy for her ability to shed tears in so many varied ways. Her heartfelt emotion and her subtle delivery make her Television Gold.


Best Supporting Actor and Actress
Lost's Daniel Faraday and Juliet Burke - aka Jeremy Davies and Elizabeth Mitchell.

Quite frankly these two brought the human element to Lost's fifth season when time travel was all the rage on the island. Who can forget the shock in Faraday's eyes as his mum shot him. And it'll be a long time before we get Juliet's screams (and Sawyer's reaction) out of our minds as she plunged down the hole in the dying minutes of the series.


Best Drama (we just couldn't decide on this one)
The Wire

How can the Wire continually miss out. From David Simon, the creator of one of the greatest TV shows ever - Homicide: Life On The Street - The Wire is intelligent, rewarding television which has yet to be equalled anywhere on the box. From the HBO stable, this drama set in Baltimore, was constantly confined to late night slots. Simon's got a history of writing Baltimore based drama and each of the show's five seasons covered an aspect of the city he loves; from the drug trade to the school system, Simon winds a compelling story through each season, primarily focussing on how institutions affect the individuals. Cast included Lance Reddick (currently in Fringe) and despite critical acclaim throughout the years, it never broke through to the awards - and with it ending in 2008, it's never gonna get through. Still, maybe its best if these kind of shows are fervently loved by the fans but ignored by the masses.

Battlestar Galactica.
Battlestar Galactica was a quality show throughout its total five year run - even if the last few episodes did lose their way. Such poignant performances from all involved made us care more than we're willing to admit about the rag-tag crusaders trying to find their place in a ravaged universe.

Gossip Girl
Yes some may class this show as teen trash but come on it has fashion, beauty, sex, money and is set in New York - it's like a younger version of Sex and the City - sort of. The joy in Gossip Girl lies in voyeurism - everyone wants to spy on the lives of these privileged, young, attractive Upper East-siders. Seeing as living that life is unlikely to happen for most, the next best thing is to live vicariously through television characters. Great stories, great acting, beautiful people and beautiful clothes - what more could you want? Yes it's time for shows like this to enter the Emmy arena.


Best Comedy Series
The Simpsons

How for the past 20 years has The Simpsons never been nominated in this category? It may be animated but still it's funnier than the majority of comedy shows on television. The reason? It has never fallen into the trap of tired old, outdated situational jokes - it remains contemporary and doesn't presume its audience isn't clever enough to get its jokes. You can pretty much be guaranteed a laugh during any episode of The Simpsons - what show can do that five years into its run, let alone 20?
READ A REVIEW OF THE LATEST DVD RELEASE FROM THE SIMPSONS!


Best Ensemble Cast (okay so they don't have this award at the Emmy's but we're letting it slide)
The cast of Chuck

Honestly, Chuck with its core cast of Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski and the ever funny Adam Baldwin needs more love than it ever gets - it's funny, cool, geek chic but underneath all that lies a deeply moving relationship story. Plus any show that has Scott Bakula playing Chuck's dad and has his first words reference his own iconic character Sam Beckett, in Quantum leap, is too cool for school.

Fir the full list of ACTUAL Emmy nominees click HERE ... And don't forget we wil be LIVE blogging the awards ceremony on Monday NZT.

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