Gya, gya, gya...

It's Emmy time! Interesting point I'd like to make first... why is it that the television awards are the least interesting awards show on television? As you ponder that, I'll drop you the list of the big nominations (and some of my patented, militant opinion).

Lead Actor In A Comedy Series: Ricky Gervais as Andy Millman, Extras, HBO; Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, Monk, USA; Steve Carell as Michael Scott, The Office, NBC; Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock, NBC; Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, Two And A Half Men, CBS.

Lead Actor In A Drama Series: James Spader as Alan Shore, Boston Legal, ABC; Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, House, Fox; Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin, Rescue Me, FX; James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, The Sopranos, HBO; Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, 24, Fox.

(Two tough categories, but no one's carried a show like Baldwin or been as real and human as Leary.)

Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie: Robert Duvall as Prentice "Print" Ritter, Broken Trail, AMC; Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone, Jesse Stone: Sea Change, CBS; Jim Broadbent as Lord Longford, Longford, HBO; William H. Macy as Clyde Umney & Sam Landry, Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From The Stories Of Stephen King, Umney's Last Case, TNT; Matthew Perry as Ron Clark, The Ron Clark Story, TNT.

Lead Actress In A Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Desperate Housewives, ABC; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, CBS; Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, 30 Rock, NBC; America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Ugly Betty, ABC; Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, Weeds, Showtime.

Lead Actress In A Drama Series: Sally Field as Nora Walker, Brothers & Sisters, ABC; Kyra Sedgwick as Dep. Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, The Closer, Slippin', TNT; Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, Law & Order: SVU, NBC; Patricia Arquette as Allison Dubois, Medium, NBC; Minnie Driver as Dahlia Malloy, The Riches, FX; Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano, The Sopranos, HBO.

(I like Minnie Driver here, but she's among some popular competition.)

Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie: Queen Latifah as Ana, Life Support, HBO; Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Mary-Louise Parker as Zenia Arden, The Robber Bride, Oxygen; Debra Messing as Molly Kagan, The Starter Wife, USA; Gena Rowlands as Melissa Eisenbloom, What If God Were The Sun, Lifetime.

Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama, Entourage, HBO; Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold, Entourage, HBO; Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother, CBS; Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, The Office, NBC; Jon Cryer as Alan Harper, Two And A Half Men, CBS.

(Harris is pretty freakin' good. So's Wilson. Won't help, though. Piven's got the best character on TV.)

Supporting Actor In A Drama Series: William Shatner as Denny Crane, Boston Legal, ABC; T.R. Knight as George, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura, Heroes, NBC; Michael Emerson as Ben, Lost, ABC; Terry O'Quinn as John Locke, Lost, ABC; Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti, The Sopranos, HBO.

(Emerson's Ben is ridiculously creepy good.)

Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Jaime Pressly as Joy Turner, My Name Is Earl, NBC; Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, The Office, NBC; Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper, Two And A Half Men, CBS; Conchata Ferrell as Berta, Two And A Half Men, CBS; Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater, Ugly Betty, ABC; Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes, Weeds, Showtime.

Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Brothers & Sisters, ABC; Katherine Heigl as Isobel "Izzie" Stevens, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Chandra Wilson as Dr. Bailey, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano, The Sopranos, HBO; Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi, The Sopranos, HBO.

Comedy Series: Entourage, HBO; The Office, NBC; 30 Rock, NBC; Two And A Half Men, CBS; Ugly Betty, ABC.

(More like Two and a Half YECHs. Can Scrubs get ANY love? How about Always Sunny?)

Drama Series: Boston Legal, ABC; Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Heroes, NBC; House, Fox; The Sopranos, HBO.

(No Lost? Rescue Me? C'mon people.)

Miniseries: Broken Trail, AMC; Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; The Starter Wife, USA.

Made For Television Movie: Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, HBO; Inside The Twin Towers, Discovery Channel; Longford, HBO; The Ron Clark Story, TNT; Why I Wore Lipstick To My Mastectomy, Lifetime.

Variety, Music Or Comedy Series: The Colbert Report, Comedy Central; The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central; Late Night With Conan O'Brien, NBC; Late Show With David Letterman, CBS; Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO.

Reality Program: Antiques Roadshow, PBS; Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan, National Geographic; Extreme Makeover Home Edition, ABC; Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List, Bravo; Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Showtime.

Reality-Competition Program: The Amazing Race, CBS; American Idol, Fox; Dancing With The Stars, ABC; Project Runway, Bravo; Top Chef, Bravo.

(That any of the shows in these last two categories should get an award for anything makes me nauseous).

More on the categories not mentioned here and some deeper looks at the big'uns later this weekend.