"John Adams" Big Emmy Winner for 2008

While plezWorld was immersed in Sunday Night Football (watching the Cowboys throttle the Packers), the rest of the television universe was doling out little gold statues to the best that tv had to offer for the past 12 months.

It was not surprise to me that "John Adams" - the HBO mini-series - would rack up the lion's share of the awards while setting an Emmy record with 13 wins (from its 23 nominations), including Paul Giamatti as John Adams (Best Lead Actor in a Mini-Series), Laura Linney as Abigail Adams (Best Lead Actress in a Mini-Series), Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series), and Kirk Ellis (Outstanding Writing for a Mini-Series). I received a boxed set of the mini-series for my birthday, one of my favorite gifts.

I made some bold prognostications a few months back when the Emmy nominations were first announced, so I guess many of you are wondering how I fared. Check the box below, the winners are in BOLD print:

Notable Emmy Winners:

COMEDY
COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Rainn Wilson, The Office

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

DRAMA
DRAMA SERIES
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ted Danson, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

REALITY
REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal
Jeff Probst, Survivor
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY
VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL
Bill Maher: The Decider
George Carlin: It’s Bad For Ya!
James Taylor: One Man Band
Kathy Griffin: Straight To Hell
The Kennedy Center Honors
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project


MINISERIES or MOVIE
OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR MOVIE
The Andromeda Strain
Cranford
John Adams
Tin Man

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
Bernard and Doris
Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
A Raisin In The Sun
Recount

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Ralph Fiennes, Bernard And Doris
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Paul Giamatti, John Adams
Kevin Spacey, Recount
Tom Wilkinson, Recount

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Judi Dench, Cranford
Catherine Keener, An American Crime
Laura Linney, John Adams
Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun
Susan Sarandon, Bernard And Doris

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Bob Balaban, Recount
Stephen Dillane, John Adams
Denis Leary, Recount
David Morse, John Adams
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Dame Eileen Atkins, Cranford
Laura Dern, Recount
Ashley Jensen, Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale
Audra McDonald, A Raisin in the Sun
Alfre Woodard, Pictures Of Hollis Woods

The list of Emmy Winners can be downloaded here.

Read the CNN.com account of the Emmy awards here.


plez sez: i guess i need to hang a "Out of Order" sign on my old crystal ball when it comes to picking Emmy winners... the only one i got right was "John Adams"!

well, i did limit my winners to the shows that i actually watch and this year i have been watching "Mad Men," which is surprisingly well made and produced. there's always next year!

BEST COMEDY SERIES: 30 Rock
plezWorld PICK: Curb Your Enthusiasm

BEST DRAMA SERIES: Mad Men
plezWorld PICK: Damages

BEST REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM: The Amazing Race
plezWorld PICK: Project Runway

BEST REALITY SERIES: ???
plezWorld PICK: Extreme Makeover

BEST VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES: The Daily Show with John Stewart
plezWorld PICK: Real Time with Bill Maher

BEST MINISERIES: John Adams
plezWorld PICK: John Adams

BEST MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE: Recount
plezWorld PICK: Recount

i just have to reiterate my feelings on this subject: for the past five seasons, The Wire has been by far the best drama that i've watched. it was gritty. it was realistic. and this past season was its last season... the emmy gods really messed up for not recognizing this groundbreaking program.