Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Felicity Huffman (Lynette)

Desperate Housewives

While someone like Lauren Graham might be fighting for her spot, Felicity Huffman is in pretty good shape thanks to a number of factors outside of her own control. However, no matter what people may say about Desperate Housewives’ drop in quality, I honestly believe that Felicity Huffman has never stopped being an absolutely fabulous actress in the process. While her character may, at times, be infuriating, I think that Huffman always captures those problems without trying to cover them up. When Lynette says or does something insensitive, Huffman does it as well without making it over the top or trying to hides its true meaning. She is a flawed character, and yet Huffman allows that to happen in a way that always feels right. Over the span of a season I pretty well want to strangle Lynette, but within individual episodes it is hard not to sympathize with her. With Marcia Cross not around much this season, and with Teri Hatcher as annoying as ever, I think that this is Felicity Huffman’s year to be considered for an Emmy nomination.

Admittedly, I didn’t see the entire season of Desperate Housewives this year. However, I saw enough to know that Lynette had to deal with her husband opening a pizza place, and then she had an almost affair with their new cook, and she had to deal with more crazy kid antics, and…well, she did what Lynette does every season. After last year’s humorless and unappealing decision to put Lynette into the workplace full time, it was nice to have her back more comfortably within her element. A stuffy office did nothing for the show, and a pizza place seems a better fit overall (As ridiculous as it also is). However, the storyline that brought out the best in Huffman, without being staunchly mean or defensive, was her reaction to Nora. Tom’s insufferable one night stand resulting in a daughter, Nora was the epitome of everything terrible in the world. Huffman’s hilarious and understandable reaction to her brought strong comic and dramatic material, and is likely to assist her in her quest for an Emmy.

Episode Selection: “Bang” (Aired November 5^th, 2006)

I segueway quickly there because the end of the Nora arc brought on what is perhaps Huffman’s best performance of the season, and is her official submission. She and Nora argue in the supermarket until Carolyn (Played by the fantastic Laurie Metcalf, who is likely to get her 2^nd straight Comedy Guest Actress nomination) decides to hold up the supermarket to get at her husband. As a result, Lynette and Nora have to sort out their problems within a hostage situation, and for Lynette things finally come to a head.

And then Nora gets shot. It was a gut-wrenching moment, as even though 90% of the audience hated her it seemed almost too cruel to have her be killed. Huffman’s subsequent reaction is just a brilliant piece of acting. It is, of course, not all that comic, but that hasn’t stopped her before and it won’t stop her this time around. This is a fantastic episode, and hers is a fantastic performance.

YouTube – “Bang”

Tina Fey (Liz Lemon)

30 Rock

Saturday Night Live was a great stepping stone for Tina Fey, there’s no doubt about it; it provided her the opportunity to make a hit film (Mean Girls) and eventually to develop a successful television project in the form of 30 Rock. However, Saturday Night Live never really gave her much of a chance to stretch her acting abilities, although a small role in Mean Girls showed some potential. So, when it came time for her to take a starring role in her own series, there were of course questions to be had. And yet, there shouldn’t have been: Fey’s brilliant delivery on Weekend Update was no fluke, and she has proven more than able to transfer that comic timing into a half-hour comedy format. Liz is a funny, engaging, likable lead that is able to anchor both the fictional The Girlie Show and 30 Rock in the realm of sane human beings. Baldwin might provide the quips, Morgan might provide the insanity, but Fey is the one who either has to weather the insanity or response to the quips. That role is a difficult one, and while perhaps not a seasoned performer Fey is the perfect person for the job. Liz Lemon is the heart of 30 Rock, and Tina Fey’s portrayal of the at least semi-autobiographical character is worthy of Emmy consideration.

The hallmark of a strong female comedy lead is their ability to balance the show’s different elements. Fey seems right at home sparring with Alec Baldwin, replying to his verbal jabs in funny, honest ways. Similarly, she seems the voice of reason with Jenna and Tracy, each crazy in their own way. Even outside of that workplace environment, Fey is able to handle Liz’s romantic exploits. Whether it is with pager salesman Dennis (Who hilariously appeared on “To Catch a Predator”) or with late season beau Floyd, it never dragged down the show’s comedy. Even when the show’s material got a little bit nuts (The Source Awards, as an example), Fey’s reaction was always exactly how it should have been: Liz would have been freaked out, and so was Fey. By allowing her character to have realistic emotions that didn’t feel like “acting”, the show never felt like it was falling off the rails. As a writer and producer, Tina Fey obviously held a lot of responsibility on the show at a conceptual level; however, without her performance as Liz Lemon, that concept would have gone out the window. And that makes her deserving of an Emmy nomination.

Episode Selection: “The Head and the Hair” (Aired January 18^th, 2007)

Now, Tina Fey did not submit this episode: she submitted “Up All Night” which has a charming scene or two featuring her character. What she should have submitted is this episode, which is about one of her unfortunate romantic exploits. After a guy working at MSNBC asks her out on a date, Liz finds herself awkwardly struggling to fit in while being served oxygen by talking about Heroes. The entire episode, like most Fey wrote, is full of Star Wars and other geek references. This is Liz at her most charming: as the guy eventually becomes interested, everything is going completely great for Liz…until she realizes that he is her third cousin or so.

It shows a lot of comic range, some great comic timing, and comes to a funny and satisfying conclusion. While she also wrote the episode she submitted, this one just felt like a stronger episode for her character (And I think it’s a stronger episode overall as well). Nevertheless, regardless, her performances over the course of the season are worthy of consideration. And you’ll have to see one of them here, since YouTube isn’t being helpful.

YouTube – “[Not] The Head and the Hair”

America Ferrera (Betty)

Ugly Betty

There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about America Ferrera’s breakthrough performance as Betty Suarez on ABC’s hit dramedy. Ferrera waltzed away with the Golden Globe earlier this year, and chances are good that she’ll walk away with an Emmy in hand in September as well. It would be easy, then, to take her actual performance for granted: her nomination is so assured at this point that people have stopped even speculating about it. Delving deeper, however, you do find a quality comic performance beneath the hype. Betty is a character we need to believe as both hopelessly awkward and yet a good-hearted, intelligent, smart individual. Ferrera, despiting being made “ugly” for the role, never appears less than radiant as Betty. She goes to extreme lengths to display Betty’s inner beauty, and it never feels clichéd. There is something about Betty that makes her a worthwhile star in the series; as the season progressed and her character became less picked upon, Betty became a complex and intriguing character capable of supporting physical comedy, romantic comedy, drama and just about everything else in between. And that diversity is the work of America Ferrera, and it is work worthy of Emmy consideration.

Beginning the series as a walking fashion disaster working for a fashion magazine, Betty is immediately a sympathetic character. However, she was not yet a sympathetic heroine, and it was Ferrera who really allowed that to blossom. I think that it is a result of how much responsibility lies on Betty’s shoulders: she had to balance supporting her family emotionally and financially, her strange and awkward boyfriend, her new job, her mean co-workers, and in the process she always kept a smile on her face. However, I found Ferrera best when that smile was wiped off and we saw her either at her lowest or at her most resilient. Those moments where Betty could have quit, could have been run down, could have given up; those were the times when Ferrera’s acting shone. Every time I see the show’s opening title, with braces-laden Betty smiling awkwardly, I am annoyed; really, Betty isn’t that cliché and showing her as such does the series little good. Ferrera is at her best when just plain happy, not happy in spite of others.

Episode Selection: “Pilot” (Aired September 28^th, 2006)

I am resisting changing this selection because it is a strong performance from Ferrera and is perhaps her most comic. And, let’s face it, it won her a Golden Globe. However, I have serious issues with the Ugly Betty pilot on the whole, and they extend to Betty herself.

The pilot spends too much time attacking Betty for comic value: in fact, it got so played out that it basically stopped after the show’s third episode. Producers realized, much as I did, that doing so would only make everyone else look like complete assholes compared to Betty, which won’t sustain an entire series.

And I like Ferrera more when she is interacting with those new co-workers on a non-confrontational basis. I’d actually be tempted, then, to highlight one of those episodes. However, the “buzz” worthy elements of her character are how she has bad fashion sense and smiles through it all, so the Pilot highlights what voters will be looking for…but I don’t think it does her true acting ability justice.

YouTube – “Pilot”

Mary-Louise Parker (Nancy)

Weeds

It has now been about a week since I started watching Weeds, which perhaps makes it difficult to put the show in perspective compared to others. I finished both of the show’s seasons in the span of about a week, and I think that this should be seen as a testament to the show’s quality. However, let’s be honest here: while the supporting performances of Elizabeth Perkins, Justin Kirk, Romany Malco, Kevin Deacon are all great, the entire show hinges on Mary-Louise Parker’s portrayal of a suburban widow turned drug dealer. I think that a single episode could survive without her subtle and engaging portrayal of Nancy Botwin, but the series as a whole requires us to feel for Nancy, understand Nancy, relate to Nancy and to a certain extent judge Nancy on her actions. What Parker nails each and every time is a character who has no idea what she’s doing; every time she tries to assert herself, her character finds things moving too fast, and she’s forced to fall as she always invariably falls. But we always want to pick her back up: we want Nancy to succeed at selling drugs just as much as we would want the Dillon Panthers to win the big game on Friday Night Lights. As individuals living in a legal system that frowns upon this, we should see it as somewhat subversive…and we do, but just the right amount. That is the work of Mary-Louise Parker, and it is work that is worthy of Emmy consideration.

What I like most about Parker’s work is that there is that constant awareness of how dangerous what she is doing really is, and yet also her ability to get swept up in it all. The constant fear that her children will figure out what she does for a living was real for Nancy, especially in the case of young son Shane. Nancy got herself into hot water this season: her DEA agent beau found out about her occupation of choice, she married him to gain protection from the law, her grow operation was threatened by Armenians, her elder son figured out her position (And got his girlfriend pregnant), she realized how screwed she was in her sham marriage, and pretty well everything spiraled out of control in the season finale. And through it all you saw Parker both being overwhelmed by the emotion of it all and getting absolutely giddy as Snoop Dogg digs her “M.I.L.F. Weed”.

While Perkins and Kirk have the real “comic” roles, Parker’s core storyline forms the show’s entire dramatic construct. Without a deft hand, these storylines could become too dramatic, or perhaps even too comic. Instead, Mary-Louise Parker always gives Nancy Botwin qualities we find funny, charming, and just enough to make us sometimes forget the mistakes she’s made. And that is a performance that should garner her an Emmy nomination.

Episode Selection: “Mrs. Botwin’s Neighbourhood” (Aired September 11th, 2006)

“I have fires in two houses, Mr. Botwin…Mr. Scotson.” This line perfectly demonstrates why this episode is a strong submission for Parker: she is faced with conflict on both sides of her life (Mother and Pot Dealer/Grower). Silas’ girlfriend Megan is pregnant, and she tells her parents on her own…and then stops talking to Silas, who had wanted her to keep the baby. Meanwhile, Nancy has to deal with four Armenian pot growers in her neighbourhood who are more than a little hostile and her newly established growhouse, so she turns to her sham DEA husband (Mr. Scotson) for assistance. Combine this with a hysterical attack from Elizabeth Perkins, and you have a woman who is struggling to keep her head above water. She lashes out, attacking Megan’s father for hitting her son and just delivers a great performance in the process. This is Nancy at her lowest with a glimmer of hope in its conclusion, and it is an engaging performance worthy of consideration.

YouTube – “Mrs. Botwin’s Neighbourhood”

Marcia Cross (Bree)

Desperate Housewives

I didn’t want to include two housewives here, and tried desperately to find a fifth candidate…but there was nothing to be had. Now, this is not to say that there aren’t contenders (Julia-Louis Dreyfus won last year, after all), but I just haven’t seen enough of their work. The thing about Marcia Cross is that there wasn’t much of her work this season: her pregnancy-based hiatus from Desperate Housewives made her a non-entity, out of the country in storyline terms for a large part of the season. However, Emmy voters won’t know this, and I think that it actually might benefit her: you see, we missed her. I only sporadically tuned into Desperate Housewives this season, but Bree was always still a highlight. Her humour is of a different brand from the wacky Susan or the frantic Lynette: her dignified ways are everything to her, and when they are questioned or challenged the results are both dramatic and comic. She has been shut out from major awards in past years by Hatcher and Huffman, but perhaps she might finally get her time to shine. And so, despite being absent for much of it, I can’t help but consider Marcia Cross an Emmy contender for her work on Desperate Housewives this season.

Storyline wise, Bree didn’t get much to do this year. She married Orson, who was supposed to have killed someone but actually didn’t…or something like that. I admittedly skipped out on a lot of that drivel, so I basically only saw the beginning of Bree’s arc. However, I think the writers need to get new material for Bree on a large scale: she once again had to deal with a delinquent child (Her daughter got knocked up by a neighbourhood hunk), and once again is sacrificing herself by faking a pregnancy to keep her family’s respectability intact. That end of season conclusion was neither interesting nor surprising, and the tragedy is that Cross has nailed all of it. She’s never been allowed to break free with this character and turn her into something that can be a centerpiece on this show. I can only hope that Season Four brings consistently great material to her doorstep, because she knocked everything she received out of the park the best she could this year. And that, in my books, is more worthy of Emmy consideration than that blasted Teri Hatcher. Grrr.

Episode Selection: “Listen to the Rain on the Roof” (Aired September 27^th, 2006)

This is the perfect selection for Cross because it was before all the drama and covers some strong comic material. Bree is proposed to by her beau of six months, Orson, who also happened to run over Mike in Season Two (Go Orson!). She accepts, and the engagement part commences. However, things start to go downhill as Orson is accused of murder, putting a bit of a damper on their party. That fulfills the drama quotient, but the comedy comes from Bree having her very first orgasm without knowing what it was. This uptight woman coming to terms with her sexual reality is perhaps a bit contrived, but it makes for some great reactions from Bree and is a showy performance that could just get her nominated for an Emmy.

YouTube – “Listen to the Rain on the Roof”