The Oncoming Hope

Everyone else is doing it, so why can't I? Read on for my choice of who should win, and who I think will win. The Emmy's don't have a history of awarding left-field candidates, but they may yet surprise us! I'm only doing the main awards here, as I've seen most all of the shows, unlike in the supporting categories.

(this image courtesy of: http://maddevelopment.tumblr.com/, a mash-up of Mad Men and Arrested Development. Tread carefully, for you might never leave)

BEST DRAMA SERIES

• Mad Men
• Boardwalk Empire
• Game of Thrones
• The Good Wife
• Friday Night Lights
• Dexter

SHOULD WIN: I have not seen Friday Night Lights (I know, I'm sorry), but of the five, I do think The Good Wife was most consistently good. Which is frankly incredible given that it had the full 23 episodes, and the rest had 12, and still managed to have clunkers within the 12.

WILL WIN: Boardwalk Empire. Mad Men has had a long streak of winning, and I bet they'll be looking to interrupt that. I think The Good Wife is a little too edgy for the Emmy's (a woman enjoying receiving oral sex? Bisexual investigators? The horror!) Also, I think all the backstage drama at AMC has led to a serious loss of goodwill for Matthew Weiner and Mad Men, which may weaken it across the board.

BEST COMEDY SERIES

• Modern Family
• 30 Rock
• Glee
• Parks and Recreation
• The Office
• The Big Bang Theory

SHOULD WIN: Parks and Recreation. Duh. Every episode was wonderful and hilarious. Can you say that of any of the other shows?

WILL WIN: Modern Family. I'm ok with that. I had thought while watching, that season 2 wasn't as good as season 1, but upon rewatch it was hysterical (watching Phil wrestle with his manliness through a smoke alarm is a comedic highlight of the year). If Glee wins this, I am cutting my hair off. Yes, it is luscious and long, but it will be gone. And I might stab myself in the face.

LEAD ACTRESS: DRAMA

• Kathy Bates Harry’s Law for “Innocent Man”
• Connie Britton Friday Night Lights for “Always”
• Mireille Enos The Killing for “Missing”
• Mariska Hargitay Law and Order: Special Victims Unit for “Rescue”
• Julianna Margulies The Good Wife for “In Sickness”
• Elizabeth Moss Mad Men for “The Suitcase”

SHOULD WIN: Julianna Margulies. There's no question that this was the superior performance. All the actresses nominated are deserving (with the exception of Kathy Bates. WTF?), but there's a difference between deserving and exemplary.

WILL WIN: Julianna Margulies. She anchored a big, exciting year in a big, exciting show. There's a possibility that Elizabeth Moss will sneak in, but given her reduced role on Mad Men this year, winning lead actress would not only be unfair but ridiculous (I know, I know ridiculousness never stopped anything before).

LEAD ACTRESS: COMEDY

• Edie Falco: Nurse Jackie for “Rat Falls”
• Tina Fey: 30 Rock for “Double-Edged Sword”
• Laura Linney: The Big C for “Pilot”
• Melissa McCarthy: Mike and Molly for “First Date”
• Martha Plimpton: Raising Hope “Say Cheese”
• Amy Poehler: Parks and Recreation “Flu Season”

SHOULD WIN: Amy Poehler. She deserves any number of medals for consistently putting forward a hilarious performance on Parks and Recreation. She really is the heart of a very funny show. This season of 30 Rock has been just on the right side of dreadful, and may need a mercy killing soon.

WILL WIN: I wouldn't bet money in this category. There's a chance voters will reject the Showtime nominees as stars of shows that aren't really comedies, and if that happens, Amy Poehler will win. Otherwise, it's probably Laura Linney.

LEAD ACTOR DRAMA, NOMINEES

• Steve Buscemi Boardwalk Empire for “A Return to Normalcy”
• Kyle Chandler Friday Night Lights for “Always”
• Michael C. Hall Dexter for “Teenage Wasteland”
• Jon Hamm Mad Men for “The Suitcase”
• Hugh Laurie House for “After Hours”
• Timothy Olyphant Justified for “Reckoning”

SHOULD WIN: I think a good case can be made for any of these actors apart from Hugh Laurie, who's clearly phoning it in at this point. But if you twisted my arm, I'd go for Steve Buscemi. The weirdest looking guy in the world, who somehow manages to come off as not only suave, but almost attractive.

WILL WIN: I bet it's Steve Buscemi. Critics seem split on Jon Hamm's performance this year, many of whom have said that he doesn't have the heft to carry off the increasingly more dramatic role of Don Draper. I don't agree necessarily, but I can see where they're coming from. There were more than a few "wtf" moments with Don in the last season, and not necessarily in a good way.

LEAD ACTOR COMEDY, NOMINEES

• Alec Baldwin 30 Rock for “Respawn”
• Steve Carell The Office for “Goodbye, Michael”
• Louis C. K. Louis for “Bully”
• Johnny Galecki The Big Bang Theory for “The Benefactor Factor”
• Matt LeBlanc Episodes for “Episode 107”
• Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory for “The Agreement Dissection”

SHOULD WIN: If we're judging purely on quality, then it has to be Louis C.K. But I think Steve Carell deserves a nostalgia win for all the great work he's done on The Office. Even this year, when the show clearly demonstrated its fatigue, he was still awesome as Michael Scott.

WILL WIN: Again, no bets here. I think I'd be happy if Carell, Louis or Jim Parsons won. Even Matt LeBlanc was superb as an evil version of himself in Episodes. But please, for the love of god, stop giving 30 Rock awards for anything. It deserved many in its first two seasons, but since then it's been an uneven train-wreck.

What do you guys think? Agree or disagree?