In case you hadn’t heard, AMC’s Mad Men is not only a hit with the Emmy voters (the most nominated drama this year, with 16) but it’s a bona fide critics’ darling, walking away with three Television Critics Association Awards over the weekend at the 24th annual ceremony in Beverly Hills. Mad Men won for new program, outstanding achievement in drama and program of the year, prompting Emmy-nominated co-star John Slattery to quip (during one of the show’s several acceptance speeches), “How glad I am that the message of smoking, drinking and whoring Mad Men puts across has registered with the TCAs.”Jon Hamm, also an Emmy nominee, thanked reality shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Flavor of Love, Rock of Love (all three seasons) and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader “for pushing the envelope so far that way that there was a place kind of on this side for us to sneak in.”HBO’s epic John Adams miniseries won two awards, for Paul ...
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And the nominees are… in!Many of the usual suspects made the cut for the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards that were announced Thursday morning, but freshmen dramas Mad Men and Damages earned nods in the Outstanding Drama Series category, making them the first basic cable series to be recognized by Emmy. The stars of each series, Jon Hamm and Glenn Close, each also received nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress in a Drama Series categories respectively. HBO's John Adams won the day with the most nominations (23), including nods for Best Miniseries and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries for Paul Giamatti's portrayal of the miniseries' title character. 30 Rock (17) and Mad Men (16) rounded out the top three nod-grabbers.In an unprecedented move earlier this summer, the Academy revealed the 10 semifinalists in each of the major categories. A blue-ribbon panel then whittled the list to the final nominees (all of which you can see here).So, what do you think of th...
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I love it when TV can be both very, very good as well as good for you. Such is the case with a logjam of terrific historical dramas competing for attention this Sunday. Two of them had me fighting back tears (and occasionally losing the fight), and then there’s Showtime’s The Tudors, that stimulating royal tonic of sex, religion and other courtly intrigues. Not a lot of boo-hooing while watching this Henry VIII romp, but rarely a dull moment, either.The quality honors this weekend go to HBO and PBS. HBO for concluding its remarkable John Adams miniseries with an episode of quiet, pained humanity as the nation’s second president (Paul Giamatti) goes into retirement with about as much grace—which is to say, very little—as he conducted himself in the political arena. Grumpy, discontent, impatient to the end and convinced he’ll be forgotten by time, John never lets up. There’s a terrific scene in which he’s invited, in his 90s, to view the portrai...
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Why not start off a glorious spring week — a week that continues the welcome rollout of shows returning from long strike hiatus — with some positive thoughts? Starting with the return of Bones to Fox’s schedule. For those keeping track in this confusing midseason, Mondays are now the new Tuesdays for Fox. And once House kicks back in with new episodes starting April 28 (a House repeat airs next Monday), Mondays will almost feel like the new Thursdays with so many choices on the suddenly overstuffed night, as Fox’s first-rate drama combo faces ABC’s blazing-hot Dancing with the Stars, CBS’ terrific comedy lineup and the ever-popular CSI: Miami, as well as a cult fave in the CW’s returning Gossip Girl and NBC’s ubiquitous Deal or No Deal. Whew.But back to Bones, one of TV’s most purely enjoyable procedural crime dramas. Yes, there are icky remains to deal with (a body boiled in a sulfurous mud pit), but the fun of Bones is in the playful in...
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Why isn't John Adams more famous? His face isn't on Mount Rushmore or any dollar bill. Even the popular Boston beer company passed him over in favor of his rabble-rousing cousin, Sam. Turns out the legacy of our second president — and arguably most significant Founding Father — has languished in the shadows of his predecessor, George Washington, and successor, Thomas Jefferson. But the new, seven-part HBO miniseries John Adams (premiering Sunday at 8 pm/ET, HBO), based on David McCullough's Pulitzer prize-winning biography, could change that. "To me, he was always 'the boring guy,'" says Paul Giamatti, who stars as Adams. "But I found out he wasn't boring at all."
The miniseries opens with 1770's Boston Massacre and Adams' controversial decision to serve as defense attorney for the British soldiers whose attack left five colonists d
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