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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As long as I live, I will never forget the sound of my friend's voice on the phone, or the two words he managed, through tears, to blurt out: "He's back."
Before I explain what he meant, some background: It had only been a few days since I'd reluctantly sent him an unfinished version of my documentary series on the American experience during World War II, titled simply The War. In it, we had tried to gain a fresh perspective by focusing on the experiences of so-called ordinary people, most of whom came from four geographically diverse towns: Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; and Luverne, Minnesota. Our labor of love, a seven-part, 15-hour series, puts you smack-dab in the middle of World War II.
After we had finished The Civil War, we vowed we would never take on the subject of war again. It was just to
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This week’s crackling finale of TNT's The Closer was a splendid reminder of why Kyra Sedgwick is so deserving of the best-actress Emmy this year (yes, she'll be getting it for last season, but the character was just as strong a year ago). Being on basic cable, it's possible she'll once again by upstaged in what is one of the more crowded categories — her five other nominees include Sally Field (my second pick), Minnie Driver and past winners (in order of preference) Edie Falco, Mariska Hargitay and Patricia Arquette. But if for whatever reason she fails to score, this season's finale once again puts her at the top of my list for next year's competition.It was a great two-parter, with Brenda really on the ropes both professionally and personally. First, her case is in tatters after she fails to get a confession from her suspect. Then, midway through the high-profile trial, the defendant’s alibi turns up out of nowhere with rock-solid video evidence that he couldn’...
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