Best Actor in A Drama Series

Martin Sheen (The West Wing, NBC)
Keifer Sutherland (24, Fox)
Anthony Edwards (ER, NBC)
William Peterson (CSI, CBS)
Vincente D'Onofrio (Law & Order: CI)

A pretty diverse list, all of these acts have something to be proud of. Martin Sheen, however preachy "The West Wing" may have became. is still the bellweather in the storm. Sutherland won the Golden Globe award, and Edwards "ER" death has to be worth something. Peterson leads a fine "CSI" cast, while D'Onofrio's acting is a pleasure to watch,

Would Would Win: Sutherland. From what I've heard, "24" is the sh-t. Plus, his father grew up in my hometown (Bridgewater, Nova Scotia)

Best Actress in A Drama Series

Marg Helgenberger (CSI, CBS)
Sela Ward (Once & Again, ABC)
Jennifer Garner (Alias, ABC)
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU, NBC)
Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy, UPN)

PA fine ensemble, Helgenberger gets nominated for the same reason that Peterson did. Sela Ward's final season on "O&A" was truly golden, while Jennifer Garner kicks ass on "Alias." Mariska is an off beat choise, but she is clearly the best actress on the otherwise pooly acted "SVU." And poor Sarah, will you ever get a nod?

Would Would Win: I'm going with Garner. She's excellent on "Alias" (from what I've seen): she clearly makes the show. But this category is damn tough that it's tough to pick.

Best Supporting Actor in A Drama Series

Mark Paul Grosslear (NYPD Blue, ABC)
Shane West (Once & Again, ABC)
Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, NBC)
Richard Shiff (The West Wing, NBC)
Victor Garber (Alias, ABC)

Whitford and Shiff are interchangeable (IMHO) and both will likely get real emmy nods. Grosslear filled Ricky Shroeder's shoes excellently on "Blue" (once again, bringing new life into that show), while West was a solid performaner on "Again," solid considering  the blowout performances he was surrounded by. And Garber on "Alias" rounded out a perfect cast. And he's Canadian.

Would Would Win: West, because "O&A" was so damn good, and Ely's rebelious side was a crafty twist in a crafy show.

Best Supporting Actress in A Drama  Series

Susanna Thompson (Once & Again, ABC)
Julia Whelan (Once & Again, ABC)
Rachel Wood (Once & Again, ABC)
Molly Price (Third Watch, NBC)
Stockard Channing (The West Wing, NBC)

Starting out with the least likely to win, Maura Tierney and Molly Price edged their way in on male dominated casts, and they did it well. Hell, Channing would get an emmy nod for crying on tv for a half and hour. Only she (and Tyne Daly) could make it worth while.As for Price, she gave yet more great performances this season, something to truly be remembered.  As for the "O&A" girls Wood and Whelan, they both suffered difficult season, and both came out shining. As for Thompson, see below.

Would Would Win: Susanna Thompson, who gave one of the most personal, dramatic portrayls of a secondary character ever last season as Karen. Her descent into depression was stunning. And just as she was coming out of it, she got hit by a car. As I described in the opening segment, the scene where she lays naked, talking to the camera (while her character lies on a hospital bed) was breathtaking- it had me in tears. Which is quite rare, I assure you.

Best Writing: Drama

Karen slips into depression (Once & Again, ABC)
The Musical Episode (Buffy, UPN)
Mark dies (ER, NBC)
Series Finale (One & Again, NBC)
9/11 (Third Watch, NBC)

AI know the 9/11 episode of "Third Watch" was not scripted, but it was so well done (it won a Peabody) that it needs to get nominated somewhere. Mark Greene dying on "ER" was probably gutwrenching, though I never saw it. I did see a piece of the "Buffy" musical, and I was quite impressed, though through and emmy ballot error, it most like won't have a chance to be nominated. As for Karen's depression, you know the story. And the series finale of "Once & Again" almost perfectly wrapped up a magical three season run/

Would Would Win: Tie. "9/11" was gutwrenching, even more so when Molly Price shared with the audience that her husband was at the site as a firefighter. Fortunately, he survived. The other would be Karen's depressions, which was one of the single most touching episodes on tv, ever.
 

Friday: The "Other" Categories (ones I made up)
Next Week: Series that defined their networks.
After that: Observations from the summer ratings.