Let's peek inside HBO's Emmy campaign box

"Hey, where's 'Mildred Pierce'?" more than a few TV academy members gasped this week when they received HBO's box of campaign DVDs. Sorry, Emmy voters. Discs of the juicy miniseries currently unraveling on the pay channel will be part of another screener shipment you'll get next month. For now, it looks like you've got enough to watch.

The HBO box contains two booklets of info, hype and DVDs. One is devoted to TV movies/miniseries and specials, including "The Sunset Limited," "Wishful Drinking," "Ricky Gervais: Out of England 2 – The Stand-Up Special," "Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue," "Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On," "The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town," "Teenage Paparazzo," "His Way," "Public Speaking," "Wartorn 1861-2010," "For Neda," "A Child's Garden of Poetry," "Masterclass."

The other booklet is devoted to the TV series and include the following episodes noted below.

See how this year's campaign box compares to the ones shipped by HBO in 2010 and 2009.

-- Tom O'Neil

TV SERIES
"Big Love" – "'Til Death Do Us Part," "The Noose Tightens"
"Boardwalk Empire" – "Pilot," "Anastasia"
"Bored to Death" – "Make It Quick, Fitzgerald," "The Gowanus Canal Has Gonorrhea," "The Case of the Grievous Clerical Error"
"Eastbound and Down" – "Chapter 7," "Chapter 12," "Chapter 13"
"Entourage" – "Sniff Sniff Gang Bang," "Porn Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," "Lose Yourself"
"Hung" – "Mind Bullets" or "Bang, Bang, Bang Mother…," "A Man, a Plan" or "Thank You, Jimmy Carter," "Fat Off My Love" or "I'm the Allergen"
"In Treatment" – "Week 5" episodes: "Sunil," "Frances," "Jesse," "Adele"
"Real Time with Bill Maher" – "Oct. 22, 2010: George Clooney, Levi Johnston," "Oct. 29, 2010: Jimmy Carter, Zach Galifianakis"
"The Ricky Gervais Show" – "Clive Warren," "Doppelganger," "Future"
"Treme" – "Accentuate the Positive," "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky"
"True Blood" – "Night on the Sun," "Everything Is Broken"

Russell Simmons, Ricky Martin big winners at the GLAAD Media Awards

 

The 22nd annual GLAAD Media Awards were presented in 25 of the 32 media categories Saturday evening at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York. Additional awards will be presented in Los Angeles on April 10 and in San Francisco on May 14.

Here's a list of the GLAAD award winners:

Excellence in Media Award: Russell Simmons

Vito Russo Award: Ricky Martin

Outstanding Drama Series: "True Blood"

Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character):  the "30 Rock" episode "Klaus & Greta"

Outstanding Digital Journalism-Multimedia: "Bridal Bliss: Aisha and Danielle" by Bobbi Misick (Essence.com)

Outstanding Talk Show Episode: "Ricky Martin Coming Out as a Gay Man and a New Dad" on "The Oprah Winfrey Show"

Outstanding TV Journalist-Newsmagazine: "Gay Teen Suicides" (series) "Anderson Cooper 360"

Outstanding Newspaper Article: "Rutgers Student Tyler Clementi's Suicide Spurs Action Across the U.S." by Judy Peet of the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.

Outstanding Newspaper Columnist: Frank Rich, the New York Times

Outstanding Newspaper Overall Coverage: the Denver Post

Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: "The Advocate/Out"

Outstanding Music Artist: Scissor Sisters, "Night Work"

Outstanding Comic Book: "X-Factor" by Peter David

Outstanding Los Angeles Theater: "Something Happened" by L. Trey Wilson

Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway and Off-Broadway: "The Pride" by Alexi Kaye Campbell

Outstanding New York Theater: Off-Off Broadway: "When Last We Flew" by Harrison David Rivers.

For a complete list of winners, go to http://ww.glaad.org

— Susan King

Photo: Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer in outstanding drama series winner "True Blood." Credit: Jaimie Trueblood/HBO

Emmy poll: Will 'Walking Dead,' 'Dexter' or 'Mad Men' win best TV drama series?

When we asked our forum moderators to predict the Emmy race for best drama series, they cited 11 potential nominees (see list below) and two likely winners ("Mad Men," "Boardwalk Empire"). Now let's use that list of contenders and ask you -- the real experts -- which program will win.

"Mad Men" has reigned undefeated over this Emmy category for three years in a row. It continues to reap strong ratings from viewers and ace reviews from TV critics, but Emmy voters may be bored and want a change. That's what happened in the past when "The Defenders" (1962-1964) and "L.A. Law" (1989-1991) lost after three consecutive victories. However, two shows managed to continue their romps for a fourth year: "Hill Street Blues" (1981-1984) and "The West Wing" (2000-2003).

Our forum moderators believe "Mad Men's" most serious rival is "Boardwalk Empire," probably because Emmy voters are nuts for HBO programs and the pay channel's new series about Atlantic City bootleggers recently won best drama series at the Golden Globes. HBO also has "Big Love" (nominated once) and "Treme" and "In Treatment" (never nominated), but they're not considered to be serious threats now. Debuting April 17: "Game of Thrones." Yeah, yeah, fantasy fare usually doesn't do well at Hollywood peer-group industry awards, but that's what they said about "Lord of the Rings" before its historic Oscar sweep. Last year, HBO stunned Emmy watchers by nabbing a nom for "True Blood," which could rise again.

Don't give up on "Dexter" or "The Good Wife," which have lost in the past ("Dexter" three times; "Good Wife" once). When "Law & Order" won in 1997, the victory followed five previous defeats. Both shows will probably be nominated again.

If TV critics' darling "Friday Night Lights" finally gets its first nomination, it could garner widespread support from the industry. "Sons of Anarchy" is overdue -- and beloved -- too.

Among new shows, AMC's "The Walking Dead" is red-hot, and the network will soon debut "The Killing." Also to be unveiled during the tail end of the Emmy eligibility period will be Showtime's "The Borgias." The network's previous historical pageant, "The Tudors," failed to rule at the Emmys, but this time God is on its side.

Showtime will enter its new show, "Shameless," as a drama series, which is a bit of a surprise considering that it has recently been classifying its many dramadies as comedies because competition is less fierce in those slots.

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It's Emmy war! Can "Boardwalk Empire" conquer "Mad Men"?

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo credit: Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

It's Emmy war! Can 'Boardwalk Empire' conquer 'Mad Men'?

Looks like "Mad Men" finally has serious competition in the Emmy battle over best TV drama series. While the hit AMC series has gone undefeated for three consecutive years, our forums' moderators are divided over whether it can prevail again. Four of our six pundits believe it will. Two foresee it losing to recent Golden Globes champ "Boardwalk Empire."

The following gurus offer their predictions ranked by likelihood of winning: Chris Beachum, Matthew Cormier, Marcus Dixon, Darrin Dortch, Rob Licuria, Matt Noble. All of them forecast nominations for "Boardwalk Empire," "Dexter," "The Good Wife" and "Mad Men." That's no surprise, considering one of those shows just won the Globe and the other three were nominated last year. However, our pundits are split over the following choices for the other two slots in the category: "The Borgias," "Friday Night Lights," "In Treatment," "The Killing," "Sons of Anarchy," "True Blood" and "The Walking Dead."

Last year, those two slots went to the now-canceled "Lost" and "Breaking Bad," which isn't eligible this year, but will be back in competition at next year's Emmy derby.

Missing from their predictions are past nominees "House, M.D." and "Big Love." Since "Treme" was snubbed last year, none of them is betting on it now. Nor are they backing "Harry's Law" from past Emmy magnet David E. Kelley or Showtime's new drama series about the ultimate dysfuntional family, "Shameless."

-- Tom O'Neil

	Beachum	Cormier	Dixon	Dortch	Licuria	Noble
“Boardwalk Empire”	2	1	1	2	2	2
“The Borgias”	6
“Dexter”	4	4	4	4	4	4
“Friday Night Lights”			6			6
“The Good Wife”	3	3	3	3	3	3
“In Treatment”		5		5	5	5
“The Killing”	5
“Mad Men”	1	2	2	1	1	1
“Sons of Anarchy”				6
“True Blood”		6
“The Walking Dead”			5		6

Photos: "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO), "Mad Men" (AMC)

Screen Actors Guild announces stunt performer winners

 
At the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild awards Sunday afternoon,  it was announced that the stunt performers and coordinators from "Inception" and "True Blood" received the Outstanding Performance by Film and Television Stunt Ensembles. The awards were announced on the red carpet at the Shrine Exposition Center by SAG Awards Committee Chairwoman JoBeth Williams and SAG President Ken Howard.

--Susan King

Photo: Kristin Bauer, Alexander Skarsgard, Patrick Gallagher in "True Blood." Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/HBO