Reviewing the 2012 Emmy Nominees #14 (Guest Actor in a Drama Series)
For the next few weeks, I’ll be reviewing the nominees in the major categories. When it comes to the performers in comedy or drama series, I will be discussing their episode submissionsas well as their performance on the show as a whole. There are some shows I haven’t really watched; so in some situations, the only way I’ll be able to judge a performer is by the submission solely (I’ll make it clear what those shows are.) So be sure to bookmark this page and check back regularly for my picks on who should win…
For more Emmy discussion, visit my Emmy page.
Here are the nominees:
Mark Margolis – Breaking Bad (“Face Off”)
Jeremy Davies – Justified (“Coalition”)
Jason Ritter – Parenthood (“Politics”)
Ben Feldman – Mad Men (“Dark Shadows”)
Dylan Baker – The Good Wife (“Marthas and Caitlins”)
Michael J. Fox – The Good Wife (“Parenting Made Easy”)
I watch all these shows regularly, except Justified. “Politics” was the first episode of Parenthood I’ve watched.
Who Should Win: This is actually a strong lineup, unlike “Guest Actor in a Comedy Series”. There are only two performances that I really believe aren’t quite deserving of the Emmy. Michael J. Fox remains one of my favorite recurring characters on my favorite dramatic show, and he chose the right episode to submit. But, really, does he do anything challenging here? It’s like his performance in Curb Your Enthusiasm. It’s certainly not bad.,.but there’s better in the category. The same could be said for Jason Ritter. It’s really cool that he got a nomination (esp. in a show that’s usually ignored). But the nomination should strictly be the award for him. Nuff said.
After those two, it’s really tough to rank the rest…so I’m not really going to. Dylan Baker is incredibly creepy as Colin Sweeney (good thing he looks the part). He appeared in three different shows this year (from what I know). That’s kinda awesome. He’s a great character actor. Last year, I thought Jeremy Davies should have won. This year, his performance isn’t as explosive, but it’s still affecting. His win could be nice redemption for a show that was weirdly snubbed this year. (I don’t watch the show regularly BTW). And Mark Margolis…what else can I say except DING! OK, seriously though, his facial expressions are out of this world. They are crazy. Anyone who says that his silent performance wasn’t worthy is a nut. He probably had the toughest task this TV season. He had to show so much emotion with little movement and little variety in his facial expressions. He made it work and his nomination made me very very happy (although I wasn’t surprised by it).
But Ben Feldman’s nomination just completely makes me giddy. One, the fact that he was able to get in over his Mad Men co-star Robert Morse was just so…cool! And incredibly deserving. At first, I thought Michael Ginsberg was a bit annoying. But, as time went on, Feldman was able to add so much humanity to the role. It’s interesting because I’ve heard that Feldman made a mistake by submitting “Dark Shadows” (the episode where he has that rivalry with Don Draper) and not “Far Away Places” (the episode where he somberly tells Peggy he was born in a concentration camp). The problem with “Far Away Places” though, is that, as good as that one scene is, he appears so little. He appears more consistently in “Dark Shadows”. And, on top of that, that elevator scene with Don Draper is so good…that I’m going to transcribe it right now.
Michael: I know you saw me.
Don: I thought you were hiding from someone.
Michael: That was a bold last minute decision – going with your idea.
Don: I thought it was more of what they wanted.
Michael: Well, we’ll never know, will we, because they never heard mine.
Don: Look, I don’t like going with two ideas. It’s weak.
Michael: And you don’t want to be weak so you picked yours.
Don: And they bought it, which is our goal, isn’t it?
Michael: What do I care? I got a million of ‘em. A million.
Don: Good. I guess I’m lucky you work for me.
Michael: I feel bad for you.
Don: I don’t think about you at all.
I don’t care what anyone says. Michael still walks out the real winner of that “back and forth”, even if he doesn’t get the last word. Hopefully, Ben Feldman becomes a winner also.
My actual predictions will be coming later in the summer. Click here for more Emmy stuff! Thanks for reading!
