The Golden Globes: Best Television Series - Drama

NBC brings us the Golden Globes tonight, and this is the last in our series of preview posts looking at the television categories. Sandy will be blogging live updates of the show here on TV Squad, so if Jack and 24 already have your attention, keep a browser open to play along. That said, let's look at the award for Best Television Series - Drama.

Inertia is a powerful thing. And it is one of the big problems with Emmy nominations. Too often the same show will get nominated year after year because that's just what they do, while newer, more deserving shows, are overlooked. The Golden Globes doesn't fall into that particular trap quite as often, but they have their own issues. The Globes have a tendency to favor shows with a lot of buzz, or big ratings, whether their quality is up to snuff or not. I think it's something we see again in the list of nominees this year.

24 - This is a great example of a show with a lot of buzz, but one that I think actually deserves the nomination. The team behind the show has figured out the formula and they know how to do this show just right. Even after 5 seasons that all follow a similar path they are still able to put viewers on the edge of their seats. And at this point they have convinced me that nobody is safe. Ok, I really doubt they'll kill Jack, but everyone else is in danger of being taken out every second of the show.

Big Love - I'm not sure I would have nominated Big Love. It would have been a bubble show for me. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with the show, it just wasn't a standout, no doubt, contender. However, the Globes love their HBO, so I understand why it's here. Still, while I don't think it will win, it was a nice change for the network. The cast, which includes Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin, Harry Dean Stanton, and Bruce Dern, is fantastic. Also, Big Love serves to show just how different things remain between cable and the traditional networks. I don't think there is any way that this show could have survived, let alone flourished, on one of the big 4.

Grey's Anatomy - A perfect example of a show with a ton of buzz, and loads of ratings, that I wouldn't have given the nomination to. But the Globes can't resist the lure of those McDreamy and McSteamy red carpet pics. While the cast is filled with talented people, the writers lost me on this one. If I was basing it on only one episode, Grey's could be in the hunt because I enjoyed their post Super Bowl showing so much. I'm looking at the season as a whole though, and the train-wreck ending to last season was just so bad that it brings the rest of 2006 down with it.

Heroes - Here is where the real value of the Golden Globes comes in. While they tend to let a lot of shows fall through the cracks, it pays off when they give a nod to a new show that deserves it. NBC was expecting good things from Heroes, as we could tell from the early promotions. Then again, all the networks come into the season expecting good things from lots of new shows. Heroes has risen to the top of the new show heap, and for good reason. It's actually a really good show. The writers have kept the show moving along at a great pace, and the "Save the cheerleader, save the world." promo campaign was genius.

Lost - Of all the shows nominated, this is the one that absolutely doesn't deserve to be here. The nomination has everything to do with getting the cast on the red carpet looking all pretty, selling magazines, and getting ratings for entertainment shows. And nothing to do with the quality of the show. 2006 actually got off to a good start for Lost with "The 23rd Psalm." Then it was all downhill from there, with some incredible low spots. From Sawyer's new sheriff in town story that went nowhere, to the ridiculous "Dave", to the army that everyone forgot about, right up to the implausible ending of season two. Michael's double-murder betrayal, and everyone's inexplicable decision to go along with him even after he was found out, was not what I would put in the Best Drama category. They didn't help themselves with the disjointed fall mini-season either. Seperating off the big three from the rest of the tribe has wasted too much time breaking rocks and taking all the mystery and suspense out of the others. And the far too few glimpses of the rest of the Losties have been head-scratchingly bad. Sayid's retarded plan that lost the boat, for example. But even if you are able to reconcile all that as the Best Drama for 2006...Dude...Nicki and frickin' Paolo.

Who will win? Heroes. The Golden Globes have always been willing to give a new show the award, and it makes for a great TV moment. While it wouldn't be my choice for the best drama of the year, I'm perfectly fine with that result, because my pick didn't even manage a nomination.

Who should win? For me, Friday Night Lights. Each week I watch the show and I marvel at just how good it is. I also would have tossed in a Best Actor nomination for Kyle Chandler, given the chance. Unfortunately, each week I also marvel at the fact that I am even seeing a new episode at all because the ratings are so bad. Nobody is watching the show. A Golden Globe would have been a nice bit of exposure for a show that sorely needs it.