TV is often considered a medium that's especially friendly to women, both in the audience and in front of the camera. (Certainly more so than the movies, which have been all but abandoned to teenage boys.)

This year, however, there didn't seem to be as many strong roles for women on TV's comedy and drama series. The Golden Globe TV races in the Best Actress categories are especially tight this year, and few newcomers will be jockeying with veterans for the five nominations in each category that will be announced on Dec. 15.

The species known as television viewers (scientific name blearyeyeus videoboxus) are an odd sort. When it comes to comedies we tend to converge on the same watering hole . . . in other words, we all like to laugh and we watch many of the same shows as our friends do. When it comes to dramas, though, the species can be a bit picky. Take me, for example. I'm a big fan of shows like ER and Bones, but have never watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy or Lost. There are others who are big fans of those two shows, but can't stand ER or Bones.

Why do I bring this up? Well, when it came time to write the post on the Golden Globe nominees for best actress in a drama the pickiness surfaced. That's why, rather than me writing 'Never watched the show' in my analysis of the five nominees, I decided to turn this post over to some of the other members of the TV Squad staff to give their opinions of the actresses and who should win.

So, thanks in advance to Anna, Jen, Brett, and Jay, and let's begin after the jump.