I got to sit in on a conference call with The Closer creator James Duff this week. I have sat in on these calls before-- well, one-- and the call was so crowded with other writers that I couldn't get a word in edgewise. The call with Duff was fantastic because they asked me if I had any questions! But I'll get to that later.

The Closer premieres its third season on Monday at 9pm EST on TNT. I, for one, cannot wait! I had heard the hype about the show, but when I finally watched it (on DVD), I was floored. I have always admired Kyra Sedgewick, especially from Singles and Something to Talk About. And as a parent, I appreciated the sacrifices to her career she made to raise her children while they were young. However, I wasn't prepared for the Tasmanian devil package of energy and talent she unleashed on Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson.

The theme of this third season is family: How do you keep a family together? This theme will be manifest not only as we see more of Brenda's parents (including Northern Exposure's Maurice (Barry Corbin) as her tightly-strung father), but we watch her navigate her relationship with Fritz, and also explore the possibility of having a child.

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.