As widely expected, there was virtually no contest in the Best Actor category at 'The 83rd Annual Academy Awards.' After picking up Oscar gold for both Screenplay and Director, Colin Firth was a virtual lock in his second consecutive Lead Actor nomination.

Last year he went home among the many who are just happy to have been nominated for their work, while this year he picked up the Oscar for his portrayal of King George VI in 'The King's Speech.'

"I have a feeling my career's just peaked," he said in opening his acceptance speech. While his role was of a man who struggled with a stammer that affected his ability to give speeches, Firth showed no such problems.

Usually, the Golden Globes are a little more cutting-edge than the Emmys, a little quicker to recognize new talent on TV. When this year's nominations are announced on Dec. 15, however, you can expect a battle of Globe warhorses, as veterans will largely elbow newcomers out of the way in the struggle for each of the five slots in the Best Actor categories, drama and comedy.

BEST DRAMA ACTORS
Front Runners: 'Mad Men''s Jon Hamm (pictured, above right) and 'House''s Hugh Laurie have to be considered locks.

The Golden Globes really is one of the more interesting award shows. Oscar has mostly movie people, Grammy has mostly music people, and Emmy has mostly TV people. It's rather fun and a different dynamic to have the movie and TV people all mixing together on one place. That's how we can have an E! red carpet scene like The Dark Knight's Aaron Eckhart asking Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria if she's been drinking. TV-wise, it was also great to see Miley Cyrus come up to talk to Ryan Seacrest right after that Jonas kid and see them not talk to each other. Funny to see dad Billy Ray talk to him though. I think he said "stay away from my daughter."

The awards show is over. I'm sure the drinking and eating and dancing and fornicating is still going on as I type this, but the show itself is now history. Here's a list of the major TV winners, some notes on who got snubbed, as well as a few observations on what went down tonight.

11:00: OK, that's it for me tonight. Things have turned bold for some reason and I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since...well, I had a handful of almonds around 5:30, along with a Diet Coke, but that's it. Check out more Emmys on AOL, with a full list of winners, behind the scenes info, interviews, and a ton of pictures.

10:57: Outstanding Drama, Mad Men. Yes!!!!!

10:56: Tom Selleck delivering the Drama award? Random, but welcome.

10:55: Two years in a row for 30 Rock. Does this mean great ratings? (Probably not.)

10:54: Outstanding Comedy Series: 30 Rock.

10:53: Mary Tyler Moore: attractive woman, really bad dress.

10:50: ...and the Emmy goes to Jeff Probst (Survivor).

10:45: Outstanding Host, Reality Show is...after this commercial. Kimmel is becoming the MVP of award shows and specials.

10:41: Outstanding Lead Actress, Comedy: Tina Fey (30 Rock).

10:38: Outstanding Lead Actor, Drama: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)!

10:36: The Fey/Scorcese American Express ad is great...but not when you see it 30 times in one night.

10:34: In case you're wondering, I still haven't eaten anything yet.

10:32: Impressed they're including some producers and other behind the scenes folks.

10:30: Ah, the annual "In Memoriam." The time of the show we try to figure out who they'll leave out.

10:28: Outstanding Lead Actress, Drama: Glenn Close (Damages).

The third most important story in the Entertainment section of my news page this morning is this: which stars are going to present awards at this year's Emmy Awards ceremony (September 21 on ABC). And to that I say a big ... who cares?

Every year, in the weeks leading up to the Emmys, we hear about which stars are going to present awards. I've always found it odd because the people they say are going to present are, you know, TV stars. Seriously, this is the Emmy Awards, and like the Oscars or the Grammys, I expect the people who have something to do with television (maybe the people who actually star on the shows!) to either present awards, introduce segments of the show, or even host. Yeah, it's mildly interesting that William Petersen and Laurence Fishburne will present an award together, since Fishburne is taking over for Petersen on CSI, but it's not that big of a deal. And it's certainly not a big deal that America Fererra and Vanessa Williams are going to present an award or that Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Hugh Laurie are going to present awards - separately. I would assume that these current TV stars will be involved in some way, but even if they aren't, why is it news?

We'll have full coverage of the Emmy Award nominations tomorrow (Thursday) morning starting just before 8:30 Eastern Time. That's 5:30am on the West Coast, where they announce the nominations. Crazy Hollywood people getting up so early.

In the meantime, head on over to AOL and pick who you think is going to be nominated tomorrow in several categories, including Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Then come back here tomorrow morning for the live blog and see how you did.

It looks like the Emmy Awards are turning into the SATs.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has made several changes to the way Emmy nominations are chosen. For one, series and acting category nominations will be chosen by a mix of a regular vote and voting by a blue-ribbon panel of voters. Second, there's a new "Ellen Burystyn" rule. An actor can only be nominated if he or she was in at least 5% of an episode (Burstyn won a Supporting award last time, even though she was only on screen for 14 seconds). Third, public performances on TV will no longer compete in the music/variety category. They're adding a new special category where more than one performance could win an award.

Oh, and there's one more change: actors and producers will have to submit an essay of 250 words or less as to what their character/show is about and why they think they should be nominated. This wiill come in handy when Jim Belushi has to explain the complexity of his According To Jim character.

Down to the nitty gritty. Sure, supporting actors supplement a show and often times turn in performances that trump the leads. Usually, though, it's the leading man (or woman) that carries a show for the long haul. You know an award means something when it's either handed out right away at the ceremony (so you miss it before you tune in) or it's saved right until near the end so that you have to sit through all the other awards you don't care about to get to it. You know it's important if you're willing to let your butt go numb from sitting too long to see who wins. The best actor in a television drama is one of those awards.

This year's competition isn't as tight as I think it could have been. First off, I'm appalled that Michael Chiklis didn't get a nom for his portrayal of Vic Mackey in the latest season of The Shield. It was hands down his best performance since the first season. Likewise, I'm very surprised that no one from The Wire received a nomination. No one on that show has ever received an acting nom for a Golden Globe (or an Emmy). If there was a season for it, this past one was it. What we did get was a mix of veteran actors from old shows and new. Some have won. Some have only been nominated. Read on for my thoughts and see if you agree.

The Emmy nominations were just announced in L.A. Here are the major nominations:

Best Drama

Grey's Anatomy
House
The Sopranos
24
The West Wing

Best Comedy

Arrested Development
Scrubs
Two and a Half Men
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Office

Lead Actor, Drama

Peter Krause, Six Feet Under
Denis Leary, Rescue Me
Christopher Meloni, Law and Order: SVU
Martin Sheen, The West Wing
Keifer Sutherland, 24

Lead Actress, Drama

Francis Conroy, Six Feet Under
Geena Davis, Commander-in-Chief
Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU
Allison Janney, The West Wing
Krya Sedgwick, The Closer

Lead Actor, Comedy

Steve Carell, The Office
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Kevin James, The King of Queens
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Lead Actress, Comedy

Jane Kaczmarek, Malcolm in the Middle
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Stockard Channing, Out of Practice
Debra Messing, Will and Grace
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine

Supporting Actor, Comedy

Will Arnet, Arrested Development
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Bryan Cranston, Malcolm in the Middle
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Sean Hayes, Will and Grace

Supporting Actress, Comedy

Cheryl Hines, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Alfre Woodard, Desperate Housewives
Jamie Pressly, My Name Is Earl
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds
Megan Mullally, Will and Grace

Supporting Actor, Drama

William Shatner, Boston Legal
Oliver Platt, Huff
Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos
Gregory Itzin, 24
Alan Alda, The West Wing

Supporting Actress, Drama

Candice Bergan, Boston Legal
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Blythe Daner, Huff
Jean Smart, 24

Quick thoughts: No major noms for Lost or Desperate Housewives? Good to see The West Wing noticed for a good last season. Kevin James and Stockard Channing nominated in the comedy category?

Here's the full list.

• Best Actress, Drama: Geena Davis (Commander-in-Chief)
• Best Actor, Drama: Hugh Laurie (House)
• Best Series, Musical or Comedy: Desperate Housewives
• Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds)
• Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Steve Carell (The Office)
• Best Miniseries or Movie: Empire Falls
• Best Actress, Miniseries or Movie: S. Epatha Merkerson (Lackawanna Blues)
• Best Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Elvis)
• Best Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy)
• Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Paul Newman (Empire Falls)