TVSquad

The Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow morning at 8:30am, and I'll be live-blogging the announcement, so come back here at that time for all the news. Well, actually, you won't have to "come back here" if you never leave, right? So please keep TV Squad open in a separate window as you do the rest of your web surfing and keep hitting refresh for the latest news. Thank you.

I'm sure a lot of the usual suspects will be in the mix when they announce the nominees: Lost, House, Desperate Housewives, The Wire, Hugh Laurie, Boston Legal, etc. But there are several shows and actors that I'm really pulling for and should get nominations, if the world is fair. My list after the jump.

Another day, another list of 10 semifinalists from the Emmys. This time, it's the Best Actor in a Drama.

There are a lot of the usual suspects on the list (which will be knocked down to five nominees in the next round), including actors from Dexter, Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy, Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, and House. One show that's not represented is Lost. I thought Matthew Fox did some great work this season, especially his drunk/screwed-up scenes.

After the jump, the list of the ten semifinalists (also check out those in contention for Best Actress - Comedy, Best Supporting Actor - Drama, Best Comedy, and Best Drama).

The cast of Boston Legal is now moving to children's toys. This only seems like a joke, but it's not. William Shatner, James Spader and Candice Bergen are among the celebrities and artists who will be designing new versions of "My Little Pony", the toy from the 1980's which launched an animated television series and movie.

(UPDATE: Stacey Luchs, a spokeswoman for the show, said Thursday that Shatner and Spader were unaware of the venture and would not participate.)

The special ponies will be auctioned off by Hasbro as a charity fundraiser. Other pony-designing celebrities include LeAnn Rimes, Debbie Gibson and Danny Aiello. Artists designing ponies include illustrator Catalina Estrada from Spain, New York graffiti artist-turned-designer Claw Money and Japanese manga artist Junko Mizuno.

Still, it beats having to redesign Planet Unicorn.

(S04E17) I don't want to seem like I'm not happy for Jerry but did we really need to know so much about him losing his virginity and by "so much" I mean anything at all? More importantly, I have to call BS on Jerry's glowing review of his opening night performance. In my many years of "intimacy," some experiences have certainly been better than others but none of them have ever made me nostalgic for my first time. Not that I don't remember it fondly, it's just not something I would brag about and I really doubt that anyone involved would describe me as caring, respectful or wonderful.

I must admit, Mr. Kelley had me at "THE United States Supreme Court." This was a real test for Alan. On one hand, how does he justify defending a man convicted of raping a child? On the other hand, how will his huge ego be able to pass up the opportunity to argue in front of the highest court in the country?

I bet you thought Women's Murder Club was gone for good (if you were even thinking about it, that is). Nope, it's coming back.

The Angie Harmon drama series about a group of women in San Francisco who solve crimes is coming back to the ABC schedule on Tuesday, April 29, at 10pm. I know, you're thinking, wait a second, that's Boston Legal's time slot! Yup, it certainly is. That show is going to move to Wednesdays at 10pm starting the next day, April 30 (the show will run in its regular time slot when it returns from the strike hiatus on April 8 and then move to Wednesdays on the 30th).

While the casting for the ladies to play the power brokers on NBC's Lipstick Jungle was imperative, no less attention was paid for the men with whom those women would be romantically entwined. For the character of Joe Bennett, the enigmatic, high-powered, complicated Prince Charming with a dark side, producers had to be looking for just the right combination of sexual appeal and sensitive undercurrent. They found the right guy when Andrew McCarthy was cast. The former Brat Packer could be the find of the TV season; the new McDreamy.

Considering how often ABC has opted to not air repeats of Boston Legal during its first four years, it should come as good news to fans of Denny & Alan's buddy dramedy that ION has picked up the series. It plans to re-air the series weeknights in the fall. Personally, I'm thrilled because I missed the first season altogether and various scattered episodes here and there since then. Oh, and Boston Legal isn't streamed at ABC.com.

Alan: "So what do you think of our show going to ION, Denny?"
Denny: "Well I knew technology was making things smaller and smaller, but an ion Alan? Really?"

(S04E13) "Denny Crane, to serve and protect" - Denny Crane

Only a couple minutes into the show and the crazy meter is off the charts. Nutjob Leigh is threatening Katie. Denny is having anonymous sex with Shirley's friend and I'm having a Murphy Brown flashback.

I've lost a lot of respect for Jerry. What could possibly compel him to get involved with Leigh again other than his being a pitiful loser? It seemed like he was making progress for a while there. Doesn't he know that a woman who leaves you once is very likely to leave you again? I just hope he never takes her on a date to an electronics expo.

10:04: OK, that's it for me. I haven't even eaten yet. Don't forget to head on over to Moviefone for complete coverage of the awards (and if you missed the show, TNT is going to repeat it at 11).

See you next Friday night at Zac Efron's house.

10:01: Did Josh Brolin just make a snide reference to Julie Christie's "tiniest actor" comment when she accepted her award a few minutes ago, or was it just a joke I didn't get?

9:59: Looks like there's just movie-centric awards left. I forgot there isn't a Best TV Drama or Best TV Comedy category at the SAG Awards.

9:50: Matthew McConaghey and Kate Hudson: king and queen of the crappy romantic film.

9:46: This Farmer's Help Point ad is freaky, but I had a dream the other night that was even stranger. I won't go into details, but it involved a mutant cannibal family and a used record store. That's the last time I eat 8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups right before bed.

9:36: Blair Underwood talking about the new technology that has come to film and television. The hidden message here is...pay the damn writers for stuff on the internet and cell phones!

9:29: These tributes to the people who died in the past year always make me nervous, because I'm afraid they'll forget someone. But this was well done, including TV character actors with the big name stars, and was even up to date as late as last week.

9:24: Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries is...a tie! Queen Latifah wins. Um, wait, I thought it was a tie? I'm confused.

9:20: Um...Mickey Rooney is aware that this isn't his tribute show, right?

9:18: Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries...Kevin Kline, As You Like It.

9:17: James Spader is slowly morphing into William Shatner.

(S04E12) "What's the tragic part... beside the music?" - Shirley Schmidt

My first reaction to the opening scene this week was one of amazement. First of all, who was it that decided Missy was the character everyone was dying to see again? I disliked the character the first time and, now that she is sans Selleck, I despise her. Furthermore, what person in their right mind is supposed to feel sympathy for a confessed semen thief who is so mentally unbalanced that she borders on dangerous? By the way, it takes a special kind of actor to pull off the racist comments without being completely offensive. Meredith Patterson is not that actor. Nice voice, though.

EW.com put up the The Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations and we've got the nominees in the television categories for you. Not surprisingly, The Sopranos swan song continues to get awards show nods, with bids in all three categories it qualifies for. 30 Rock accomplished the same feat in the comedy categories. No other show was represented in all three drama or comedy categories.

Newcomers include Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Michael C. Hall (Dexter) in male dramatic actor. Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) was a new face in female dramatic actor, while Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) represented comedic actresses. Only Mad Men was able to creep in as a new show in the ensemble drama category. The complete list is after the jump.

Over at AOL TV, they put together a gallery of all the Golden Globe nominees. I like the way they organized it too. Instead of going by award category, they listed by show, film or actor / actress and said what it / he / she was nominated for. And any gallery that contains a picture of Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a good gallery in my book. I have a not-so-secret crush on him.

They also have a gallery of television's surprises and snubs. The number-one snub by the Golden Globes? The Sopranos. Do award shows love to hate The Sopranos? (They didn't used to if I remember correctly.) Among the actors snubbed was James Spader of Boston Legal. But he has an Emmy (or several Emmys) already, so I'm not too defensive about that one. My favorite surprises? Pushing Daisies and its stars: Lee Pace and Anna Friel. They are my new favorite quirky television couple.

Who or what would you have liked to see nominated by the Globes?

I missed Boston Legal this week. I hate that they don't have consistent weekly episodes--how Boston Legal just disappears for weeks to accommodate the U.S. Open or some national dog show. Because I was disappointed in missing the banter between Spader and Shatner or the rest of the absurd cast of characters, I decided to find out what's going to happen on December's episodes of Boston Legal.

Episodes will air on December 4th, 11th, and 18th (Christmas episode!) at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

(S04E07) "The helmet threw me." - Carl Sack

I am starting to feel that my statements regarding the extreme disinterest I feel for Saffron Burrows and her character on Boston Legal are becoming repetitive. Therefore I am going to comment one last time on how extremely unsexy the kiss was between her and Alan. All I could think was how much hotter it would be if she were Rhona Mitra. From now on, whenever I feel a longing for Ms. Mitra while watching BL, instead of commenting on it, I will go and rent The Hollow Man instead.

James Spader has to be to television what Christopher Walken is to movies. How he can go from a defenseless, lovesick puppy to a slimy, lecherous shyster in the blink of an eye is an acting skill I would kill to have. Pamela Adlon is certainly sexy in her own way but as an actor, I would have a hard time putting the moves on Bobby Hill.

(S04E06) "It doesn't matter what people are saying as long as they talk about you" - Denny Crane

Watching the opening scene of this episode made me smile. Very few shows can mine humor out of the execution style murder of an unarmed man. Boston Legal has turned it into an art form.

Mare Winningham is one of the most underrated actresses in America. It takes a true talent to appear cold and unfeeling on the outside and still let the audience see that your insides are being torn apart by every emotion imaginable.