Last Year’s Winner: Game of Thrones (“Blackwater”)
This is the third consecutive win for the sound department working on Game of Thrones.
Once again the award is given to the same show that is full of such brillant technical achievments and this show uses sound well whether in massive events but also a small sound adds so much to the drama of the show. In the standout episode most of the achievement is in the final minutes where Daenerys takes over and it’s just a brillant achievement I had to give the show the award again.
While Top of the Lake won the design award House of Cards wins the theme music award.
The opening music of every episode of the show that plays over the credits was done by Jeff Beal who provided most of the music for the series and he did such a good job with the music that I was as excited to hear the music of the series. Also while it’s not the most explosive and obvious score it still works well over the many shots of Wasington D.C.
Top of the Lake wins the main title design award for its for such a creative and unique design.
The opening credits of every one of the miniseries episodes of Top of the Lake was quite stunning for it’s creative use of animation and colours. It does not show anything human but only having people’s names go by as the screen seems to melt and shows great and quirky design which went in well with the unique style of the miniseries making for one great main titles design.
American Horror Story: Asylum (“Tricks and Treats”)
Boardwalk Empire (“The Pony”)
Fringe (“An Enemy of Fate”)
Game of Thrones (“And Now His Watch is Ended”)
Hannibal (“Roti”)
AND THE WINNER IS:
GAME OF THRONES ("AND NOW HIS WATCH IS ENDED")
Last Year’s Winner: Game of Thrones (“Valar Morghulis”)
This is the third consecutive win for the visual effects department on their third nomination for the effects driven Game of Thrones.
CGI is a term thrown around when visual effects are concerned and sometimes it can be quite obvious but when the team does their work on Game of Thrones it goes very well and it is not as obvious and feels epic. In the standout episode the real epic moment occurs at the end when Daenerys takes the city and we get to see the many soldiers march as dragons fly which makes for such a beautiful shot where everything looks like realistic which is why I give the show this award once again.
Steve Carrell as Dan Gillick for (“Penny-Wiseguys”) in “THE SIMPSONS”
Amber Nash as Pam Poovey for (“The Papal Chase”) in “ARCHER”
Kristen Schaal as Louise Belcher for (“Topsy”) in “BOB’S BURGERS”
Aisha Tyler as Lane Kane for (“Sea Tunt: Part II”) in “ARCHER”
Kristen Wiig as Lola Bunny for (“Itsy Bitsy Gopher”) in “THE LOONEY TUNES SHOW”
AND THE WINNER IS:
KRISTEN SCHAAL AS LOUISE BELCHER FOR ("TOPSY") IN "BOB'S BURGERS"
Last Year’s Winner: Cate Blanchett as Penelope for (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”) in “FAMILY GUY”
This is the first voiceover win for Kristen Schaal for her first nomination for her work on Bob’s Burgers.
What actors can do with voiceover work sometimes can be funnier then actors doing live action in comedy show. Schaal is an example of this that ever week on her show where she is funniest on the show making me laugh at least once and it’s such a brillance of voiceover work and while I might not like her on other shows when she is front and centre on Bob’s Burgers nobody would be able to beat her comedy timing.
Last Year’s Winner: The Legend of Korra (“Endgame”), Nickelodeon
This is the third win for Archer on its fourth nomination for animated program.
Even though I watch a lot of tv animated tv shows are never my most watched ones as I watch the same ones which is why these shows get multiple nominations. Archer is one of best darkly comedic shows on tv and once again it had a great overall season with some strong work and the standout episode of the year was the season finale where I seem to enjoy the most because the pack a lot of funny things into the end and when you can add in some Bob’s Burgers voice talent it always can be helpful.
Oral Norrie Ottey for (“The Rains of Castamer”), Game of Thrones
Art Jones for (“Apéritif”), Hannibal
Louis C.K. for (“Late Show Part 1”), Louie
Alexandre de Franceschi & Scott Gray for Top of the Lake
AND THE WINNER IS:
KELLEY DIXON FOR ("FIFTY-ONE"), BREAKING BAD
Last Year’s Winner: Skip MacDonald for (“Face Off”), Breaking Bad
This is the second win for Kelley Dixon on her second nomination for her work on Breaking Bad.
When rewarding shows for editing you can never really tell how much editing is going into a show because we never know how much is shot and how much has to be cut which is why when I reward my editing reward it’s about how an episode moves and this could incorporate alot of things but this year I could only reward Dixon for her work on the fourth eoisode of the fifth season where so much happened and it was such a beautiful construction from the fight sequence to the opening car shots that really showed the best Dixon could have done.
Production Design by Mark Worthington; Set Design by Ellen Brill for (“Welcome to Briacliff”), American Horror Story: Asylum
Production Design by Howard Cummings; Set Design by Barbara Munch for Behind the Candelabra
Production Design by Bill Groom; Set Design by Carol Silverman for (“Two Imposters”), Boardwalk Empire
Production Design by Gemma Jackson; Set Design by Bob Cameron for (“The Rains of Castamer”), Game of Thrones
Production Design by Dan Bishop; Set Design by Claudette Didul for (“The Doorway”), Mad Men
AND THE WINNER IS:
PRODUCTION DESIGN BY GEMMA JACKSON; SET DESIGN BY BOB CAMERON FOR ("THE RAINS OF CASTAMER"), GAME OF THRONES
Last Year’s Winner: Production Design by Mark S. Freeborn; Set Decoration by Michael Flowers for (“Salud”), Breaking Bad
This is the first win shared by Gemma Jackson and Bob Cameron from 6 shared previous nominations for their work on Game of Thrones.
It took me three years to embrace the show but one I finally feel into the random of the show I noticed everything that has made the show great. It is great to see all these created sets whether on location or inside look so spectacular. The standout episode for me was The Rains of Castamer which alot of beautiful work by Jackson and Cameron creating especially the diner hall where the Red Wedding takes place but also the scene where Jon Snow leaves Ygritte behind is just some beautiful work and worthy of the win for the first time it this category.
Last Year’s Winner: Smash – “Don’t Forget Me” (Music & Lyrics by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman)
This is the first win for an original song (Music by Jeff Richmond; Lyrics by Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond & Tracy Wigfield) on 30 Rock of the first song nominated.
30 Rock one of the best comedy series’ ever had a final episode that was both emotional and comedic and one of the reasons for this was the song such by Jenna Maroney called The Rural Juror which was the emotional highpoint of the episodes which is funny especially since most of the words are made up from many phrases used over the course of the series which all came together for such a beautiful song.
Derek Hough for (“Beneath Your Beautiful”), Dancing With the Stars
Spencer Liff for (“Dancin’ Dan (Me and My Shadow)”), So You Think You Can Dance
Sonya Tayeh for (“3326”), So You Think You Can Dance
Travis Wall for (“Sing it Back”), So You Think You Can Dance
AND THE WINNER IS:
DEREK HOUGH FOR ("BENEATH YOUR BEAUTIFUL"), DANCING WITH THE STARS
Last Year’s Winner: Sonya Tayeh for (“Game On”), So You Think You Can Dance
This is the first win for Derek Hough of a first nomination for his choreography on Dancing With the Stars.
As a frequet fan of DWTS I was glad to see Derek Hough finally come back to some great choreography especially during the 16th season where he had Kellie Pickler as a partner who was almost near the standard of a professional dancer that he was able to take even more risks and that paid off in their freestyle dance which was one of the most emotional and beautiful dances ever done on the show and if it’s the last dance Hough is to choreograph on the show if he leaves at least he went out on a high of a truly great dance.
Dylan Baker as Colin Sweeney for (“The Wheels of Justice”) in “THE GOOD WIFE”
Jim Beaver as Shelby Parlow for (“Get Drew”) in “JUSTIFIED”
Walton Goggins as Venus Van Dam for (“Orca Shrugged”) in “SONS OF ANARCHY”
Nathan Lane as Clarke Hayden for (“Anatomy of a Joke”) in “THE GOOD WIFE”
Ray Stevenson as Isaak Sirko for (“Swim Deep”) in “DEXTER”
James Wolk as Bob Benson for (“Favors”) in “MAD MEN”
AND THE WINNER IS:
NATHAN LANE AS CLARKE HAYDEN FOR ("ANATOMY OF A JOKE") IN "THE GOOD WIFE"
Last Year’s Winner: Chris Messina as Chris Sanchez for (“There’s Only One Way to Try a Case”) in “DAMAGES”
This is the first win for Nathan Lane on his second nomination for his work on The Good Wife.
I have said many times that the guest starts on The Good Wife are some of the best on tv presently and when Lane was announced to join the show I was worried but one this great comedic actor played a more tonned down dramatic character that was such a departure i could not help but reward Lane for his work especially in his standout episode where his character finally explodes from the silence he had for such a long time. Lane joins Fox as a winner for his guest work on this show and hopefully like Fox Nathan is able to return to the show again and again.
Last Year’s Winner: Game of Thrones (“The Old Gods And The New”)
This is the second win for hair department of Mad Men on their fifth nomination.
Mad Men is known for hairstyling and has won many awards for it and as just like with the costumes the haristyling was a very important part to the transition of this season as we saw many characters start to embrass thechanging times these characters faced. This episode was my standout as it included not just great female hairstyling but also men with the hair on their faces but also on their heads as we see alot of well done facial hair, Pete going balder every year and Roger with the biggest whip in his hair. The women also looked great showing that the show has mastered hairstyling through the time periods.
Michele Clapton for (“Second Sons”), Game of Thrones
Katherine Jane Bryant for (“The Doorway”), Mad Men
Sheena Napier for Parade’s End
AND THE WINNER IS:
KATHERINE JANE BRYANT FOR ("THE DOORWAY"), MAD MEN
Last Year’s Winner: Katherine Jane Bryant for (“A Little Kiss”), Mad Men
This is the fourth win and second consecutive win for Katherine Jane Bryant on her eigth nomination for her work on Mad Men.
The costume design of Mad Men is once again flawless and this sixth season was the biggest transition of the time periods as we saw Bryant handle both the old style of the early 60’s mostly the darker colours worn by Don and Roger as well as the late 60’s style with more colourful creations seen in Joan and Harry. The premire was the standout episode with standouts being the hawiian design and the holiday themed outfits worn later making Bryant’s work this season some of her best in the show’s history.
Last Year’s Winner: Game of Thrones (“The Old Gods And The New”)
This is a second win for the makeup department working on Game of Thrones on their third straight nomination.
Fantasy makeup can be some of the best looking makeup in the industry and the more this show is on the air the more makeup the show requires as they travel throughout this world where many new characters are introduced which require makeup to the highest standard. This episode was my standout because of simple makeup in scenes such as Brienne with the bear, Daenerys speaking to a leader of Yunkai with dragons and also Arya with the brotherman which is such great work done by this team.
Elizabeth Banks as Sal for (“Best Man”) in “MODERN FAMILY”
Melissa Leo as Laurie for (“Telling Jokes/Set Up”) in “LOUIE”
Megan Mullally as Tammy Two for (“Ron and Diane”) in “PARKS AND RECREATION”
Parker Posey as Liz for (“Daddy’s Girlfriend Part 2”) in “LOUIE”
Molly Shannon as Eileen for (“The Ghost is Seen”) in “ENLIGHTENED”
Elaine Stritch as Colleen Donaghy for (“My Whole Life is Thunder”) in “30 ROCK”
AND THE WINNER IS:
PARKER POSEY AS LIZ FOR ("DADDY'S GIRLFRIEND PART 2") IN "LOUIE"
Last Year’s Winner: Don Marie Jones as Shannom Beiste for (“Props”) in “GLEE”
A first win for Parker Posey on her first nomination for her work on Louie.
When Louis C.K. picks his guest starts he tends to pick the perfect actors and once again he struck gold with Posey who came and went during the third season of Louie as Liz a girl Louie fell in love with only for Liz to come back during the finale and die. In her apperance she brought so much colours to the character both being funny and moving which is why she has been my personal winner for over a year now.
Last Year’s Winner: Peter Wunstorf for (“Pilot”), The Killing
This is the third win for Michael Slovis on his fourth nomination for his work on Breaking Bad.
Breaking Bad is such an beautiful show and one of the best elements is the cinematography of the show which while being subtle is still some brillant work with the series cineamtography being done by Michael Slovis. In Face Off we see some great cinematography in how shots are being set up and captured. Especially the infamous shot of Gus and Walt/Jesse in the final moments of the season just are some great moments of cinematography to behold.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
2000: Phil Abraham for (“Full Leather Jacket”), The Sopranos
2001: Raymond Stella for (“The Body”), Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
2002: Michael Bonvillian for (“Truth Be Told”), Alias
2003: Uta Briesewitz for (“Cleaning Up”), The Wire
2004: Alik Sakharov for (“Long Term Parking”), The Sopranos
2005: Joseph E. Gallagher for (“Boy the Earth Talks To”), Deadwood
2006: Rob Sweeney for (“Everybody’s Waiting”), Six Feet Under
2007: James Glennon for (“A Constant Throb”), Deadwood
2008: Michael Weaver for (“Pie-lette”), Pushing Daisies
2009: Michael Slovis for (“4 Days Out”), Breaking Bad
2010: Michael Slovis for (“Blood on the Scales”), Breaking Bad
As usual when many shows run into June my awards take a while to start as I must watch most of these shows finish. My awards cover mostly everything because like most people on these forums I love television. I will not start announcing nominees until a week from today (4 days before Emmy nominations. I will announce the nominees in all 48 categories over the course 24 days then spending the rest of those days announcing the winners.
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Michael Kenneth Williams, Anthony Laciura, Paul Sparks, Jack Huston, Gretchen Mol, Dabney Coleman)
BREAKING BAD (Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks)
GAME OF THRONES(Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Charles Dance, Liam Cunningham, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Richard Madden, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Alfie Allen, John Bradley, Jack Gleeson, Rory McCann, Stephen Dillane, Jerome Flynn, Conleth Hill, Sibel Kekilli)
THE GOOD WIFE (Julianna Margulies, Matt Czuchry, Archie Panjabi, Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, Makenzie Vega, Graham Phillips, Alan Cumming, Chris Noth)
MAD MEN (Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, Jared Harris, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, Kiernan Shipka, Jessica Paré, Jay R. Ferguson, Robert Morse, John Slattery, Ben Feldman)
SOUTHLAND (Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Regina King, Benjamin McKenzie, C. Thomas Howell, Lucy Liu)
AND THE WINNER IS:
MAD MEN
Last Year’s Winner: THE GOOD WIFE
This is the third win for the ensemble of MAD MEN on their fifth nomination.
Mad Men while being a show about the life of Don Draper is still one of the most impressive ensembles on television in how each and every member of the ensemble each season gets their moment to shine whether it be a funny line to say or a whole plotline of being put out for sex. The cast for every season of the show has been striving for excellence and winning this ensemble award is reconizing how impressive their ensemble work is every season and especially in this fifth season.
