Fey might not win that big again tonight, but she should and will win for best comedy. There is nothing that compares with the satire of her backstage NBC sitcom about a fictional NBC out-of-control show.
Also nominated: "Family Guy," "Flight of the Conchords," "How I Met Your Mother," "The Office" and "Weeds"
Best Actor Drama Series: I believe with all my heart that Gabriel Byrne deserves the award for his in-practically-every-frame performance as a therapist on HBO's "In Treatment." But I don't think he will get it; the show flew too far below the ratings radar.
While many are picking Jon Hamm of "Mad Men," I am going with Hugh Laurie of the Fox medical drama "House." If I can't have Byrne, Laurie is far more deserving than Hamm, who has been getting worse as the series has progressed.
Also nominated: Simon Baker ("The Mentalist"), Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and Michael C. Hall ("Dexter")
Best Actress Drama Series: Glenn Close, from the FX drama, "Damages," wins hands down on presence if nothing else. I don't particularly like this series, but she does fill up the screen with her persona like almost no one else in this category.
Kyra Sedgwick continues to do great work on TNT's "The Closer," but her role as Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson lacks the gravitas and heft that it usually takes to win for drama.
Also nominated: Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace"), Mariska Hargitay ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"), Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men") and Sally Field ("Brothers and Sisters")
Best Actor Comedy Series: This is not a great category, which is why Alec Baldwin, from "30 Rock," should win in a walk. He plays a ridiculous character, an NBC executive who defines empty suit, but instead of making him seem silly, he makes the character seem almost believable. That conjurer's trick is what makes the comic clashes between him and Fey's Liz Lemon resonate with such gender and workplace tension.
Also nominated: Steve Carell ("The Office"), Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords"), Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory"), Tony Shalhoub ("Monk") and Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men")
Best Actress Comedy Series: Please, I won't waste your time with a lot of analysis: It's Fey. She is superb at playing the smartest person in the room except when it comes to herself. And as slapstick and broad as her comedy can be, she has created a razor-sharp satire of network television today. Not surprisingly, her toughest competition comes from cable with Toni Collette of Showtime's "United States of Tara" and Mary-Louise Parker in Showtime's "Weeds." But I think Fey will prevail. She is the salvation of the network sitcom.
