End-Of-Year: 2010 TV Winners

Hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas!

In any case, this past Wednesday, I posted a list of some of my favorite performances from the past TV year. Now, I present to you the winners...

Best Ensemble: Community, The Good Wife, Lost, Modern Family, Mad Men, Misfits

This was an impossible decision because the casts of each of these shows are just so damn perfect. And together, they work like a well-oiled machine. I could literally roll a die to pick a winner and probably be okay with the results. In the end I chose The Good Wife, mostly because I had to pick one. But I stress again how you really can't go wrong with any of these shows.

Best Actor, Drama
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Matthew Fox, Lost
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Kiefer Sutherland, 24

Sutherland and Fox have played their roles for years now and in the final season of both, they stepped up their games. Meanwhile, Hamm probably had his best season yet as Don Draper and Cumberbatch personified the modern Sherlock Holmes with brilliant ease. This year though, I'm giving it to Hall who somehow found it within himself to portray week in, week out such a complicated character as Dexter Morgan. From dealing with Rita's death to getting himself involve with Lumen, it was yet another roller coaster season of emotions which Hall delivered pitch perfectly.

Best Actress, Drama
Morena Baccarin, V
Julianna Marguilies, The Good Wife
Elizabeth Mitchell, V
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Anna Torv, Fringe

One of the best things about V is the palpable intensity that occurs when Baccarin and Mitchell are in a scene together. Separately, they also kick ass. One of the reasons I watch Marguilies and Moss in their shows is so I can go "YOU GO GIRL!" whenever they do something awesome, which they both do in a regular basis and Moss especially just continues to grow every season. I'd be remiss however not to award this to the amazing work that Torv did this season playing two characters--Olivia and Olivia from the alt-universe. The different make-up and hair helped, but it was Torv who made us believe these two characters. Such a long way from being dubbed "the weakest link" during earlier seasons.

Best Actor, Comedy
Matt Bomer, White Collar
Nathan Fillion, Castle
Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory
Adam Scott, Party Down
Matt Smith, Doctor Who

These men were nominated because they pretty much carried their respective shows. Even with the talented cast surrounding them, without their leading performances, their shows would fall flat. One need only see a scene to see how much charm both Bomer and Fillion bring to their roles playing the jovial foil to their more straight-edge partners. Scott excels as the straight-man to the wackiness around him while Parsons embodies Sheldon like no other. With that said, Smith just won me over for his spirited performance as The Doctor and to do it following someone as awesome as David Tennant is a great feat.

Best Actress, Comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
Karen Gillan, Doctor Who
Stana Katic, Castle
Amy Poehler, Parks & Recreation

While I was a bit meh last year regarding the nominees, not so this year. Cox consistently delivered yet again which is why lack of awards attention just confuses me. Katic is greatly helped by her chemistry with Fillion, but she more than holds her own without him. Speaking of more than holding her own, Gillan is able to match the fierce energy of Smith making the new Doctor/Companion pair a match-made in heaven. Collette almost took the top award, because she was yet again brilliant with her various personalities, but I had to give it to Poehler who, along with her show, really found themselves in the second season.

Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Misha Collins, Supernatural
Alan Cummings, The Good Wife
Keir Gilchrist, United States of Tara
Denis O'Hare, True Blood
Iwan Rheon, Misfits

I totally watch Supernatural because of Collins' character Castiel and NOT because of the brothers, whic his crazy I know. And while I like Collette's Tara, most of the highlights from last season were due to storylines focused on Gilchrist's Marshall who was trying to figure out where he fit in as a gay teenager. This year, I also fell madly in love with Rheon and his show, but just in case it's just infatuation, I'm going to let it simmer a bit. Instead, I'll give it this year to a performance that I'm still thinking about. O'Hare's performance as Russell was one for the ages. It was visceral seeing how much he fused camp, horror, violence, and sadness all in one role.

Best Supporting Actress. Drama
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Cherry Jones, 24
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Mary Lynn Rajskub, 24
Julia Stiles, Dexter

Jones and Rajskub delivered great performances for the final season of their show highlighting some emotions we hadn't seen from either during earlier seasons. Hendricks, who so needed more material to work with, was magnificent as always. Panjabi had this award in the bag because her Kalinda is probably one of my favorite characters in network TV and she's just SO GOOD playing her. But then Stiles stupendously surprised me by her totally tour-de-force role as Lumen this season in Dexter. I'm actually speechless about what to say in order to convey how awesome she was. But that's all I have and everyone should just see it to make up their own minds.

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Chris Colfer, Glee
Donald Glover, Community
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Arthur Darvill, Doctor Who

Harris here isn't doing anything differently from what he has done in the past, so while it's getting a tad old, it's still great. Darvill may sometimes be the odd man out especially with the kind of chemistry Smith and Gillan have, but he holds his own and in fact does wonders with the little gets. Glover, too, could've been lost in such a talented ensemble, but instead he's way too engaging to forget. Colfer, is kind of like the diamond in the rough that is his show which is odd since I actually don't like his character most of the times. Colfer's performance as Kurt though, from his witty banter with Rachel to his harrowing emotions regarding getting bullied, is aces. But I'm giving it to Burrell who plays the doofy big-hearted Phil Dunphy with such wit, heart, and perfect timing. You can't help but love him.

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Alison Brie, Community
Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother
Jane Lynch, Glee
Heather Morris, Glee
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

I really should've made room somewhere here for Aubrey Plaza, because she rocks in Parks & Recreation. And the more I think about it, I could've even seen her winning this. But that's neither here nor there now. Last year, I gave it to Lynch and she still deserves it, but even her co-star Morris steals scenes from her, so moving on. Hannigan is great when given great material, but it hasn't been that consistent for her character, at least. Vergara is fantastic and hilarious always (though her co-star Bowen also deserves lots of kudos). And so we come to one last name that surprised me. Brie's character Annie could've been annoying and/or forgettable with the wrong actress. But to me she's slowly becoming the backbone of the show even more so than Jeff or Abed and if you've seen the show and its cast, that's really REALLY high praise.

I'm going to keep mum about which drama and comedy TV show I chose as the Best of 2010 until I post my list of my favorite TV shows of the past year in a day or two. Though it's probably not THAT difficult to suss out if you know me just a little bit.

To refresh your memories, the nominees were...
Best Drama: Being Human, Fringe, The Good Wife, Lost, Mad Men, Sherlock
Best Comedy: Castle, Community, Cougar Town, Doctor Who, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother

Any predictions? Which actors gave your favorite performances in 2010?