What good is a blog...

...if you can't use it to scratch a particular itch? I was having a conversation with someone today about the SAG Award nominations, and somehow the subject of James Mason impressions came up. (If you don't know Mason, he's a classic movie star who has one of the most distinctive voices you'll ever hear; here's a clip of him in the original "Lolita" to fill you in, and go rent "North by Northwest" afterwards for Mason and so many, many other reasons.) Anyway, I remembered that I had once seen a stand-up comic doing an impression of Mason as Moe from the Three Stooges, warning Larry and Curly that he was about to beat them up, and I can't for the life of me remember who the comic was. I want to say Kevin Pollak, but so far the only luck I've had with Google was one reference to it on a message board with a link to a YouTube video that has since been removed. This ringing any bells with anyone?

And since I brought up the SAG-ies, might as well offer a few thoughts on them (including the full list of TV nominees) after the jump...

-Glad to see "Mad Men" continue to get awards show love. There's not 100 percent overlap between SAG nominees and Emmy acting nominees, but at least I feel like there's a chance Jon Hamm might get a nod when the nominating ballots go out.

-"The Closer" for best ensemble? Whatever. I understand why people like Kyra Sedgwick, even if I think the performance is overdone, but the job description for every other actor on that show might as well read, "Stand slack-jawed as Brenda Leigh does something unconventional."

-The lack of "Friday Night Lights" is proof, once again, that, as Heldenfels likes to say, showbiz awards operate on the Chamber of Commerce theory where making the industry look good is the most important thing. "FNL" films in Austin, not an industry town, and while Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are recognizable, they're not big enough stars to overcome the geography problem.

-I didn't watch ABC's latest Mitch Albom movie, but I'm guessing Ellen Burstyn's screentime for her nominated role was a bit longer than her infamous 14-second Emmy-nominated turn in "Mrs. Harris."

-Hey, the Screen Actors Guild (unlike the Golden Globes voters) remembered that James Gandolfini was on "The Sopranos," and that he was great this year.

-I like the Christina Applegate nomination. "Samantha Who?" as a whole is a big mess, but she's sweating up a storm trying to make it work.

And here's the nominations list (I deleted the names of the actors in each ensemble category for brevity's sake; to see them all, follow the link at the top of the post):

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

MICHAEL KEATON / James Jesus Angleton �The Company (TNT)
KEVIN KLINE / Jacques �As You Like It� (HBO)
OLIVER PLATT / George Steinbrenner �The Bronx is Burning� (ESPN)
SAM SHEPARD / Frank Whiteley �Ruffian� (ABC)
JOHN TURTURRO / Billy Martin �The Bronx is Burning� (ESPN)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

ELLEN BURSTYN / Posey Benetto �Mitch Albom�s For One More Day� (ABC)
DEBRA MESSING / Molly Kagan �The Starter Wife� (USA)
ANNA PAQUIN / Elaine Goodale �Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee� (HBO)
QUEEN LATIFAH / Ana �Life Support � (HBO)
VANESSA REDGRAVE / Woman �The Fever� (HBO)
GENA ROWLANDS / Melissa Eisenbloom �What If God Were the Sun?� (Lifetime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

JAMES GANDOLFINI / Tony Soprano �The Sopranos� (HBO)
MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan �Dexter� (Showtime)
JON HAMM / Don Draper �Mad Men� (AMC)
HUGH LAURIE / Dr. Gregory House �House� (FOX)
JAMES SPADER / Alan Shore �Boston Legal� (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

GLENN CLOSE / Patty Hewes �Damages� (FX)
EDIE FALCO / Carmela Soprano �The Sopranos� (HBO)
SALLY FIELD / Nora Walker �Brothers & Sisters� (ABC)
HOLLY HUNTER / Grace Hanadarko �Saving Grace� (TNT)
KYRA SEDGWICK / Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson �The Closer� (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy �30 Rock� (NBC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott �The Office� (NBC)
RICKY GERVAIS / Andy Millman �Extras� (NBC)
JEREMY PIVEN / Ari Gold �Entourage� (HBO)
TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk �Monk� (USA)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Samantha Newly �Samantha Who?� (ABC)
AMERICA FERRERA / Betty Suarez �Ugly Betty� (ABC)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon �30 Rock� (NBC)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER / Nancy Botwin �Weeds� (Showtime)
VANESSA WILLIAMS / Wilhelmina Slater �Ugly Betty� (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
THE CLOSER (TNT)
GREY�S ANATOMY (ABC)
MAD MEN (AMC)
THE SOPRANOS (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 ROCK (NBC)
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
UGLY BETTY (ABC)