Crix pix

As a TV critic type, I'm usually just supposed to express my own opinion, but every now and again, I get called upon to participate in a poll of many critics, or to choose nominees and winners in the annual Television Critics Association awards, which will be handed out at the summer press tour in early August. One of those polls I participated in was Variety's recent poll on the best shows of the '00s, and the TCA nominees were just announced. Full list of the latter, and a few of my own thoughts, after the jump:

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

Battlestar Galactica (SciFi Channel)

Lost (ABC)

Mad Men (AMC)

Saturday Night Live (NBC)

The Shield (FX)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

30 Rock (NBC)

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

The Daily Show (Comedy Central)

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

The Office (NBC)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

Breaking Bad (AMC)

Friday Night Lights (NBC/DirecTV)

Lost (ABC)

Mad Men (AMC)

The Shield (FX)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT MOVIES, MINI-SERIES AND SPECIALS

2008 Summer Olympic Coverage (NBC)

24: Redemption (Fox)

Generation Kill (HBO)

Grey Gardens (HBO)

Taking Chance (HBO)

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

Fringe (Fox)

The Mentalist (CBS)

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (HBO)

True Blood (HBO)

United States of Tara (Showtime)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

Steve Carell (The Office)

Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)

Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

Glenn Close (Damages)

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)

Walton Goggins (The Shield)

Jon Hamm (Mad Men)

Hugh Laurie (House)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDRENS PROGRAMMING

Camp Rock (The Disney Channel)

The Electric Company (PBS)

Nick News (Nickelodeon)

Sid the Science Kid (PBS)

Yo Gabba Gabba (Nickelodeon)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION

60 Minutes (CBS)

The Alzheimers Project (HBO)

Frontline (PBS)

The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)

We Shall Remain (PBS)

HERITAGE AWARD

ER (NBC)

M*A*S*H (CBS)

Saturday Night Live (NBC)

The Shield (FX)

Star Trek (NBC)

Now, obviously this was a group thing, and therefore, there are shows on there that I wasn't a fan of (say, "True Blood"), as well as the absence of shows I really like (I pushed, to no avail, for "Chuck" to get a comedy series nomination). But I'm really pleased that the TCA as a group was able to highlight the likes of Jim Parsons and Walton Goggins. Given all "The Shield" love, the easy pick would have been Michael Chiklis, and while that sure wouldn't have been the wrong pick (seriously, go watch the final minutes again), Goggins was every bit his equal, and he doesn't have any acting hardware in his trophy case. (Though, of course, he has that Oscar for producing "The Accountant.")