Now that "The Sopranos" finally returns to the tube this Sunday night, can TV's top mobsters muscle one last Emmy victory as best drama series? Or can James Gandolfini or Edie Falco knock heads one more time in the races for best actor and actress?
Remember: Emmy winners are chosen by TV academy members evaluating sample episodes at home: one episode for acting, six for the best-series race. While no contenders have announced which entries they plan to submit for the judging process to be conducted in August, some episodes being aired this week seem like strong possibilities.
TUESDAY: Three actresses from classic 1990s series make all-too-rare guest appearances that could merit Emmy consideration. Anne Ramsay, shamefully never Emmy nommed for her work as the older, if not wiser, sister to Helen Hunt on "Mad About You," is a fortysomething facing a crisis in her pregnancy on "House" (FOX).
On NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," Laura Leighton (a Golden Globe nominee for her deliciously bad girl on guilty pleasure "Melrose Place") and Judith Light (a Daytime Emmy winner for her soap work but never a nighttime nominee for "Who's The Boss") -- guest as suspect and lawyer, respectively.
WEDNESDAY: "Friday Night Lights" (NBC) continues to prove itself Emmy-worthy with another gut-wrenching episode as Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is forced to choose between town and gown.
On ABC's "Lost" (best drama series champ of 2005), fan favorites Evangeline Lilly and Elizabeth Mitchell rumble in the jungle. On NBC's "Medium" Adam Goldberg makes a notable appearance as an aggrieved worker who holds his ex-company hostage. "Medium" star Patricia Arquette won best drama actress in 2005.
THURSDAY: NBC is supersizing its comedies with "The Office" (best comedy series of 2006) kicking things off with a new episode that pits boss against employee over a raise.
On the welcome return of "30 Rock," the boss (Alec Baldwin, who recently won the Golden Globe and will probably be nominated by Emmy voters next) uses an employee to keep a rival executive (guest star Will Arnett) in place.
"Scrubs" (best-comedy series nominee last year) ventures into that dangerous territory of "a very special episode" as the staff deals with the loss of one of their own.
"My Name is Earl" reruns with Emmy-winner Roseanne Barr guesting as the former owner of the trailer park (insert your own typecasting comment).
On Bravo, Whoopi Goldberg -- one of only nine famous people who's won the Showbiz Award Grand Slam (Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, Tony) -- returns to her roots with an hour of standup in "The World According to Whoopi." The gig may result in another nomination for best performance in a variety special. She's reaped three bids in the past.
FRIDAY: Camryn Manheim won an Emmy for "The Practice" and now is showcased in tonight's "The Ghost Whisperer" on CBS as a grieving widow forced to deal with her dead husband who has come back to haunt her.
Over on Fox , "The Wedding Bells" creator David E. Kelley continues to mix the whimsical with the wacky: namely three-time Emmy nominee Fred Willard guesting as the proprietor of a school for wedding singers.
SATURDAY: With the networks having given up on Saturday night for first run programming, enjoy "The Ten Commandments" for the umpteenth time on ABC and try and figure out just how Charlton Heston as Moses parted the Red Sea. The silver-screen trickery earned John P. Fulton the Oscar for best special effects in 1956, but it lost best picture to "Around the World in 80 Days."
SUNDAY: "Desperate Housewives" (nominee for best comedy series of 2005) is back on ABC with a new episode in which Susan (Teri Hatcher) discovers her fiancé is hiding more than just his feelings, while Edie (the woefully underused Nicollette Sheridan) goes on a manhunt.
Speaking of manhunts, "The Sopranos" (18 Emmy victories, including best drama series of 2004) returns to HBO with the final nine episodes kicking off with a ba da bing, ba da bang as Tony and family gather to celebrate his 47th birthday (star James Galdofini is only 45 in real life)
On Showtime's "The Tudors," King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Myers) finally fathers the boy he's always wanted, but he's not legitimate.
"Masterpiece Theatre" (which often sweeps the movie/mini categories) has a sparkling adaptation of the children's classic "The Wind in the Willows" with Matt Lucas ("Little Britain") as Toad and Bob Hoskins as Badger.
Remember: Emmy winners are chosen by TV academy members evaluating sample episodes at home: one episode for acting, six for the best-series race. While no contenders have announced which entries they plan to submit for the judging process to be conducted in August, some episodes being aired this week seem like strong possibilities.
On NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," Laura Leighton (a Golden Globe nominee for her deliciously bad girl on guilty pleasure "Melrose Place") and Judith Light (a Daytime Emmy winner for her soap work but never a nighttime nominee for "Who's The Boss") -- guest as suspect and lawyer, respectively.
WEDNESDAY: "Friday Night Lights" (NBC) continues to prove itself Emmy-worthy with another gut-wrenching episode as Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is forced to choose between town and gown.
On ABC's "Lost" (best drama series champ of 2005), fan favorites Evangeline Lilly and Elizabeth Mitchell rumble in the jungle. On NBC's "Medium" Adam Goldberg makes a notable appearance as an aggrieved worker who holds his ex-company hostage. "Medium" star Patricia Arquette won best drama actress in 2005.
THURSDAY: NBC is supersizing its comedies with "The Office" (best comedy series of 2006) kicking things off with a new episode that pits boss against employee over a raise.
On the welcome return of "30 Rock," the boss (Alec Baldwin, who recently won the Golden Globe and will probably be nominated by Emmy voters next) uses an employee to keep a rival executive (guest star Will Arnett) in place.
"Scrubs" (best-comedy series nominee last year) ventures into that dangerous territory of "a very special episode" as the staff deals with the loss of one of their own.
"My Name is Earl" reruns with Emmy-winner Roseanne Barr guesting as the former owner of the trailer park (insert your own typecasting comment).
On Bravo, Whoopi Goldberg -- one of only nine famous people who's won the Showbiz Award Grand Slam (Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, Tony) -- returns to her roots with an hour of standup in "The World According to Whoopi." The gig may result in another nomination for best performance in a variety special. She's reaped three bids in the past.
FRIDAY: Camryn Manheim won an Emmy for "The Practice" and now is showcased in tonight's "The Ghost Whisperer" on CBS as a grieving widow forced to deal with her dead husband who has come back to haunt her.
Over on Fox , "The Wedding Bells" creator David E. Kelley continues to mix the whimsical with the wacky: namely three-time Emmy nominee Fred Willard guesting as the proprietor of a school for wedding singers.
SATURDAY: With the networks having given up on Saturday night for first run programming, enjoy "The Ten Commandments" for the umpteenth time on ABC and try and figure out just how Charlton Heston as Moses parted the Red Sea. The silver-screen trickery earned John P. Fulton the Oscar for best special effects in 1956, but it lost best picture to "Around the World in 80 Days."
SUNDAY: "Desperate Housewives" (nominee for best comedy series of 2005) is back on ABC with a new episode in which Susan (Teri Hatcher) discovers her fiancé is hiding more than just his feelings, while Edie (the woefully underused Nicollette Sheridan) goes on a manhunt.
Speaking of manhunts, "The Sopranos" (18 Emmy victories, including best drama series of 2004) returns to HBO with the final nine episodes kicking off with a ba da bing, ba da bang as Tony and family gather to celebrate his 47th birthday (star James Galdofini is only 45 in real life)
On Showtime's "The Tudors," King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Myers) finally fathers the boy he's always wanted, but he's not legitimate.
"Masterpiece Theatre" (which often sweeps the movie/mini categories) has a sparkling adaptation of the children's classic "The Wind in the Willows" with Matt Lucas ("Little Britain") as Toad and Bob Hoskins as Badger.
