In case you missed last night’s episode, here’s what looks to be a very well-written scene from this Emmy award-winning show. And, even better, a very simple statement of fact: “Breitbart owned the Weiner scandal.” No snide asides, no shots at Breitbart or, uhm, the Tea Party.

Hollywood did good. You have to wonder if they even comprehend how much 50% of their audience appreciates this mature approach to our side of the aisle. 

Goodwill, it’s a beautiful thing.

In the best drama category, the highly-acclaimed and perennial winner “Mad Men” will be facing some mildly tough competition. It will be up against HBO’s “True Blood,” Showtime’s “Dexter,” AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” ABC’s “Lost,” and CBS’ “The Good Wife.” Even though “Lost” just aired its final season, many expect that “Mad Men” will walk away with its third consecutive best drama award. Several of last year’s nominees for this category were snubbed this year (“House,” “Big Love,” and “Damages”) along with at least one departing show that had previously won this competition (“24”).   

In the best comedy category, there is a bit more competition for the other perennial winner “30 Rock.” “30 Rock,”,like “Mad Men,” has won its category’s top award since it premiered and already has three Emmy awards for best comedy. However, this year’s competition seems more exciting with three new series receiving nominations (“Nurse Jackie,” “Glee,” and “Modern Family”) along with “The Office” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Many television critics expect either freshman comedy “Glee” or “Modern Family” will take home the big award and end “Rock’s” winning streak but “30 Rock” still has a chance for another repeat win.

In terms of the lead acting categories for dramas, two new nominees have thrown more tough competition into the mix. I’ve been outspoken about my affection for the drama “Friday Night Lights” so I was excited to see Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton receive nominations for lead actor and actress in a drama. Chandler faces off against “Mad Men’s” Jon Hamm, “House’s” Hugh Laurie, “Dexter’s” Michael C. Hall, “Breaking Bad’s” Bryan Cranston, and “Lost’s” Matthew Fox. I haven’t seen all of the performances nominated but from my knowledge of the shows themselves, Chandler’s character seems to be the most realistic and down-to-earth one in the group and it would be nice if he was celebrated for his stellar work (although I have heard great things about Cranston’s performance on “Bad”).

In the lead actress in a drama category, there seems to be even stiffer competition and several of the actresses play extremely relatable and realistic characters. Britton will be facing off against “Mad Men’s” January Jones, “The Closer’s” Kyra Sedgwick, “Law and Order: Special Victim Unit’s” Mariska Hargitay, “Damages’” Glenn Close, and “The Good Wife’s” Julianna Margulies. Close has won this award for the past two years but some critics have suggested that Margulies will likely win for her role. (I’m rooting for Britton but I would be excited over a Margulies win as well.)

The lead acting nominations in the comedy categories showcase a wide variety of performances highlighting some well-known performers and a few welcome newcomers. Alec Baldwin (who has won for his performance on “30 Rock” for the past two years) will face “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” Larry David, “Monk’s” Tony Shalhoub, “The Office’s” Steve Carell, “Glee’s” Matthew Morrison, and “The Big Bang Theory’s” Jim Parsons. I have seen each of these actors in their respective roles and it seems like Parsons should have a strong chance in this category for his vibrant portrayal of Sheldon Cooper.

The lead actress in a comedy category features some several comedic actresses who have been recognized in the past. Toni Collette (“United States of Tara”) won in this category last year. The previous year, Tina Fey won for her role on “30 Rock.”  Additionally, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who was nominated for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” this year) previously won for her work on “Seinfeld.” The remaining nominees in this category are “Park and Recreation’s” Amy Poehler, “Nurse Jackie’s” Edie Falco and “Glee’s” Lea Michele. This category could go to Collette or Fey but I have read some positive stuff about Falco’s performance so she could also pull a win out here.

The supporting actor in a drama category has some strong competition as well. “Mad Men’s” John Slattery will be facing “Damage’s” Martin Short, “Breaking Bad’s” Aaron Paul, “Lost’s” Terry O’ Quinn, “Men of a Certain Age’s” Andre Braugher, and “Lost’s” Michael Emerson. The supporting actress nominees for a drama include “Mad Men’s” Christina Hendricks, “Damages’” Rose Byrne, “The Good Wife’s” Archie Panjabi, “Burn Notice’s” Sharon Gless, “Mad Men’s” Elisabeth Moss, and “The Good Wife’s” Christine Baranski. There are a lot of strong performances in these two categories so both will be very competitive and hard to predict.

Another category that will likely not be hard to predict is best supporting actress in a comedy. In that category, “Glee’s” Jane Lynch will be going up against five other actresses who will likely lose to the villainous cheerleading coach. However, if this category has an upset, Lynch could lose to “30 Rock’s” Jane Krakowski, “Saturday Night Live’s” Kristen Wiig, “Modern Family’s” Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family’s” Julie Bowen, or “Two and a Half Men’s” Holland Taylor. In the supporting actor in a comedy category, “Modern Family’s” Jesse Tyler Ferguson will face “Glee’s” Chris Colfer, “Two and a Half Men’s” Jon Cryer, “Modern Family’s” Ty Burrell, “Modern Family’s” Eric Stonestreet, and “How I Met your Mother’s” Neil Patrick Harris. Like my support for Parsons, I would be really excited if Neil Patrick Harris won for the uniquely funny character he has brought to life.

Overall, with Jimmy Fallon hosting the Emmys, it should be a fun night to celebrate television. Although some past winners will likely win major awards, there will likely be some surprises and there could be a few great acceptance speeches as well.

I can’t wait to watch.

“Glee” was one of the new major nominees for the Globes, earning a nomination in the “Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy” category.  As I noted in a review of the program, “Glee”  revolves around a high school glee club.  Even though the show has stumbled a bit throughout this season, it has still emerged as as a entertaining and worthy hit. I was glad it got some attention from the Globes. The most obvious nomination for the program went to Jane Lynch, whose role as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester is one of the highlights of the program. Other nominations for the show went to Matthew Morrison, who plays the glee coach, Will Schuester, and Lea Michele, who plays the overzealous singer Rachel.

Additionally, I was excited to see Julianna Marguiles nominated for the lead role on “The Good Wife.” For some critics, “The Good Wife” could be written off as another lawyer show with a strong female lead. However, the material for this program is much stronger than that and Marguiles continues to stand out on the show. As I wrote about the show a few weeks ago, the lead character is “a strong woman who, when forced to emerge from the shadow of her husband, fights to prove herself inside the courtroom and outside of it where people often know her because of her husband’s well-publicized misdeeds.” Marguiles has done a good job in capturing that character and if the show continues on its present route, this will not be her only nomination for this program in the years to come.

Also, Courtney Cox was nominated for her role on the show “Cougar Town.” When I watched the show a few weeks ago, I noted its crude and crass content. However, even though I did not like the show, I did appreciate Cox in the lead role. I just wish the rest of the show lived up to Cox’s potential. Cox has had some solid roles in the past including her work as Monica Gellar on the show “Friends” and her turn as Gale Weathers in the “Scream” trilogy but “Cougar Town” often wastes her potential and the potential of the supporting characters on the show.

Because I have not seen all of the television programs or movies that were nominated, I can not say if the nominees listed above are worthy of the prizes they were nominated for (Although, admittedly, it would be hard to top Jane Lynch’s performance on “Glee” in her category.) Regardless, it was exciting to see a lot of the new shows nominated this year. This may not be their year at the award show but I hope that nominations for shows like “Glee” and “The Good Wife” bring more of an audience to these programs and I hope that “Cougar Town” does more to fulfill the potential of its nominated lead actress and the strong secondary characters on the show.

Although many politicians from both political parties can be compared to the husband, played by Chris Noth, an obvious comparison springs up in the premiere episode as the lead character, Alicia Florrick who is played by Julianna Marguiles, returns to work as a lawyer. One of her supervisors, played by Christine Baranski, bluntly says to her, “Not only are you coming back to the workplace fairly late but you have some very prominent baggage.” She then adds, pointing to a picture of current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “But hey, if she can do it, so can you.” Furthering the perception that the lead couple can be compared to President Bill Clinton and his wife, a recent article about the program from The Hill quoted one of the creators of the show offering a “suggestion” to a director about the character of the cheating husband. That suggestion was “Imagine Bill Clinton in prison.”

Admittedly , The Hill article did point out another reason for Clinton’s inclusion in the premiere. That article noted the following:

Though Secretary Clinton might seem an easy (if not overused) target, the inclusion of her image in the first episode of “The Good Wife” is more than just a tongue-in-cheek lick at old wounds; the Kings said they wanted to depict “those who broke the glass ceiling and women who came afterward”  and, of course, “still have it be entertaining.”

In the weeks since its premiere, the show has been smart in creating professional and personal realms for the main character to inhabit. At home, Alicia is trying to support her two children who have had to deal with the ramifications of their father’s actions with the assistance of her mother-in-law. At work, Alicia is trying to prove herself to her bosses while dealing with an inter-office rivalry with a young lawyer. Fortunately, for the audience, the lead character is very well-written. She is not a cold heroine bent on vengeance or driven by anger; nor is she a wronged victim trying to regain her self-esteem.  She is a strong woman who, when forced to emerge from the shadow of her husband, fights to prove herself inside the courtroom and outside of it where people often know her because of her husband’s well-publicized misdeeds. 

The program has not steered away from political discussions especially in the legal setting. In one episode, two of the top lawyers at Alicia’s firm argue over the case of a young rich kid accused of rape, which one of the lawyers compares to the Duke Lacrosse case. In the same episode that same lawyer is excited when he sees that the case is going before a judge known for his liberal tendencies — who after a hearing on the case casually asks for a moment of silence for mass killings in Darfur. The show is sharp in its ability to show how legal cases can often be viewed through a political lens by both lawyers and judges. The show can be political but it is not ideological, at least thus far, a quality that I admire about the program. 

One of the strengths of the program is also its strong cast. Julianna Marguiles is both sympathetic and engaging as the wronged spouse.  Additionally, there are several other solid television actors who play supporting roles on the series. That list includes Chris Noth (“Sex and the City”) as Alicia’s husband, Christine Baranski (“Cybill”) as one of Alicia’s supervisors, Josh Charles (“Sports Night”) as another supervisor, Mary Beth Peil (“Dawson’s Creek”) as Alicia’s mother-in-law and Matt Czuchry (“Gilmore Girls”) as Alicia’s work rival. All of those actors add to the quality of the program and it will be interesting to see how their characters develop.

It is a timely coincidence that this program started just a few weeks before The Shriver Report received a lot of attention for its analysis of the influence of women in this country. In many past political scandals about a husband cheating on his wife, the wife has often only been seen in a supporting role standing next to her husband after his flaws receive public scrutiny. In ”The Good Wife,” the wronged spouse is given a chance to prove herself apart from her husband’s political career and she fights to prove that she is more than just a victim. 

Since its premiere, the show has also been proving itself and succeeded in that task with an  engaging and entertaining program that should not be kept out of the spotlight.