Emmy nominations: Did your favorites make the cut?

This morning the nominations were announced for the 2010 Emmys, which will air August 29th. Visit the official Emmy website to view all the nominations. I'm most happy to see Outstanding Actress/Actor nominations for Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler of Friday Night Lights. Unfortunately, the Popeater.com Facebook campaign to get Zach Gilford an Outstanding Guest Actor-Drama nomination for his work in the powerful episode "The Son" was not successful; at least "The Son" was nominated for its writing. FNL also was nominated for Outstanding Casting. I've shared my love for this show before in a DVD review, and I'll repeat myself here: if you are looking for a show that realistically portrays marriage, friendship, difficulties teenagers face today as they grow up, and teamwork, then watch Friday Night Lights. This is a show that captures human moments from its actors and is definitely one of the best hours of TV you can find today. Season 4 currently airs Friday nights at 7 PM on NBC. Lost received 13 nominations, including Outstanding Drama, Actor-Drama (Matthew Fox), Supporting Actor-Drama (Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn), Guest Actress-Drama (Elizabeth Mitchell), and Art Direction. The series finale, "The End," received nominations for Directing, Writing, Editing, Music Composition, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. Confused about what's happening on the Island? Not surprisingly, Mad Men received 17 nominations in total. The show received recognition for Jon Hamm (Actor-Drama), January Jones (Actress-Drama), John Slattery (Supporting Actor-Drama), Elisabeth Moss (Supporting Actress-Drama), and Robert Morse (Guest Actor-Drama), in addition to nominations for Writing, Directing, Casting, Cinematography, Costumes, Editing, Hairstyling, and Makeup.  True Blood, nominated for Outstanding Drama, didn't receive any acting nominations but did receive nods for Casting, Art Direction, Prosthetic Makeup, and Sound Editing.

Comedy categories and more snubs after the jump:

Times Talks Live: Lost coming to select theaters Thursday

Times Talks Live: Lost, a live interview with the creators of Lost, will be broadcast from New York City to select movie theaters this Thursday, May 20 at 7 PM. New York Times entertainment editor Lorne Manly will interview Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse and co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof. Local movie theaters where you can catch this broadcast include AMC South Barrington 30, Century 16 Deer Park, Regal Showplace Stadium in Crystal Lake, and Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale.

Lost fans, this is an awesome way to geek out in anticipation of the May 23 series finale!

Read the program overview at Fandango.

Get ready for 5 1/2 hours of Lost on May 23

Lost fans were already preparing for a two hour series finale on Sunday, May 23. Now that the show is done taping and has been edited, the last episode has been extended by an additional 30 minutes. Here is the Lost TV line-up for May 23:

6-8 PM: Lost: The Final Journey
8-10:30 PM: Series finale
11:05 PM-12:05 AM: Jimmy Kimmel Live!: Aloha to Lost

If you missed any of the episodes so far this season you can still catch up by watching the shows at ABC's Lost website.

Visit The Lost Archives on Jimmy Kimmel's website for interviews with cast members and other hilarious videos featuring Kimmel.

You'll also want to check out this week's Lost cover issue from Entertainment Weekly. The magazine put out ten collector's covers in addition to the group one shown on the left. The collector's covers each feature one cast member with the appropriate send-off ("We'll miss you, Sawyer"). The castaways with their own covers are Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Locke, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Claire, Hurley, and Ben. You can buy the collector's covers here, or buy a subscription and get the Jack, Sawyer, and Kate covers for free! I was happy to see that Sawyer was on my issue I received in the mail!

Related articles:
This week's cover: The end of 'Lost'
ABC expands 'Lost' finale by an extra half-hour!
'Lost' producer: finale has new sets, questions

Lost: What Should the Cast Do Next?

Desert Island Discs

Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 program that invites guests to list the eight pieces of music they'd take with them to the proverbial uninhabited island. One of the longest-running radio shows in history, Desert Island Discs has been on the air since 1942. The guests - or "castaways" - are a diverse group: from evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, to EGOT Whoopi Goldberg, to singer Morrissey. The concept itself is hardly specific to the radio-show. You've likely had similar discussions with friends. Something along the lines of, "If you were stuck on a desert island, and you could only listen to one song," etc. Setting aside the practical concerns of how you'd be listening to this music (Is there an MP3 player and power outlet on this island?) and how you'd be feeding and sheltering yourself for the duration, it's a fun exercise. It raises the question of how many times you can bear to listen to your favorite songs, as well the relevance and durability of the selections themselves. Here are eight pieces of music that I think I'd be pretty fortunate to have along, should I be foolish enough to hitch a ride on Oceanic Airlines.

John Coltrane: "My Favorite Things"
Find it in the catalog!

Rev. Gary Davis: "Candy Man"
Find it in the catalog!

Red House Painters: "Instrumental [demo]"
Find it in the catalog!

Otis Redding: "A Change is Gonna Come"
Find it in the catalog!

Nina Simone: "I Loves You, Porgy"
Find it in the catalog!

Patti Smith: "Gloria: In Excelsis Deo/Gloria"
Find it in the catalog!

Trio Wanderer: "Piano Trio No. 2" composed by Franz Schubert
Find it in the catalog!

Tom Waits: "Anywhere I Lay My Head"
Find it in the catalog!

I should add that this isn't exactly a list of my favorite songs of all time, though some of these songs would surely be included on such a list. Rather, this is a track-list tailored to my indefinite residence on the desert island.

Even more Lost

"They're coming."
~ Jacob

We have to wait just over 24 hours until the sixth and final season of Lost premieres on ABC. A recap episode airs tomorrow at 7 PM, followed by the two-hour premiere at 8 PM. Are you all caught up with the previous seasons and ready to find out what happens to the castaways? I know I am! I always get very absorbed in Lost episodes and talk back to the TV and/or scream in response to plot developments. Who are the good guys? Who lives?! Who dies?! Which deceased castaways are returning (and why)?! Why doesn't Richard Alpert age? What year is it? And what is the island? Here are a few useful sites to bookmark and revisit as you watch the final season to get your Lost fix.

Totally Lost at ew.com: After each episode this is where I go to read Jeff "Doc" Jensen's incredibly detailed and well-researched recaps. Jensen is a hard-core fan and I look forward to reading his take on each episode. Reader beware: at times Jensen's crazy enthusiasm and insightful theories cause the reader to develop headaches.

Lostpedia: A Lost encyclopedia.

Official ABC site: Watch full episodes, attend Lost University, buy Lost gear, and read character and actor bios.

Get your Lost on (on DVD)!

We have to wait less than a month until the premiere of the sixth and final season of Lost! The final season starts on Tuesday, February 2nd. Are you ready? I am so excited to see what happens next to all the characters (especially what happened after the screen went white) and how the series will be wrapped up. Do you need to refresh yourself on plot lines and characters? Put yourself on hold for one (or all) of seasons 1-5, available through the library.

Lost. The Complete First Season (2004-2005)
Find it in the catalog!

Lost. The Complete Second Season (2005-2006)
Find it in the catalog!

Lost. The Complete Third Season (2006-2007)
Find it in the catalog!

Lost. The Complete Fourth Season (2008)
Find it in the catalog!

Lost. The Complete Fifth Season (2009)
Find it in the catalog!

The countdown to the final season of Lost

The sixth and final season of Lost begins on Tuesday, February 2 on ABC. The "premiere event" is scheduled to start at 7 PM. No new footage from season six has been released to be used in promotional TV spots, which means ABC's commercials have been pretty boring. If you are a Lost fan, check out this awesome TV promo from Spanish station Cuatro. The editing (Kate, Ben, Jack, and Locke are pieces on a chessboard!), music ("Everything in its Right Place" by Radiohead), and poem excerpt (Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam) combine together brilliantly: