2005

Eligible Shows (meaning they predominantly aired between June 1, 2004 and May 31, 2005)

*NOTE*  The BTAs for comedy are fairly deficient, with only four shows really in the running.  That said, it was a great year for drama, and I couldn't skip out on awarding those just because there weren't as many comedies to choose among. 

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy:

The BTA goes to:  Jessica Walter for Arrested Development

Lucille Bluth sends her son to war because the fat man dared her to, deals with the romantic overtures from her husband's brother who is living with her now, and takes Buster to Motherboy.  No further explanation required. 

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy: 

The BTA goes to:  David Cross for Arrested Development

Mrs. Featherbottom, the Blue Man Group, and That Fünke Everyone's Talking About, David Cross's Tobias is wacky and hilarious, and his ability to pull off unwitting innuendo is unparalleled. 

Best Actress in a Comedy:

The BTA goes to:  Sarah Chalke for Scrubs

In Season 4, Elliot was officially my favorite character on Scrubs (I know I said that about Season 3, but that season was full of amazing characters, whereas Season 4 saw Elliot pull way ahead) as she becomes Chief Resident, tells how she lived with the Babcocks for two years, and talks about growing up on an apple orchard. 

Best Actor in a Comedy:

The BTA goes to:  Jason Bateman for Arrested Development

Michael Bluth is the perfect straight man for the Bluths, because he's not all that straight himself.  I especially like his relationship to Ann and the Veals this season, when he leaves Ann in Mexico and becomes an object of lust for her mother ("Teach me the ways of the secular flesh").    Also, this season he sings "Afternoon Delight" with Maeby, one of the funniest incest jokes on a show full of them. 

Best Comedy: 

The BTA goes to:  Arrested Development

I think Mrs. Featherbottom alone would win Arrested Development the big one, not to mention Motherboy, Buster losing a hand, Michael losing Ann in Mexico, "Good Grief," Uncle Jack ("who, remember, was not their actual uncle"), Tobias and Michael's spa retreat ("I thought it was a pool toy"), the Sitwell baseball game (and GOB temporarily working for them--"I call it Fuck City"), Maeby's job as a film producer, GOB's election video for George-Michael, and Henry Winkler jumping the shark again.   

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama:

The BTA goes to:  Grace Park for Battlestar Galactica

From the miniseries, the audience knew Boomer was a cylon, but watching Grace Park grapple with the possibility all season was fascinating.  She dives into her work, she attempts suicide, and eventually is taken over by her programming, and Grace Park is astonishing throughout. 

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama:

The BTA goes to:  Aidan Gillen for The Wire

As I've stated repeatedly, the hardest category every year is Best Supporting Actor in a Drama, particularly in years featuring seasons of Deadwood or The Wire.  But ultimately, Aidan Gillen's idealistic politician comes out on top, going on a journey that takes him from being thwarted in trying to help the police department to indicting them and the current governor for the state of Baltimore, cementing his run for higher office and his abandonment (whether he knows it or not) of his ideals.  His journey through Hamsterdam, the town meeting he sits in on, and his subcommittee hearings are some of my favorite scenes from The Wire Season 3. 

Best Actress in a Drama:

The BTA goes to:  Kristen Bell for Veronica Mars

The highlight of Veronica Mars, particularly Season 1 with a few lame outings (Paris Hilton and the rap mogul spring to mind), has always been Kristen Bell's performance, and her first season, tracking down her mother, her rapist, and her best friend's killer, sees her at the top of her game.  Playing a high school junior (and sophomore, in the flashbacks) reminds us even more of the power of Bell's performance, and the emotional climaxes reveal that Veronica's sarcastic wit is merely a defense mechanism.

Best Actor in a Drama: 

The BTA goes to:  Ian McShane for Deadwood

Ian McShane is always fun to watch, but Season 2 challenged that notion with Al's kidney stones.  McShane was phenomenal in those scenes, but damn they were difficult to get through.  The best part about Al being out of the loop for a few episodes is that his absence led to a major social shift in Deadwood, with Hearst's henchman Francis Wolcott shaking things up.  Of course, the final half of the season gives Al the opportunity to reclaim his position as unofficial town leader, and his dealings with Miss Isringhausen, Hearst, and especially Bullock show McShane at the top of his game. 

Best Drama: 

The BTA goes to:  The Wire

I've gotten to the point where it's practically impossible to choose a winner every year, much less the five nominees of so many worthy candidates.  I'm still not sure if I like Season 1 or 2 of Deadwood more, and Season 1 is my favorite drama of 2004.  And then there's another work of political philosophy in Battlestar Galactica, our introduction to the alcoholic, hallucinatory world of Tommy Gavin, and the engrossing neo-noir Veronica Mars with a world of characters so rich nobody gets enough screentime.  At least three of these, maybe four, are in my ten favorite shows of all time.  But I think my favorite this year is The Wire, with the establishment of Hamsterdam and the most interesting Iraq allegory I've yet seen.  Stringer Bell tries to go straight, Avon gets out, Prez shoots a cop, Brother Mouzone hunts Omar, Lester goes undercover hilariously to sell Bernard pre-tapped burners, Carcetti decides to run for mayor, and McNulty and Daniels bring down the Barksdale empire.  Things on The Wire always seem so bleak, but the season-ending montages generally balance that, but at the end of this one, Bunny asks Bubbles if Hamsterdam was a good idea, and Bubbs says he doesn't know.  Baltimore looks even more like wreckage now, but life goes on, and even after Johnny's death, Bubbles pushes his cart through town. 

2005 BTA Winners: 

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