Who loves awards shows? Me! Me! Me! There is nothing better than camping out on your couch on a Sunday night with pizza, popcorn, and ice cream (what? It’s a long show!), and watching your favorite stars strut across the stage. Plus, I love the montages.

But you know what I love even more than the show itself? Getting the list of nominees and picking my favorites. In that brief moment, your ‘winners’ still have a shot at being the real winners. And even if my dreams are crushed come January 17, at least my favorites will be memorialized forever here at Girls Guide:

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Big Love (HBO)
Dexter (Showtime)
House (Fox)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

Dexter, True Blood, and Mad Men are three of my absolute favorite shows, so it is great to see them all nominated! For the winner, I’m going to have to go with Mad Men (no worries, Dexter fans. You’ll get your awards in the acting category!). Mad Men not only put out great performances this year, but had huge storylines – JFK shooting, Betty finding Don’s true identity, a guy getting his foot run over with a lawn mower…

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
Glee (FOX)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)

Duh, I’m going to pick Glee. It is probably the most original comedy out there right now. It isn’t just about a group of friends hanging out, or a family trying to get along, or a bunch of people working together- it has music! Plus, when was the last time a high school sitcom was engaging enough for adults to enjoy?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love

Awards voters love Jon Hamm (as do I), but this one has to go to Michael C. Hall for his stunning performance on Dexter. This season, we saw Dex rock a baby to sleep, go to counseling with his wife, give up his bachelor pad… oh yeah, and hunt down the Trinity Killer. The highlight of the season really was the Dexter/Trinity storyline (what? You thought LaGuerta/Batista was more interesting? Good try, but no), and I’m hoping Hall and Lithgow both get recognized for it.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
DRAMA
Glenn Close, Damages
January Jones, Mad Men
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

January Jones, hands down. Did you know her ex-boyfriend, Ashton Kutcher, told her to quit acting? No, Asthon, you quit. January Jones was brilliant this season on Mad Men. In the span of one season, she had a baby, lost her father, went to Rome, began an affair with another man, uncovered the truth about her husband’s identity, and finally demanded a divorce and hopped on a plane to Reno. And she looked really pretty doing it too.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee

Although I love Glee, I don’t understand Morrison’s nomination here. The show is great, but he is probably the least funny character on it. I’m gonna give this one to Carell, because I am sick of Baldwin winning all the time.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Courteney Cox, Cougar Town
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Lea Michele, Glee

What an honor for Lea Michele to be nominated in this category! If I had to guess, I would give it to Collette or Fey, but it would be so awesome if Michele won, wouldn’t it? The category is for comedy or musical, so why not congratulate the one nominee who covers both? Michele is hilarious as stage-brat Rachel, and man oh man, can that girl sing. (Speaking of, I wonder if we will get a musical performance from the Glee cast. Wouldn’t that be a treat!)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Michael Emerson, Lost
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
William Hurt, Damages
John Lithgow, Dexter
Jeremy Piven, Entourage

I hate that I am passing on Lost’s sole nomination, especially since Emerson was amazing as evil (or not evil?) Ben Linus this past year, but the award has to go to Lithgow for his creepy turn as the Trinity Killer on Dexter. From the moment we saw his bare buttocks in the first scene of the premiere, we couldn’t look away. And in his final moments, admit it, you felt some sympathy for the guy, didn’t you? Too bad that feeling didn’t last long. Now we can all hate him again.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jane Adams, Hung
Rose Byrne, Damages
Jane Lynch, Glee
Janet McTeer, Into the Storm
Chloe Sevigny, Big Love

Jane Lynch might play the same snappy alpha-female in everything (40 Year Old Virgin, Role Models, Talladega Nights, Two and a Half Men, Party Down), but the cutthroat high school cheerleading coach kills every scene on Glee. I would try to say something clever here, but nothing would be as great as what Sue would say. That’s why she is nominated for a Golden Globe and I’m not.

And a few thoughts…

I’m not going to call these ‘snub’s, but there were a few shows left of the ballot that surprised me.

Where was all the love for Breaking Bad and Big Bang Theory? Both shows are putting out stellar seasons, not to mention having one of the best dramatic actors (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad) and one of the best comedic actors (Jim Parsons, Big Bang) on TV right now.

And my all-time favorite show, Lost was really overlooked this year. True, the last season was confusing (even for me), but it is consistently one of the most thought provoking shows on television. I am hoping that they will be recognized next year, following their final season this spring.

On to the Movies…

It is kind of tough for me to judge the movie nods, since half of them I haven’t seen and/or aren’t even in theaters yet, but I figure I would at least post them for now. I’ll probably see more of them as the Oscars approach. Because really, in movies, the Oscars is the only award that matters, right?

Best Picture, Drama
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Best Picture, Musical/Comedy
500 Days of Summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

Best Actor, Drama
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers

Best Actress, Drama
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Best Actor, Musical/Comedy
Matt Damon, The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 500 Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Best Actress, Musical/Comedy
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Nancy Meyers, It’s Complicated
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

Best Score
Up
The Informant!
Avatar
A Single Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Song
“Cinema Italiano,” Nine
“I Want to Come Home,” Everybody’s Fine
“I Will See You,” Avatar
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart
“Winter,” Brothers

Best Animated Film
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess & The Frog
Up