The Emmys are coming later this month, but E! the entertainment channel has already handed out their honours to celebrate the best in today’s TV. The Tater Top Awards are voted for by the public and so are happily absent any nauseating industry back-slapping. The awards being American means that none of our top shows are present, but they do provide an interesting insight into what US audiences enjoy, and when we get most of their best stuff imported anyway – who’s complaining?

Plot spoiler warning: You might want to look away if you have not yet seen the most recent seasons of any of these shows: Lost, Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, The Sopranos, The Office, Veronica Mars, The Gilmour Girls, Battlestar Galactica. There are explicit details revealed and we would hate to ruin any future story-lines for you.

Best drama
1: Lost (over Heroes really?)
2: Veronica Mars
3: Heroes

Best comedy
1. The Office
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Ugly Betty

Best new show
1. Heroes
2. Friday Night Lights
3. 30 Rock

Best reality show (interesting that American Idol didn’t make the top three)
1. Project Runway
2. The Amazing Race
3. Dancing with the Stars

Best dramatic actor
1. Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, House
2. Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, Dexter (finally, a small degree of the credit he deserves)
3. Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars, Veronica Mars

Best drama ensemble (why no comedy ensemble also?)
1. Lost
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. Heroes

Best dramatic actress
1. Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars
2. Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang, Grey’s Anatomy
3. Sally Field as Nora Walker, Brothers & Sisters

Best comedy actor
1. Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, The Office
2. Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother
3. John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, The Office

Best comedy actress
1. America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Ugly Betty
2. Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
3. Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, Weeds

Best male baddie
1. Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus, Lost
2. Zachary Quinto as Sylar, Heroes
3. Robert Knepper as T-Bag, Prison Break

Best female baddie
1. Chloë Sevigny as Nicki Grant, Big Love
2. Kate Burton as Dr. Ellis Grey, Grey’s Anatomy
3. Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin, The Office

Breakout star
1. Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura, Heroes
2. Elizabeth Mitchell as Dr. Juliet Burke, Lost
3. Becki Newton as Amanda Tanen, Ugly Betty

Best guest star
1: Christopher Eccleston as Claude, Heroes (great to see the Brit get some recognition)
2: George Takei as Kaito Nakamura, Heroes
3: Judith Light as Claire Meade, Ugly Betty

Best kiss
1. Sawyer & Kate, “The Glass Ballerina,” Lost
2. Oscar & Michael, “Gay Witch Hunt,” The Office
3. Luke & Lorelai, “Bon Voyage,” Gilmore Girls

Best fight
1. Jericho fans versus CBS (power to the people and an inspiration to us all)
2. Jin versus Mikhail, Lost
3. Roy versus Dwight’s pepper spray, The Office

Biggest tearjerker
1: Charlie’s “Greatest Hits” and death, Lost (even though you knew it was inevitable it still got you right there)
2. Mr. Bennet sacrifices himself, “Company Man,” Heroes (yes, I did blub a little)
3. Cristina’s meltdown after Burke leaves, Grey’s Anatomy

Best line
1: “If you say ‘live together, die alone’ to me, Jack, I’m going to punch you in your face” – Rose, Lost
2: “After all these years, you don’t instinctively fear me? Maybe you should write yourself a note.” – Veronica Mars
3: “McDreamy is doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard!” – George O’Malley, Grey’s Anatomy

Biggest shocker
1. Jack and Kate are off the Island in the future, Lost
2. Tyrol, Tigh, Tory and Anders are Cylons, Battlestar Galactica
3. Tony kills Christopher, The Sopranos

Best chemistry
1. Josh Holloway & Evangeline Lilly, Lost
2. David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel, Bones
3. Hugh Laurie & Lisa Edelstein, House

Best show of skin
1. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) in the cages, Lost
2. Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) shirtless, Veronica Mars
3. Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) shirtless, Heroes

Biggest disappointment
1. Veronica Mars cancelled
2. Season finale of Grey’s Anatomy season 3 (great – that’s a promising endorsement)
3. 24 (Amen to that)

Moment that made you want to throw out your TV
1. Lorelai and Christopher get married, Gilmore Girls
2. George and Izzie get it on, Grey’s Anatomy (yuck!)
3. Meredith and Derek fizzle out in the finale, Grey’s Anatomy

Love saga you’re bored by
1. Sawyer-Kate-Jack-Juliet, Lost
2. All of Grey’s Anatomy
3. Chloe-Clark-Lana-Lex, Smallville

New show you’re anticipating the most
1: Pushing Daisies
2: Dirty Sexy Money
3: Bionic Woman

Show you’ll miss the most
1: Veronica Mars
2: Gilmore Girls
3: The Sopranos

Star you’ll miss the most
1: Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars
2: Dominic Monaghan, Lost
3: Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls

Does the dominance of The Office in each of the comedy categories indicate the show’s popularity and superiority or a lack of decent competition? And Heroes behind Lost in so many categories – really? Comments on the E! website have focused on this, accusing E!’s TV reporter Kristin, a huge fan of Lost and chum to many of its stars, of influencing her readers to vote for the island drama over the super hero saga. And sadly, it looks likes it’s all down-hill for the current season of Grey’s Anatomy.

Veronica Mars will obviously be hugely missed in the States while Josh Holloway’s popularity with the ladies continues. But what do you make of these results? Agree, disagree, don’t care either way? It’ll be interesting to note the changes between what the viewing US public like compared to the industry when the Emmys are revealed, but if one show is secure of some awards it must be The Office.

[via E! online]