And the nominees should be

Yesterday marked the end of the eligibility period for this year's Emmy Awards nominees. Fresh ballots go out to Emmy voters this week, the nominations will be announced on July 17, and the winners will be anointed on Sept. 21. The machine is about to rev up. May I be of service, Emmy voters? Every year, you overlook some of the year's best TV work (ever heard of "The Wire"?) and choose a set of predictable and questionable nominees. That sad fact is especially true in the series TV categories, where the choices aren't as obvious as those for movies and miniseries. Here is a cheat sheet of deserving shows and actors, including a few you might forget to remember. Please, Emmy voters, steal copiously.

BEST COMEDY

30 Rock (NBC)

The Office (NBC)

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Special request: Please, my voting friends. Take note of "How I Met Your Mother," a clever time-shifting sitcom that deserves many props. And "Old Christine" has jelled into something special above and beyond its crack lead actress.

BEST DRAMA

Mad Men (AMC)

Friday Night Lights (NBC)

Dexter (Showtime)

Lost (ABC)

In Treatment (HBO)

Special request: I won't even bother putting in a pretty-please for the final season of "The Wire," the famously ignored HBO drama. But there's still a chance you'll listen when it comes to "In Treatment," the year's most searing character drama. Also, please remember that "Dexter" is more than just a great performance by Michael C. Hall. It's a riveting thriller.

LEAD COMEDY ACTRESS

Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS)

Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program, Comedy Central)

America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, ABC)

Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives, ABC)

Special request: She's controversial, but she is hysterical, that Silverman. Her mock naivete is always a pleasure. I'd love to see her get a nod, along with this more expected group of funny ladies.

LEAD COMEDY ACTOR

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)

David Duchovny (Californication, Showtime)

Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO)

Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother, CBS)

Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory, CBS)

Special request: Duchovny let it all hang out in "Californication," with his memorable portrait of a writer partying away his regrets. And Radnor holds his sitcom together with a likable mix of romance and irony. He is to "How I Met Your Mother" what Eric McCormack was to "Will & Grace" - the anchor. And Parsons? Despite the awful script, he was a kick.

LEAD DRAMA ACTRESS

Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, NBC)

Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)

January Jones (Mad Men, AMC)

Glenn Close (Damages, FX)

Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love, HBO)

Special request: I kept thinking Jones was too shallow in "Mad Men," until I realized that her shallowness was poignant and rich. It's not easy to play repressed. Goodwin became the big heart of "Big Love" last season. And mark my words: This category will once again be a sham if Britton is ignored. Her fury is a force of nature.

LEAD DRAMA ACTOR

Jon Hamm (Mad Men, AMC)

Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, NBC)

Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)

Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment, HBO)

Hugh Laurie (House, Fox)

Special request: With all due respect to James Spader, who has won this category three times in the past four years, we're ready for new blood. Byrne is a must, for holding "In Treatment" together as the imperfect therapist, and so is Hamm, who made "Mad Men" into a fine psychological study. Alas, no room for the deserving Jason Clarke of "Brotherhood" and Damian Lewis of "Life."

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS

Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS)

Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother, CBS)

Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty, ABC)

Melora Hardin (The Office, NBC)

Jenna Fischer (The Office, NBC)

Special request: Sykes has become the perfect buddy to Louis-Dreyfus. She pushes back firmly. Hannigan has finally found her sitcom voice, and it's especially dear. And Hardin makes Jan into a maniac whose fall from grace has been a cringe-worthy delight.

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, CBS)

Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, CBS)

Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS)

Jack McBrayer (30 Rock, NBC)

Rainn Wilson (The Office, NBC)

Special request: Harris steals "How I Met Your Mother" on a weekly basis, but Segel deserves a nod for his low-key gullibility. And McBrayer's Kenneth the intern is a character for the ages. He deserves recognition this year after last year's slight.

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS

Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter,

Showtime)

Jaime Murray (Dexter,

Showtime)

Mia Wasikowska (In Treatment, HBO)

Dianne Wiest (In Treatment,

HBO)

Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights, NBC)

Special request: Please voters, don't shame yourselves by ignoring Wasikowska. She was a young powerhouse in "In Treatment," and she is destined for great things. Also, you must recognize Jaime Murray, the seductive borderline personality in "Dexter" who gave our undaunted hero more than a moment's pause. She was on fire.

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR

Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men, AMC)

Jamie Hector (The Wire, HBO)

Kevin Chapman (Brotherhood, Showtime)

Donald Sutherland (Dirty Sexy Money, ABC)

Michael Emerson (Lost, ABC)

Special request: Hector was consistently amazing as Marlo, particularly this season when his eternal calm broke and he declared, "My name is my name." Kartheiser was deeply creepy as the ambitious Pete Campbell, and local boy Chapman is a thug for the ages on "Brotherhood."

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. For more on TV, visit boston.com/ae/tv/blog/.