"No 'Desperate Housewives' among the top five" nominees for best comedy series at the Emmys, predicts our bold forums poster "MicheBel." What a shocking — but fascinating — thought! Could it really happen to the smash hit TV series?

Yes. Serialized series have always been disadvantaged at the Emmys when evaluated by judging panels whose members may not be familiar with the shows' various, meandering plots. But MicheBel believes it'll be snubbed for another reason: it's not good enough anymore, she claims.

Balderdash! No, "Desperate Housewives" didn't reach the same heights this year that it did during its debut season, but I firmly believe it's still magnificent, still one of the best shows on the tube nowadays. If producers submit the brilliant, two-hour season finale, I can't possibly imagine "Desperate Housewives" being usurped by a half-hour sitcom in the final lineup of five nominees.

But I've been wrong before and now MicheBel has caused an uproar in our message boards by posing such a provocative question. Basically, she maintains that "DH" will be snubbed because it's sagging in quality while pitted against too many great alternatives — like "Arrested Development," "Boston Legal," "Entourage," "Everybody Hates Chris," "Gilmore Girls," "My Name Is Earl," "The Office" and "Weeds."

Photo: The housewives ended up fighting (playfully) backstage over Felicity Huffman's Emmy statuette last year when TV's hottest new show lost best comedy series to the departing previous champ "Everybody Loves Raymond."
(ATAS)