James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") and Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds") changed their Emmy reels at the last minute, but Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") held firm.

Right now frantic second-guessing is consuming Emmy contenders as the final deadline looms for them to declare the sample episode they'll give to judges in the event they make the final run-off after a popular vote is conducted of TV academy members.

Deadline is the last day of eligibility — tomorrow, May 31. By that point they must ship a DVD of the actual episode to the academy's headquarters in North Hollywood.

Originally, Gandolfini planned to submit "Chasing It," in which he gives a jackpot performance showing us a glimpse of his gambling getting out of control just as his life does, too. But he ended up changing episodes — wisely, I think — to "The Second Coming," which Falco also will submit. He gives a much more wide-ranging performance in it, and a heart-felt one, too, as we see him bear his troubled soul to his therapist (Dr. Melfi, we have missed you!) and saved son A.J. from drowning himself.

Parker planned to submit "Pittsburgh," which wrapped up season two in a sensational way. But that would've been confusing to Emmy judges who aren't regular viewers of the series. Besides, her actual performance, emotionally speaking, is better in what she ended up picking: "Mrs. Botwin's Neighborhood."

Rhys Meyers originally planned to submit episode 105 of "Tudors," then considered switching to 107 (the one about the sweating disease), but then, in a moment of clarity, regained confidence in 105.

All wise decisions, methinks! Now what will everyone else decide?

Photo: In "The Second Coming," viewers see Tony Soprano's vulnerability and love for his family after he rescues his son from a suicide attempt and coddles him in his arms at poolside, calling him, "My baby . . . my baby . . . ." (HBO)