Last night's seventh-season finale of "24" delivered the show's trademark mix of action and drama as it wrapped up another eventful day in the life of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). This year the rogue spy battled friends and foes before ending the day facing imminent death.

Many critics have hailed the creative resurgence of this onetime perennial Emmy Awards contender. "24" sat out last year's Emmy race due to the writers strike. In 2007, Season 6 was deemed a disappointment and the show failed to contend for the drama series Emmy for the first time in its run. While "24" had made the top 10 — as determined by a popular vote of academy members — the sample episodes failed to impress the judging panel enough for the show to make it through to the final round of nominees.

That snub was especially glaring as "24" had taken TV's top honor the previous year. That win in 2006 came for the fifth consecutive series nod. And Sutherland won the lead actor Emmy Award that night as well. Though the show was not in the running in 2007, Sutherland did contend again for the sixth year in a row. He lost to James Spader ("Boston Legal"). Both he and the show are certainly in the mix this year based on reviews like the following for last night's two-hour season-ender.

Robert Bianco of USA Today thought the show "capped its season-long creative resurgence Monday with a finale that was characteristically rousing and uncharacteristically thoughtful. Spurred by Tony's betrayal and his own sense of impending doom, Jack allowed his heroic façade to drop — allowing the show to dig a bit deeper into the nature of his heroism."

What a lousy time for Kiefer Sutherland to be accused of head-butting a fashion designer! He's giving a powerful, impactful performance on "24," which is making a triumphant creative return to TV after sitting out last year's Emmy race thanks to the writers' strike.

In 2006, "24" won best drama series and Kiefer Sutherland won best actor, so they're already proven favorites with Emmy voters. Putting his current personal woes in context to what's happening on the show is ironic. On "24," Jack Bauer is psychologically vulnerable as he battles an infection that may kill him. He is conflicted about seeking redemption for his past. In last week's episode he delivered an emotionally complex performance as he dealt with his own prognosis and the betrayal of his one-time best friend. This acting showcase would make an excellent submission to Emmy jurors.

But Kiefer may have blown his Emmy chances when he reportedly blew his top, so to speak. Perhaps there's a parallel to Russell Crowe at the Oscars? Both Sutherland and Crowe are actors once widely regarded as cool, tough dudes. But that swagger of hip defiance must be managed delicately. If pent-up rage goes too far, it can turn off fans and Hollywood, especially when seemingly innocent bystanders are concerned.

Let's recall that Russell Crowe hasn't been nominated for an Oscar since he attacked that Manhattan hotel clerk and BAFTA TV producer. Up until the early 2000s, Crowe was nominated three times for Oscars ("The Insider," "Gladiator," "A Beautiful Mind") and won once ("Gladiator," 2000), but he hasn't been nominated since. In 2003, "Master and Commander" got so many nominations — 10, including best picture — it looked like everybody reaped a bid except the movie's own master and commander. The motion-picture academy snubbed Crowe.

Maybe it's wacky to tackle this so early — nominations don't come out till July — but I just invited our gutsy forum posters to start forecasting the next Emmy lineups. So let's add some Gold Derby perspective too.

Nominees for this TV award are a lot like TV reruns. They come back again and again, year after year, but now there's a radical revamp in the voting process that may trigger somewhat different results. Among new series, "The Mentalist" has been a hit but is perhaps too fantastic and eerie for the safe taste of Emmy voters, who usually aren't too welcoming to crime procedurals anyway. Voters often do embrace new HBO series, whatever they are, but a stake may be driven through the Emmy hopes of "True Blood" (which was nominated for best drama at the Golden Globes), considering how that superhit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was once so cruelly shunned by the TV academy.

"Kings" gets praise from some TV critics and mixed reviews from others. The L.A. Times calls the modern update of the Old Testament tale of David and Goliath "an interesting muddle of a show," but it's pretentious, so that's a plus with those notorious Emmy snobs. Read this L.A. Times article about a few more dramas premiering in midseason.

In recent years, nominees were selected using a two-stage voting process. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, 10 series and actors in each category (15 in the acting races in 2006) were chosen by academy members using a popular ballot. Then the semifinalists were whittled down to the final nominees after sample TV episodes were screened by judging panels that convened at the TV academy and the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

This year the TV academy just made the terrible decision to kill off the judging panels in an effort to save money. That means we're right back where we started prior to 2006, with lower-rated underdog contenders getting screwed. In other words, Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") might be back this year because he gained stature after winning best drama actor last September, but don't expect other critically hailed work on little-seen, brilliant cable shows to get a fair shot.

However, this new system does make predicting the Emmys much simpler, since pundits need only to focus on the most popular faves. In an effort to help the small fries a bit, the academy has increased the number of nominees in each race to six (sometimes seven), up from the usual five.

Let's start off dishing the battles in the top drama categories for series, actors and actresses. See more noodling and predix in The Envelope's Gold Derby forums.

* = Nominee last year

BEST DRAMA SERIES
(Favorites)
"Boston Legal" *
"Damages" *
"Dexter" *
"House" *
"Lost" *
"Mad Men" * (last year's winner)
"No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency"
"24"

Due to an accounting quirk, there were six nominees in this race last year and five of them will probably be back: "Damages," "Dexter," "House," "Lost" and "Mad Men." "Boston Legal" is vulnerable now that it's saying bye-bye. Past champ "24" (2006) wasn't eligible last year, so there's a good chance it'll nab a bid now that it's jumping back into the derby. "The Tudors" made the top 10 rundown last year and "Big Love" in 2006, so they could make the next top six or seven. "In Treatment" didn't make the 2008 semifinalist list, but it could be buoyed now by its two Emmy victories last September for best supporting actress (Dianne Wiest) and guest star (Glynn Turman). Maybe in an alternate universe the critically praised "Battlestar Galactica" might have a shot. What about "Dollhouse"?

A few of our forum posters think past champ "ER" has a shot since it's experiencing a comeback in its final season. Among new series, HBO's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" hasn't premiered yet, but reviews from U.K. where it aired last week are strong. "The Mentalist" is a relative ratings success, "True Blood" was nominated at the Golden Globes, and "Kings" reigns among some TV critics.

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment" *
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" * (winner)
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" *
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" *
Hugh Laurie, "House" *
James Spader, "Boston Legal" *
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"

Past champ Kiefer Sutherland will be back because "24" has been much missed. Denis Leary ("Rescue Me"), Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") and Patrick Dempsey ("Grey's Anatomy") made the top 10 runoff last year, so that tells us they have a strong base of popular support. Jonathan Rhys-Myers ("The Tudors") didn't make the runoff in 2008, but he may soon be forgiven for weighing 300 pounds less than the real King Henry VIII and being infinitely more pretty. Bill Paxton ("Big Love") made the run-offs a few years ago, but not since. This year's newbies who might break through include Ian McShane ("Kings"), who was nominated in this Emmy race for "Deadwood" in 2006,  Patrick Swayze ("The Beast") and Simon Baker ("The Mentalist").