I'm wearing an extra badge today, this one an orange number that shows I was one of a handful of reporters from TCA silly enough to have rolled out of bed before dawn to go to North Hollywood for the annual Emmy nominations announcement.

Once there, it was clear that this is a made-for-TV event, from the timing - the proceedings start promptly at 5:38 a.m. and 30 seconds, Pacific time, to synch, I guess, with the New York-based morning shows - to the amount of space in the auditorium that was devoted to cameras, booms and other equipment. Just to the left of where we were sitting, E! Entertainment had its own little stage, and a couple of us passed the time before the announcements speculating about the very high heels on a woman reporter who probably wouldn't even be seen at full length. A lot gets said about TV salaries, but some of those people clearly earn them. Meanwhile, it hadn't occurred to me to do much more than wash my face before I left, so if you spot me on one of those shows, concealer-free, be kind, OK?

Once co-hosts Jane Kaczmarek and Michael Chiklis took the stage, the major-category announcements themselves were over in a flash, with "Malcolm in the Middle's" mom playing the situation for every bit of humor she could, including kissing the ground when Chiklis announced her name.

Both actors got nominated - no need to be as gracious as Eric McCormack had to be last year - but the actress' big concern, coming off the stage, was whether either of her "men," real-life husband Bradley Whitford of "The West Wing," or TV husband Bryan Cranston, had gotten nods, too.

Told that they had, she seemed relieved. "My men are happy, now I can be happy."

When she finally reached Whitford, who's been dealing with kidney stones, to congratulate him, it apparently took him a beat or two to remember to ask her if she'd also gotten nominated.

"Oh, I did, too," she assured him.