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MT. EMMY: To reach the pinnacle, or, in this case, the golden Emmy, wrap yourself in raves and pack lots of buzz. Altitude readings are by Greg Braxton, Elena Howe, Rene Lynch, Lee Margulies, Tom O’Neil and Jevon Phillips.

PEAKING

FEEL THE LOVE: If we could exude caring, concern and compassion while sitting on our rear all day like Gabriel Byrne does on “In Treatment,” we think our colleagues would like us a lot more.

CLIMBING

THOUGHTFUL SONS: Justin Timberlake, right, and Andy Samberg didn’t use boxes this time, but they could be back at the Emmys this year anyway for the music and lyrics of their “SNL” “Mother Lovers” skit.

BOLDLY HOPING: Will the success of “Star Trek” in the cineplexes give “Battlestar Galactica” a boost in the Emmy race? Voters are normally anti-genre -- except with technical awards -- but with sci-fi in the air and “Battlestar” now off the air, who knows?

AT BASE CAMP

YOU TALKING TO ME? For our money, Bruce Willis was the only guy on TV who could get away with talking directly to the camera. But now we’re kind of charmed by Jay Harrington’s breaking the fourth wall on “Better Off Ted.”

CHUTES AND LADDERS: A glance at campaign materials tells us a lot of contenders are switching categories this year. Among them, Patrick Dempsey drops to supporting actor for “Grey’s Anatomy” and January Jones moves up to lead for “Mad Men.”

LOOKING FOR A SHERPA

SAMANTHA WHERE? Here’s hoping voters won’t hold Christina Applegate responsible for the erratic scheduling of “Samantha Who?” and its subsequent cancellation. Funny is funny -- big audience or not.

BRAIN REACTION: Between the boys of “The Big Bang Theory” and “24’s” computer whizzes Mary Lynn Rajskub and Janeane Garafalo, the Emmys could become the setting for a new “Revenge of the Nerds” outing.

A LOW PROMO: Ira Glass, talking about the stage version of his “This American Life” on KCRW, encouraged Emmy voters to go see it. What, Showtime’s not sending out DVD screeners?