The Emmys

[amnesiac]

'West Wing', 'Raymond' take top Emmy gongs

White House drama The West Wing has won best television drama while Everybody Loves Raymond was named favourite comedy at the 55th annual prime-time Emmy Awards.

The West Wing earned its fourth Emmy for best drama, rubbing out HBO's highly touted mob show The Sopranos, which had been favoured coming into this year's ceremony and had never beaten West Wing for the top honour.

The win surprised the audience because the Sopranos had been heavily favoured and had swaggered through early categories, winning top prizes for best actor in a drama, James Gandolfini, who portrays family boss Tony Soprano, and best actress, Edie Falco, who plays his wife Carmela.

Onstage, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin thanked his cast and crew for what he said was "four years of a playwright's dream".

Sorkin left the show at the end of last season.

Backstage, past winner Gandolfini called his Emmy "bittersweet" in light of another loss for the series.

"My work has been acknowledged already, it's time for everybody else's work to be acknowledged," he said.

He also said the subject matter of the mob show may be the reason Sopranos has not beaten West Wing, because a show about thieves and drugs "turns people off".

Viewers love Raymond

Heading into its eighth season, Everybody Loves Raymond is one of CBS's biggest hits and a top-rated comedy among viewers, but it had never won an Emmy as best comedy.

The show also earned Emmys for supporting actor Brad Garrett and supporting actress Doris Roberts.

Roberts won her third Emmy for her role as the overbearing mother to sports writer Ray Barone (Ray Romano), and Garrett earned his second straight victory as Barone's jealous older brother.

Among the networks, HBO was the big winner of the show with eight prime-time Emmys to CBS's seven.

NBC was third with four.

In two big surprises, CBS's contest program The Amazing Race beat high-profile rivals that included Fox's American Idol and CBS's Survivor, and Will & Grace co-star Debra Messing was named best actress in a comedy.

Backstage, Race producer Jerry Bruckheimer noted that his two main rivals had received more hype than his show saying that Amazing Race has yet to be renewed for a new season while the others have.

"CBS, you watching," he joked, as he waved his Emmy in triumph.

Messing had been nominated four times, but had never won an Emmy while all three of her primary co-stars had.

"I can't imagine it being more sweet, I really can't," Messing told reporters backstage.

"This is otherworldly, I've never allowed myself to dream this far."

Tony Shalhoub, who portrays an obsessive-compulsive detective in cable TV program Monk, won the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series.

Veteran actress Tyne Daly won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a TV drama for her role in Judging Amy while HBO's Joe Pantoliano took the Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama for his role in The Sopranos.

Onstage, Pantoliano seemed near tears when accepting his award, and he thanked co-star James Gandolfini, whose character Tony Soprano murdered Pantoliano's this past season.

Among other big winners was TV movie, Door to Door on cable network TNT, which claimed four Emmys for best directing, writing, and acting for star William H Macy, as well as the top award in its category for best TV movie.

The best TV mini-series was awarded to Steven Spielberg presents Taken.

Winners List

Drama Series The West Wing, NBC

Comedy Series Everybody loves Raymond, CBS

Variety, Music or Comedy Series Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central

Miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents 'Taken', Sci Fi
Made-for-TV Movie Door To Door, TNT

Variety, Music or Comedy Special Cher - The Farewell Tour, NBC

Actor, Drama Series James Gandolfini, The Sopranos, HBO

Actress, Drama Series Edie Falco, The Sopranos, HBO

Actor, Comedy Series Tony Shalhoub, Monk, USA

Actress, Comedy Series Debra Messing, Will and Grace, NBC

Actor, Miniseries or a Movie William Macy, Door to Door, TNT

Actress, Miniseries or a Movie Maggie Smith, My House in Umbria, HBO

Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program Wayne Brady, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, ABC

Supporting Actor, Drama Series Joe Pantoliano, The Sopranos, HBO

Supporting Actress, Drama Series Tyne Daly, Judging Amy, CBS

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series Brad Garrett, Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS

upporting Actress, Comedy Series Doris Roberts, Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or a Movie Ben Gazzara, Hysterical Blindness, HBO

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie Gena Rowlands, Hysterical Blindness, HBO

Directing for a Drama Series West Wing, NBC

Directing for a Comedy Series Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO.
Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Door To Door, TNT

Directing for a Variety or Music Program 56th Tony Awards, CBS

Writing for a Drama Series The Sopranos, HBO

Writing for a Comedy Series Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS

Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special Door To Door, TNT

Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central

Governors Award Lifetime Television for its campaign to stop violence against women

Bob Hope Humanitarian Award Bill Cosby

[NuMarvel]

Everybody loves Raymond???? Just when I think I've got them all figured out, americans come along and just confuse the heck outta me! Course they also nominated Taken as best mini series, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

Love West Wing though, great to see it get some accoldades! Now if they could do an award for Best Series that died before it's time and have Fascape win, they I'd be happy!

[amnesiac]

Yeah Everybody Loves Raymond does the business Stateside. Beats me too, I think it's Rubbish. Thought Buffy might get a gong or two in her final year but Joss has always been overlooked by the Emmys. Bah.

[skysabove]

Yeah, Everybody loves Raymond is lame, lame, lame. Bur aren't there lot of HBO programmes on the winning list? It would have been unknown a few years ago for a cable channel to win this amount of awards.

[amnesiac]

I don't think HBO was recognised enough! No awards for Sex And The City (Best written comedy on TV in my opinion) or Sizx Feet Under! Surprised The Amazing Race beat Survivor and Big Brother.

[Pipe Dreams]

I'm so surprised that six feet under got no awards... its a kewl series

and as for this raymond thing I won't even bother looking it up

[amnesiac]

Season Three has not lived up to the first two seasons though. having said that, I still think it is far better than most of the US drama sereis out there.

[redbulljunkie]

Any sitcom that has the name of lead actor and character in the name should be avoided IMO. (although suddenly susan was okay). There are so many better comedies out there in even the "average" category.

[bioguycork]

seinfeld was good though.

what is the amazing race? i've never heard of it. i'm not surprised big brother usa didn't win anything, it's pretty tedious.

never saw everybody loves raymond, which station shows it over here?

[amnesiac]

The Amazing Race is a Reality/survival programme by Mark Burnett, the man who vorught us Survivor. Airs on tvthree. For more info
www.cbs.com/primetime/amazingrace

I think Network 2 used to show Raymond. It's dire. Is it on Paramount?

[bioguycork]

oh hang on, i just got the whole "amazing grace"/"amazing race" pun. god, that penny took a while to drop!

from what everyone's saying, i'm not missing much re everyone loves raymond.

[Slayer]

I'm sorry, have to disagree, but anytime I've watched Everybody loves Raymond I've laughed my ass off.


It's a travesty that Six Feet Under got nothing.

The acting and writing in it is head and shoulders above anything the US is producing right now, especially the West Wing, who has lost it's creator, and has since gone downhill.

[NuMarvel]

Amnesiac - Buffy didn't receive a nod of any description because sci-fi fantasy programmes are generaly passed over in the "creative" categories. It's the same with any of the Star Trek series, or pretty much any other proramme that you can think. The only exception is The X Files which got a few nominations for this kind of category.

So the odds of seeing a best actor/actress/series, etc award for Buffy would have been very slim, even if it would have deserved it.

The most these shows can hope for is a "Technical" award (i.e. best effects, makeup, hair, etc).