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 It
may have been just another Emmy award show Sunday night in Los Angeles,
with a mix of deserving winners and obvious snubs, but what made
this year’s event seem so refreshing had nothing to do with any
statue or what anyone was wearing. For the first time in a while,
a true comic professional took the stage, and without an ounce of
apprehension or uncertainty, simply did what he does best. Conan
O’Brien took advantage of each and every time he was given a chance
to speak, giving the program a sparkling dose of lively comedy,
making the just over three hour running time fly by without so much
as a moment of impatience. (Okay, I’ll admit to taking a much deserved
bathroom break just around the time Oprah took the stage. But I
really had to go… Really.)
O’Brien
began the program with a mocking parody of the television phenomenon
of the year, The Osbournes, before turning his opening
monologue into a list of new conditions he was applying to all
acceptance speeches. (Which included a limit of one child that
could be thanked per winner.) A hilarious bit with Jennifer Aniston,
Brad Pitt and Gary Shandling proved that O’Brien had no problem
telling jokes, or being the joke himself.
Other
moments of hilarity came when O’Brien used a telestrator to point
out groups situated around the audience, including “the Gay Mafia,
the black people who watch Frasier,” (a very small area) and “Jerry
Orbach’s posse.” A staged, yet still funny battle with former
sidekick Andy Rickter in the aisles of the theater was just another
example of Conan’s insistence on not taking this new “gig” too
seriously. Instead of a tight, well-rehearsed staging of dull
skits and gags, Conan’s light and casual flair was exactly what
its audience deserved. (Unlike those stodgy and uptight Oscar
audiences.)
 As
for the winners themselves, it can surely be open for debate.
The West Wing is certainly an entertaining drama deserved
of praise, but how does the brilliant and darkly comic HBO drama
Six Feet Under go home with just one award award (Alan
Ball for direction)? Friends is likely the best sitcom
on the major networks and will surely be missed, but no show on
television (perhaps ever) is more consistently funny than HBO’s
Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Perhaps
the best part of the night came with its only major upset. The
Shield’s Michael Chicklis managed to secure the award for
best leading actor in a drama, beating out favorites Martin Sheen
and Kiefer Sutherland. It was the highest honor ever bestowed
on a show from a basic cable network (FX), and may go a long way
to bringing viewers to watch the best police drama currently on
the air.
But,
in the end, this was just another awards show. Some people won
and some people lost, like any other year. And while most people
will argue over the Academy’s choices, it seems clear their choice
of host deserves to be commended. If, nothing else, Conan O’Brien
made the entire three-hour and fifteen minute show seem like just
under three hours. Now that is talent.
Supporting
Actress, Comedy Series
Doris Roberts, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
Wendie Malick, Just Shoot Me (NBC)
Cynthia Nixon, Sex and the City (HBO)
Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City (HBO)
Megan Mullally, Will & Grace (NBC)
Directing,
Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Malcolm in the Middle (Fox)
Scrubs (NBC)
Sex and the City (HBO)
Will & Grace (NBC)
Supporting
Actor, Comedy Series
Peter Boyle, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
Brad Garrett, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
David Hyde Pierce, Frasier (NBC)
Bryan Cranston, Malcolm in the Middle (Fox)
Sean Hayes, Will & Grace (NBC)
Writing,
Comedy Series
Andy Richter Controls the Universe (Fox)
The Bernie Mac Show (Fox)
Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
Sex and the City (HBO)
Directing,
Variety, Music or Comedy Program
74th Annual Academy Awards (ABC)
America: A Tribute to Heroes (Various networks)
From Broadway: Fosse (PBS)
Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Opening Ceremony Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games (NBC)
Writing,
Variety, Music or Comedy Program
America: A Tribute to Heroes (Various networks)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC)
Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Performance,
Variety or Music Program
Sting, Sting in Tuscany...All This Time (A&E)
Billy Joel, Billy Joel: In His Own Words (A&E)
Jon Stewart, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
Wayne Brady, Whose Line Is It Anyway? (ABC)
Ryan Stiles, Whose Line Is It Anyway? (ABC)
Supporting
Actress, Drama Series
Tyne Daly, Judging Amy (CBS)
Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet Under (HBO)
Mary-Louise Parker, The West Wing (NBC)
Stockard Channing, The West Wing (NBC)
Janel Moloney, The West Wing (NBC)
Supporting
Actor, Drama Series
Victor Garber, Alias (ABC)
Freddy Rodriguez, Six Feet Under (HBO)
Dulé Hill, The West Wing (NBC)
John Spencer, The West Wing (NBC)
Bradley Whitford, The West Wing (NBC)
Richard Schiff, The West Wing (NBC)
Supporting
Actor, Miniseries or Movie
Jim Broadbent, The Gathering Storm (HBO)
Michael Moriarty, James Dean (TNT)
Alec Baldwin, Path to War (HBO)
Don Cheadle, Things Behind the Sun (Showtime)
Jon Voight, Uprising (NBC)
Directing,
Miniseries or Movie
Band of Brothers (HBO)
The Gathering Storm (HBO)
James Dean (TNT)
The Laramie Project (HBO)
Path to War (HBO)
Supporting
Actress, Miniseries or Movie
Sissy Spacek, Last Call (Showtime)
Stockard Channing, The Matthew Shepard Story (NBC)
Joan Allen, The Mists of Avalon (TNT)
Anjelica Huston, The Mists of Avalon (TNT)
Diana Rigg, Victoria and Albert (A&E)
Writing,
Miniseries or Movie
Band of Brothers (HBO)
The Gathering Storm (HBO)
The Laramie Project (HBO)
Path to War (HBO)
Shackleton (A&E)
Variety,
Music or Comedy Special
74th Annual Academy Awards (ABC)
America: A Tribute to Heroes (Various networks)
The Carol Burnett Show "Show Stoppers" (CBS)
Cirque Du Soleil's Alegria (Bravo)
Concert for New York City (VH1)
Opening Ceremony Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games (NBC)
Variety,
Music or Comedy Series
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher (ABC)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC)
Outstanding
Made-for-Television Movie
Dinner with Friends (HBO)
The Gathering Storm (HBO)
James Dean (TNT)
The Laramie Project (HBO)
Path to War (HBO)
Directing,
Drama Series
The Shield (FX)
Six Feet Under (HBO)
24 (Fox)
The West Wing ("The Indians in the Lobby") (NBC)
The West Wing ("Posse Comitatus") (NBC)
Writing,
Drama Series
Alias (ABC)
ER (NBC)
The Shield (FX)
24 (Fox)
The West Wing (NBC)
Actor,
Miniseries or Movie
Albert Finney, The Gathering Storm (HBO)
James Franco, James Dean (TNT)
Michael Gambon, Path to War (HBO)
Kenneth Branagh, Shackleton (A&E)
Beau Bridges, We Were the Mulvaneys (Lifetime)
Actress,
Miniseries or a Movie
Vanessa Redgrave, The Gathering Storm (HBO)
Angela Bassett, The Rosa Parks Story (CBS)
Blythe Danner, We Were the Mulvaneys (Lifetime)
Laura Linney, Wild Iris (Showtime)
Gena Rowlands, Wild Iris (Showtime)
Actor,
Comedy Series
Bernie Mac, The Bernie Mac Show (Fox)
Ray Romano, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
Kelsey Grammer, Frasier (NBC)
Matt LeBlanc, Friends (NBC)
Matthew Perry, Friends (NBC)
Actress,
Comedy Series
Patricia Heaton, Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
Jennifer Aniston, Friends (NBC)
Jane Kaczmarek, Malcolm in the Middle (Fox)
Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City (HBO)
Debra Messing, Will & Grace (NBC)
Outstanding
Miniseries
Band of Brothers (HBO)
Dinotopia (ABC)
The Mists of Avalon (TNT)
Shackleton (A&E)
Actor,
Drama Series
Michael Chiklis, The Shield (FX)
Michael C. Hall, Six Feet Under (HBO)
Peter Krause, Six Feet Under (HBO)
Kiefer Sutherland, 24 (Fox)
Martin Sheen, The West Wing (NBC)
Actress,
Drama Series
Jennifer Garner, Alias (ABC)
Amy Brenneman, Judging Amy (CBS)
Rachel Griffiths, Six Feet Under (HBO)
Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under (HBO)
Allison Janney, The West Wing (NBC)
Outstanding
Drama Series
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)
Law & Order (NBC)
Six Feet Under (HBO)
24 (Fox)
The West Wing (NBC)
Outstanding
Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
Friends (NBC)
Sex and the City (HBO)
Will & Grace (NBC)
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