"ER," which appeared to be on its way to an Emmy sweep Sunday evening, was derailed in the late going by "NYPD Blue," "Picket Fences" and - believe it or not - "Chicago Hope."
And quite a bit of its thunder was stolen by multiple winner "Frasier."But "ER," the biggest thing to hit television in the past year, became one of the biggest things in Emmy history Sunday night.
The NBC medical drama won a total of eight awards - tying "Hill Street Blues" for the most ever by a series in a single year. "ER" won awards for supporting actress (Julianna Margulies), writing and directing, as well as five Emmys in technical categories presented on Saturday.
"At this time last year, I was dead. So this is an amazing place to be," said Margulies, whose character was brain-dead after the series pilot but was later revived.
"ER's" apparent sweep was stopped, however. "NYPD Blue," which was the favorite last year but an underdog this year, won the Emmy for outstanding drama series.
"What a surprise! Holy mackerel!" co-creator/executive producer Steven Bochco exclaimed to the audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
And Kathy Baker won her third Emmy in a row for outstanding actress in a drama series for "Picket Fences." ("ER's" Sherry Stringfield was an early favorite.)
Perhaps most surprisingly, Mandy Patinkin, the star of the "other" medical drama, CBS's "Chicago Hope," won as best actor in a drama. (Ironically, Patinkin is leaving the regular cast of "Hope" after the first eight episodes this season, but will return as an occasional guest star.) Among those he beat were two "ER" stars - Anthony Edwards and George Cloo-ney.
"Frasier" was the evening's other big winner, taking home five awards - outstanding comedy series (for the second year in a row); outstanding actor, Kelsey Grammer (also for the second year in a row); writing; directing; and best supporting actor, David Hyde Pierce.
"Does this mean I never have to work again or that I'll never work again?" Pierce quipped when accepting his award.
For the second year in a row, Candice Bergen was named outstanding actress in a comedy series for "Murphy Brown" - her fifth in the series' seven years on the air. Bergen has now won more awards for a lead acting role in a series than anyone in Emmy history.
"I'd like to thank the Academy for this embarrassment of riches," she said.
The biggest individual winner was Shirley Knight, who not only won for supporting actress in a miniseries or special for her role in "Indictment: The McMartin Trial" (she tied with Judy Davis of "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story") but also for guest appearance in a drama series for "NYPD Blue" in the non-televised portion of the Emmys Saturday night.
"After winning one last night, this seems rather greedy," Knight said.
Barbra Streisand and her concert each won Emmys - Streisand for outstanding performance in a variety or music program and her concert as the outstanding variety or music special.
"The last time that I won one of these was 30 years ago for my first television special. I can tell you it was very thrilling then and it's more thrilling now," said Streisand, who received a standing ovation from the audience.
Not surprisingly, the politically correct "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story" (for which Streisand was an executive producer) was also a multiple Emmy winner. The fact-based, good-but-not-great movie about a lesbian who challenged the Army's ban on homosexuals won for actress in a miniseries or special (Glenn Close) and writing in a miniseries or special, as well as Davis' award.
The winner who waited the longest to take home an Emmy was 76-year-old Ray Walston, who won for outstanding supporting actor in a drama - "Picket Fences."
"I have 30 seconds to tell you that I've been waiting 60 years to get up on this stage," Walston said.
David Lee, who won for outstanding directing in a comedy series for "Frasier," made some Emmy history himself. He becomes only the second person to win in three different categories.
"I'm fortunate enough to have received this award as a writer, as a producer and as a director, so I think the time may have come to tell the Academy what I really want to do is act," he joked.
Christine Baranski, whose first series TV role - Maryann on "Cybill" - didn't come until the middle of last season, was named outstanding supporting actress in a comedy.
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," whose ratings have drawn about even with the "Late Show with David Letterman" in recent weeks, also drew even in Emmys. "Tonight," which lost to the "Late Show" last year, won the Emmy for outstanding comedy or variety series.
"I guess this means HBO's gotta shoot a new ending for that movie, huh?" quipped Leno, referring to an upcoming movie about his battle with Letterman.
It was the first Emmy for Leno's "Tonight Show" after seven nominations; Letterman has won five - one for the "Late Show," two for "Late Night" and two daytime Emmys for "The David Letterman Show."
The 47th Annual Emmy Awards, broadcast by the Fox network, were at their best when handing out awards or airing clips of some of television's best moments. As usual, the presentations bogged down with snappy patter that wasn't and lame jokes.
(Among the exceptions were Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno, Paul Reiser, Jerry Seinfeld, and Garry Shandling - all stand-up comedians - who shone as presenters.)
Hosts Cybill Shepherd and Jason Alexander were almost inconsequential, their jokes falling flat, their songs failing and their presence almost unnecessary. Both were nominated for Emmys, and neither won.
The best news of all was that the show ended a bit early, running "only" two hours and 55 minutes.
In the network race, NBC finished on top with 28 wins total from both the televised and non-televised portions of the Emmys. CBS was second with 19, cable's HBO was third with 15, and ABC - first in the ratings last season - won only six.
Fox opened the evening with an incredibly inane program titled "Countdown to the Emmys," which allowed Dick Clark to make a fool of himself by asking stupid, trivial questions. The half hour was largely an excuse to get a look at the clothes of the arriving stars.
(For the evening, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss had the most revealing and tasteless gown, and Cyndi Lauper - who won an Emmy as guest actress in a comedy series for "Mad About You" - wore the oddest outfit, to no one's great surprise.)
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The complete list of Primetime Emmy Award winners was online 45 minutes before the show was over. Get online and save time.
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And the winners are . . .
Actor, comedy: Kelsey Grammer, "Frasier," NBC
Actress, comedy: Candice Bergen, "Murphy Brown," CBS
Supporting actor, comedy: David Hyde Pierce, "Frasier," NBC
Supporting actress, comedy: Christine Baranski, "Cybill," CBS
Guest actor, comedy: Carl Reiner, "Mad About You," NBC
Guest actress, comedy: Cyndi Lauper, "Mad About You," NBC
Writing, comedy: "Frasier," NBC
Directing, comedy: "Frasier," NBC
Actor, drama: Mandy Patinkin, "Chicago Hope," CBS
Actress, drama: Kathy Baker, "Picket Fences," CBS
Supporting actor, drama: Ray Walston, "Picket Fences," CBS
Supporting actress, drama: Julianna Margulies, "ER," NBC
Guest actor, drama: Paul Winfield, "Picket Fences," CBS
Guest actress, drama: Shirley Knight, "NYPD Blue," ABC
Writing, drama: "ER," NBC
Directing, drama: "ER," NBC
Variety or music series: "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," NBC
Variety or music special: "Barbra Streisand: The Concert," HBO
Performance, variety of music program: Barbra Steisand, "Barbara Streisand: The Concert," HBO
Writing, variety or music program: "Dennis Miller Live," HBO
Directing, variety of music program: "Academy Awards," ABC
Television movie: "Indictment: The McMartin Trial," HBO
Miniseries or special: "Joseph," TNT
Actor, miniseries/special: Raul Julia, "Burning Season," HBO
Actress, miniseries or special: Glenn Close, "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story," NBC
Supporting actor, miniseries or special: Donald Sutherland, "Citizen X," HBO
Supporting actress, miniseries or special: (tie) Judy Davis, "Serving in Silence," NBC; Shirley Knight, "Indictment," HBO
Writing, miniseries or special: "Serving in Silence," NBC
Directing, miniseries or special: "The Burning Season," HBO
Cultural program: "Live from Lincoln Center: La Traviata," PBS
Children's program: "The World Wildlife Fund Presents `Going, Going, Almost Gone! Animals in Danger,' " HBO
Informational series: "Baseball," PBS, and "TV Nation," NBC
Animated program: "The Simpsons," Fox
Governor's Award: The Public Broadcasting System