"ER," nominated for 17 Emmys - the most of any show on this season - won only one on Sunday night.
But it was the one that counted. The top-rated medical drama was named outstanding drama at the annual prime-time Emmy Awards on Sunday night in Pasadena, Calif."Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy," exclaimed producer John Wells enthusiastically if inarticulately.
While "ER" was winning its first Emmy as outstanding drama, "Frasier" was winning its third in a row as outstanding comedy.
"Frasier" producer Peter Casey quipped that the show "sends a message to the pompous, long-winded and incessantly fussy of America. It says, `Yeah, there's a place for you.' "
The biggest surprise among the major awards came when Kathy Baker of "Picket Fences" won as outstanding actress in a drama for the third time in four years.
"This wasn't supposed to happen again, goodness," said Baker, whose show has been canceled by CBS. "I think it's clear by now to everybody that `Picket Fences' has been very, very good to me."
(Baker's win slammed the door on Angela Lansbury, who was nominated each of 12 seasons of "Murder, She Wrote" without ever winning an Emmy.)
Dennis Franz of "NYPD Blue" was also a repeat winner, taking home the Emmy for outstanding actor in a drama series for the second time in three years.
NBC won the network race with a total of 20 Emmys, including those presented on Saturday night at the creative arts ceremonies. Cable's HBO was second with 14, followed by ABC with 12 and CBS with 11.
The most-honored shows were "Gulliver's Travels" - which was named outstanding miniseries and also won in four technical categories - and "The X-Files," with five Emmys each. "The X-Files" failed to win as outstanding drama but did win for writing, guest actor, sound editing, sound mixing and cinematography.
The two actresses who won the comedy Emmys were both first-timers - and both had waited quite awhile for their awards.
Outstanding actress Helen Hunt won after losing the previous three seasons. She began her acceptance speech by expressing appreciation to last year's winner for not submitting her name for consideration this year.
"I'd like to thank Candice Bergen for her generosity of spirit," said Hunt, who was profuse in her thanks of her co-star. "I'd like to thank Paul Reiser, Paul Reiser, Paul Reiser, Paul Reiser, Paul Reiser."
Julia Louis-Dreyfus of "Seinfeld" finally won her first Emmy after five nominations as outstanding supporting actress in a comedy.
"A lot of people say that our show is about nothing, but of course it's been about plenty of something for me," she said tearfully. "It's been the greatest job of my life."
John Lithgow, on the other hand, won as outstanding actor in a comedy in his show's first season.
"God bless television!" said Lithgow, quoting the character he plays in "3rd Rock from the Sun."
Rip Torn, who won as outstanding supporting actor in a comedy for his role in "The Larry Sanders Show," gave credit to the show's star. "It's all due to my boss, Garry Shandling, and his comic genius," he said.
An obviously surprised Tyne Daly made Emmy history by winning her fifth dramatic acting award (in 10 nominations) - the latest for outstanding supporting actress in a drama for the long-canceled "Christy."
The outstanding supporting actor in a drama went to Ray Walston (his second in a row) in another canceled CBS show, "Picket Fences."
"This Emmy is a solid tribute to everyone who contributed to the final season of `Picket Fences,' " the 77-year-old actor said.
Dennis Miller was the comeback kid of this year's Emmys. Some three years after his syndicated talk show was axed, his HBO series "Dennis Miller Live" won Emmys for outstanding variety, music or comedy series and for writing in a a variety, music or comedy series.
"I'd just like to thank HBO, because I've been canceled summarily in this business and they pulled me off the scrap heap and gave me another chance," Miller said.
The TV movie "The Christmas Box," co-produced by Salt Lake City's Bonneville Productions, won an Emmy for individual achievement in costuming for a miniseries or a special at the creative arts awards on Saturday.
As always, the Emmy Awards ceremonies were a festival of self-appreciation from the opening moment, when Oprah Winfrey congratulated the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on its 50th anniversary.
On the other hand, Sunday's ceremonies were among the best in recent memory. Dispensing with the ever-annoying production numbers and song-and-dance routines, the producers instead relied on clips from television, past and present - an enjoyable change of pace.
The show opened with a montage of clips accompanying TV theme songs, and other segments looked at clips of American TV families from the '50s through the '90s, saluted late-night TV and special effects, looked at major events in TV history (including famous farewells), and even included a montage of various TV characters coming through doors.
Paul Reiser made a pleasant host, appearing infrequently enough so as to not wear out his welcome. And, if not all his jokes went over, well, that was OK.
"Ladies and gentleman, not every joke can be a winner," he said. "Like yourselves, one out of five is all I'm hoping for."
The show was not without its fumbles, including presenter Christine Lahti mispronouncing winner Greta Scacchi's name; Reiser calling presenter Alfre Woodward "Alfred"; lame banter between "Cybill" stars Cybill Shepherd and Christine Baranski and "NYPD Blue" stars Dennis Franz and Jimmy Smits; the hideous hair styles of Molly Ringwald and "X-Files" star Gillian Anderson; and ABC's blatant attempts at self-promotion.
But, for a change, the good far outweighed the bad. And the fact that the Emmy broadcast wrapped up in its scheduled three hours was a pleasant surprise.
Other highlights included:
- Former "All in the Family" co-stars Carroll O'Conner and Jean Stapleton appeared to present the first Emmy of the night - and were greeted by a standing ovation.
- "Frasier" co-stars David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves tangoed their way onstage to present another award.
- Nominee Ellen DeGeneres gave her acceptance speech as a presenter, knowing she wouldn't win later in the evening (and correctly predicting that Helen Hunt would win).
- Presenter Carol Burnett expressed considerable ambivalence over being a "television pioneer."
- Tom Hulce, who won an Emmy as outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or special in "The Heidi Chronicles," said he "would've worn a tie" if he thought he'd win. And he went on to say, "I'd like to thank David Hyde Pierce for being such an inspiration in this role on Broadway - and for being unavailable (to do the TV movie)."
- A brief tribute to Milton Berle included an appearance by "Mr. Television" himself. "I'm very, very proud that after all these years I'm still where I love to be - near you," he said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
And the winners are:
Comedy series: "Frasier," NBC.
Actor, comedy series: John Lithgow, "3rd Rock From the Sun," NBC.
Actress, comedy series: Helen Hunt, "Mad About You," NBC.
Supporting actor, comedy series: Rip Torn, "The Larry Sanders Show," HBO.
Supporting actress, comedy series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Seinfeld," NBC.
Guest actor, comedy series: Tim Conway, "Coach: The Gardener," ABC.
Guest actress, comedy series: Betty White, "The John Larroquette Show," NBC.
Directing, comedy series: "Friends," NBC.
Writing, comedy series: "Frasier," NBC.
Drama series: "ER," NBC.
Actor, drama series: Dennis Franz, "NYPD Blue," ABC.
Actress, drama series: Kathy Baker, "Picket Fences," CBS.
Supporting actor, drama series: Ray Walston, "Picket Fences," CBS.
Supporting actress, drama series: Tyne Daly, "Christy," CBS.
Guest actor, drama series: Peter Boyle, "X-Files," Fox.
Guest actress, drama series: Amanda Plummer, "The Outer Limits," Showtime.
Directing, drama series: "Chicago Hope," CBS.
Writing, drama series: "The X-Files," Fox.
TV movie: "Truman," HBO.
Miniseries: "Gulliver's Travels," NBC.
Actress, miniseries or special: Helen Mirren, "Prime Suspect: Scent of Darkness," PBS.
Actor, miniseries or special: Alan Rickman, "Rasputin," HBO.
Supporting actor, miniseries or special: Tom Hulce, "The Heidi Chronicles," TNT.
Supporting actress, miniseries or special: Greta Scacchi, "Rasputin," HBO.
Directing, miniseries or a special: "Andersonville," TNT.
Writing, miniseries or special: "Gulliver's Travels," NBC.
Variety, music or comedy series: "Dennis Miller Live," HBO.
Variety, music or comedy special: "The Kennedy Center Honors," CBS.
Individual performance, variety or music program: Tony Bennett, "Tony Bennett Live By Request," A&E.
Directing, variety or music program: "The Kennedy Center Honors," CBS.
Writing, variety or music program: "Dennis Miller Live," HBO.
President's award: "Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial," AMC.
Informational series: "Time Life's Lost Civilizations," NBC.
Animated program (one hour or less): "A Pinky & the Brain Christmas," WB.
Informational special: "Survivors of the Holocaust," TBS.
Children's program: "Peter and the Wolf," ABC.
Governor's award: TBS's "The Native Americans" and USA's "Erase the Hate."