'Raymond,' 'Friends' win big

"Everybody Loves Raymond" finally lived up to its ambitious title, "Friends" proved it still has some inside the television academy, and "The West Wing" showed why it's king of the primetime Emmy Awards Sunday night. Television's two highest-rated comedies split the top honors. CBS' "Raymond" won three of the four acting categories, including Ray Romano's first victory as best actor. NBC's "Friends," after eight seasons, won for the first time in best comedy series and best actress (Jennifer Aniston). On the drama side, NBC's "The West Wing" took best drama series for the third year in a row and once again spoiled the night for an HBO series. This time the loser was "Six Feet Under," which took home six lesser trophies but none in the major categories. The best actor in a drama series award was the biggest shock of the 3 hour, 20 minute ceremony. Michael Chiklis, who transformed himself from the roly-poly "Commish" of the mid-1990s ABC series into a ruthless, hard-bodied LAPD cop on FX's "The Shield," walked away with the Emmy. He seemed as stunned by it as anybody. "We all have a little place inside of us," Chiklis said in a trembling voice, "that we secretly allow ourselves to dream of a moment like this." "The Shield" was a dark horse because it aired on FX, a cable network that until recently was best known for a raunchy sitcom produced by Howard Stern. One could argue that Chiklis' candidacy was aided by television critics who hoisted him up on their shoulders last winter, when "The Shield" premiered, and championed him all spring. As expected, HBO's "Band of Brothers" and "The Gathering Storm" took the Emmys for best miniseries and movie, respectively. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave its first Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Oprah Winfrey, who is normally seen on the Daytime Emmy Awards. Winfrey had told Joan Rivers on E! before the ceremony that she had been instructed to keep her remarks to 45 seconds. Instead she spoke for more than three minutes, by far the longest speech of the night. Earlier, Brad Garrett of "Everybody Loves Raymond" won his first Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy series. Garrett submitted a tender episode in which his mother, played by Doris Roberts, seemingly undermines a job interview by ruining his lucky suit. Minutes later, Roberts followed him onto the stage to accept her third Emmy, the second as Marie Barone. "This is what happens when you're young and sexy," said Roberts, 76, upon accepting her trophy. Allison Janney won her third straight Emmy as press secretary C.J. Cregg in "The West Wing." Following "Raymond's" comedic lead, "The West Wing" swept the supporting-actor trophies in drama, with Stockard Channing and John Spencer each winning their first Emmy for portraying the first lady and chief of staff. Host Conan O'Brien would not have been an ideal choice last year, when the Emmys were postponed twice by the aftermath of the attacks on America. As the New York-based host of "Late Night" on NBC, O'Brien has seemed uncomfortable talking about the events of Sept. 11 on his show. This year, however, his demented straight-man persona wore well with the audience. Some viewers who aren't acquainted with O'Brien's mechanical setup-punchline monologue delivery may have found him a bit stiff, but that's the way he always is. He's also an irrepressible ham, as he proved during several comedy bits during the night. In the first, he pretended to be a house guest of "The Osbournes" - a bleep-filled sketch that should have scared off any viewers under the illusion that the Emmys are a broadcast for the whole family. Viewers couldn't miss one feature of the stage design: a bank of TVs on which the opening credits of old black-and-white TV shows flickered all night. "In about 10 minutes I'm going to turn all of these televisions to 'The Sopranos,' " joked O'Brien, referring to the HBO series that did not air new episodes last season - thus making it ineligible for Emmy consideration - but did air a new episode opposite the awards. To reach Aaron Barnhart, call (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. Emmy winners Drama Series: "The West Wing," NBC. Comedy Series: "Friends," NBC. Variety, Music or Comedy Series: "Late Show With David Letterman," CBS. Miniseries: "Band of Brothers," HBO. Made-for-TV Movie: "The Gathering Storm," HBO. Variety, Music or Comedy Special: "America: A Tribute to Heroes," various networks. Actor, Drama Series: Michael Chiklis, "The Shield," FX. Actor, Comedy Series: Ray Romano, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS. Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Albert Finney, "The Gathering Storm," HBO. Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program: Sting, "A&E In Concert: Sting In Tuscany ... All This Time," A&E. Actress, Miniseries or a Movie: Laura Linney, "Wild Iris," Showtime. Actress, Drama Series: Allison Janney, "The West Wing," NBC. Actress, Comedy Series: Jennifer Aniston, "Friends," NBC Supporting Actor, Drama Series: John Spencer, "The West Wing," NBC. Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Brad Garrett, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS. Supporting Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Michael Moriarty, "James Dean," TNT. Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Stockard Channing, "The West Wing," NBC. Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Doris Roberts, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS. Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Stockard Channing, "The Matthew Shepard Story," NBC. Directing for a Drama Series: "Six Feet Under: Pilot," HBO. Directing for a Comedy Series: "Sex and the City: The Real Me," HBO. Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special: "Band of Brothers," HBO. Directing for a Variety or Music Program: "Opening Ceremony Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games," NBC. Writing for a Drama Series: "24: Midnight-1:00 a.m. (Pilot)," Fox. Writing for a Comedy Series: "The Bernie Mac Show: Pilot," Fox. Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: "The Gathering Storm," HBO. Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program: "Saturday Night Live," NBC. Governors Award: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox for a program honoring Sept. 11 heroes. Bob Hope Humanitarian Award: Oprah Winfrey. @ART CREDIT:The Associated Press @ART CAPTION:Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, made a special appearance at Sunday's Emmy Awards. He presented the award for outstanding drama series to stars of "The West Wing," (from left) Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen, Richard Schiff and John Spencer. @ART CREDIT:KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/The Associated Press @ART CAPTION:Ray Romano, star of "Everybody Loves Raymond," was named best actor in a comedy series at Sunday's Emmys. The CBS show also won honors in the best supporting actor categories. @ART CAPTION:In a first for NBC's "Friends," Jennifer Aniston won an Emmy for best supporting actress. @ART:Photos (3, color and b/w)