An old television buddy that keeps getting better finally got to the top Sunday night. "Friends," entering its ninth season on NBC, won its first Emmy for best comedy series at the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium.

NBC's "The West Wing" won for drama series for third year in a row.

With his first nomination on a series in its first season, Michael Chiklis won the Emmy as lead actor in a drama, "The Shield," on cable's FX network.

Ray Romano finally won the Emmy for actor in a comedy, after nine nominations as both actor and producer for CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond." "Friends" Jennifer Aniston received her first nomination this year as lead comedy actress. And she won.

"The West Wing's" Allison Janney, a two-time winner as supporting actress, moved up to take the Emmy as lead actress in a drama series.

"Wing" won four Emmys, "Raymond" three. NBC took nine awards, besting HBO, which had seven. Including technical Emmys awarded Sept. 14, NBC garnered 24, HBO 23. No other networks were close.

An unusual number of rookie shows were nominated, and Sunday night began with anticipation that Emmy would throw off her stodgy reputation.

That anticipation was partially fulfilled.

Chiklis won. Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran won as drama writers for Fox's "24." Larry Wilmore won as comedy writer for "The Bernie Mac Show," also on Fox. "This is not supposed to happen in your first season," Wilmore said.

Stockard Channing won two Emmys for NBC, as supporting actress in a drama series ("The West Wing") and in a mini-series ("The Matthew Shepard Story"). James Earl Jones accomplished a similar feat in 1991.

HBO won for mini-series and made-for-TV movie. Two of the biggest directors in feature films accepted two of the awards, underlining the pay network's advantage in the TV business.

The epic "Band of Brothers," perhaps the night's most solid favorite, was named best mini. Steven Spielberg accepted the award, as the World War II veterans of Easy Company, whom the production portrayed, were shown via remote hookup. It was one of a noticeably dry show's emotional moments.

HBO's "The Gathering Storm" won for made-for-TV movie. Director Ridley Scott accepted the award. Albert Finney won as actor in a movie or mini for his role as Winston Churchill in "Storm." Laura Linney, star of Showtime's "Wild Iris," was best actress in the category.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" snagged the first two awards, for supporting actors in a comedy. Doris Roberts won her third Emmy and second straight for her role as mother Marie. Brad Garrett, the son in the Barone family whom everybody doesn't like, got his first Emmy. "What do you think, Ray?" he shouted to the star.

John Spencer outdueled three of his "West Wing" compadres to win as supporting actor in a drama, and his sycophantic acceptance speech, calling creator Aaron Sorkin "one of the great writers of all time," was emblematic of the night's attitude toward the show.

"Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS) won its fifth Emmy in a row for variety, musical or comedy series. Executive producer Barbara Gaines, who started with Letterman as a receptionist 22 years ago, accepted the Emmy. The post-Sept. 11 "America: A Tribute to Heroes'" was named best special in the category, and it also garnered the Governors Award for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, which presented it jointly.

Michael Moriarty, exiled years ago from "Law & Order," got to take an Emmy from former colleague Jill Hennessy as supporting actor in a movie or mini-series: TNT's "James Dean."

Conan O'Brien was as good as any master of ceremonies in recent memory. His genius intro, as he first tried to escape Ozzy Osbourne's house and then the set of "The Price Is Right," set the tone for the amusement.

His explanation of who sits where in the audience gigolos, grifters and pimps, the gay Mafia and the gay FBI, was inspired. surprise and a laugh.
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