PHILADELPHIA--A little movie on a basic cable channel stole the show from the likes of "The West Wing" and "The Sopranos" on Sunday night at the 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
TNT's "Door to Door," about a salesman with cerebral palsy, took four Emmys in the movie or mini-series category, including best show. William H. Macy won as actor, Steven Schachter won as director, and the two shared the writing Emmy.
CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond," named best comedy series, tied "Door to Door" with four Emmys. NBC's "The West Wing" won as drama series, and fired executive producer Aaron Sorkin gave a subdued swan-song speech.
The surest bet on Sunday night, Edie Falco, who plays Carmela Soprano, won her third Emmy for drama-series actress. James Gandolfini, who plays her husband, Tony, in the HBO's "The Sopranos," matched her feat and took the category's actor Emmy.
In a minor upset, another basic-cable guy, Tony Shalhoub, won a deserved Emmy as actor in a comedy series, for USA's "Monk." He dedicated the award to his nephew, who died last week. It was rare moment of real emotion in an especially dull awards show.
Debra Messing was named best actress in a comedy series _ on her fourth try for NBC's "Will & Grace."
Only three mini-series were nominated. The Sci Fi Channel's "Steven Spielberg Presents Taken" won.
While TV may be aimed at the young, Emmy continues to skew old.
"Everybody Loves Raymond's" Doris Roberts won as supporting actress in a comedy series for the third straight year. Brad Garrett, her colleague on "Raymond," won his second consecutive Emmy as supporting comedy actor.
Tyne Daly took her sixth career Emmy, for dramatic supporting actress in "Judging Amy."
Of the 10 nominees for best supporting performer in a movie or mini-series, only Juliette Lewis was under 50. Ben Gazzara, 73, and Gena Rowlands, 69 (both from HBO's "Hysterical Blindness"), won the awards.
It took 45 minutes to get to the first Emmy rookie, comedy director Robert B. Weide for HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
"The Amazing Race" beat "American Idol" and "Survivor" in the competition/reality program category. It's also the only one of those likely to be canceled.
Wayne Brady, from ABC's "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," outpolled Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Dennis Miller and Martin Short as performer in a variety series.
Bill Cosby was inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in 1992. Oprah Winfrey won the Hope award last year.
Cosby, hiding behind sunglasses, was none too pleased to be picked out in the audience by the wisecracking Sykes, who affects an inner-city patois. When she praised him for "The Cosby Show," he responded haughtily, "We spoke English."
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences distributes the Emmys, which are awarded not for overall series, but for specific series episodes that are submitted as entries. Nominees in each category are selected by Academy members who work in the same fields, but everybody votes for "outstanding program" awards. Then, small groups of Academy members sit in dark rooms, watching all the nominees in each category and picking the winners.
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