The HBO mob series The Sopranos came up big at last night's 55th Emmy Awards.
The series collected Emmy awards for stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, who play New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano and his long-suffering wife, Carmela.
The Sopranos win reaffirmed the series' return after missing last year's Emmy competition due to its erratic production schedule.
Mr. Gandolfini accepted his award by thanking a long list of co-workers and Sopranos writers.
"We have inadvertently created the perfect working environment," Ms. Falco said in accepting her award. Ms. Falco has won two previous Emmys for her Sopranos role.
In an evening of few surprises, the Emmys' emotional highlight came in an extended tribute to actor John Ritter, who died Sept. 11 of an undiagnosed heart condition. He was starring in the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughters and had been scheduled to be a presenter at this year's Emmy telecast.
"He was a life force," said Mr. Ritter's long-time friend and business partner, Henry Winkler. "John got by with one rule: Do your best and really enjoy the journey."
Homage was also paid to other performers and industry figures who died this year, including Bob Hope, Gregory Hines and Fred Rogers.
The award for best dramatic series went to The West Wing for the second consecutive year. It was accepted by series creator Aaron Sorkin, who left the series in a publicized feud earlier this year.
A choked-up Mr. Sorkin told his cast, "For four years you fulfilled any playwright's dream."
The highest-rated comedy on American television, Everybody Loves Raymond, fared well. The sitcom won as best comedy and brought veteran Doris Roberts, who took home the same award last year, an Emmy as best supporting actress in a comedy series.
Best supporting actor in a comedy was awarded to Raymond's Brad Garrett, who also won in that category last year. Raymond also won for outstanding writing in a comedy series.
The bad news for Raymond: Star Ray Romano was blanked out of the best actor in a comedy series category for the fifth year running. That honour went to a surprise entry: Tony Shalhoub, for his portrayal of an obsessive-compulsive police detective in the cable series Monk.
An emotional Mr. Shalhoub, in the spirit of the evening's other tributes, noted the passing of a nephew who the actor said had "a warm laugh" and "a good heart" and "was taken from us suddenly."
Debra Messing, after three unsuccessful tries, won best comic actress for Will & Grace.
"Oh my God," said an exuberant Ms. Messing. "I never thought this was going to happen."
Tyne Daly was honoured for her supporting role in the CBS drama series, Judging Amy, while Joe Pantoliano of The Sopranos won best supporting actor in a drama series.
"Wow. That was worth coming up here for," Ms. Roberts said after receiving a congratulatory kiss from presenter Matthew Perry as she accepted the comedy series supporting actress award. "I'm a triple crown winner," she said of her third career Emmy.
Mr. Garrett, who went on a short walkout from work on the new season of Everybody Loves Raymond in a contract dispute, jokingly thanked CBS and the show's producers for not firing him.
"It's good to be back," he said.
TNT's Door to Door, based on the true story of Bill Porter, a salesman with cerebral palsy, won four awards, including best made-for-TV movie.
CBS's The Amazing Race won the first-ever Emmy in the reality competition category, beating more popular series American Idol and Survivor.
Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which received plaudits for poking fun at war coverage, won for the first time as best variety show, breaking a five-year winning streak for David Letterman. The Daily Show was also honoured for its writing.
The Sopranos won best writing in a drama series.
The award for best miniseries went to the science fiction drama Steven Spielberg Presents Taken.
The annual awards show, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and broadcast live on the Fox network, extended the increasing profile of U.S. cable channel HBO in the American television landscape at a time when conventional broadcast networks are fading in prominence.
HBO isn't available to Canadian viewers but it still proved the dominant broadcast entity at the awards.
A premium service for U.S. cable subscribers, HBO went into the Emmys competition with 109 nominations, with multiple nods for the dramas Six Feet Under and The Sopranos and for the comedies Sex and the City and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
NBC came in a distant second, with 77 nominations and strong showings for The West Wing and Friends. Next was CBS with 59 nominations, Fox with 37 and ABC with 33. The public broadcaster PBS earned 16 nominations.
Long denied to Canadian cable and digital subscribers, HBO is available here only through the use of illegal satellite dishes. But its programs run regularly on Canadian channels. The first seasons of Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm recently ran on Showcase; The Sopranos has aired on both The Movie Network and CTV.
HBO's marquee drama Six Feet Under, about a family of quirky funeral directors, lead the way with 16 nominations, including best actor and best actress recognition for Peter Krause and Frances Conroy.
Next in line with total nominations was NBC's The West Wing. Despite coming off a shaky season that saw diminished ratings and the departure Mr. Sorkin, the drama earned 15 nominations, including best drama and best actor for Martin Sheen.
Last night's show tested a new hosting format: instead of one Emmy host, there were nine TV comedians and comic actors. Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Garrett, Darrell Hammond, George Lopez, Conan O'Brien, Garry Shandling, Martin Short, Jon Stewart and Wanda Sykes each took a turn. Ms. DeGeneres, Mr. Shandling and Mr. O'Brien have acted as host at the show in previous years.
With at least two of California's 135 candidates for governor in the audience, celebrities at the Emmy Awards didn't miss a chance to poke fun at next month's recall election.
"This is going to be a long night. Then afterwards, because of the political climate, there's 139 governor's balls," Mr. Shandling said during his show-opening monologue.
"I don't even think any of those people running know it's about politics," he said. "I think they just heard there's a part available."
Candidates Gary Coleman, a former child star, and Mary Carey, an adult film actress, walked the red carpet.
Friends stars Matt LeBlanc, Mr. Perry and David Schwimmer kept the joke going when they presented the award for supporting actress in a comedy.
"There's been a lot of talk about what the three of us are going to do next year," Mr. Perry said.
"The three of us are running for governor of California," Mr. Schwimmer added. "Seriously."
Co-host Mr. Stewart took a swipe at one of the actors who really is running, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played the time-travelling cyborg in the Terminator films.
"You know, if he stinks, you can't go to the future and send somebody back to stop him," he said.
With a report from Associated Press