Information about 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

58th Primetime Emmy Awards
Date	August 27, 2006
Site	Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Creative Arts Awards	August 19, 2006
Host	Conan O'Brien
Network	NBC, CTV
Producer	Ken Ehrlich and Jeff Ross

The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, August 27, 2006 on NBC and CTV at 8:00pm ET (00:00 UTC) with Conan O'Brien hosting the show. The ceremony attracted 16.2 million viewers, 2½ million fewer than the previous year's ceremony, but still the ratings winner for the week.^[1]

Nominations and winners

HBO received the most nominations and the most awards; its co-production Elizabeth I won nine Emmys, including Best Miniseries.

Network	Nominations	Awards
HBO	95	26
NBC	41	14
ABC	63	11
FOX	41	10
CBS	34	8
PBS	0	0

A new voting system determined nominees in particular categories (mostly lead acting and outstanding series categories) by a "blue ribbon" panel of judges, which resulted in the exclusion of popular shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost, and actors like Hugh Laurie from House. Lost's exclusion was mocked during the opening sequence (see below), when O'Brien, accompanied by Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, heads down a hatch to get to the Emmys. O'Brien asked Reyes if he wanted to come; Reyes says coyly, "Well, we weren't exactly invited", to which O'Brien replies "But you won last year!"

Ellen Burstyn was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special for her role in Mrs. Harris, even though she was onscreen for only 14 seconds.

The following is a partial list of nominees, with winners in bold:

Outstanding Drama Series

• Grey's Anatomy
• House
• The Sopranos
• 24
• The West Wing

Outstanding Comedy Series

• Arrested Development
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• The Office
• Scrubs
• Two and a Half Men

Outstanding Mini-Series

• Bleak House
• Elizabeth I
• Into the West
• Sleeper Cell

Outstanding Made for Television Movie

• Flight 93
• The Flight that Fought Back
• The Girl in the Café
• Mrs. Harris
• Yesterday

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program

• The Amazing Race
• American Idol
• Dancing with the Stars
• Project Runway
• Survivor

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series

• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien
• The Late Show with David Letterman
• Real Time with Bill Maher

Outstanding Children's Program

• Classical Baby 2
• High School Musical
• I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee (episode: Do Something! Caring For The Kids Of Katrina)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Peter Krause for playing Nate Fisher on Six Feet Under
• Denis Leary for playing Tommy Gavin on Rescue Me
• Christopher Meloni for playing Elliot Stabler on
• Martin Sheen for playing Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing
• Kiefer Sutherland for playing Jack Bauer on 24

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

• Steve Carell for playing Michael Scott on The Office
• Larry David for playing himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Kevin James for playing Doug Heffernan on The King of Queens
• Tony Shalhoub for playing Adrian Monk on Monk
• Charlie Sheen for playing Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

• Andre Braugher for playing Nick Atwater on Thief
• Charles Dance for playing Mr. Tulkinghorn on Bleak House
• Ben Kingsley for playing Herman Tarnower on Mrs. Harris
• Donald Sutherland for playing Bill Meehan on Human Trafficking
• Jon Voight for playing Pope John Paul II on Pope John Paul II

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Frances Conroy for playing Ruth Fisher on Six Feet Under
• Geena Davis for playing Mackenzie Allen on Commander in Chief
• Mariska Hargitay for playing Olivia Benson on
• Allison Janney for playing C.J. Cregg on The West Wing
• Kyra Sedgwick for playing Brenda Leigh Johnson on The Closer

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Stockard Channing for playing Lydia Barnes on Out of Practice
• Jane Kaczmarek for playing Lois on Malcolm in the Middle
• Lisa Kudrow for playing Valerie Cherish on The Comeback
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus for playing Christine Campbell on The New Adventures of Old Christine
• Debra Messing for playing Grace Adler on Will & Grace

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

• Gillian Anderson for playing Lady Dedlock in Bleak House
• Kathy Bates for playing Jane Stern in Ambulance Girl
• Annette Bening for playing Jean Harris in Mrs. Harris
• Judy Davis for playing Sante Kimes in A Little Thing Called Murder
• Helen Mirren for playing Elizabeth I in Elizabeth I

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

• Alan Alda for playing Arnold Vinick on The West Wing
• Michael Imperioli for playing Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos
• Gregory Itzin for playing Charles Logan on 24
• Oliver Platt for playing Russell Tupper on Huff
• William Shatner for playing Denny Crane on Boston Legal

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

• Will Arnett for playing G.O.B. Bluth on Arrested Development
• Bryan Cranston for playing Hal on Malcolm in the Middle
• Jon Cryer for playing Alan Harper on Two and a Half Men
• Sean Hayes for playing Jack McFarland on Will & Grace
• Jeremy Piven for playing Ari Gold on Entourage

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

• Robert Carlyle for playing Sergei Karpovich in Human Trafficking
• Clifton Collins, Jr. for playing Jack Hill in Thief
• Hugh Dancy for playing Earl of Essex in Elizabeth I
• Jeremy Irons for playing Earl of Leicester in Elizabeth I
• Denis Lawson for playing John Jarndyce in Bleak House

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

• Candice Bergen for playing Shirley Schmidt on Boston Legal
• Blythe Danner for playing Izzy Huffstodt on Huff
• Sandra Oh for playing Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy
• Jean Smart for playing Martha Logan on 24
• Chandra Wilson for playing Miranda Bailey on Grey's Anatomy

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

• Cheryl Hines for playing Cheryl David on Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Megan Mullally for playing Karen Walker on Will & Grace
• Elizabeth Perkins for playing Celia Hodes on Weeds
• Jaime Pressly for playing Joy Turner on My Name Is Earl
• Alfre Woodard for playing Betty Applewhite on Desperate Housewives

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

• Ellen Burstyn for playing Former Tarnower in Mrs. Harris
• Shirley Jones for playing Aunt Batty in Hidden Places
• Cloris Leachman for playing Tarnower's sister in Mrs. Harris
• Kelly Macdonald for playing Gina in The Girl in the Café
• Alfre Woodard for playing Mrs. Brown in The Water is Wide

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

• Michael J. Fox for Boston Legal
• Christian Clemenson for Boston Legal
• James Woods for ER
• Kyle Chandler for Grey's Anatomy
• Henry Ian Cusick for Lost

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

• Patrick Stewart for Extras
• Ben Stiller for Extras
• Martin Sheen for Two and a Half Men
• Alec Baldwin for Will & Grace
• Leslie Jordan for Will & Grace

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

• Kate Burton for Grey's Anatomy
• Christina Ricci for Grey's Anatomy
• Swoosie Kurtz for Huff
• Patricia Clarkson for Six Feet Under
• Joanna Cassidy for Six Feet Under

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

• Shirley Knight for Desperate Housewives
• Kate Winslet for Extras
• Cloris Leachman for Malcolm in the Middle
• Laurie Metcalf for Monk
• Blythe Danner for Will & Grace

Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program

• Barry Manilow for ''
• Stephen Colbert for playing Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report
• Craig Ferguson for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
• David Letterman for The Late Show with David Letterman
• Hugh Jackman for The 59th Annual Tony Awards

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

• Rodrigo Garcia for Big Love (episode: Pilot)
• Jack Bender for Lost (episode: Live Together, Die Alone)
• Alan Ball for Six Feet Under (episode: Everyone's Waiting)
• Tim Van Patten for The Sopranos (episode: Members Only)
• David Nutter for The Sopranos (episode: Join the Club)
• Jon Cassar for 24 (episode: )
• Mimi Leder for The West Wing (episode: Election Day Part I)

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series

• Michael Patrick King for The Comeback (episode: Valerie Does Another Classic Leno)
• Robert B. Weide for Curb Your Enthusiasm (episode: The Christ Nail)
• Dan Attias for Entourage (episode: Oh, Mandy)
• Julian Farino for Entourage (episode: The Sundance Kids)
• Marc Buckland for My Name Is Earl (episode: Pilot)
• Craig Zisk for Weeds (episode: Good Shit Lollipop)

Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special

• Justin Chadwick for Bleak House
• Tom Hooper for Elizabeth I
• Peter Markle for Flight 93
• David Yates for The Girl in the Café
• Kenny Ortega for High School Musical
• Phyllis Nagy for Mrs. Harris

Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program

• Louis J. Horvitz for 78th Academy Awards
• Bruce Gowers for American Idol
• Jim Hoskinson for The Colbert Report
• Chuck O'Neill for The Daily Show
• Beth McCarthy Miller for Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series

• Desperate Housewives for episode There's Something About A War
• House for episodes Autopsy, Distractions and Skin Deep
• Nip/Tuck for episode Ben White
• Rome for episodes Caesarion, Triumph and Kalends of February
• Six Feet Under for episodes Hold My Hand, Singing For Our Lives and Everyone's Waiting

Outstanding Art Direction For A Multi-Camera Series

• How I Met Your Mother for episode Pilot
• Stacked for episode iPod
• Will & Grace for episode I Love L. Gay

Outstanding Art Direction For A Miniseries Or Movie

• Bleak House
• Elizabeth I
• The Girl in the Café
• Into the West
• Stephen King's Desperation

Outstanding Art Direction For A Variety, Music Program, or Special

• 78th Academy Awards
• American Idol for Episode 519
• Dancing with the Stars for Episode 206
• MADtv for Episode 1115

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

• Shonda Rhimes for Grey's Anatomy (episodes: It's the End of the World and (As We Know It))
• Krista Vernoff for Grey's Anatomy (episode: Into You Like a Train)
• Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof for Lost (episode: The 23rd Psalm)
• Alan Ball for Six Feet Under (episode: Everyone's Waiting)
• Terence Winter for The Sopranos (episode: Members Only)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

• Chuck Tatham, Jim Vallely, Richard Day and Mitchell Hurwitz for Arrested Development (episode: Development Arrested, aka Harboring Resentment)
• Doug Ellin for Entourage (episode: Exodus)
• Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for Extras (episode: Kate Winslet)
• Greg Garcia for My Name Is Earl (episode: Pilot)
• Michael Schur for The Office (episode: Christmas Party)

Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special

• Andrew Davies for Bleak House
• Nigel Williams for Elizabeth I
• Nevin Schreiner for Flight 93
• Richard Curtis for The Girl in the Café
• Phyllis Nagy for Mrs. Harris

Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program

• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien
• The Late Show with David Letterman
• Real Time with Bill Maher

Outstanding Reality Program

• Antiques Roadshow
• The Dog Whisperer

Outstanding Animated Program (Less Than One Hour)

• Camp Lazlo for episode "Hello Dolly / Over Cooked Beans"
• Family Guy for episode "PTV"
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends for episode "Go Goo Go"
• The Simpsons for episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story"
• South Park for episode "Trapped in the Closet"

Outstanding Animated Program (An Hour Or More)

• Walking with Monsters
• My Life as a Teenage Robot for the episode "Escape From Cluster Prime"

Outstanding Voice-Over Performance

• Kelsey Grammer for portraying Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons episode The Italian Bob

Opening sequence and subsequent controversy

The plane crash Lost parody

The opening sequence of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards show depicted the host, Conan O'Brien, wearing a tuxedo, sitting in luxury on a plane, sipping champagne and mentioning to the flight attendant that this would be the second Emmy's broadcast that he would be hosting. O'Brien then rhetorically asked the flight attendant, "What could possibly go wrong?" Immediately after that, the plane began to experience turbulence and then was portrayed as having crashed on (or near) an island. O'Brien is then seen walking ashore on the beach and onto the island still wearing his (now drenched) tuxedo (the video of this opening sequence is here [1]). Hurley appears and then follows O'Brien to a hatch. When O'Brien asks if he wants to come along, Hurley says that they "weren't actually invited".

The intention of this opening sequence was to parody the premise of the ABC television series Lost; however, the sequence reportedly disturbed some viewers because of the Comair Flight 5191 aircraft disaster that had occurred earlier in the day.^[2]

Entertainment industry critics, such as LA Weekly columnist Nikki Finke, lambasted NBC's decision to not pull the plane crash portion of the opening sequence, in light of the aforementioned crash earlier that day. Finke stated that she believes NBC could have – with relative ease – instructed their writers to come up with a different sketch at the last minute, which could have been used as a substitute [2].

Other parodies

The skit also parodied shows such as The Office, 24, House, South Park, and Dateline NBC (specifically, the "To Catch a Predator" segments). An animated Tom Cruise from the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet" appears in a skit where an animated O'Brien hides in Stan Marsh's closet, only to run away when he discovers Cruise has already occupied the closet.

Tributes

The show featured tributes to two TV legends : Dick Clark ("America's Oldest Teenager"), and Aaron Spelling, producer of such classic TV shows as Dynasty and Beverly Hills, 90210. The former tribute was presented by Simon Cowell, American Idol judge, with a performance by Barry Manilow, who won an Emmy later that evening. Joan Collins, Heather Locklear, and Stephen Collins, along with the original three Charlie's Angels, gave the tribute for Spelling.

References

External links

• Official list of all nominees
• Nikki Finke Asks: "What Was NBC/Conan Thinking?"
• Video of the Plane Crash Sequence from the 58th Primetime Emmy Broadcast

•  • [ e] Emmy Awards by Year
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