58th Primetime Emmy Awards
| 58th Primetime Emmy Awards | |
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 Promotional Poster | |
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| Location | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California |
| Host | Conan O'Brien |
| Television/Radio coverage | |
| Network | NBC |
| 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 at 8:00 p.m. 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] The Discovery Channel received its first major nomination this year.
This awards show was the first in 14 years to be held in August because of NBC's request; because of NBC Sunday Night Football, the show moved to accommodate NFL Kickoff Weekend.
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!"
For its second season, The Office won Outstanding Comedy Series, this was its only major award. No comedy series won more than two major awards. In the drama field 24 won Outstanding Drama Series after being nominated and losing the previous four years. Its three major awards topped all drama series. Ellen Burstyn was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her role in Mrs. Harris, even though she was onscreen for only 14 seconds.
The show that received the most major nominations was Grey's Anatomy, with eight. The top-nominated show had not received so few nominations since 1970, when Marcus Welby, M.D. received six. However, there were far fewer nominations back then, with most categories having three slots. This made this ceremony even more unique.
The pilot episode of My Name is Earl joined a select group of TV episodes to win Emmys for both writing and directing.
Winners and nominees
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Programs
Acting
Lead performances
Supporting performances
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series |
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| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
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| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
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Guest performances
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series |
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| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series |
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Directing
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series |
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| Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program | Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special |
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Writing
| Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series |
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| Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special |
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Most major nominations
- By network [note 1]
- HBO – 48
- NBC – 27
- CBS – 22
- ABC – 15
- Fox – 10
- By program
- Grey's Anatomy (ABC) – 8
- Mrs. Harris (HBO) – 7
- Bleak House (PBS) / Elizabeth I (HBO) / Six Feet Under (HBO) / Will & Grace (NBC) – 6
Most major awards
- By network [note 1]
- HBO – 10
- NBC – 9
- Fox – 4
- ABC / Comedy Central – 2
- By program
- Elizabeth I (HBO) – 4
- 24 (Fox) / The Girl in the Café (HBO) – 3
- Notes
- 1 2 "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.
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 ). 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 exactly invited". O'Brien enters the hatch and arrives on the set of The Office.
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 disaster that had occurred earlier in the day.[3] At least one local NBC affiliate had the unfortunate coincidence of running a "Breaking News" scroll about the crash at the same time as the scene was airing.
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 .
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.
In Memoriam
Dennis Weaver, Barnard Hughes, Don Adams, Dan Curtis, Lew Anderson, Ralph Edwards, Curt Gowdy, Robert Sterling, Michael Piller, Red Buttons, Mike Douglas, Scott Brazil, Anthony Franciosa, Phyllis Huffman, Darren McGavin, Gloria Monty, Jan Murray, Pat Morita, Al Lewis, Maureen Stapleton, Buck Owens, Jack Warden, Don Knotts, Robert Wise, John Spencer, Louis Nye, Shelley Winters and Richard Pryor.
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
- Emmys.com list of 2006 Nominees & Winners
- 2006 Emmy Awards at the Internet Movie Database
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