Friday, July 23, 1999
Going for an Emmy
HBO's 'Sopranos' soars with 16 nominations
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PASADENA, Calif. — HBO made an offer the Emmy award folks couldn't refuse. The Sopranos, HBO's midseason crime family drama, hit a high note Thursday with 16 nominations, more than any other TV series, including nods for best drama (a first for cable) and best comedy for Sex and the City.
Again HBO was second to NBC in overall nominations (82 to 74), and far ahead of ABC (58) and CBS (46). The awards will be presented 8 p.m. Sept. 12 on Fox (Channels 19, 45).
James Gandolfini, who stars as New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, was nominated for best drama actor. His co-stars Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco were honored with best drama actress nominations.
They bumped off some familiar faces in the drama performance categories. Not nominated were George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Eriq LaSalle, Gloria Reuben, Laura Innes of ER; David Duchovny of The X-Files; Roma Downey of Touched by an Angel; and Hector Elizondo of Chicago Hope.
The Sopranos joined ER, Law & Order (both NBC) and NYPD Blue and The Practice (both ABC), which were nominated last season as best drama series. Excluded was The X-Files from last year's list.
HBO's mobsters also gunned down perennial Emmy-winner David E. Kelley, with four of five nominations for best drama series writing. NYPD Blue was the fifth nominee.
But Mr. Kelley's shows otherwise fared well, with 13 nominations each for The Practice and Ally McBeal, second to The Sopranos and tied with CBS' Joan of Arc for the most nominations by a broadcast network. He also received one writing nomination for Ally McBeal.
Sarah Jessica Parker's Sex in the City was a stunning surprise for best comedy series. It joined Friends, Frasier (both NBC), Ally McBeal (Fox) and the long-overdue first nomination for Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS).
Snubbed in the category were ABC's SportsNight, Fox's The Simpsons and NBC's Will and Grace and Just Shoot Me.
Raymond finally scored big in the nominations the year after Seinfeld signed off. Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton made the best acting lists, while Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle made the supporting categories. Only cast member Brad Garrett was ignored.
Friends, overlooked last year, again didn't get much respect from members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. While the sitcom made the best comedy ranks, the only individual nomination went to Lisa Kudrow — not Matthew Perry or Courteney Cox for their characters' hilarious secret romance, which could garner the best comedy award for the series.
A record sixth best comedy Emmy for Frasier is unlikely after the show's dreadful fall story arc with the psychologist out of work. But John Mahoney, who plays Frasier's father, finally made the supporting comedy list, now that Seinfeld's Jason Alexander is out of the way.
Cable, as usual, made a strong showing in movie and miniseries categories, although HBO had to share the spotlight with Showtime, A&E and CBS' Joan of Arc. HBO's The Rat Pack earned 11 nominations, while A Lesson Before Dying got seven.
A&E's Dash and Lilly received nine nominations, a record for the cable channel, plus another four for Horatio Hornblower. TNT's Pirates of Silicon Valley received five, and Showtime's The Baby Dance got four.
NBC also scored two miniseries nominations, a deserved honor for The Temptations and a curious distinction for The '60s, an embarrassingly simplistic film from February. Too weird, man. Maybe The '60s producers sought Tony Soprano's help with Hollywood to arrange the nomination.
EMMY NOMINEES
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Bush spreads message, collects $1M
Neophytes join political pros at fund-raiser
Clinton appears here tonight
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Need for vaccine 'greater than previously thought'
Newport all-star dies in shooting
Springer for Senate? No firm answer
Flynts get eviction notice
Girl says rape didn't happen, but parole board says 4 more years
Historic home torn down quickly
Man drowns, 2nd hurt in pools
New quarters sometimes get parkers in trouble
Share your feelings about JFK Jr.
Chabot, Portman contributed provisions to tax bill
Going for an Emmy
GET TO IT
2 accused as prostitutes face prison
Appeals court to get its own home
Boone lists priorities for road repairs
Cities discuss mergers again
Citizens do lunch with workers, learn how cities work
City may add cops in crime hot spots
City may levy fees on builders
Common-law activist ruled fit for trial in Warren
Ill worker died from choking, coroner rules
Lebanon sues Time Warner
Man claiming to have gun robs bank
Man pleads innocent in Sidney deaths
Packard to lead parade of classic cars
Pipe-bomb case needs new judge
Sewage plant opponents organize
Suspect in slaying said to be suicidal
TRISTATE DIGEST
Urban League of Cincinnati in line for $500,000 grant
