West Wing re-elected top drama at Emmys

THERE were no term limits for NBC’s 'The West Wing', which won its fourth Emmy for best drama on Sunday night despite shrinking viewership.

James Gandolfini, who plays the hulking mobster on HBO’s 'The Sopranos', and Edie Falco, who portrays his long-suffering wife, swept the top dramatic acting awards.

The ceremony was both celebratory and bittersweet, with homage paid to a number of performers and industry figures who died this year, including Bob Hope, John Ritter, Gregory Hines and Fred Rogers.

Although 'The Sopranos' claimed four awards, versus two for 'The West Wing', the mob drama again was denied the top award. TV academy voters have yet to crown a cable series as best drama.

“I wish for everyone a working experience like we have,” Falco said, adding “we have inadvertently created the perfect working environment.”

The best drama award for 'The West Wing' represented a last hurrah for Aaron Sorkin, who created the White House drama and wrote much of it. He left at the end of last season.

“I want to personally thank everyone behind me,” Sorkin said of the series’ cast assembled on stage. “For four years, you did the TV series of any playwright’s dreams.”

HBO won a leading 18 Emmys, followed by CBS with 16, NBC with 15 and ABC with nine.

'Everybody Loves Raymond' was the most-honoured series, with five awards, while 'Door to Door' had a total of six awards including technical honours given earlier.

HBO’s 'Six Feet Under', the leading nominee with 16 bids, won only a single technical award.

Doris Roberts and Brad Garrett, who play two members of the battling Barone family on CBS’ 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' were honoured as supporting actors in a comedy series.

“Wow. That was worth coming up here for,” Roberts said after receiving a congratulatory kiss from presenter Matthew Perry as she accepted the comedy series supporting actress award. It was her third career Emmy.