2008 Woodie Awards
The 2006 Emmy Awards: Controversy, curse-breaking and not-so-pretty gowns
Caitlin Flynn
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: Arts
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This year's Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, Aug. 27 (several weeks earlier than usual), at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The ceremony was hosted by Conan O'Brien, who opened the show with a pre-taped skit that stirred up some controversy. The skit, intended to be a spoof of the popular TV show Lost, showed O'Brien en route to the Emmys, and then his plane crashing on a deserted island. Although the crash itself was not shown, critics say the skit was in poor taste.
The morning of the Emmys, 49 people were killed when an airplane crashed in Lexington, Ky. Tim Gilbert, the manager of NBC affiliate WLEX, stated that if he had known the content of the skit his station would not have aired the opening of the Emmys. "It was somewhere between ignorance and incompetence," Gilbert said. The next day NBC issued a statement apologizing for the skit and extending their sympathies to the families of the plane crash victims.
O'Brien's skit wasn't the only controversial issue at this year's Emmys. The drama began before the ceremony even started. Ellen Burstyn had received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her 15-second performance in HBO's movie Mrs. Harris. "If she were to win, her acceptance speech would exceed the length of her performance threefold," Ray Richmond of Hollywood Reporter joked. New procedures were used in this year's nomination process.
In past years, nominees were selected by taking the five winners of a general vote in each category. This year, 10 nominees in every category were selected by the Academy, and these 10 were turned over to blue-ribbon panels who voted to pick the final five nominees.
ABC president Stephen McPherson criticized the new nomination process after two of the network's most popular shows, Lost and Desperate Housewives, were shut out this year after being big winners at last year's Emmys.
At the ceremony, Kiefer Sutherland won his first Emmy for 24 after nine past nominations. Mariska Hargitay also took home her first Emmy for her performance on Law and Order: SVU. Julia Louis-Dreyfus broke the alleged "Seinfeld Curse" by winning Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series for her show The New Adventures of Old Christine.
The morning of the Emmys, 49 people were killed when an airplane crashed in Lexington, Ky. Tim Gilbert, the manager of NBC affiliate WLEX, stated that if he had known the content of the skit his station would not have aired the opening of the Emmys. "It was somewhere between ignorance and incompetence," Gilbert said. The next day NBC issued a statement apologizing for the skit and extending their sympathies to the families of the plane crash victims.
O'Brien's skit wasn't the only controversial issue at this year's Emmys. The drama began before the ceremony even started. Ellen Burstyn had received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her 15-second performance in HBO's movie Mrs. Harris. "If she were to win, her acceptance speech would exceed the length of her performance threefold," Ray Richmond of Hollywood Reporter joked. New procedures were used in this year's nomination process.
In past years, nominees were selected by taking the five winners of a general vote in each category. This year, 10 nominees in every category were selected by the Academy, and these 10 were turned over to blue-ribbon panels who voted to pick the final five nominees.
ABC president Stephen McPherson criticized the new nomination process after two of the network's most popular shows, Lost and Desperate Housewives, were shut out this year after being big winners at last year's Emmys.
At the ceremony, Kiefer Sutherland won his first Emmy for 24 after nine past nominations. Mariska Hargitay also took home her first Emmy for her performance on Law and Order: SVU. Julia Louis-Dreyfus broke the alleged "Seinfeld Curse" by winning Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series for her show The New Adventures of Old Christine.
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