LOS ANGELES – The Prime-Time Emmy Awards Telecast, scheduled for October 7 on CBS, was called off as U.S. and British military action began against Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.
The 53rd Emmy Awards had already been postponed and rewritten to emphasize national unity in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Prime-Time Awards Ceremony originally was scheduled September 16.
There were no security concerns for the show, but there were questions of whether it was appropriate to stage the Emmys as the allied military forces were being sent into action, said Jim Chabin, president of the Television Academy.
“We thought, we can’t go on. We thought this is not the time to have a celebration, as much as we wanted to do it,” Chabin said. “It’s a sacrifice we gladly make for the country,” he said. “There will be another time for another awards show.”
No decision was made immediately on how or when to bestow the annual awards. The Emmys have never been canceled in their 53-year history.
Emmy organizers had sought to create a night of television to lift the nation’s spirits, cutting back on red-carpet arrival fanfare and asking participants to forgo showy gowns and tuxedoes in favor of business attire.
Veteran newsman Walter Cronkite was invited to lend perspective. The ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with master of ceremonies Ellen DeGeneres, was to include tributes to heroes and victims of the attacks on New York and Washington.
In deference to East Coast-based nominees, part of the presentation of 27 awards was to take place in a Manhattan studio. The bicoastal Emmy broadcast would have been the first in more than two decades.
Virtually all of the nominees and presenters had reaffirmed their willingness to take part in the ceremony after revisions were announced. The TV Academy’s Governors Ball was renamed the “Unity Dinner,” and the usual schedule of private galas were canceled.
HBO’s mob drama “The Sopranos” had bids in seven categories, while NBC’s White House drama “The West Wing” held six nominations. Both were up for best drama series honors.
“The Sopranos” grabbed the most nominations in July, a total of 22, to 18 bids for “The West Wing.” But after September’s Creative Arts Ceremony, held before the attacks, the NBC series had four Emmys in hand to one for “The Sopranos.”
In last month’s Creative Arts Ceremony, awards were announced in categories including outstanding choreography, editing and makeup, and in the new reality series categories.
NBC and Fox received a leading 11 awards, followed by HBO with eight, ABC with seven, and CBS, PBS and UPN with three each.
“Survivor,”‘ the CBS program whose success helped spur the reality series craze in America, was honored as best among programs in which the show’s participants competed for a prize.
“American High,” a documentary series about high school students that was dropped by Fox and picked up by PBS, received an Emmy for best reality program that didn’t involve a competition.
Four acting awards for guest roles were given out. The winners were Derek Jacobi and Jean Smart for episodes of “Frasier,” Michael Emerson for “The Practice” and Sally Field for “ER.”
For best commercial, the award went to PBS’ “Photo Booth” spot
