Conan rides the Emmys to new heights

The Emmy Awards recognized television's greatest for the 54th time Sunday from the Shrine Auditorium, making for a night full of harkening back to Sept. 11, head-scratching surprises, and outstanding standup by Conan O'Brien. With deserving first-year shows being celebrated and a noticeable increase in minority recognition, the Emmys seemed to do everything right this year _ though with a few exceptions.

NBC fared the best on the awards floor and clearly dominated much of the broadcast as the network assured viewers that NBC was the "best" network numerous times throughout the program. Yet in the end, the night was an overwhelmingly positive experience, thanks to the comedic talents of Conan O'Brien who kept the show moving.

Network television came out on top this year, with The West Wing, Friends, and Everybody Loves Raymond dominating the scene. The success of these shows, when contrasted to the success of depressing and darker shows like Six Feet Under of previous years, reveals the greater change in sentiments of our country over the past year.

In the shadow of Sept. 11, television viewers longed for the strong leaders like President Bartlet of The West Wing. The awarding of Emmys to Stockard Channing, John Spencer, and Allison Janney for acting roles, as well as for the whole show as Best Drama Series, came as a great shock, as the third season of The West Wing is thought to have been its weakest.

In addition to pining for a patriotic government, viewers chose to be near to those who they love, in real life and on the tube, as the cast of Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond became a surrogate source of comfort. Jennifer Aniston graciously won for her role as Rachel, but favorite Matt LeBlanc lost to the man who everyone apparently loves, Ray Romano. As his television mother and brother (Doris Roberts and Brad Garrett, respectively) also took home statuettes, Ray's family was embraced by the American family this past difficult year.

In another representation of the current national mindset, Emmy voters bestowed numerous awards onto Band of Brothers, the amazing HBO miniseries that ran earlier this year. Band of Brothers followed the heroic actions of Easy Company of the US Army in World War II, from D-Day all the way to the Battle of the Bulge in the Huertgen Forest. One of the most moving moments of the night came as the remaining members of Easy Company were displayed on the giant screen, the audience rose to their feet and gave them a lengthy standing ovation.

But not all the nods to Sept. 11 were as cathartic. Former Mayor Rudy Guiliani presented an award to the four major networks, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX for their work in the aftermath of the national tragedy. It seemed like a bit too much like a pat on the back and gratuitous self-promotion, and therefore came off as tactless.

This year's Emmys also touched on another issue of social importance _ minority representation in the mass media. Two shows, 24 and The Bernie Mac Show, were granted awards in their first year for writing. The plot of 24 involves an assassination attempt on a black presidential candidate, yet his character is not marginalized for his race. He is a strong, moral character, and his race was rarely, if ever, brought up as an issue through the whole run of the show.

I for one was extremely pleased with 24's victory, as I followed the chaotic day of Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) from hour one to hour twenty-four. It was by far last season's greatest new drama.

The FOX network's The Bernie Mac Show takes a hilarious look at family life, and was deservedly recognized for its brilliance. It is in all likelihood the first mainly black cast since The Cosby Show to be recognized by the mainstream white society.

One of the more unfortunate moments of the night was the presentation of the first ever Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Oprah Winfrey. This was a horrible precedent to set, because Oprah is not a humanitarian, she's a talk show host. Julia Roberts called her "the world's girlfriend." Well, you go girlfriend, but being the one to talk about your weight and personal problems does not entitle you to be placed in the same category as the legendary Bob Hope.

Anyone who unleashes Dr. Phil on the world should not be praised, she should be cancelled. And the title "humanitarian" usually means one has to be benevolent and generous to all humans. When's the last time you saw a man in the Oprah audience? Oprah's existence as a talk show host is to prove to her viewers that they matter, that they are special women. She may be a great person to talk to, or a "beautiful person", as Robin Williams mockingly put it, but a humanitarian, not at all.

While there were many great individual moments, Alec Baldwin's confused "why am I here" looks or Tyne Daly doing her greatest Marlon Brando impression, Conan O'Brien was the star of the show. In his opening monologue, he "wakes up" late at the Osbourne's, replete with bleeping and zany behavior, then hitches a ride with a drowsy Ozzy to the Shrine. He then has a romantic interlude with Jennifer Aniston, but then moves on to comedian Garry Shandling.

In what was hands-down the funniest moment of the night, Conan and Garry were shown riding down the beach bareback on a horse, like two lovers without a care in the world. Conan, the great late night host, proved that he could cut in prime-time, and carried the show when it slowed, and raised it high when the Emmys couldn't get much higher. Come on baby light my fire