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The primetime Emmys are here, and we will be bringing you the winners in the major - and some of the not so major - categories as the evening goes on.  In all, 29 categories will be announced.  Brian and Stewie Griffin from Family Guy took the introduction duties with a musical number.  Yay.   The big questions this time seem to be will anybody be able to sneak an Emmy past the predicted sweeper The Sopranos.

The highlight of the musical number, the camera moving to a bored TR Knight when Stewie and Brian sing a line asserting NBC using Isaiah Washington for stunt casting.  Interesting.

The Emmy setup is done in the round with the stage surrounded by the cast of favorite shows including Housewives.aspx">Desperate Housewives, Heroes.aspx">Heroes.aspx">Heroes, Ugly Betty, etc.  Ryan Seacrest is, well, Ryan Seacrest.

Ray Romano takes to the stage for the first presentation of  Outstanding Supporting Actor in a comedy Jon Cryer, Kevin Dillon, Jeremy Piven, Rainn Wilson, Neil Patrick Harris.  Jeremy Piven of Entourage.aspx">Entourage takes the win. He manages to appear not the least humble, to no-ones surprise.

An amazing upset in Supporting Actor, Terry O’Quinn wins for Locke on Lost.aspx">Lost.aspx">Lost.  He acknowledges Michael Emerson, who looks like he might be planning to push O’Quinn in a ditch of corpses when the awards go to break.  Masi Oka, the favorite, is not given a reaction shot, nor are the critics who were utterly convinced he would win.  (I wasn’t one of them.)

Jaime Pressly from My Name is Earl wins and totally tears up.  First tears of the night.  Touching.  I was pulling for Jaime.  Great stuff.  Vanessa Williams got the largest pop.

Thomas Haden Church takes Outstanding Supporting Actor for Broken Trail.

The cast of Entourage, with Eva Longoria, take the stage for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama.  The winner is Katherine Heigl for Desperate Housewives.  She’s misty and long winded.  They raise music to cue her off.

Robert Duval wins lead actor for Broken Trail.  He is cued off by the music as well, second one this evening.  Broken Trail subsequently capped its evening by winning Outstanding Mini.

Outstanding Directing for a drama goes to Alex Taylor for The Sopranos episode "Kennedy And Heidi."  David Chase of The Sopranos follows up with a writing win, looks like The Sopranos will go out with he expected truckload of gold, but will it prevail in the big ones.

The major categories held some surprises.  Sally Field won Lead Actress in a Drama for Brothers & Sisters, while America Ferrera predictably won Lead Actress in a Comedy for Ugly Betty. 

The biggest upset of the night?  Perhaps James Spader of Boston Legal winning Lead Actor in a Drama, a statue thought to be reserved for James Gandolfini.  Ricky Gervais equally stunned, although not entirely undeserved, for his Lead Actor in a Comedy win for the BBC/HBO co-production Extras.

The big wins of the evening brought one last surprise, 30 Rock nabbing Outstanding Comedy series and, as predicted, The Sopranos winning Outstanding Drama.

- Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of Emmy.org)