Shatner Beams Up Emmy

The tube icon claimed his first-ever golden statuette at the 2003-2004 Creative Arts Primetime Emmys, held last Saturday at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium.

"What took you so long?" the 73-year-old Shatner asked the black-tie audience, per Daily Variety. His was the first such award-show win for an Enterprise alum.

Shatner, whose Emmy came for his stint as an Earth-bound, legal shark on ABC's The Practice, was among a handful of high-profile, first-time Emmy winners, including Sharon Stone, another winner for The Practice, and John Turturro, honored for his turn as Tony Shalhoub's TV brother on USA's Monk.

HBO's freak show Carnivale was the night's big winner, claiming awards in five of the seven categories in which it was nominated.

The Creative Arts Primetime Emmys, presented the weekend before the Primetime Emmys, honors TV's tech heads--the editors, the makeup artists, the special-effects teams, etc.

Owing to the sheer size of the Emmys, some star categories get pushed over to the Creative Arts event, which would explain why Shatner, Stone, Turturro and Laura Linney, gifted for her guest-starring work as Dr. Crane's lady love on NBC's Frasier, were up for awards in between those for, say, Outstanding Stunt Coordination (claimed, by the way, by Fox's 24).

Other big-name winners from Saturday night: Harry Connick Jr., tapped for Outstanding Music Director for the PBS Great Performances special, Harry Connick Jr: "Only You" in Concert; composer Randy Newman, a winner for Monk's theme song, "It's a Jungle Out There"; and, Dan Castellaneta, now a third-time honoree for giving good voice to Homer and other Springfield citizens on Fox's The Simpsons.

Stone, who'd never even been nominated for an Emmy prior to this year's Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nod, said she'd dreamt of her victory.

"It's a lot better than that tidal-wave dream I keep having," Stone said, per Variety.

Also quick with the quip: Carson Kressley, whose mates on Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy beat back the likes of HBO's Project Greenlight to claim the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program.

"None of us have ever been so happy to take home a lady," the Emmy-escorting Kressley said backstage, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Fox's American Idol and NBC's The Apprentice will vie for bragging rights as Outstanding Reality-Competition Program in Sunday's Emmy Awards.

Meanwhile, in the battle of the toons, Cartoon Network's Samurai Jack was named Outstanding Animated Program among shows of less than one hour in length; Star Wars: Clone Wars, also on the Cartoon Network, was tops among animated shows of one hour or more.

In perhaps the most fitting win of the night, Nip/Tuck, FX's nose-bobbing, breast-lifting plastic surgery drama, won the Emmy for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or Special.

In all, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences blew through 64 categories on Saturday night. HBO led all networks with 16 wins, followed by Fox and PBS, with seven each.

Other big winners among shows, with four Emmys each, were: HBO's epic miniseries, Angels in America, expected to win even more hardware this coming weekend; 24; and Frasier, upping its record, career-to-date Emmy haul to 35.

E! will air the Creative Arts Primetime Emmys from 8-10 p.m. (ET/PT) on Saturday.

Come Sunday, it'll the 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. E!'s Live Countdown coverage begins at noon (ET/PT), with the annual Live from the Red Carpet running from 6-8 p.m. (ET/PT).

The award-distributing festivities are set to kick off on ABC at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Garry Shandling is on board as the show's self-deprecating host.

Here's a look at some of the winners from the 2003-04 Creative Arts Primetime Emmys:

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series: William Shatner, The Practice (ABC)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Sharon Stone, The Practice (ABC)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: John Turturro, Monk (USA) Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Laura Linney, Frasier (NBC)
Outstanding Voice-Over Performance: Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons
Outstanding Reality Program: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Bravo)
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special: Elaine Stritch: At Liberty (HBO)
Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour): Samurai Jack (Cartoon Network)
Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More): Star Wars: Clone Wars (Cartoon Network)