Allison Janney's win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series set the tone for The West Wing's Emmy evening Sunday night. Her nod was declared by e! Online the "Biggest Upset" of the evening. This had less to do with Janney's performances than it did with the fact that one of her competitors in the category was Nancy Marchand, much-loved as the Sopranos matriarch, who passed away last year. The Academy could have given Marchand the Award as a posthumous nod but instead awarded it to actress they felt most deserving, a move some suggest bodes well for the "new" Emmy Awards intent on honouring craft and not politics or sentiment.
Richard Schiff followed Janney to the podium in his own somewhat surprising win as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Even fans who were convinced one of The West Wing's nominated actors would win (John Spencer as Leo McGarry was also nominated in this category) thought Spencer had the edge. Schiff is less visible as the stressed, cynical Toby Zeigler, but his acting (so intense he sometimes seems to vibrate off the screen at the viewer) carried the day for him.
Martin Sheen sat out the Award for which he was nominated - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Competition in the category this year was remarkably stiff - Dennis Franz, NYPD Blue, James Gandolfini, The Sopranos, Jerry Orbach, Law & Order, and Sam Waterston, also of Law & Order were also nominated. Consensus seems to be that Gandolfini absolutely deserved the win, and that Sheen will have his day on the podium for this remarkable role.
Finally, the folks behind the scenes took center stage to collect the really valuable hardware - the Awards that elevate a series from above-average to tv-legend. Thomas Schlamme was honoured with an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, and Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland shared the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the moving "In Excelsis Deo" (also known to fans as "the Christmas episode" or "the Korean War Vet episode").
The last award of the evening was Outstanding Drama Series, and some would suggest it is the Emmy Award. The West Wing's stiffest competition by far in this category was critically-acclaimed and popular The Sopranos. All bets were off for Emmy-watchers in this category; The Sopranos didn't win last year, although many felt it should have (some feel that the Academy simply will not give the Outstanding Series Emmy to a first-season program). That's why it was suggested that even if West Wing had a better season in 1999-2000, it was both The Sopranos' "turn" to win, and The West Wing, too, had to wait beyond its freshman year to earn a "Best Series" Emmy. The Academy surprised everyone by electing to award the statuette to The West Wing.
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