'John Adams,' '30 Rock,' 'Mad Men' Take Top Emmy Honors

21 Sep, 2008 By: John Latchem

Fans of TV DVD won’t have to look far to see most of the winners of this year’s Emmy Awards.

"John Adams," the acclaimed HBO miniseries about the founding father and second president of the United States, won a record 13 Emmys, including best miniseries, best actor in a miniseries for Paul Giamatti, and best actress for Laura Linney.

The seven-part epic, which chronicles Adams’ rise as a voice for America’s freedom during the Revolutionary War, through his presidency and later years, is on DVD from HBO Video and stars Giamatti as Adams and Linney as his wife, Abigail. The program also won best supporting actor for Tom Wilkinson (as Ben Franklin), as well as awards in the miniseries/TV movie category for writing, casting, art direction, cinematography, costumes, prosthetic make-up, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.

Another HBO project, Recount, about the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election in Florida, won three awards, including best TV movie, best directing for a miniseries/TV movie (for Jay Roach), and editing for the category.

For best comedy series, NBC’s “30 Rock” won the top prize for the second consecutive year, taking a total of seven awards. The show also took comedy series awards for best actress Tina Fey, best actor Alex Baldwin, best guest actor Tim Conway, writing, casting and sound mixing. The second season of the series hits DVD Oct. 7 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

The trendy AMC series “Mad Men,” about the inner workings of an ad agency in the early 1960s, won six awards, including best drama series, writing, cinematography, art direction (single-camera series), hairstyling (single-camera series) and main title design. The first season is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Lionsgate.

Major awards were distributed at a ceremony Sept. 21, with Creative Arts Emmys presented at a special ceremony Sept. 13.

Other Winners on DVD:

• Autism: The Musical (Docurama): Best nonfiction special

• Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Universal): Outstanding special class —short-format live-action entertainment programs (webisodes)

• Californication (Season 1, Paramount/Showtime): Cinematography (half-hour series)

• Chuck (Season 1, Warner): Stunt coordination

• The Company (Sony Pictures, also on Blu-ray): Original musical score for a miniseries/TV movie

• Cranford (BBC Video): Miniseries/TV movie supporting actress Eileen Atkins; hairstyling

• Damages (Season 1, Sony Pictures, also on Blu-ray): Drama series actress Glenn Close; supporting actor Zeljko Ivanek; Casting

• Desperate Housewives (Season 4, Disney): Comedy series guest actress Kathryn Joosten

• Entourage (Season 4, HBO Video): Comedy series supporting actor Jeremy Piven

• House (Season 4, Universal): Drama series directing

• How I Met Your Mother (Season 3 due Oct. 7, Fox): Art direction (multi-camera series)

• Lost (Season 4 due Dec. 9, Disney, also on Blu-ray): Sound mixing

• Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (Vivendi): Best variety, music or comedy special; outstanding individual performance, Don Rickles

• Pushing Daisies (Season 1, Warner, also on Blu-ray): Comedy series directing: Barry Sonnenfeld; editing; original music score

• Samantha Who? (Season 1, Disney): Comedy series guest actress Jean Smart

• Smallville (Season 7, Warner, also on Blu-ray): Sound editing

• South Park: Imaginationland (Paramount/Comedy Central): Best animated program of one hour or more

• This American Life (Season 1, Paramount/Showtime): Best nonfiction series (tie); nonfiction directing

• Tin Man (Genius Products): Non-prosthetic make-up

• Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union (Eagle Rock): Non-prosthetic make-up (single-camera series)

• The War (Paramount/PBS): Voiceover performance for narrator Keith David; nonfiction writing; sound editing

• White Light/Black Rain (HBO Video): Exceptional merit in nonfiction filmmaking