The Sopranos

The mob drama, The Sopranos, has taken top honours at the Emmy awards in Los Angeles. In a night of surprises, the veteran actresses Sally Field and Dame Helen Mirren were among the winners at the TV equivalent of the Oscars. This report from Peter Bowes:

Listen to the story

Sally Field was named best actress in a drama for Brothers and Sisters. She plays a mother whose son serves in the Iraq war. In her acceptance speech , she said if mothers ruled the world, there would be no wars in the first place.

Dame Helen Mirren was honoured for her long-running role in the detective series Prime Suspect. By contrast, the award for best comedy series went to a newcomer, 30 Rock, a sitcom about a TV show. America Ferrera was named best actress in a comedy for Ugly Betty.

The other winners included the veteran singer Tony Bennett who won the award for best performance on a variety show , and the former vice-president Al Gore picked up an Emmy for his interactive TV channel that shows videos made by viewers.

Peter Bowes, BBC News, Los Angeles

Listen to the words

its six-year run
the period of six years during which the drama was regularly shown on TV

mob drama
drama about a Mafia-style criminal gang

ground-breaking
exceptional, first of its kind (e.g. because of an original plot, unusual filming techniques, etc.)

took top honours
won the award

acceptance speech
speech (usually a short one and expressing gratitude) that someone gives when presented with a prize, award, title, etc.

long-running role
role that she has being playing for a long period of time

detective
connected with uncovering crime and criminals

a sitcom
short for 'situation comedy', a TV or radio series in which the same characters appear in each programme in a different amusing story

a variety show
a type of entertainment which includes several separate short performances, e.g. singing, dancing, magic tricks, telling jokes, etc.

picked up
here, was awarded

Read more about this story