Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120041
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWARD CERONE AND SUSAN KING LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: PASADENA, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
``What's appealing about `ER' is that the characters are flawed,'' said Leder, who picked up one of the eight Emmys for ``ER,'' tying the record for most wins by a series in one season. ``They're like us. We, as people, can relate to them. That's why we tune in every week and we want to see them, to know what's going on in their lives.''
In the heart-breaking episode that won Leder her directing Emmy, ``Love's Labor Lost,'' the doctor played by Anthony Edwards ecounterd a problematic delivery and lost the life of the mother. The episode also earned an Emmy for its writer, Dr. Lance A. Gentile, a former emergency room physician.
When asked where the story came from, Gentile told reporters at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, ``I thought of my worst nightmare as an emergency room physician and I wrote that. I did some research with obstetrics residents here in Los Angeles, and we fleshed out the story.''
Leder called the episode ``the emotional highpoint'' of the series' first season.
But while ``ER'' was the big winner at the 47th annual Emmys Awards for nighttime programming, some of its thunder was stolen by ABC's ``NYPD Blue,'' which was named best drama series.
``Last year, we had a bittersweet night,'' said Dennis Franz, who won as best actor in 1994 but saw the series lose to ``Picket Fences.'' ``This year it was a total surprise. I think I was three feet off the ground when `NYPD Blue' was announced. It is enormously satisfying.''
Although most of ``ER's'' ensemble cast was nominated for Emmys, the only winner was Julianna Margulies, who plays nurse Carole Hathaway.
``This is beyond belief,'' she said backstage. The suicidal Hathaway character was created for just one episode, but was extended through the entire season because of Margulies' strong performance.
``I feel like I'm still shaking,'' she said. ``I feel blessed.''
``Frasier,'' the critics' favorite comedy, also turned out to be the academy's favorite. When asked about the show's sophisticated humor, David Hyde Pierce said, ``I think funny is funny, and good is good, and people are smarter than we give them credit for.''
Pierce, who plays Frasier's neurotic brother Niles, said he was surprised by his Emmy as supporting actor.
Everyone on ``Frasier'' seemed overwhelmed by their success. ``I can't believe you're clapping for us. We're the writers,'' Anne Flett-Giordano said when she walked backstage with partner Chuck Ranberg.
The team paid credit to their fellow writers, executive producer Christopher Lloyd and NBC. When asked what they shoot for in scripting sessions, Flett-Giordano said, ``Smart, smart, smart.''
That attitude continues when the script moves to the actors, said star Kelsey Grammer, who won his second Emmy for the series. ``We all agreed to play up to the audience as a better idea than playing down,'' he explained. ``It seems to have been rewarded at this point.''
Candice Bergen, who won her fourth Emmy as the acerbic ``Murphy Brown,'' said this will likely be the final season of the CBS comedy series.
``With regret,'' she added. ``But I think it would be nice to go out before we are carried out in wheelchairs or walkers.''
As for future plans, Bergen said she had a couple of ``vague projects'' and would like to travel with her family. But she doesn't believe she will do another weekly TV series.
``I don't think you can top Murphy, for me,'' she said.
After half a century in the business, Ray Walston, 76, won his first Emmy for supporting actor in a drama series, as the strong, outspoken judge Henry Bone in CBS' offbeat drama ``Picket Fences.''
Last season, ``Picket Fences'' was the darling of the Emmys, beating out favorite ``NYPD Blue'' for outstanding drama series. But after losing some ratings, the David E. Kelley drama this season will also lose its time slot. To make room for the scary ``American Gothic,'' ``Picket Fences'' this season moves up an hour on Fridays to 9 p.m., opposite Fox's popular supernatural drama, ``The X-Files.''
Still, Walston believes CBS is ``making every effort'' to extend the life of ``Picket Fences.'' But he said that the new time slot will work against them.
Kathy Baker, who won her second Emmy as Dr. Jill Brock on the series, was not so forgiving of CBS' decision. ``I want to talk to (CBS Entertainment President) Les Moonves,'' she said. ``We have won 12 Emmys in three years,'' and yet CBS still chose to move the show. ``I'm sick of it,'' she said.
by CNB