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:

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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

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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

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