'24' clocks the competition

Some people were certainly very, very happy after last night's Emmy telecast. The makers of Fox's ``24," which won best drama, and its star, Kiefer Sutherland, who won the best actor prize, left the stage beaming. Both had been nominated and lost the past four years. Three-time nominee Mariska Hargitay, too, must have been ecstatic about finally taking the lead dramatic actress award for ``Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," not to mention grateful that Edie Falco was not nominated.

And some people were likely unhappy last night, particularly the people behind ABC's ``Grey's Anatomy," the popular series that didn't take home any statues. Or the creators of ABC's ``Lost," which failed to win any major nominations this year after winning best drama last year.

But most viewers were probably indifferent when the show wrapped after its uneven three-hour journey. This year's Emmy presentations were oddly unexciting. It wasn't a particularly rousing night, nor was it a bomb, mostly thanks to Conan O'Brien and his ace hosting skills.

From his ruthless goof on NBC's ratings struggles to his threat to kill Bob Newhart if the telecast ran over three hours, O'Brien brought the fun that was lacking in the awards themselves.

The night's winners seemed to fall into one of two categories. There were the thoroughly likable new honorees, including `'The Office" for comedy series, Julia Louis-Dreyfus for comedy actress, and Jeremy Piven for supporting actor in a comedy series. Referring to the flops that she and her fellow ``Seinfeld" costars have suffered since the classic comedy ended, Louis-Dreyfus said, ``I'm not somebody who really believes in curses. . . . But curse this, baby!"

Then there were the performers who'd won already, including Megan Mullally for ``Will & Grace," Tony Shalhoub for ``Monk," ``The Amazing Race," which won its fifth prize as best reality show, and Blythe Danner for Showtime's ``Huff."

``I guess I have to thank Showtime even though they canceled us," Danner half-joked.

Meanwhile, O'Brien kept the show alive with his no-baloney humor. Rather than ignoring the silliness of this year's nominations, which found Ellen Burstyn getting nominated for a 14-second performance in the movie ``Mrs. Harris," he openly made fun of it.

``Just because something lasts for only 14 seconds doesn't mean it isn't spectacular," he said.

O'Brien noted the exclusion of ``Lost" from this year's list. In a pre-taped segment, he fell out of a plane and into an ``Alice in Wonderland"-like journey through TV series to get to the Emmys. Landing on an island, he stumbled across Hurley from ``Lost" and invited him down the hatch to the awards show. ``We weren't exactly invited," Hurley said.

But O'Brien's boldest bit was a song-and-dance about the ratings decline that made NBC the No. 4 network. To the tune of ``Ya Got Trouble" from ``The Music Man," O'Brien ridiculed the network that not only aired the Emmys last night but that also airs his late-night talk show. To rhyme with going to hell, O'Brien sang that NBC is now ``relying on Howie Mandel." It was a five-ouch routine.

O'Brien's light touch could also be felt throughout, in little gags that peppered the statue presentations. He gave us Newhart in a glass cell with only three hours worth of air. If the show ran late, O'Brien promised, Newhart would die. He also introduced a new way to accept awards, demonstrated by Christopher Meloni as he rode across the stage on a Segway yelling his thank yous.

This camp highlight of the night went to the Aaron Spelling tribute. The presentation reunited the original stars of ``Charlie's Angels" in a moment whose subtext was . . . cluttered, to put it mildly.

While warring Spellings Tori and Candy watched separately from the audience, with Candy continually wiping tears from her eyes, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah Fawcett paid their homage. Jackson's words were most poetic, although Farrah, not one to be upstaged, worked hard to match Jackson's emotional farewell. It was a classic Spelling moment.

Other highlights, both heartfelt and funny, included a tribute to Dick Clark, who appeared to say thanks despite some difficulty speaking due to his stroke. Jon Stewart came to the stage to accept the statue for best variety, music, or comedy series, but not after getting a big fat kiss from competitor and colleague Stephen Colbert. ``I think this year you actually made a terrible mistake, but thank you," Stewart said as a nod to Colbert.

And ``My Name Is Earl" won prizes for writing and direction, which almost made up for the fact that it was overlooked in the best-comedy category.

Not surprisingly, but most deservedly, HBO's ``Elizabeth I" walked off with four Emmys last night, including best miniseries, best actress for Helen Mirren, and best supporting actor for Jeremy Irons. HBO also won best TV movie, for ``The Girl in the Café."

Worth noting: With Alda's award, ``The West Wing" ties ``Hill Street Blues" for the most Emmys won by a drama -- 26.

``Trapped in cleavage" was how Ryan Seacrest referred to his position on the E! red carpet before last night's ceremony. Not as tall as most of the women he interviewed, Seacrest declined to stand on a box so he could feast his eyes on the Hollywood parade of sternums and ribs. And what with the high temperatures, and the lavish gowns, many of which were purple and probably absorbing plenty of heat, he also saw his share of glistening sweat.

The E! show was all about Ryan, as he switched hats all night long. One minute he was a who-are-you-wearing red-carpet gentleman, the next he was Ryan Seacrest, Boy Reporter. After complimenting Leah Remini on her appearance, for example, he pressed her on her friendship with Tom Cruise and why the public hasn't seen his newborn daughter, Suri.

Her impatience was palpable, and finally he reluctantly admitted the ridiculous truth: ``I want everyone to see the baby so I don't have to keep reporting that we haven't seen the baby."

The NBC preshow was so much less dramatic. Nancy O'Dell set out to make Warren Beatty and Annette Bening blush, talking about how in love they seem to be, and she succeeded. Meanwhile, ``Project Runway" star Tim Gunn told us which stars were making it work fashion-wise. Alas, Cheryl Hines and Sandra Oh were chided by Gunn. Their sin? A tad too much bling.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com.