We mentioned it last week but it bears repeating: Tonight will see the latest episode in the Dan Rather drama when he and current CBS News anchor Katie Couric are both in the same room at the same time as presenters for tonight's News and Documentary Emmys. They may not meet face to face as our headline breathlessly promises, but it seems damned likely, given that there will be milling about before hand at the reception and, at the very least, table-to-table nearness during the ceremony, with the possibility of backstage collision (hey, it could happen, though scripted banter is probably too much to hope for). At a minimum, studious gaze-avoidance is sure to add to the not-at-all-tense atmosphere. We wondered last week if Rather might have timed his filing to coincide with a pan-industry gathering; it will surely be a hot topic of conversation this evening.
Other presenters include Tim Russert, Bob Woodruff, Soledad O'Brien, Rick Kaplan, Jon Stewart and Telemundo anchor and managing editor Pedro Sevcec. Special guests of note: Ted Koppel, being honored with the year's Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by an impressive slate including Koppel's wife, Grace Anne, and Elie Weisel (the presence of whom should hopefully keep the event from devolving into an all-out fracas). It's sort of sad when you consider the juxtaposition of Ted Koppel and Dan Rather in this context: Koppel being honored for a lifetime of great work, celebrated and lauded by his peers and colleagues. Alas, Dan Rather cannot say the same, and such an evening seems all but out of reach right now.
Thirty-two Emmys will be up for grabs by all the usual suspects (list of nominees here). Here's a brief nom count: PBS - 22; CBS - 19; ABC - 15; NBC - 14; HBO/Cinemax - 11; CNN - 6; History Channel - 5; Discovery Channel - 4; Animal Planet - 2; VH1-1; HDNet - 1 (this list is incomplete, but we wanted to get Animal Planet in there 'cause we know that Ted Turner is a fan of frogs, salamanders, bunnies, giraffes and hippopotamuses.
A note: In addition to being a weird, tense, gossipy-whispery Emmys (presumably) thanks to the Dan Rather lawsuit drama, it will also be a sad one, since last year Ed Bradley was there as a presenter (with top billing), and winner.
Update: We should have gone back one more year...turns out Dan Rather got a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Oops. Our bad, his good. 2005, eh? Interesting timing, Emmy.