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Trouble away from paradise

For some of the 16 contestants on CBS' summer hit "Survivor," it seems, life on the island was a breeze compared with the troubles awaiting them back on the mainland. The latest revelation: 23-year-old Kelly Wiglesworth is wanted in North Carolina for using a stolen credit card, reports the Greensboro News & Record.

Also this week, not only did a prematurely placed press release at the CBS Web site reveal the departure of Greg several hours before it happened, but the broadcast showed what appeared to be the four finalists on "Survivor" — three weeks before their identities were to be revealed. (You can read about it at the bottom of the spoilers page.)

And that's not the only stink being raised. TV Barn opened the following e-mail this week with questions about the castaways' body odor. (Is this a sign of creeping viewer boredom?) "The show has been on for about eight weeks now, or about 25 days of actual island time, and virtually no time has been spent talking about how unpleasant it must be, hygiene-wise," writes Adam Rafkin. "After all this time, these people must be reeking up a storm by now. And how can Jenna's hair continue to look so good in those conditions?" Please! Don't tell us she uses a special "hair gel"!

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Emmy nods look familiar

I dragged myself out of my sickbed Thursday morning to cover the Emmy nominations, and returned there immediately afterward, so forgive the late posting of this item:

HBO's "The Sopranos," which had the most nominations last year, will share that honor this year with NBC's "The West Wing" when ballots for the 52nd annual Emmy Awards are mailed out this year. Those dramas received 18 bids each in the nominations, announced Thursday morning.

This year's voting will mark the first time that judges are allowed to screen videocassettes of the nominees' shows from home. Previously, they had to trudge to a scheduled screening.

Unfortunately, the judges won't be seeing much they haven't seen in earlier years of Emmy voting. Most of the major categories returned three or four nominees from '99 (and in many cases, '98 and '97 as well). Only Eric McCormack of "Will & Grace" was able to break into the Best Comedy Actor category — and that's because Paul Reiser ("Mad About You") wasn't eligible.

The most turnover occurred in the supporting-role categories, where more than half of last year's nominees stepped aside to make way for the likes of Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior on "The Sopranos"), Kim Cattrall (Samantha on "Sex and the City") and Allison Janney (C.J. on "The West Wing").

The big loser was "Ally McBeal," the two-time winner for Best Comedy that wasn't even nominated this year. Nor was star Calista Flockhart for Best Actress, nor Lucy Liu for Best Supporting Actress.

The big winner was "Will & Grace." It took "Ally's" place on the best comedy ballot. In addition, all four of the show's leads were nominated.

The big surprise? Maybe it was the nomination of foul-mouthed "South Park" for Best Animated Program. Or the snubbing of TNT in the movies and miniseries categories. Or the continued oversight of one of TV's most popular comedies, "The Drew Carey Show."

TV movies and miniseries continued to attract top Hollywood talent, as evidenced by the star-studded nomination lists in that genre.

NBC led all networks with 97 nominations. The Emmy Awards will be telecast Sept. 10 on ABC.

Emmy list
Nominees in top categories for the Primetime Emmy Awards, announced Thursday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:

* Comedy Series: "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; "Frasier," NBC; "Friends," NBC; "Sex and the City," HBO; "Will & Grace," NBC.

* Drama Series: "ER," NBC; "Law & Order," NBC; "The Practice," ABC; "The Sopranos," HBO; "The West Wing," NBC.

* Miniseries: "Arabian Nights," ABC; "The Beach Boys: An American Family," ABC; "The Corner," HBO; "Jesus," CBS; "P.T. Barnum," A&E.

* Television Movie: "Annie," ABC; "If These Walls Could Talk II," HBO; "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," HBO; "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays With Morrie," ABC; "RKO 281," HBO.

* Actor, Comedy Series: Michael J. Fox, "Spin City," ABC; Kelsey Grammer, "Frasier," NBC; John Lithgow, "3rd Rock From the Sun," NBC; Eric McCormack, "Will & Grace," NBC; Ray Romano, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.

* Actor, Drama Series: Dennis Franz, "NYPD Blue," ABC; James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos," HBO; Jerry Orbach, "Law & Order," NBC; Martin Sheen, "The West Wing," NBC; Sam Waterston, "Law & Order," NBC.

* Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Beau Bridges, "P.T. Barnum," A&E; Brian Dennehy, "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman," Showtime; Jack Lemmon, "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays With Morrie," ABC; William H. Macy, "A Slight Case of Murder," TNT; Liev Schreiber, "RKO 281," HBO.

* Actress, Comedy Series: Jenna Elfman, "Dharma & Greg," ABC; Patricia Heaton, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm in the Middle," Fox; Debra Messing, "Will & Grace," NBC; Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex and the City," HBO.

* Actress, Drama Series: Lorraine Bracco, "The Sopranos," HBO; Amy Brenneman, "Judging Amy," CBS; Edie Falco, "The Sopranos," HBO; Julianna Margulies, "ER," NBC; Sela Ward, "Once and Again," ABC.

* Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Halle Berry, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," HBO; Judy Davis, "A Cooler Climate," Showtime; Sally Field, "A Cooler Climate," Showtime; Holly Hunter, "Harlan County War," Showtime; Gena Rowlands, "The Color of Love: Jacey's Story," CBS.

* Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Peter Boyle, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Brad Garrett, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace," NBC; Peter MacNicol, "Ally McBeal," Fox; David Hyde Pierce, "Frasier," NBC.

* Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Michael Badalucco, "The Practice," ABC; Dominic Chianese, "The Sopranos," HBO; Steve Harris, "The Practice," ABC; Richard Schiff, "The West Wing," NBC; John Spencer, "The West Wing," NBC.

* Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Hank Azaria, "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays With Morrie," ABC; Klaus Maria Brandauer, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," HBO; James Cromwell, "RKO 281," HBO; Danny Glover, "Freedom Song," TNT; John Malkovich, "RKO 281," HBO.

* Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Jennifer Aniston, "Friends," NBC; Kim Cattrall, "Sex and the City," HBO; Lisa Kudrow, "Friends," NBC; Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace," NBC; Doris Roberts, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS.

* Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Stockard Channing, "The West Wing," NBC; Tyne Daly, "Judging Amy," CBS; Allison Janney, "The West Wing," NBC; Nancy Marchand, "The Sopranos," HBO; Holland Taylor, "The Practice," ABC.

* Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Kathy Bates, "Annie," ABC; Elizabeth Franz, "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman," Showtime; Melanie Griffith, "RKO 281," HBO; Maggie Smith, "David Copperfield," PBS.

Pick to click

The most voyeuristic show on TV isn't "Survivor" or "Big Brother." It's MTV's "Undressed" (11 p.m. weekdays). On this half-hour show, scantily clad young people sit around their dorm rooms and apartments talking about nothing but S-E-X. All kinds of sex, too — there's even one current story line about incest. You think the housemates talk too much on "Big Brother"? On "Undressed," that's all they do. We never see actual hanky-panky. And with the scene changing so often, flitting from bedroom to bedroom, we rarely if ever learn the names of the people.

It's amazing parents haven't raised more of a ruckus about this show, which just started its third season on MTV. It's a heck of a lot steamier than any of those "Real Sex" specials on HBO. And it's more revealing than anything on "Survivor" (with the unfortunate exception of any time Richard, the chubby castaway, decides to wander the beach in the nude).

On this date...

in 1961, just when you thought it couldn't get more exciting, NBC's "Today Show" adds Edwin Newman as its news anchor. -- Tom Heald

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