The long-expected edition of the Emmy Awards took place last night and, as in every year, the ceremony was full of surprises, some more pleasant than others. But Keifer Sutherland and his terrorist thriller, '24' were, by far, the biggest winners of the night.

This year, the Fox drama got its ninth nomination in a row and critics were already anxious to see whether the same thing as in previous years would happen, namely that of being overlooked again by voters. But '24' got the 'Best Drama Series' award, while Sutherland got the 'Best Actor in a Drama Series' one, thus making his sixth year on the show more than exceptional, as the actor himself said during his acceptance speech.

'The Office' got 'Best Comedy Series' but its star, Steve Carrel, was said to have been one of the losers of the night, as he wasn't the one to take the statuette for 'Best Actor in a Comedy Series', as people were expecting. Instead, the award went, for the third year in a row, to Tony Shalhoub, who plays the obsessive compulsive private investigator in 'Monk'.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus proved that the 'Seinfeld' curse can indeed be broken as she first got a positive nod for her leading part in the comedy 'The New Adventures of Old Christine' and, last night, an award for it. 'I'm not somebody who believes in curses, but curse this baby!', the actress said right after the speech, obviously referring to the fact that few people believed that she would ever get above the long-running 'show about nothing'.

The Spelling tribute was a very emotional and tearful moment, in which Heather Locklear ('Melrose Place'), Joan Collins ('Dynasty') and Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith (the original 'Charlie's Angels') recalled the days when the prolific producer was guiding them and teaching them all about television. Aaron's daughter, Tori, was present at the ceremony, but she was seated separately from her mother and brother.

Another big winner was the UK/US-produced miniseries 'Elisabeth I', winning both 'Best Actress' (Helen Mirren) and 'Supporting Actor' (Jeremy Irons). Unfortunately, 'Grey's Anatomy', despite having got 11 nods from the Academy, left home empty handed.

Below are the winners for the most important categories of the 58th edition of the Emmy Awards:

Drama Series: '24'
Comedy Series: 'The Office'
Miniseries: 'Elizabeth I'
Made-for-TV Movie: 'The Girl in the Cafe'
Variety, Music or Comedy Series: 'The Daily Show With Jon Stewart'
Actor, Drama Series: Kiefer Sutherland, '24'
Actress, Drama Series: Mariska Hargitay, 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'
Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Alan Alda, 'The West Wing'
Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Blythe Danner, 'Huff'
Actor, Comedy Series: Tony Shalhoub, 'Monk'
Actress, Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 'The New Adventures of Old Christine'
Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Jeremy Piven, 'Entourage'
Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Megan Mullally, 'Will & Grace'
Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Andre Braugher, 'Thief'
Actress, Miniseries or a Movie: Helen Mirren, 'Elizabeth I'
Supporting Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Jeremy Irons, 'Elizabeth I'
Supporting Actress, Miniseries or a Movie: Kelly Macdonald, 'The Girl in the Cafe'