COVER STORY : Anything ‘Soprano’

As I was saying recently, give HBO’s “The Sopranos” its kadzillion Emmys and call it a night.

Yet Fox, ever indulgent, insists on going ahead with this evening’s Emmy Awards telecast. After all, stretch limos have been leased, gowns fitted, breasts implanted, faces tightened, hair purchased, smiles rehearsed and ad-libbed acceptance speeches composed.

So onward with my annual Emmy picks -- which, boldly, I again have confined to shows that I have actually seen.

Comedy Series: On a given night, Fox’s “Ally McBeal” is a scream. Such nights are diminishing, however. “NBC’s “Friends” and “Frasier”? Ho-hum. On CBS, “Everybody Loves Raymond” has earned the affection it gets, and probably the Emmy, too. Yet there’s something about HBO’s “Sex and the City” -- perhaps the prospect of weekly orgasms -- that makes it especially E-worthy. This cleverly New Yorkish series is not only a swell place to visit but also nice to live with.

Drama Series: Four of the nominees -- NBC’s “ER” and “Law & Order” and ABC’s “NYPD Blue” and “The Practice” -- affirm that this is the Golden Age of television drama. The fifth nominee, “The Sopranos,” is its own golden age. If it doesn’t get the Emmy, I say it’s time to go to the mattresses.

Miniseries: A pretty puny bunch, with A&E;’s “Horatio Hornblower” superior to NBC’s “The ‘60s,” whose nomination makes you wonder if Emmy voters were dropping acid. Other also-rans are NBC’s so-so “The Temptations,” PBS’ badly cast “Great Expectations” and “Joan of Arc,” the uneven CBS entry that’s a sentimental favorite because it’s been years since a tragic figure burned at the stake has been honored by the industry.

Movie: “The Baby Dance,” a stunning drama on Showtime, is the only nominee deserving a standing ovation. Sensitized by TV’s diversity flap, however, the voters may tilt toward HBO’s commendable “A Lesson Before Dying.” But if gloss and glibness are factors, HBO’s undeserving “The Rat Pack” has a real shot. Filling out the field are A&E;’s “Dash and Lilly” and TNT’s “Pirates of Silicon Valley.” But what were those Emmy siliconheads thinking when they snubbed that fine “King Lear” production on PBS?

Comedy Series Lead Actor: Why Ray Romano of “Everybody Loves Raymond”? Why not? Also nominated are Michael J. Fox of ABC’s “Spin City” and that NBC trio: Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier,” Paul Reiser of “Mad About You” and John Lithgow of “3rd Rock From the Sun.”

Drama Series Lead Actor: A hugely E-worthy field, above which rises hulking James Gandolfini of “The Sopranos.” He has to beat Sam Waterston of “Law & Order” and ABC’s Dylan McDermott of “The Practice” and Dennis Franz and Jimmy Smits of “NYPD Blue.”

Miniseries or Movie Lead Actor: Ian Holm’s splendid Lear on PBS is an easy call over Don Cheadle’s pleasing work in “A Lesson Before Dying,” Jack Lemmon of Showtime’s “Inherit the Wind,” Sam Shepard of “Dash and Lilly” and Stanley Tucci’s cartoonishly unworthy gossip columnist in HBO’s “Winchell.”

Comedy Series Lead Actress: This nice field includes Jenna Elfman of ABC’s “Dharma & Greg,” Calista Flockhart of “Ally McBeal,” Patricia Heaton of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and Helen Hunt of “Mad About You.” Watch her in “Sex and the City” on a regular basis, though, and Sarah Jessica Parker wins you over.

Drama Series Lead Actress: More good nominees, but Edie Falco’s persuasive suburban mafia homemaker in “The Sopranos” cries out for an Emmy. Also nominated are Lorraine Bracco of “The Sopranos,” Gillian Anderson of “The X-Files,” Julianna Margulies of “ER” and Christine Lahti of CBS’ “Chicago Hope.”

Miniseries or Movie Lead Actress: Except for Leelee Sobieski, so inconsistent in “Joan of Arc,” this is the strongest field of nominated actresses in memory, headed by Stockard Channing, just brilliant in “The Baby Dance.” Give her the Emmy, for her opposition -- Ann-Margret in Lifetime’s “Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story,” Judy Davis in “Dash and Lilly” and Helen Mirren in Showtime’s “The Passion of Ayn Rand” -- failed to rise above undistinguished material. As for distinction, what ninnies the Emmy voters are for omitting Channing’s co-star, Laura Dern.

Here are some other nominees who deserve to win:

For supporting actor in a comedy series, that “Just Shoot Me” cynic David Spade, who may be the most consistently funny actor in prime time. And for best supporting actress in a comedy, the supremely polished Wendie Malick of the same series, her recent disastrous dramatic turn as Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren notwithstanding. Plus, Steven Hill for his supporting work in “Law & Order,” where he does more with less than anyone on TV.

Also, Peter O’Toole, as best supporting actor in a miniseries or movie, for giving life to “Joan of Arc” when it gasped. As best supporting actress in a miniseries or movie, I say Cicely Tyson of “A Lesson Before Dying,” even though it was a familiar role she could have done in her sleep. And if Nancy Marchand doesn’t win an Emmy for her phenomenal supporting work in the drama series, “The Sopranos,” Emmy voters deserve to sleep with the fishes.

Where, as lox, they’d feel right at home.

“The 51st Annual Emmy Awards” airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on Fox.