IEmmys big on British shows

U.K. fare receive most of the major honors

Jordan and Argentina snagged their first-ever statuettes at the 36th Intl. Emmy Awards, but the U.K. was Monday night's big winner at the festivities, held at the New York Hilton.

The ceremony was hosted by Roger Bart, now appearing in the legit production of "Young Frankenstein."

The Jordanian production "Al-Igtiyah" ("The Invasion"), a love story set against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, won in the telenovela category, while Argentina's "Television por la Identidad" went home with the prize for TV movie or miniseries.

But the night belonged to Blighty, which received most of the major honors. Acting nods went to David Suchet for his role in "Maxwell," and Lucy Cohu for "Forgiven." Britcaster Channel 4 skeins "The Beckoning Silence" and "The I.T. Crowd" prevailed in the documentary and comedy categories, respectively, while BBC2's time-traveling cop serial "Life on Mars" (a Yank adaptation of which airs on ABC) was selected as top drama.

The Academy went Dutch on the reality front, with the non-scripted prize going to the Netherlands' "Big Donor Show." Produced by Endemol (the shingle behind ABC's "Extreme Makeover" and NBC's "Deal or No Deal"), the self-described "psychology experiment" featured an actress pretending to be a woman with a terminal brain tumor who enlists viewers' advice in determining which of three patients should receive her donated kidney.

In the night's other big back-slap, the Academy bestowed the Founders Award on "Law & Order" mastermind Dick Wolf for "his creative achievements and international success."