"Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," television's biggest breakout shows from last year were fully represented by their large ensemble casts at the 57th annual Emmy awards on Sunday (September 18). The awards took place at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles and was broadcast live on North American television. Old television hand Alan Alda walked the red carpet, nominated for his turn in the drama "The West Wing." The most desperate of housewives, Teri Hatcher was there, along with TV neighbor, Marcia Cross. Both yielded best-actress nominations. Hatcher and fellow cast member Eva Longoria commented on their show's huge success. "I'm really excited. I mean I think everyone on our show just feels honored to have been embraced by the television community this way, and that we've all won already because we've just had such an amazing year," said Hatcher. Longoria, who missed out on a nomination, talked about how far they'd come since last year's Emmys. "It's a long way from last year. We weren't even on the air. We were just like kind of walking through the red carpet trying to get inside. But this is just crazy." "Desperate Housewives" star Nicolette Sheridan voiced similar sentiment, saying, "I knew it was something special but who knew. Brit Ian McShane, so convincing in his role as uncouth frontiersman Al Swearingen, praised HBO, the company behind the post modern western, "Deadwood. "They have people who have talent and they leave them alone. They don't meddle like other networks do. They spend their money, they put their money where their mouth is. They must be doing something right, they made a billion dollars last year. So I mean, you know, that's what it's about," said McShane. Much of the "Lost" cast was on hand, including Terry O'Quinn, Matthew Fox, Emily De Ravin and Naveen Andrews. Also there, Hugh Laurie, another Brit sounding authentically American as the misanthropic doctor in "House." Perennial television favorite William Shatner, once the captain of the Enterprise, now an overstuffed lawyer on "Boston Legal," showed up, as did his TV legal partner, James Spader. "Monk's" germaphobic criminal investigator, Tony Shalhoub, reflected on his past Emmy win. "I feel like I'm the luckiest of men. I'm just happy to be working, happy to have a job, happy to be working with great people and for great people. And happy to be married to the perfect woman. I just, I don't know what I did to deserve it all," he said. CCH Pounder, a world weary female detective on "The Shield," for which she was nominated, talked about her luck in landing the role. "From the first script I thought it had something, and where it was I thought it had enough time to get up on its feet without people sort of smashing it down with their fists from the pilot," she said.