‘Children’ racks up Emmy nominations

“All My Children,� with 17 nods, led the field in the 30th annual Daytime Emmy Award nominations, edging out “Guiding Light� (14), “Sesame Street� (13), “General Hospital� (12) and the most-watched daytime series, “The Young and the Restless� (12).

Nominations were announced Wednesday morning on ABC’s daytime talk show “The View.� “If we are not nominated, this could be one of the most embarrassing moments on ‘The View,’ � executive producer and co-host Barbara Walters said at the start of the segment. “And, on this show, that is saying a lot.�

Not to worry. “The View,� which has never won an Emmy, and another perennial nominee, “Live With Regis & Kelly,� will vie for best talk show with newcomers “Dr. Phil� and “The Wayne Brady Show,� as well as “Soap Talk� on cable’s Soapnet. Oprah Winfrey, whose show won the prize nine times starting in 1987, hasn’t been nominated in that category since taking herself out of contention after a 1998 lifetime achievement award.

The awards, handed out by the National Television Academy in cooperation with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, will be broadcast live on ABC on May 16 from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. Art Linkletter, former host of “Kids Say the Darndest Things,� will receive a lifetime achievement award during the telecast, which for the first time will run three hours.

Two Showtime movies that premiered in prime time, “Bang, Bang You’re Dead� and “Our America,� were singled out in the children’s special category. Two programs relating to the Sept. 11 attacks were also cited: PBS’ “Zoom: America’s Kids Remember� and WAM’s “Table Talk: Talking Beyond 9/11.�

ABC was the most-nominated network, with 59, seven more than daytime ratings leader CBS. Rounding out the Top 10: PBS (47), syndicated shows (43), NBC (16), Showtime (13), Nickelodeon (10), Disney Channel (eight), Discovery Channel (five) and Kids WB (five).

Bypassed this time around: “All My Children’s� Susan Lucci, who received her 21st nomination as best actress in a drama last year. A longtime bridesmaid, she won the honor in 1999 but was out of the running the following year. Contenders in that category and some other major contests are as follows:

Drama series: CBS’ “As the World Turns,� CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful,� ABC’s “Port Charles,� “CBS’ “The Young and the Restless�

Lead actor in a drama series: Maurice Benard (ABC’s “General Hospital�), Anthony Geary (“General Hospital�), Ricky Paull Goldin (CBS’ “Guiding Light�), Grant Aleksander (“Guiding Light�), Thorsten Kaye (ABC’s “Port Charles�), Doug Davidson (CBS’ “The Young and the Restless�)

Lead actress in a drama series: Last year’s winner Susan Flannery (CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful�), Nancy Lee Grahn (ABC’s “General Hospital�), Kim Zimmer (CBS’ “Guiding Light�), Eileen Davidson (CBS’ “The Young and the Restless�), Michelle Stafford (“The Young and the Restless�)

Game show host: Tom Bergeron (the syndicated “Hollywood Squares�), Alex Trebek (the syndicated “Jeopardy!�), last year’s winner, Bob Barker (CBS’ “The Price Is Right�), Donny Osmond (the syndicated “Pyramid�), Pat Sajak (the syndicated “Wheel of Fortune�), Ben Stein (Comedy Central’s “Win Ben Stein’s Money�)

Children’s series: The Discovery Channel’s “Assignment Discovery,� PBS’ “Between the Lions,� Disney Channel’s “Even Stevens,� PBS’ “Reading Rainbow,� PBS’ “Zoom�