The winners of the best drama and comedy series awards at the 18th annual Gemini Awards were both surprises. One is a first-time winner, the other garnered its sixth such prize.

The Eleventh Hour, the Alliance Atlantis/CTV drama about the goings-on behind the scenes at an investigative news program, usurped the best drama honors from cop show Da Vinci’s Inquest, which won the award the past four years running. The Eleventh Hour also picked up statuettes for Jeff Seymour, singled out from the series’ ensemble for best leading actor for his portrayal of producer Kamal. Peter MacNeill, who plays Warren, the fictitious show’s creator, took home the prize for supporting actor, presented on the second of the awards’ three nights.

The recognition was sweet affirmation for real-life show creators Semi Chellas and Ilana Frank, who have seen their series languish with disappointing ratings, averaging 400,000 per ep. The hope for the show’s makers, of course, is that these awards will translate into more viewers. In her acceptance speech, Chellas thanked Bill Mustos, VP of dramatic programming at CTV, who signed on for a second season, along with Richard Stursberg, exec director of Telefilm, and the Canadian Television Fund, which made that possible.

Afterwards, Frank reflected on a good first season for the program, and, in reference to the forthcoming installment, promised, ‘Now we’re doing it better.’

CBC continued its dominance in the best comedy program or series category, which it has never lost, with the nod for the 10th season of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. The Salter Street Films production’s win surprised many who thought new kid on the block Trailer Park Boys was going to take the prize. Even This Hour’s Mary Walsh and Cathy Jones, the only two of the four costars who were on-hand, were unprepared at the podium.

‘I thought we were finished!’ Walsh said during the Gemini telecast on CBC, perhaps as much in reference to the program’s near-death funding experience as the show running out of creative juice. ‘This is my favorite Gemini, because I didn’t expect we were going to win. [The Trailer Park Boys] are great and they deserve to win,’ she told reporters later backstage.

The Boys did not go home to the Sunnyvale trailer park empty-handed, however. Mike Smith, who plays the bifocaled Bubbles, was voted favorite comedian in an online fan vote conducted on the Gemini website. The terrible trio, also including Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay, went up on stage together for the award, clad in full hockey equipment. Much cursing ensued, along with Wells lighting up a joint on stage. The boys later showed up to enliven a highly subdued pressroom.

‘At least we won our hockey game,’ lamented the goateed Tremblay.

The Many Trials of One Jane Doe, produced by Indian Grove and Original Pictures for CBC, was another big winner on the gala third night. The MOW about a rape victim picked up awards for best dramatic direction for now-eight-time winner Jerry Ciccoritti, best writing for Karen Walton and best actress for Wendy Crewson, nabbing her third.

Rising talents such as Walton can’t always find opportunities on this side of the 49th, and she told reporters she was currently working on a project with Universal Studios, but ‘hoped to be working’ on another Canadian TV project soon. Crewson echoed the sentiment, saying, ‘We have the talent, we just need the work.’

The typically resplendent Crewson raised eyebrows upon accepting her trophy when she planted a full-mouth kiss on unsuspecting presenter Ian Hanomansing, anchor of CBC News: Canada Now, a la Adrien Brody. Despite dominating the major individual categories, however, Jane Doe then surprisingly lost out in the best TV movie or mini category to 100 Days in the Jungle, the ImagiNation Film & Television/CTV MOW about North American oil workers taken captive in Ecuador.

Ciccoritti, basking in Jane Doe’s other wins, was backstage giving interviews when the announcement was made. When asked if it reminded him of last year’s Geminis, when his Trudeau won for director, writer and actor but wasn’t even nominated for movie or mini, Ciccoritti answered no. He confessed that he had expected 100 Days to be the big winner in the first place.

As for Trudeau’s snub last year, he added, grabbing a beer, ‘Now, that was fucking absurd.’

Best actor in a dramatic program or mini went to Michael Riley for his role in The Interrogation of Michael Crowe, a Court TV/JB Media/Hearst Entertainment copro based on the true story of a 14-year-old boy falsely accused of a murder. The MOW was broadcast on The Movie Network, Movie Central and Super Ecran. It is Riley’s fourth Gemini.

Marina Orsini won for best lead actress for her work in The Last Chapter II: The War Continues, the Tele-Action/CBC series about biker gangs.

The most wins came for the Epitome Pictures/CTV half-hour series Degrassi: The Next Generation, with five. Degrassi’s success is somewhat obscured by the fact that its awards were given out on the second night, a factor of it being submitted in the past couple of years in the youth category. The show, enjoying average ratings of 660,000, won trophies for best youth series, direction for Bruce McDonald, performance for Jake Epstein, as well as interactive and most popular website for Epitome and Snap Media.

In terms of the breakdown of the big three broadcasters, CBC came out on top with 47 statuettes, up two from last year, followed by CTV with 20 and Global with six. The gala included a tribute to late CanWest Global founder Izzy Asper, presented by Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television chair Paul Gratton.

The CBC gala broadcast was hosted for the second year in a row by comedian Sean Cullen, soon to be seen on a Toronto stage in Mel Brooks’ The Producers. Cullen, displaying his singing, dancing and wisecracking chops, had won a trophy himself the previous evening for best performance/host in a variety program for last year’s Geminis. Cullen amused the audience with, among other things, his renditions of the theme songs to Canuck classics The Friendly Giant, The Littlest Hobo, The Beachcombers and King of Kensington.

For the complete list of Gemini winners, go to the ACCT website at www.academy.ca