My guess-the Emmy voters don't vote awards to series' that are very dark and grim, no matter how high the quality, as these two series are.
SVU should win. I think the episode about the pedophile ring should have been Emmy bait.
Adam: Then why the hell does The Sopranos keep winning?
My guess now, Brian, is that The Sopranos is a critics darling, and Oz wasn't. Already, it was a news item this past week that The Sopranos will end at the conclusion of their sixth season.
The Sopranos gets so much press coverage. Oz was almost ignored by the news media, relative to Sopranos coverage, despite Oz having one of the best casts assembled for TV.
Mariska Hargitay just won a Best Actress in a Drama Emmy. Unfortunately Chris Meloni didn't win.