It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.
Yeah, you read that right.
In a year that was just downright awful for soap opera fans, I can think of more bad than best categories. However, in hope that the genre can pull a 2011, when the remaining soaps rebounded and turned creative once more, I'll try to balance this year-end review with as much good as bad.
BEST COUPLE - Eric and Quinn (The Bold and the Beautiful.) For better or worse, shows just don't do supercouples any more and the majority of couples they do have generally possess no rooting value.
Eric and Quinn are the exception. And, who would have thunk it. The pairing of John McCook and Rena Sofer may not have even sounded that great on paper, but the writers plodded on and the result is pure magic.
Eric softens Quinn and Sofer portrays her with just the right of emotion that you actually root for this coupling. B&B messed up every other coupling on the show this year, but got this one right. Hoping the addition of Katie as a triangle doesn't send Quinn back to craziness, as her character now, for the first time ever, is worth rooting for.
Runner Up: Brady and Theresa (Days of Our Lives.)
Worst Couple - Wow, pick 'em. Any other B&B coupling, which also goes for worst triangles and Hillary and Devon (Young & Restless) - they have a huge fan following, however, I just don't get it. Mishael Morgan has far more chemistry with Kristoff St. John than Bryton.
Sonny and Carly on General Hospital just don't have the necessary chemistry for a super coupling; Laura Wright is far more combustible with Ingo Rademacher and the new Abby on Days (worst recast by far) doesn't have the talent or look to make Abigail & Chad a supercouple once more.
You don't have to have supercouples to make a soap successful, however, you do need to have couples with chemistry and daytime sorely lacks any of them right now.
Most Potential as A Couple - Paul & Sonny (Days of Our Lives.) - This couple has mega potential, however, the show is treading lightly on them thus far. Homophobic execs? Maybe, though probably not, but, still you have to wonder why this coupling isn't advancing as quickly as it should. Maybe because the Will/Sonny following was so popular, the writers are taking their time with 'Paulson,' though that hasn't stopped them from quickly putting Gabi and Chad together only a few months after Abby 'supposedly' died. Double standard for sure.
Best Storyline - Quinn and Eric (The Bold and the Beautiful.) Actually, that's the ONLY story working on this show right now.
Worst Storyline - Again, so many to choose from. Anything not Quinn and Eric on B&B; the return of the supervillains on Days, which did nothing to drive up the ratings, in fact they actually dropped; anything Franco and also the total destruction of Alexis by turning her into an alcoholic on General Hospital; and just the overall tone on Y&R have made this the worst year in soap operas in at least seven years.
Best Actor - Tough call on this one. Not generally a huge Maurice Benard fan, but he has had a banner year in the fall out after Morgan's death on General Hospital and it resulted in the best work of his career.
Runners Up: Justin Hartley (ex-Adam, The Young and the Restless.)
Eric Martsolf (Brady, Days of Our Lives.)
Daniel Cosgrove (Aiden, Days of Our Lives.)
Best Actress - Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, General Hospital.) may very well win the Emmy for Best Actress and it wouldn't be undeserved, but I'm going with Suzanne Rogers (Maggie, Days of Our Lives) for my top honor.
Closer to 70 than 60 and in a genre obsessed with youth, Rogers started out the year on fire and never let up. The death of Maggie's son set the tone for her year. Later soap staples such as discovering she had a long-lost daughter and becoming paralyzed tormented her character in a way only those awful soap clichés could, but Rogers never uttered a false note and took it all in stride, giving the type of performance that Emmys are made for.
If she enters the upcoming Emmy race, she will likely go Supporting, however, I encourage her to go Lead, as Maggie was a front and center character and the only glue that held the often fragile Days together for most of the year.
Runners Up: Grahn, Laura Wright (Carly, General Hospital.) Gina Tognoni (Phyllis, The Young and the Restless.)
Other performers who should put themselves in the Emmy race and had standout years : Rena Sofer, John McCook (B&B); Jen Lilley, Judi Evans, Wally Kurth, Melissa Reeves (Days); William DeVry, Jane Elliot (GH) Sharon Case, Melissa Clair Egan, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Eric Braeden, Peter Bergman (Y&R.)
BEST SHOW .....
Honestly, I have to leave this space blank, as none of the four shows currently on the air deserve it.
Days may win an Emmy for their heart transplant story that started off the year or the fallout from Adrienne & Lucas's wedding, but everything in between was God awful. There is light at the end of the tunnel, though, as the past month, Days has been more entertaining than it has been in 2-1/2 years. The question is can it continue to be that interesting? If the past is any indicator, than probably not.
Y&R just regained some of the writing staff that helped the show first consistently become #1 in the ratings in 1988. However, one well-written, yet sort of boring first episode from the returning scribes does not a Best Show make.
B&B is simply a continuous retread of stories and couplings and if I had to choose an Emmy reel for them, I wouldn't even know where to begin. It's that bad.
If I had to award a Best Show, which in good conscience I simply cannot, I guess I'd go with GH only because it's been the most consistent of the four soaps. Of course, being consistently boring isn't a good criteria for being a good show.
A show that boasts such talent juggernauts as West, Grahn, Genie Francis, Jane Elliot and Finola Hughes should never be boring. Far too often, though, that's exactly what GH is. Preferring to focus on so many characters who have no ties to the show's core or whose historical ties are simply rewrites of history does not a good show make.
Unfortunately, soaps are a wasteland and basically garbage time in their current state.
I used to look forward to watching my 'shows' daily. Now, more often than not, it's become a chore - and a chore I could easily dispense of.
The genre is that bad and in that much trouble.
Sorry, daytime, you're going to have to do better next year or Y&R - and maybe B&B, which is an international hit - will be the only soaps left on the air.
And if that becomes the case, a best of column would be pretty much pointless, wouldn't it?
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