Monday, May 27, 2013

Daytime Television at the Smithsonian on WE LOVE SOAPS TV -- Susan Lucci, Alex Trebek, Phil & Kathy Baker, John Gray and Malachy G. Wienges

Photo Credit: Neshan Naltchayan, courtesy and copyright NATAS
On May 9, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. added artifacts that reflect the contributions of daytime television programming to the national entertainment collection in a special ceremony to mark a new partnership with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Three-time Indie Soap Award winner Anthony Anderson from ANACASTIA covered the event WE LOVE SOAPS TV.

The donations--from ALL MY CHILDREN actress Susan Lucci, JEOPARDY! host Alex Trebek and BARNEY creators Kathy and Phil Parker—represented three of the primary Daytime Entertainment Emmy categories—daytime dramas, game shows and children’s programming.

WE LOVE SOAPS TV spoke to all the contributors as well as museum director, John Gray, as well as NATAS chairman Malachy G. Wienges. Wienges told us The OnLine Network's ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE would be eligible for the 2014 Daytime Emmy Awards.

"Those two shows will fall into the normal soap opera categories," Wienges said. "It makes no difference what the genre is."

Check out the latest episode of our web series WE LOVE SOAPS TV below to hear on the scene reaction. Plus, Susan Lucci reveals more about her character on the upcoming primetime soap opera DEVIOUS MAIDS and a possible return to ALL MY CHILDREN.

"I hope so," Lucci told us about the chances of her bringing Erica Kane to the new ALL MY CHILDREN. "I'm trying, and they are trying.  There's a lot to work out simply because when they went into production I was in Atlanta working on the Marc Cherry series, DEVIOUS MAIDS.  And now we're about to start Season 2 on my Investigation Discovery series, DEADLY AFFAIRS next week in New York.  So that's a lot of complicated scheduling.  Plus, ALL MY CHILDREN's schedule is also complicated and challenging because they work five weeks on and five weeks off.  So trying to marry those two things, that's what the challenge is and that's what we're going to try to make happen."

Speaking of DEVIOUS MAIDS, Lucci told us she loves how her character's name, Genevieve Delatour, is pronounced and gave us some insights about her role in the Lifetime series.

"I love the character I play," Lucci said. "To have the character be named Genevieve Delatour feels right, plus it spoke to the character whose very romantic, different than Erica.  She has been married several times, has attracted one powerful wealthy man after another living in Beverly Hills, but right now she's not married and she's not thinking that maybe she's that attractive anymore.   It's driving her really crazy.  She's not feeling secure and has mood swings.  There's an innocence about her too except sometimes she self-medicates.  There's a lot of twists and turns and there are surprises in every single character, no cliché."



MORE ON ITEMS DONATED TO THE SMITHSONIAN
The donated objects ranged from show scripts and original art to set props and other memorabilia, including a pink gown and shoes worn by Susan Lucci when she appeared on a national magazine cover after winning her 1999 Daytime Emmy, a 1984 JEOPARDY! script with handwritten notes by Alex Trebek and a script from the first video to be released in the BARNEY & THE BACKYARD GANG series along with a plush toy of the purple dinosaur. The ceremony officially launched a three-year collecting initiative by the museum in partnership with NATAS to help the museum expand its capacity to tell the story of daytime television and the Daytime Emmys.

RELATED LINKS:
- National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
- National Museum of American History
- Watch ANACOSTIA The Series
- Indie Soap Awards

1 comment:

  1. As a long time fan of All My Children, since the 2003-2005 rape and babyswitch storylines, and ever since Nov. 2008, I think I can strongly and passionately say resume the prison cheer: THIS IS AMERICA! FREEDOM FOR ERICA! THIS IS AMERICA! FREEDOM FOR ERICA!

    Susan Lucci has played Erica Kane for all of the AMC history. Sure she's been on other programs like Devious Maids, Fantasy Island, and varying tv movie roles. But any given body cannot have sat through as many as 5 years, 10 years, 25 years, or for the last 42 years without realizing that there is only one woman with the fire and strength to be Erica Kane. She can't be broken. She can't be tamed, or trained. And I pity the poor fool(s) who would try. She doesn't back down from anybody. She doesn't take orders. And that fire is why we fell in love with Susan Lucci for so many years.

    As it relates to any possible future on AMC 2.0, I have only one message: Powers that be, Susan Lucci, Prospect Park, Hulu Plus: 'Try not. DO or DO NOT. There is no try.'

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