The year is almost over and it has been full of good news for fans of daytime (and anytime) soap operas. Ratings for all the broadcast series went up, two canceled shows returned online and viewers were treated to one standout performance after another. Check out our "Best and Worst of 2013" list below and be sure to add your own "Bests" and "Worsts" in the Comments section below.
BEST SOAP OPERADAYS OF OUR LIVES
Other Emmy contenders: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, GENERAL HOSPITAL, ALL MY CHILDREN
BEST WRITING
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Other Emmy contenders: GENERAL HOSPITAL, DAYS OF OUR LIVES
BEST ACTOR
Darnell Williams, ALL MY CHILDREN
Other Emmy worthy performances: Greg Vaughan, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; Billy Miller, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; Maurice Benard, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Jason Thompson, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Anthony Geary, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST ACTRESSHeather Tom, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Other Emmy worthy performances: Eileen Davidson, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; Finola Hughes, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Jane Elliot, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Elizabeth Hendrickson, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; Katherine Kelly Lang, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; Debbi Morgan, ALL MY CHILDREN
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jerry verDorn, ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Other Emmy worthy performances: Tristan Rogers, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Blake Berris, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; Anders Hove, GENERAL HOSPITAL; John Aniston, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; John McCook, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSJess Walton, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Other Emmy worthy performances: Lynn Herring, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Judi Evans, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; Robin Mattson, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Beth Maitland, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; Kathleen Gati, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST DIRECTING
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Other Emmy contenders: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
BEST STORYLINE
Robin's Scorpio Drake's journey back to her family, GENERAL HOSPITAL
WORST STORYLINE
Neil and the Mystery Blogger, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
MOST EXCITING DAY
April 29, 2013: Fans were up at 4 a.m. ET to watch the first episodes of the new ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE on Hulu.
BEST EVENTNurses Ball, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST SPECIAL EPISODE
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS paid tribute to the late Jeanne Cooper (May 28, 2013).
WORST FUNERAL
Katherine Chancellor's life was celebrated on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS in an outdoor park by only a handful of people.
BEST WEDDING:
Mac & Felicia, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST NON-WEDDING (tie)
Brady & Kristen, DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Patrick & Sabrina, GENERAL HOSPITAL
SADDEST STORY
Delia Abbott's death, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
BEST COUPLEJesse & Angie, ALL MY CHILDREN
WORST COUPLE
Michael & Kiki, GENERAL HOSPITAL
WORST MUSIC
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
BEST DUO
AJ & Miranda, ALL MY CHILDREN
BEST TRIO
Kate, Sami & Gabi, DAYS OF OUR LIVES
BEST COMEBACK
Tristan Rogers as Robert Scorpio, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST TRIANGLEBill/Brooke/Katie, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
WORST TRIANGLE
Liam/Hope/Wyatt, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
BEST BADASS
Anna Devane, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST NEWCOMER
Eric Nelsen, ALL MY CHILDREN
MOST ANNOYING CHARACTER
Lulu Spencer Falconeri, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST ACTOR IN A NEW ROLE
Maura West as Ava Jerome in GENERAL HOSPITAL
WORST SET
Chancellor Park, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
BEST GUEST APPEARANCESnoop Lion, ONE LIFE TO LIVE
BEST CHILD ACTOR
Brooklyn Rae Silzer, GENERAL HOSPITAL
SEXIEST MALE
Lawrence Saint-Victor, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
SEXIEST FEMALE
Eileen Davidson, DAYS OF OUR LIVES/THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
BIGGEST MOMENTUM KILLER
GENERAL HOSPITAL followed up the widely publicized Nurses Ball and the show's 50th anniversary celebration with two months of story featuring Roger Howarth, Kristen Alderson and Michael Easton playing brand new (and unnecessary) characters.
MOST DETERMINED CHARACTER
Anne Milbauer, DAYS OF OUR LIVES
MOST CONFUSING DISAPPEARANCE
AJ Quartermaine, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST SONGGENERAL HOSPITAL's "You're Not Alone"
BEST RESURRECTED SONG
"General Hospi-Tale"
MOST BORING BILLIONAIRE
Devon Hamilton, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
MOST ENTERTAINING CHARACTER
Heather Webber, GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEST TRENDS
* Daytime ratings on the rise. As we've said for the past two years, the reports of daytime drama's death have been greatly exaggerated.
* Characters from the past returning to enhance current stories.
MOST PROMISING NEW VILLAIN
Quinn Fuller, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
WORST TRENDS
* Telling viewers a story instead of showing it.
Biggest Offender: THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (Rose, Mariah, etc)
* Unnecessarily rewriting history to make characters blood relatives.
Biggest Offenders: GENERAL HOSPITAL (Franco is Heather's son) and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (Dylan is Nikki's son)
BIGGEST WASTE OF TALENT (tie)
Rebecca Herbst, GENERAL HOSPITAL
Kristian Alfonso, DAYS OF OUR LIVES
You have Best Actress as a tie between Heather Tom and who???
ReplyDeleteJust Heather Tom. But loved all those performances. Eileen Davidson playing Kristen's final confrontation with Marlena, Jane Elliot's Tracy talking about wanting to be loved; Finola Hughes playing Obrecht pretending to be Anna and then fighting with Anna - all amazing. Emmy voters are going to have a tougher job than ever.
DeleteI have to say Carly on General Hospital kicked the scene with her and AJ and those scissors in the ass. She nailed it hard. I think an emmy nod could be in her future.
DeleteI'm glad you mentioned Greg Vaughan. His acting after the wedding was really good.
ReplyDeleteThat was such a good week for DAYS!
DeleteI agree! Days is where she belongs!!! Her scenes with Marlena after the non wedding were amazing!
DeleteEileen Davidson owned 2013. I hope she returns to Days.
ReplyDeleteMe too! And Y&R.
DeleteGreat list! I think you have wrong soap for Most Promising New Villain - Quinn Fuller is B&B
ReplyDeleteYes, thanks! She hasn't been too terrible but every time I see Quinn lately I get the feeling she's going to become the next Sheila. Or at least try. :)
DeleteYou said best triangle bill Brooke and Katie most fans think it was the mist discusting story line
ReplyDeleteIm glad Greg Vaughan is being noticed!:) Him & Eileen Davidson were awesome during the big non wedding!
ReplyDelete#DAYS 2013
Bill/Brooke/Katie was AWFUL it destroyed Brooke nearly for good
ReplyDeleteI hate it now but Wyatt/Hope/Liam was miles better
Wow. I'm speechless. I'm in complete agreement and I always have something to say! Glad to see DAYS named as Best Soap. It's in the best creative shape it has been in 15 years!
ReplyDeleteExcellent choices!
ReplyDeleteBiggest momentum killer should have been PP reducing their weekly episodes from 4 to 2.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one. What I don't know is how many viewers the show had on Hulu/iTunes and if that change actually helped the numbers or not. But definitely there were many changes along the way that confused things for viewers.
DeleteGreat choices! Two changes for me would be: 1) I'd include Michael Muhney (Y&R) in the Best Actor category, and 2) I go with Casey Moss (DAYS) as Best Newcomer.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if I could add a "Best Unintentional Chemistry" category, that would go to Kevin & Alex on Y&R. ;-)
I agree with DAYS as best soap. But the best actress is, without a doubt, Eileen Davidson. That's a no brainer.
ReplyDeleteWhat is facinating is DAYS has become the best soap by basically going back to the traditional roots of daytime. Great storytelling and acting based in a foundation of reality. Days has in many ways left the "James Reilly/ Robert Guza " type of storytelling and gone back to the type of storyelling a Bill Bell/Douglas Marland or Claire Labine would be doing. Not as good as those three but more like them then what DAYS was doing before.
ReplyDeleteJill Tomlinson Pack, 6 books(The Cat Who Wanted To Go Home, The Hen Who Wouldn't Give Up, The Otter Who Wanted To Know, The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark, The Penguin Who Wanted To Find Out, The Gorilla Who Wanted to Grow).To read about this book please visit http://www.play.com/stores/TheBookBundles/listing/886532494 where you will find this book and many more books with special prices and offers.
ReplyDeleteGood choices. Probably the biggest change I'd make is that I'd add Kirsten Storms to the Best Supporting Actress category, she's been fantastic in this baby story.
ReplyDeleteEileen so deserves an Emmy this year. I mean no offense to anyone else on Days but most of the year's stories could not have been told without her and she did an amazing job as Kristen.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Best & Worst List for 2013.
ReplyDeleteI would add GH as a HUGE offender at telling instead of showing story on screen (AJ finds out about Liz, Jason and Jake, Patrick's bachelor party, anything Liz related regarding Sarah or Audrey, Monica, Leslie, etccc.).
You would think fan outrage at Rebecca Herbst firing in 2011, would have catapulted the HW/EW from both regimes in seeing that the actress and her character are way more popular than they want to admit or use to their (and our) benefit.
As for a missing AJ, it made zero sense for this character or that of Dr. Steven Lars Webber whose story lines and births were must see TV with Heather, Jeff, Monica, Ric and Alan!
More puzzling to me, is the disappearance of Genie Francis/Laura on GH. AJ's back now.
ReplyDeleteDid you guys forget to do the Best Younger Actor & Actress categories? You have Series, Lead & Supporting (hell, you even go to the lengths of Writing & Directing Team), but no Younger. You have Brooklyn Rae Silzer listed as Best Child Actor, but I'm assuming she's not submitting herself for an Emmy. And besides, she's only one person. There's two "younger" categories. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on them. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent list. Many thanks for coming up with it.
ReplyDeleteI'd add Casey Moss as Best Newcomer. I'd also add the teenage drug storyline on Days as the Most Daring. Most soaps would have wrapped up that storyline in a few weeks, but Days told it naturally, which takes time.
I'd also give an award for Most Botched Return to GH for the way they handled Genie Francis' return. As good a job as Ron C did with so many other returns, he certainly didn't do Laura fans any favors.
I thought Jacqueline M Wood on THE BOLD & BEAUTIFUL done a good job when she lost the baby. And she's not listed anywhere. And what about her mom on the show Dr. Taylor how she just walk off the show. There's no story to explain why she left. But I think Jacqueline M Wood as Steffy on B&B should've been in there with young actress award. Jmo
ReplyDeleteThese are my opinions, since I only watched GH this year, it will be my GH awards:
ReplyDelete3 Best actresses:
1.Kristen Storms
2.Kimberly McCullough
3.Brooklyn Rae Silzer
Worst actress: Emma Rylan
3 Best actors:
1.Jason Thompson
2.Maurice Bernard
3.Bradford Anderson
Worst actor:
3 Best new characters
1.Felix
2.Britt
3.Kiki
3 Worst new characters:
3.Ellie
2.Silas
1.Sabrina
Best return: Tie between Laura and Robin!
Worst return: Tie between Aj and Franco and Morgan!
Top 5 best couples:
1.Spinelli and Maxie
2.Patrick and Robin
3.Michael and Kiki
4.Luke and Laura
5.Mac and Felicia
Worst 5 couples:
5.Dante and Lulu
4.Franco and Carly
3.Morgan and Kiki
2.Silas and Sam
1.Patrick and Sabrina
Best storyline: Robin returns home
Best moment: Emma sees Robin and runs to her.
3 best characters:
1.Robin
2.Sam
3.Carly
3 worst characters:
3.Franco
2.Sabrina
1.Aj
Worst storyline: Tie between Patrick and Sabrina's relationship, and Aj's trial!
Good year for GH!
For worst actress I meant Emme Rylan, and for worst actor I was supposed to put Bryan Craig
DeleteHow could overlook Ari Zucker as "Nicole" from DOOL? Her scenes were heartbreaking this year.
ReplyDeleteNo mention of Freddie Smith or Chandler Massey of course. Only the best 2 actors out there and the best story but it gets ignored such a predictable shame from you!
ReplyDeleteMost annoying character Lulu Falconeri...and NOT Kiki Jerome. Huh. Okay...
ReplyDeleteMy opinion
ReplyDeleteBest Soap
(Tie: Days of our Lives and All My Children)
Best Villain
Dr. Obrecht (GH)
Best come back character
Dr. Robin Scorpio (GH)
Best New Character
Britta (GH)
Worst come back character
(Victor JR.) OLTL
(Franco) GH
(Kiki) GH
(Silas) GH
Best Writing
(Days of Our Lives)
Best Couple
EJ and Sam (Days of our lives)
Worse couple
Tie: Franco and Carly and Silas and Sam (GH)