By Nelson Branco

2008-04-30

Need another reason to justify 'Daytime Emmy Award' reform? Check out the shocking nominations for this year's 35th annual kudofest!

A collective gasp punctuated the shocking 35th annual Daytime Emmy Entertainment Award nominations after they were announced live from The View’s ABC studios on the morning of April 30.

If the Academy and industry craved yet another reason for Emmy Award reform, one need to look no further than this year’s nominations. It’s no secret that the majority of actors chosen to judge the categories refused to view the submitted pre-nominations reels because “it would have taken forever,” lamented one actor. Instead, most judges opted to vote for their friends and favourites.

And the result of that unfortunate decision? Last year’s worst soap opera, The Young and the Restless led the nominations with 17 nods, while struggling sudser, Guiding Light and comeback-soap-of-the-year, One Life to Live tied for second place with 13 recognitions. CBS topped the tally with 56 nods, ABC scored 39, while NBC vied for 14 chances at gold. Ironically, CBS dominated this year’s kudofest, which will air on ABC. Yes, the soaps Gods have a very sick sense of humour!

The good news? The industry showered the historically snubbed Days of Our Lives with lots of love. The embattled soap received a surprising six nominations. However, the NBC soap, which is in danger of being cancelled this season, failed to get nominated for best drama series and writing.

Emmy winner Lesli Kay (Felicia, The Bold and the Beautiful) suggests Emmy reform with the industry's involvement. She explains, “[The awards] have gone from bad to worse. Actors need to be involved in the system because we’re the ones who judge the categories. I don’t know why we’re not called upon to attend these meetings, unless I missed a memo or something.”

Moreover, OLTL’s John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex) brought up an excellent point regarding the judging panels: “Why are only two representatives from each show allowed to judge each category instead of the entire industry?”

Theenvelope.com’s daytime forum moderator, Matthew "Boidiva2" Cormier sent me an email shortly after the nominations were announced that read: “These are the worst nominations I have ever seen! I can't believe the endless list of snubs this year — it’s stunning, really. Even worse were the actors who did make the list. The only positive thing I can say is at least Days got some love this year, which was a huge surprise, even if Alison Sweeney (Sami) was overlooked.”

OLTL’s Farah Fath (Gigi) was “appalled and very sad,” when her former co-star and pal, Kirsten Storms (Maxie, General Hospital) was overlooked for her “brilliant star turn last year. She blew everyone out of the water.” On the bright side, Fath was proud that her alma mater had their strongest showing in decades. “I’m very happy about Days’ nominations,” she told me on the set of The View. “During my eight years on that show I could count on three fingers how many nominations we received, so this is good news. It’s been a long time coming for them.”

Fath couldn't help but jump up and down after learning her soap’s head writer Ron Carlivati and executive producer Frank Valentini scored well-deserved nominations for best writing and drama series, respectively. “It’s fun for me to be on a show that’s so highly respected. Ron and Frank are crazy-talented, so at least the Emmys got that right, even if our soap only got one acting nomination with Brian Kerwin (Charlie),” she opined. John-Paul Lavoisier, Farah Fath, Nelson Branco
At the top of this year’s most shameful omissions are TVGuide.ca’s Soap Opera Spirit best actor winner Jon Hensley (Holden, ATWT) and his longtime co-star Martha Byrne (ex-Lily). Their As The World Turns’ co-star Van Hansis (Luke), who was nominated as younger lead actor for the second year in a row, concurred, adding, “along with a few other actors from our show.” The unusually stylish and confident actor reminds us that although he wasn’t a judge this year, the gay icon thinks “the industry needs to figure out a better system, one that is more concise. Having said that, I’m still very happy with how the nominations turned out today.” Hansis’ ATWT love interest, Jake Silbermann (Noah) also failed to be recognized, but the actor tells me; “Jake will be at the Emmys." They will be bringing their own dates, Hansis informs me with a sly wink.

The 35th annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards will air live at 8 p.m. ET during a three-hour telecast on June 20 live from L.A.’s Kodak Theater. For my live and unfiltered reactions, click here for a live video blogging session with my cohort Tom O'Neil from theenvelope.com.

Outstanding Drama Series
General Hospital, ABC
Guiding Light, CBS
One Life to Live, ABC
The Young and the Restless, CBS

Glaring Omissions: ATWT; B&B
Shocker: Y&R

Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
General Hospital, ABC
Guiding Light, CBS
One Life to Live, ABC
The Young and the Restless, CBS

Glaring Omissions: Jean Passanante, ATWT
Shocker: Lynn Marie Latham, Y&R; David Kreizman, GL

Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team
All My Children, ABC
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
General Hospital, ABC
One Life to Live, ABC

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
David Canary (All My Children)
Thaao Penghlis (Days of Our Lives)
Anthony Geary (General Hospital)
Peter Bergman (The Young and the Restless)
Christian Jules LeBlanc (The Young and the Restless)

Glaring Omissions: Jon Hensley (Holden, ATWT); Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Gus, GL); Robert S. Woods (Bo, OLTL)
Shocker: Thaao Penghlis (Tony, Days)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Maura West (As the World Turns)
Crystal Chappell (Guiding Light)
Nicole Forester (Guiding Light)
Michelle Stafford (The Young and the Restless)
Jeanne Cooper (The Young and the Restless)

Glaring Omissions: Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke, B&B); Susan Flannery (Stephanie, B&B); Deidre Hall (Marlena, Days); Alison Sweeney (Sami, Days); Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki, Y&R)
Shocker: Nicole Forester (Cassie, GL)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Kelley Menighan Hensley (As the World Turns)
Heather Tom (The Bold and the Beautiful)
Judi Evans (Days of Our Lives)
Gina Tognoni (Guiding Light)
Tracey E. Bregman (The Young and the Restless)

Glaring Omissions: Alicia Minshew (Kendall, AMC); Martha Madison (ex-Belle, Days); Carolyn Hennesy (Diane, GH); Marcy Rylan (Lizzie, GL); Catherine Hickland (Lindsay, OLTL); Kathy Brier (Marcie, OLTL); Judith Chapman (Gloria, Y&R)
Shocker: Kelley Menighan Hensley (Emily, ATWT)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Trent Dawson (As the World Turns)
Daniel Cosgrove (Guiding Light)
Brian Kerwin (One Life to Live)
Kristoff St. John (The Young and the Restless)
Greg Rikaart (The Young and the Restless)

Glaring Omissions: Austin Peck (Brad, ATWT); Patrick Duffy (Stephen, B&B); Tuc Watkins (David, OLTL); Ted Shackelford (Jeffrey/William, Y&R)
Shocker: None

Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Landon (As the World Turns)
Rachel Melvin (Days of Our Lives)
Vail Bloom (The Young and the Restless)
Emily O'Brien (The Young and the Restless)
Tammin Sursok (The Young and the Restless)

Glaring Omissions: Alexandra Chando (Maddie, ATWT); Kirsten Storms (Maxie, GH)
Shockers: Vail Bloom (Heather, Y&R); Tammin Sursok (Colleen, Y&R)

Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series
Van Hansis (As the World Turns)
Jesse Lee Soffer (As the World Turns)
Darin Brooks (Days of Our Lives)
Tom Pelphrey (Guiding Light)
Bryton McClure (The Young and the Restless)

Glaring Omissions: Blake Berris (Nick, Days); Dylan Cash (Michael, GH); Eddie Alderson (Matthew, OLTL)
Shocker: Darin Brooks (Max, Days)

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design For A Drama Series
As the World Turns
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Young and the Restless
General Hospital

Outstanding Achievement for a Casting Director For A Drama Series
General Hospital
Guiding Light
One Life to Live
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Achievement for in Costume Design For A Drama Series
As the World Turns
Guiding Light
One Life to Live
Passions

Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing For A Drama Series
All My Children
As the World Turns
The Bold and the Beautiful
One Life to Live

Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling For A Drama Series
Days of Our Lives
Guiding Light
One Life to Live
Passions

Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction For A Drama Series
All My Children
As the World Turns
The Bold and the Beautiful
One Life to Live

Outstanding Achievement in Makeup For A Drama Series
As the World Turns
Days of Our Lives
Passions
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction And Composition For A Drama Series
All My Children
The Bold and the Beautiful
Guiding Light
One Life to Live

Outstanding Original Song
All My Children, ‘The Me Inside’
All My Children, ‘Treasure Of Love’
One Life to Live, ‘Chemistry’
One Life to Live, ‘Little Starr’
One Life to Live, ‘You're the Freak’

Outstanding Achievement in Live & Direct To Tape Sound Mixing For A Drama Series
The Bold and the Beautiful
Guiding Light
Passions
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series
All My Children
As the World Turns
The Bold and the Beautiful
Guiding Light

Outstanding Talk Show Host
Ellen Degeneres, The Ellen Degeneres Show
Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, Live With Regis and Kelly
Barbara Walters, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd, The View

Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment
The Ellen Degeneres Show
Rachael Ray
The View

Outstanding Talk Show/Informative
A Place Of Our Own/Los Ninos En Su Casa
Dr. Phil
The Tyra Banks Show

TVguide.ca

It's always been a popularity contest. You're either Cinderella or the ugly sisters. With Kirsten Storms, her DUI worked against her. That's all it took. The work means very little in awards shows.

Jim Wrote:It's always been a popularity contest. You're either Cinderella or the ugly sisters. With Kirsten Storms, her DUI worked against her. That's all it took. The work means very little in awards shows.

Well it's a good fashion so at least. I guess? How does this process differ from the Prime Time Emmys. I ask because I am just fecking clueless. The Oscars? Are any of them based on merit?