Dan is the founder of Soap Central and the host of the weekly, live Internet radio show, Soap Central Live. His became hooked on soaps because of All My Children and quickly fell in love with the genre. His work on Soap Central for the past 19 years has given him an appreciation for all the soaps and the talented men and women in front of and behind the camera. Dan started Soap Central as part of his personal home page in 1995. Dan has appeared as an extra on As the World Turns and as a soap expert on the SOAPnet reality-ish program, Relative Madness.
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2013: 6 for 8 2012: 3 for 8 2011: 3 for 8 2010: 2 for 8 2009: 3 for 8 2008: 5 for 8 2007: 2 for 8 |
2006: 5 for 8 2005: 3 for 8 2004: 0 for 8 2003: 2 for 8 2002: 2 for 8 2001: 1 for 8 |
Who I'd like to win: Bryan Craig
Who voters will pick: Chandler Massey
The final rankings: Bryan Craig, Chad Duell, Daniel Polo, Chandler Massey, Max Ehrich
But back to my predictions. There is a bit on Missal's reel where her character reacts to the surprise appearance of Victor, who'd everyone believed was dead. It was to have been a happy reunion, but that's not the way Danielle responded. Her complete breakdown and subsequent acceptance of what she saw before her was breathtaking. Then the reel turns much more subsued as Dani explains why she started taking drugs. And in this case subdued isn't a bad thing. It's great, great work.
Kristen Alderson was able to squeak in one final nomination as her One Life to Live character, Starr. I'd give her an Emmy just for that. She wisely submitted scenes that were very reminsicent of what she submitted last year when she won her first Daytime Emmy, and Emmy voters also have loved to bestow repeat honors in the Younger Actress category. Alderson gets great supporting work in the scene from several of her co-stars which really makes the scenes work even better.
Linsey Godfrey submitted the only Emmy reel this year that relied on comedic elements. Considering that this is a "drama" category I don't know how voters will react. What I do know is that we haven't seen anything quite like this before. There is such great bitchiness in the reel that I suspect will bne well-received by judges. Godfrey also controls much of the material (some of the other nominees are more supporting players in their reels). Godfrey is the star and shows that she has incredible delivery of fun, witty, and snarky material.
Godfrey's co-star, Kim Matula, submitted scenes that were on the other side of the soap scale. Two men vying for her attention. My concern is that the first third of the reel (and even a great portion of that) doesn't feature much in the way of dialogue from Matula. But when Matula gets her turn, she shines. In general, Matula is on-screen almost as much -- if not more -- than any of her castmates in the Lead and Supporting categories. I hope that she is not penalized by voters for not having the most dialogue in this reel because Matula is a phenomenal actress.
Who I'd like to win: Kelley Missal
Who voters will pick: Kim Matula
The final rankings: Linsey Godfrey, Kelley Missal, Kim Matula, Kristen Alderson, Hunter King
The Bold and the Beautiful's Drama Series reels show the great skill that the show's writers have at balancing heavy, soapy drama with light, comedic fun. It doesn't sound like it would be hard to do -- but it really is. One has to be careful that the "fun" stuff doesn't take away from the seriousness of the other scenes. Conversely, you also need to make sure that seriousness doesn't make the comedic part seem out of place.
For more, writing is not the strong point of The Young and the Restless' Emmy submissions this year. I feel that the visuals and the acting are what sells it. There were times that I was distracted by the dialogue, but the sum of the parts was greater than the individual issues that I might have had. Hence, the reason I picked Y&R to win Drama Series.
Days of our Lives writes good soap. There are no huge on-location shoots. There are no spiffy out-of-doors scene transitions. The writing team has stuck with doing what they do well: writing good story. I think it is entirely possible that DAYS will win in this category because I feel that people will either love or hate the submissions by the other two soaps. If DAYS places consistently second in voting and snags a few first places votes, it will take the title.
Who I'd like to win: The Bold and the Beautiful
Who voters will pick: The Bold and the Beautiful
The final rankings: The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, The Young and the Restless
Typically, the Directing reels have featured one of the episodes that was submitted for Outstanding Drama Series. If that is to hold true, then The Young and the Restless would have been wise to the submit the episode where Delia was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. Everything about the episode screams Emmy. The location shoot, the lighting, the camera work... it looked like a primetime show film.
The Bold and the Beautiful is the best show at consistently working in scenes that are filmed outside the studio. They integrate seamlessly and don't come across as gratuitous.
One Life to Live took great effort to feature new camerawork and techniques in its episodes. The first episode of the series perfectly demonstrated this, and I can see why the series was nominated.
Who voters will pick: The Young and the Restless
The final rankings: The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, One Life to Live
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