I think Kelley Missal has really grown as an actress, and she could be the next Gina Tognoni or Maura West if she lands on daytime again. Dani was one of the few characters to have a
reaction to the huge reveal that Victor was alive (I think I had more of a reaction than most of Llanview did). However, I'm afraid that Dani's dramatic reaction won't resonate with the Emmy panel if they don't know the history of the show, and as much as I want to see her win -- especially since she's the only performer nominated from a Prospect Park show -- I am doubtful it will happen. I was very happy that Kim Matula finally got a nomination, as she's never called it in despite the repetitive, seemingly endless Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle, but I think she had much better material to submit. Hunter Haley King's reel with the Summer paternity aftermath just seemed way too exaggerated and overdramatic, when her strength is underlying vulnerability. Linsey Godfrey and her character have grown by leaps and bounds since she started on B&B, but lighthearted scenes generally don't garner a win. I found it interesting at first that Kristen Alderson went with one of her few Starr episodes rather than something from most of the year that she spent playing Kiki, but after I watched her reel, I saw why.
OUTSTANDING WRITING IN A DRAMA SERIES
Days of our Lives
My first instinct was to go with Y&R because of the Delia storyline, but in the end, I just couldn't do it. I think it was the most lazily written soap last year. I write Y&R daily and weekly recaps for
soapcentral
/.com, and the weekly ones make me think, "What happened this week that was meaningful?" I can't tell you how many times I've had to really struggle to find anything interesting -- not to mention my disdain for characters doing things they never would or endless on-screen recapping of what already happened.
DAYS mined its history this year to have fantastic payoffs, "new" characters that had already been on the canvas and who were tied to families we know (like J.J. and Theresa), likeable couples (for the most part), and a good balance of storylines. They are still the biggest culprits of having recent flashbacks as filler, but I can forgive, knowing that not everyone watches every day.
When B&B shines, it is practically unbeatable, as the Emmys have shown in the past, but it seems like two different shows at times. It can go from riveting to practically unwatchable in a heartbeat. The constantly recycled Hope/Liam/Steffy dialogue was enough reason to deny the show a trophy.
Again, I'm going to choose what I think is the most deserving show -- DAYS -- but any of the three could take the prize, depending on what episodes were submitted.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING IN A DRAMA SERIES
One Life to Live
Without knowing the episode, it's nearly impossible to give an educated guess. I'll go with Y&R, primarily because of the scenes surrounding Delia's death and the aftermath.
PICKS AT A CLICK (Check an overview of all our panelists' picks)
DAN J KROLL (Soap Central Founder)
LIZ M (Soap Central recapper)
TEDDI GIGGY (Soap Central recapper)
MIKE BRADFORD (Soap Central recapper)
editor/Non-soap viewer) --->
