For a full report on the Viva Las Vegas Daytime Emmys, read the post following this one by Marlena’s friend, TV columnist Ed Martin.  But first …

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By Marlena De Lacroix

Due to a car malfunction, Moose, Nigel and I had to stay away an extra day this past Sunday, (delightfully) stranded in a cabin without a TV.  (I made a fabulous salt-free dinner of Thai noodles with chicken and scallions from scratch.)

And so let it be recorded in anno domani 2010 that  moi,  Marlena De Lacroix, missed the Daytime Emmys.  Marlena, who has never missed watching or attending the daytime awards in thirty years.  Marlena, who first went to the Emmys in 1980 in the old Waldorf Astoria, and flipped when I saw that year winners, Another World’s Doug Watson and One Life to Live’s Judith Light, live and in the flesh?  Wow!  What an amazing moment in my career that was.    

You don’t care that I missed watching the 2010 Emmys?  Then why, when I got home, did I find 312 messages on my computer complaining about the Emmys, asking me what I felt, from friends, Romans and countrymen all over the world? With that kind of pre-sold audience, why did I not immediately run to watch the show, which I had pre-recorded on my DVR?  

Friends, here are seven reasons why Marlena did not and will not watch the 2010 Daytime Emmys:

1.  No suspense. When we finally got home on Monday, I read the net, finding out immediately who won.  Congrats to Best Actor and Actress  Michael Park and Maura West (Jack and Carly, As the World Turns) and all the other winners!   Now that I know the results, why spend more of my precious  time watching  the Emmys two days later?  It kind of reminds me of how ruined soaps were for me starting in the late 70s when soap spoilers started to appear in print. Why should I watch a soap when I already know what’s going to happen?

2.  No clips (I am told).  Huh? It’s an Emmy tradition — we have to show clips of the nominated actors’ work. Otherwise, how can we viewers complain how unrepresentative they are of the actor’s/show’s work during the year?   What’s an Emmy year without complaining?  Complaining  a tradition, a sacred right — and rite — if you are a true soap lover.

3.   No death roll (I am told).  No clips of or homage to daytime notables who died this year. No Frances Reid, no Helen Wagner, no James Mitchell.  These people were giants!  Our moms, our grandmoms, our Uncle Palmer!  What is a Daytime Emmy year without the opportunity to shed a few genuinely heartfelt tears about losing people we love?

4.  No focus on daytime soaps (I am told).  Quite the opposite.  According to all reports, the show was a showcase for Las Vegas and its myriad entertainment wonders. The awards ceremonies were sandwiched in between chunks of big Vegas shows. As my friend pjs remarked,  “The shows in Vegas (Cirque de Soleil, Lion King, etc.) got better promotion than the Broadway shows were given on the Tonys this year.”   You expect moi to watch this infomercial for Las Vegas?

5.  No dignity, no respect (I am told).  You think dissing daytime soaps by basically ignoring the awarding of the highest daytime awards there are is something new?  Honey, writing about the lack of both dignity and respect not accorded by the Daytime Emmy show to our favorite shows and performers paid for my summer wardrobe for years!

6.   No really awful awards.  Well, there has to be one!  A lot of people were apparently shocked that Drew Tyler Bell (from Bold and Beautiful) won Best Younger Actor.  Come on.  Give the kid a break.   Have a drink on moi and toast poor Drew.  We were all best younger somethings ourselves once, and not very good at what we did, either.

7.   No principles, no guile, no baloney.   Sue me, folks.  I always tell my journalism students you can’t review any work of art that you didn’t watch, see or attend.  Well,  I didn’t watch the Daytime Emmys this year.  And for reasons, number one to six,  I’m not planning  to again — ever. 

I also said I’d never write a Daytime Emmy column this year,  either.

P.S.  I love to cook, and you’re all invited for Thai noodles at chez Moose, Marlena and Nigel on Daytime Emmy night 2011.

Posted on June 30th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: MARLENA | 10 Comments »

By Ed Martin

One could find worse ways to spend a lazy summer evening than watching a live awards show from Las Vegas featuring many current top acts from shows along the strip.

But when I sat down to watch CBS‘ presentation of the 37^th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Sunday I was looking for a celebration of daytime programming — and I didn’t get what I wanted. Nor, I suspect, did millions of soap opera and talk show enthusiasts.

Much of the first half-hour was taken up with a lengthy tribute to Dick Clark, whose iconic music series American Bandstand ran on daytime television for almost 40 years, ending its run in 1989. Frankly, I think Clark deserves an even bigger, better and longer primetime special — one loaded with dozens of big stars who got their

The only positive in this sad situation is that the ratings for the 37^th annual Awards telecast were considerably higher than those of last year’s show, but how could they not be, moving from The CW in the dog days of August to CBS in late June?

start on his show. But the tribute on Sunday felt very out of place in an annual event that traditionally highlights the best work currently done in soap operas, daytime talk and information series and children’s programming. Many of the talented entertainers who were on hand to honor Clark and perform — The Spinners, Marie Osmond, the cast of Jersey Boys, Tony Orlando — are Vegas headliners, and I’m sure their appearances on CBS were of great promotional value. The same holds for some of the presenters throughout the evening, including The Blue Man Group and most of the cast of The Lion King.

All of this Viva Las Vegas hoopla — including an extended promotional tour of the Las Vegas Hilton, home of the Awards this year, presented as program content rather than an infomercial — did absolutely nothing to generate any interest in daytime shows, especially the soaps, which need all the help they can get. In a move that revealed how little the producers of the Awards understand their potential audience, there were no clips at all for any of the nominated lead and supporting performers! It was as if these talented and hard-working folks were marginalized during the two hours of the year when they are supposed to be enjoying the spotlight.

The disappointment level continued to build as the show went on. A sorry excuse for a farewell tribute to As the World Turns, which will end in September after a historic 53 year run, was nothing more than a few quick clips set to music and was just as crappy as last year’s kick out the door for the departing Guiding Light, another pop-culture treasure that spanned six decades on television (and three on radio before that). Shockingly, the tribute made no mention of Helen Wagner, the remarkable actress who appeared on the show throughout its entire run and died only a few weeks ago. Wagner was in the first scene of the first episode of ATWT

Helen Wagner, 1918 - 2010 

and continued playing the same role until earlier this year, when she took ill, setting a world record for the longest continuous performance by any actor in any medium. But on CBS Sunday night she was just another face in the crowd. (The recent deaths of two other beloved soap veterans, Frances Reid of Days of Our Lives and James Mitchell of All My Children, were also ignored during the telecast.)

Ellen DeGeneres — soon to be daytime’s biggest star once Oprah Winfrey ends her iconic talk program — wasn’t even on hand for her show’s first ever win as Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment. The ladies of The View didn’t participate either, even though they were collectively nominated for Outstanding Talk Show Host. (They didn’t bother to show up last year and missed their first win in that category!) Dr. Mehmet Oz wasn’t on hand for his big win as Outstanding Talk Show Host. Regis Philbin was a lively host, but the telecast’s directors must have been distracted by all the Vegas star-shine, as they occasionally left his microphone on while Philbin was off-stage asking what to do next. (How I wish Philbin had been joined by his colleague Kelly Ripa, the one star on daytime who has enjoyed success on a soap opera and a talk show, or by his former co-star Kathie Lee Gifford, now the talk of daytime on the fourth hour of Today.) The Martha Stewart Show won for Outstanding Lifestyle Program — a category not included in the telecast. Last I heard Stewart was still a significant multi-media personality.

Despite all of this nonsense there were some wonderful moments during the show. It was gratifying to see so many deserving performers who had not been expected to win take home awards, especially three from As the World Turns — Julie Pinson for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Michael Park for Outstanding Lead Actor and Maura West for Outstanding Lead Actress. Park and West were both thrilled to have the chance to say proper goodbyes, and it was clear they were both pissed that their still-vital show had been put to death. (ATWT wrapped production last week. Original episodes will be telecast through September 17.) The Bold and the Beautiful was named Outstanding Drama Series for the second consecutive year and this time executive producer and head writer Bradley Bell actually got to speak. (Last year he was rudely cut off because the show threatened to run overtime by an entire minute or two.) Happily in this year of all things Betty White, B&B was honored off the strength of a storyline involving her recurring character. Unhappily, the very busy White was not on hand to take part in the celebration.

It was also a big night for Discovery Channel’s entertaining and innovative Cash Cab, which won for Outstanding Game Show (its third win) and Outstanding Game Show Host (a first for Ben Bailey). And the legendary Agnes Nixon finally received a long-overdue Lifetime Achievement Award.

The only positive in this sad situation is that the ratings for the 37^th annual Awards telecast were considerably higher than those of last year’s show, but how could they not be, moving from The CW in the dog days of August to CBS in late June? That little bit of good news will have to do, because these days those of us who appreciate what daytime programming used to be and understand that it could indeed thrive once again if properly nurtured have to draw strength from even the tiniest glimmer of hope. 

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Ed Martin is a veteran television journalist who writes for many national publications and websites. He blogs regularly at mediabizblogger.com.

Posted on June 29th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: GUESTS | 3 Comments »

By Marlena De Lacroix

On Saturday,  my husband Moose and I were driving on a back road through the Pennsylvania woods to have dinner at a very good restaurant. Suddenly a familiar tell-tale putrid smell entered the car.

Skunk!

I gasped and a few seconds later my eyes welled up in tears.  No, the tears didn’t come from the intensity of the odor entering the car. They came from the stab of pure humiliation I was suddenly feeling in my heart. That’s because my mind had immediately flashed back the sight of poor Bob Woods sitting up to his neck in a bathtub of tomato juice on One Life to Live a few days before.  This Wednesday’s or Thursday’s episode was one of a

I have watched these shows forever and have written about them … almost forever.  Unlike movies or night-time TV, the producers of these daytime shows have been known to — and are allowed to — make ‘comments’ on their actors by showing their characters in certain situations …

week-long storyline in which  supposedly amusing “mishaps” kept happening to Bo and Nora, the beleaguered couple, leading up to Read more…

Posted on June 8th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: MARLENA, One Life to Live | 14 Comments »

By Marlena De Lacroix

When most longtime watchers get disenchanted or downright  disgusted with their old  soaps, they are usually angry.  We’ve all invested years of our lives and our deep feelings in this genre.

Now, it’s gotten to the point where I’m not angry anymore.  As we watch the final act of daytime soap opera, I just find myself very very sad to see them all so swiftly decline, and that sadness seems to make an appearance nearly every day when I

The real world could care less.  For years non-soap friends have been interested and asked me about soaps.  Well, not anymore!

watch shows or check in on news and happenings in our own little soap world.  Here’s a rundown on what gets me right in the heart:

Sadness 1 –  Of course the worst pain is seeing our shows implode in front of our eyes.  How bizarre and tragic it is that top classic shows, still so beautifully produced by solid old pros like JFP and Rauch, put all their resources into Read more…

Posted on April 30th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: MARLENA | 21 Comments »

By Marlena De Lacroix

In Part 1 of this column, I used that great 1947 Broadway musical in which a mythical ancient town full of joy and real human goodness reappears and vanishes once a decade as a metaphor for the brief return of Lorraine Broderick as headwriter of All My Children.

Ms. Broderick’s self-chosen short-lived return represented a short sojourn back into a soap opera world that now exists only in memory:   What we’ve seen again in the past three months is the real All My Children – the intelligent, warm, character

My kudos go to ALL the actors of the AMC company who again got to showcase their real skills because they were given great writing.

rich soap we loved since Agnes Nixon created it in 1970 and which existed in that glorious form until 1996.  Sadly, Broderick’s new stint as writer has already ended, but she leaves AMC in Read more…

Posted on March 24th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: All My Children, MARLENA | 10 Comments »

By Marlena De Lacroix

I’ve had a lot of problems with One Life to Live over the last two years, but Kish (Kyle and Fish) was never one of them. The shocking write-off of these characters is wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels.  Of all the ways this failing soap could be improved, dumping Kish NOW isn’t one of them.

Goodbye Kish: Scott Evans as Fish, Brett Claywell as Kyle

The first rule of soaps is to respect the fans.  Kiboshing Kish shows no respect for any of the fans, and especially Kish’s gay fan base.  This story was meaningful and

Besides betraying the trust of loyal fans, did the network ever even contemplate what a huge public relations disaster getting rid of Kish is?

easy to relate to for so many gay viewers.  Beneath the fury of betrayal expressed all over the net this week at their story’s abrupt Read more…

Posted on March 16th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: MARLENA, One Life to Live | 20 Comments »

By Marlena De Lacroix

When I was a young girl my mother took me to City Center in Manhattan to see a revival of the 1947 Lerner and Loewe musical Brigadoon.  In it, two American men on a trip to Scotland stumble upon a strange town, the Brigadoon of the title, from a

Can Agnes Nixon, who brought us this revival of Pine Valley as Brigadoon, continue to ward off Fronsie and the callow macho-ness of ABC Daytime’s boys club? What can be done so that THIS Pine Valley lives on every day — not just once every ten years?

past century, which disappears into the mist and reappears only one day every ten years.  It’s a mythical throwback community full of  Read more…

Posted on March 10th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: All My Children, MARLENA | 5 Comments »

By Marlena De Lacroix

Recently I was asked by a fan why I am not posting much anymore. Here’s why: Today on One Life to Live I watched a woman who had just delivered a baby graphically fall through ice and drown.  Not three months ago I had watched a

Does any TPTB on soaps, so desperate for ratings, actually have any moral sense at all, or even THINK anymore?   Do viewers suddenly crave ”the thrill” of watching women die miserably?

woman on General Hospital get her head bashed in with an axe by a teenager, die and be secretly buried in the woods. Soaps are a lot of things, but Read more…

Posted on February 18th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: All My Children, As the World Turns, General Hospital, MARLENA, One Life to Live, Young and the Restless | 39 Comments »

Connie, Anna and the late real Mr. Moose at the Museum of Natural History (above); The Nige (right)

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By Marlena De Lacroix

Happy New Year 2010, everyone!  Hope you had as joyous a holiday season with your family and friends as Moose and I (a.k.a. Connie and Ed) did. My beloved step-daughter Laura and step-granddaughter Anna visited us here in Manhattan for a few days around Christmas from their home in Michigan.  They loved our seven month old beagle Nigel.  Our Nige has become quite a character, as we used to say very affectionately in the Queens of my youth.

As I served my Italian grandmother Concetta’s manicotti to Laura and Anna for Christmas dinner, I said, ”Mange figlias, mangia figlia” (”eat daughter, eat.”).  That is

Only stories that are about love — and tell logical emotional truth about the characters we have long known and loved – can save daytime soap opera now.

what was my late grandma and father Cosmo always said to me as a girl.  Having the love and continuity of family around me really did a lot to soothe a difficult year and renew my spirit and hope.  (Originally, soaps taught me that!)  

I want to wish you, my beloved readers, a renewed spirit and much joy as we enter 2010.  Although I haven’t been posting a lot lately, I want  Read more…

Posted on December 31st, 2009 by admin
Filed under: MARLENA | 10 Comments »

My friend Ed Martin weighs in, too,  on the loss of As the World Turns in a new post immediately following this one.

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By Marlena De Lacroix

I broke into tears when I heard that As the World Turns was canceled yesterday. I’m sure many of you did, too.  ATWT has been a part of all our lives for so long.   I learned so much from it over the years about universal values of love and family.  Since its 1956 premiere, it has so reflected the true heart of all Americans.    

When I first started watching as a young teen in 1969,  I was growing up in Queens, where everyone in my neighborhood  was either Jewish or Italian (I was both!). My Italian immigrant grandparents, who loving fed me lasagna on holidays, knew little English.  My Jewish immigrant 

CBS President Les Moonves apparently doesn’t think TV is about the hearts and minds of Americans anymore.  Yesterday he had the gall to say that the day of daytime soap operas like ATWT is over. Well, to hell with you, Les Moonves.  Love, family and soaps will outlast you and your insults to those who have supported CBS for more than 60 years.  ATWT lives!

side all worked in a family movie theater chain and absolutely  lived for latest happenings in the entertainment world.   My own parents constantly Read more…

Posted on December 11th, 2009 by admin
Filed under: As the World Turns, MARLENA | 24 Comments »