The day after this year’s Daytime Emmys, I wrote on my Marlena Current and Classic Facebook Group site that I thought the show was refreshing.
Replied my old colleague Brian, “I’m not with you on this, Marlena.” Added Esther, “The death roll left me cold.” And of course, there was an array of opinions about and objections to the winners.
Well, mes amies, at least we had a network Emmy show! Remember the years we had to madly fish around on our computers to even find the show? CBS seems newly committed to its soaps. Airing this year’s Daytime Emmys in a classy way is a nice welcome sign. Even better is the network’s commitment to the creation of a new soap, The Gates, which will premiere later this year.
The naysayers who declare that soaps are dead need to pay attention to the ratings of this year’s Daytime Emmys. The numbers are up 40 percent over last year’s show.
Some of the winners actually made the mainstream press. (It maddens Marlena that so many outlets still refuse to cover daytime!) Dick Van Dyke, the 98-year-old superstar, won for his guest appearance as mystery man Timothy on Days of Our Lives. What joy and appreciation registered on his very familiar face!
Some of the special awards were heartwarming, like the deserved honor given to two longtime pillars of The Young and the Restless: executive producer Edward Scott and his wife, Melody Thomas Scott (who plays Nikki Newman). And what a long way Scott’s Nikki has come from her early days on the show when Nikki worked as a stripper. All these years later, we’re still moved by the character’s ever-challenging battle with alcoholism.
Another winner from Y&R who richly earned her statuette was Michelle Stafford, who won her Emmy for playing Phyllis, the sexy vamp of a plot pot-stirrer who has been stirring up trouble since joining the cast in 1994, with time out for a number of other roles, including a few years as Nina on General Hospital. And all hail the always wonderful Thorsten Kaye, winner as Best Actor, whose character, Ridge, rallied his family around his thought-to-be dying father Eric Forrester (played by John McCook) on The Bold and the Beautiful.
The night’s Best Show winner was General Hospital, my personal favorite. I consider it today’s most watchable soap, and producer Frank Valentini always runs an entertaining show. I’ve always said an essential key to its success is its casting director, Mark Teschner. What an amazing record! He has been on the job since 1989, and he never misses. How do you like the new violin-playing Giovanni Mazza (who plays Giovanni Palmieri), the great-looking new young man on the show? The teen heartthrob was a hit from Day One.
Attention Marlena fans: The real me (Connie Passalacqua Hayman) will be appearing on The Locher Room on July 17 at 3 p.m. (The Locher Room.com). I’m sure Alan will be asking about my 40 years of covering—and loving—the soap industry.
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