Our latest My Take/My Take, Too column appears in the July 22nd issue of Soap Opera Digest, on newsstands today. Our editors asked us to give our thoughts on the Daytime Emmy Awards and, remarkably, we were able to do so without swearing. We wonder what some Emmy voters were thinking, question the production values of the pre-show and ceremony and weep again over the fact that General Hospital was named Outstanding Daytime Drama.
We did not get to see this, an ensemble that would have provided endless fodder throughout the live blogging. I could have thought of it when GH won for best drama series and smiled, instead of crying and throwing things. I mean seriously, Judith Chapman has a fan AND a parasol! While attired in black silk pajamas! Fantastic.
Also, our readers kindly pointed out that while Jason Thompson may in fact have been hotly absent, James Scott was very much present; he was just ignored by all camerapeople during both the pre-show and the ceremony. The only reasonable explanation is that including him would have made the other men feel bad about themselves; his exclusion was a self-esteem-building exercise. Well done, ABC!
Over the years, you may have noticed that we like to harp on certain things. And by certain things, we mean "everything". But one of our favorite things to discuss is soap fashion, hair and makeup. So, needless to say, the Daytime Emmys are always a favorite night, since we get to drool over the great fashion choices and mock the huge fashion mistakes.
Our picks for the evening's Best Dressed
And our picks for Worst Dressed
From the undeserving wins to the truly bizarre fashion choices, this year's Daytime Emmys ceremony was an exercise in awfulness and was boring on top of it. But which of the night's myriad tragedies was the most tragic?
The 2008 Daytime Emmy Awards, from red carpet pre-show to the end of the ceremony, were four hours of crap. But there were a few awesome moments that shone through like beacons of light in a sea full of...sludge. Boring, Brian Frons produced sludge.
The mood today at Serial Drama is pretty somber, as we're both in mourning. We're sad for the deserving people who lost. We're sad for everybody who sat through that terrible show with us.
And most of all, we're sad that Bob Guza and Jill Farren Phelps have earned themselves even tighter job security by winning an award they had absolutely no right to even be nominated for. It's just...wrong.
Comparing people to the utterly vile Heidi and Spencer of The Hills has become shorthand for describing true awfulness. But how does MTV's gruesome twosome stack up against the duo currently running General Hospital into the ground?
Becca (8:00:35 PM): Oh no, they're opening with a sketch. This is going nowhere good.
Mallory (8:00:46 PM): A sketch! Oh, Cameron Mathison! If only he didn't play daytime's most odious character
Mallory (8:01:21 PM): Did she just sniff Thorsten Kaye? Do you know how many people would pay for that honor?
Becca (8:03:17 PM): Is that a laugh track? Live people aren't actually finding this amusing, right?
Mallory (8:03:52 PM): Maybe they took a cue from Bryan Dattilo and got a little sloshed
Becca (8:04:14 PM): He is a smart man.
Becca (8:04:43 PM): That is unacceptable.
Mallory (8:04:48 PM): It's criminal!
Becca (8:05:41 PM): I missed them! Did Ellen dress like Col. Sanders again this year? Because that was fun.
Becca (8:05:55 PM): Oh no, this year she's Zorro.
Mallory (8:06:44 PM): I am already sick of Ricky Paull Goldin and Beth Ehlers and she hasn't even started airing yet
Becca (8:07:13 PM): Why? It's not like ABC has been pimping her out like she's a streetwalker tonight, or anything.
Mallory (8:07:48 PM): I think it was. Brian Frons has no shame
Becca (8:08:19 PM): Laura Wright looks spectacular.
Mallory (8:08:22 PM): Laura Wright looks fab
Mallory (8:09:45 PM): I'm really glad that we didn't get to see him during the pre-show! Seeing Jordan Pruitt was way more important than being able to mock his shiny suit an hour ago
Becca (8:10:14 PM): Right. That Frons guy sure is smart.
Becca (8:10:19 PM): Gina Tognoni wins!
Becca (8:11:13 PM): Why did she have to thank God first? I hate that.
Becca (8:11:43 PM): I think Heather Tom must be thanking God they panned away from her so fast.
Mallory (8:11:47 PM): It always makes me uncomfortable when they do that
Becca (8:12:50 PM): I want to hear one of the losers in the post-interview be like "I totally would have won, if only God hadn't been in such a pissy mood."
Mallory (8:13:30 PM): Right? "Whatever, this was rigged! I'm still being punished for stealing gum when I was six!"
Continue reading "The Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza" »
And...we're off! We will update this post and the ceremony one throughout the night, with our live blogging chat and then with screencaps/photos. Please keep checking back for updates; you never know what fashion triumph or tragedy will greet you.
Becca (6:02:30 PM): OMG IT'S STARTING!!!
Becca (6:02:32 PM): Ahem
Mallory (6:02:45 PM): EEEEEE!!!
Mallory (6:02:58 PM): SOAPNet really ought to pay for a better voiceover person. She could not sound more bored
Mallory (6:03:13 PM): I am appalled that Sam Champion is making an appearance.
Becca (6:03:25 PM): WTF? No, Rebecca Budig, no.
Becca (6:03:35 PM): That dress looks like she's being disemboweled.
Mallory (6:03:53 PM): This is what I don't understand: you are rich. You are famous. You look like Rebecca Budig. And that's the dress you choose?
Becca (6:04:15 PM): Seriously, that pink...thing on the red satin looks like intestines. Why, why, why?
Becca (6:04:29 PM): On the other hand, Finola Hughes looks fantastic.
Mallory (6:04:38 PM): She really does!
Becca (6:04:48 PM): On the other other hand, Ricky Paull Goldin looks like a waiter.
Mallory (6:04:56 PM): How can you be rising at the same time as being a superstar?
Becca (6:05:21 PM): You kids and your pop stars
Mallory (6:05:35 PM): Do not blame this on my generation! Some of us have taste
Becca (6:06:03 PM): Some of you who aren't famous?
Mallory (6:06:49 PM): I don't understand the purpose of what is happening right now. Why is she singing? Why are people pretending to care?
Mallory (6:07:17 PM): And why is SOAPNet doing a small split screen for the red carpet arrivals? Are they so inept that they are capable of ruining the concept of a red carpet show?
Becca (6:07:27 PM): Did you really have to ask that?
Becca (6:07:44 PM): Is this girl Brian Frons' niece or something?
Mallory (6:08:21 PM): I am not mentally ready to start thinking about Night Shift
Mallory (6:08:47 PM): And I keep getting distracted by Rebecca Budig's HORRIBLE hair and the...organ looking ornamentation on her dress. Please make it stop.
Becca (6:08:57 PM): Rebecca Budig's dress is a crime against all that is good and right in the world [James Scott].
Becca (6:09:17 PM): I know. But now that I found out that Tristan Rogers and Antonio Sabato Jr. are going to be on it, I'm almost...optimistic. I can't believe I just said that.
Mallory (6:09:57 PM): I love the Shoe Cam! It appeals to me at my shallowest
Mallory (6:11:19 PM): I do not like Farah Fath's necklace at all
Mallory (6:12:23 PM): Her makeup looks good, though, and it's way subtle for her
Becca (6:12:56 PM): Well, pancake is way subtle for her, but yeah, she does look great
Becca (6:14:23 PM): You like him? You've kept that so quiet.
Becca (6:14:28 PM): Except for the billboard, I mean.
Becca (6:14:34 PM): And the mocked-up wedding announcements.
Mallory (6:14:56 PM): I like to plan ahead so that our wedding is all taken care of, just in case it happens
Mallory (6:19:43 PM): I know Sherri Shepherd thinks the world is flat or whatever, but her role as Angie on 30 Rock has earned her a lifetime free pass from me. She's adorable
Becca (6:21:05 PM): Seriously, she thinks the world is flat!
Mallory (6:21:38 PM): But she's hilarious with Tracy and Kenneth the page!
Becca (6:21:59 PM): You know I adore 30 Rock, but no. She bugs me!
Mallory (6:22:10 PM): Whatev!
Mallory (6:22:20 PM): Finola talks like three miles a minute and I find it endlessly endearing
Becca (6:22:34 PM): She has the inflections of a 15-year-old. It's hilarious.
Becca (6:23:07 PM): Heather Tom's makeup is fabulous, and her hair is a huge improvement over last year's terrible ponytail, but I'm not sold on the dress. And I really liked Jack on Project Runway!
Becca (6:23:39 PM): The only clip they've had ready to roll was that
horrible "behind the scenes" piece with Cameron and Sherri. And I've
seen more interesting driver ed films.
Becca (6:24:37 PM): It's not a disaster or anything. I just expected to be wowed. Wow me, people!
Continue reading "The Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza: Red Carpet Arrivals" »
We asked you to play Emmy voter and choose who you think deserves to go home with an award tonight. Here are the results of the Serial Drama Readers Choice Awards:
Only Van Hansis and Gina Tognoni won the polls that they SHOULD win the Emmy and WILL win the Emmy. Our readers are cynical and jaded enough by past Emmy winners to know that the deserving folk almost never win.
But the night isn't only about winning awards: it's about bitterness over snubbed performers, crippling boredom with some of the technical awards and the potential for awesome(-ly bad) fashion.
Make sure to stop back here at 6 PM for the start of the Second Annual Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza!
We know you all must be as excited about the totally relevant and truly merit-based Daytime Emmy awards as we are, but in your giddiness please don't forget to click on over to Serial Drama this evening for our Second Annual Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza! We'll start red carpet coverage with the SOAPNet pre-show at 6pm EST, then cover the ceremony starting at 8pm EST. Screencaps will go up throughout the night. Bring on the fashion disasters and unjustified winners!
(Last year's red carpet and ceremony live blogging, for those who missed it or who need an Emmy fix before tonight.)
The Daytime Emmys are tomorrow! Like Jessie Spano and The Pointer Sisters before us, we're so excited and we just can't hide it! Woohoo! And one of the the things we're most excited about is which allegedly deserving show receives the purportedly honorable title of Outstanding Drama Series. Will it be GH, for arguably its worst year ever? Or Guiding Light, in what could be its last year in existence, a possibly imaginary soap that if real lately includes more gimmicks than a used car lot? Will it be Y&R, and if so, will the many viewers it has bored into a coma ever be made aware of the victory? Or will it be One Life to Live, the show that there appears to be consensus among viewers and critics is actually the best? We managed to type that last sentence without dissolving into fits of laughter somehow, but seriously, y'all aren't actually expecting the best show to win the best show award, are you? You are too cute.
You know the drill: After the jump, watch, read, vote, comment. Woohoo!
In our most recent Soap Opera Digest column, we were all about the Daytime Emmys. After the jump, our thoughts about the nominations, our outrage over several snubs, our fervent hope that two certain shows don't walk away with the title of Outstanding Daytime Drama and a plan to make Kirsten Storms a faux Emmy to call her own.
The Emmys are the day after tomorrow and we could not be more excited. Tonight, we take a look at the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress, a category also known as "CBS Actresses A-Go-Go." After the jump, their reels and your chance to vote for who you think deserves the Emmy and who you think will win.
Our hypercritical look at the reels submitted by the Emmy nominees has brought us to our most favorite category, Outstanding Lead Actor. These men are actually on shows that we know for a fact exist and the nominations themselves almost make total sense. Almost.
You know the drill: after the jump, watch their clips and vote for who you think should win and who you think will win.
The Daytime Emmys are fast approaching and tonight, we take a look at the nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress. After the jump, their submitted reels and your chance to pick who deserves to win and who you think the voters will award.
In case you missed your chance to play Emmy voter for the other categories, take a look at days 1, 2 and 3 of our countdown. It's all the fun of getting to choose your favorite without the debilitating chemical dependency and lack of taste that goes with being one of the official voters.
Our Emmy countdown continues and today we take a look at the gentlemen nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor. After the jump: their Emmy reels and your chance to pick who you think should win, and who you think will go home with the title.
We continue to look at the Emmy nominees with our ever-judgey eyes and turn to Younger Actress, also known as the WTFiest category to ever WTF. We know that's not the most eloquent statement we've ever made, but...seriously.
After the jump: watch their Emmy reels and let us know which of these illustrious ladies should win, and who you think will go home with the Emmy.
It's the most wonderful time of the year! A week from today is the endlessly awesome event known as the Daytime Emmy Awards. Our Serial Drama Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza will start with the red carpet arrivals at 7 and go on through the ceremony, which airs live at 8pm on ABC, hosted by The View's Sheri Shepherd and Pine Valley's own Cameron Mathison.
To kickoff Emmy week, we're going to do what we do best: judge others and ask you, dear readers, to do the same. This week, we're posting clips of the Emmy nominees and asking who you think will win, and who you think should win. It's fun for the whole family!
We're going to start by turning our attention to the Younger Actor category, a category that has always confused us. Younger than who, exactly? John Ingle? We don't understand.
Darin Brooks as Max Brady, Days of Our Lives
He's very charming and likable, but...isn't this kind of a weird episode to submit? It barely even registered that Max was even in any of the scenes. This is likely the only Emmy reel in history that starts with the phrase "Virgin sex on the beach" and includes the old tie-a-cherry-stem-with-your-tongue trick, so that's something.
Oh, but Cher Horowitz says lose the chin pubes.
Van Hansis as Luke Snyder, As The World Turns
It's the famous "Nuke" we've been hearing and reading so much about! This was a great reel for Hansis; emotional without being over the top, soapy without being cheesy.
Just think, the GH writers could have done a similar story with Lucas. You know, if they didn't suck.
Most notably, Hansis is the only nominate in this category without a serious hair (head or facial) don't, on which basis alone he should walk away with the statue. Don't you wish we decided all the winners?
Bryton McClure as Devon Hamilton, The Young and the Restless
Mallory wants to point out that this makes up about 98% of Bryton's screentime this year. Becca would like to note that she was unable to pay any attention to McClure's performance because of his troubling embracing of the chin-only facial hair trend. And also because he started it off by carrying a hardsided briefcase. Which no one under the age of 60 has done in at least a decade. And this is the Allegedly Younger Actor category, so that was especially confusing!
Tom Pelphrey as Jonathan Randall, Guiding Light
If more than seven people watched Guiding Light, we could inquire about those rumors that Pelphrey can sometimes lean towards the scenery-chewing side of intense. As GL viewership is going nowhere but down, we are forced to just appreciate the watchable intensity of these scenes and also implore this particular younger actor to step away from the Gold's Gym ponytail.
Jesse Lee Soffer as Will Munson, As The World Turns
Dude: The hair. Unacceptable. Were you trying to make your scene partner feel better about her hair? Because that's not possible. Also, we don't want her to feel good about that hair. False coif confidence is dangerous; it's probably what got her into this 80s-mall-'do situation to begin with.
Oh, the performance? Good. Particularly given the spectacularly unsoapy topic of . . . savings bonds. Seriously, CBS? This might be why 17 people combined watch GL and ATWT.
Be sure to pick up a copy of the June 17th issue of Soap Opera Digest, on newsstands today. In this month's My Take/My Take, Too, Becca and Mallory take on the Daytime Emmy award nominations and share their thoughts on the biggest snubs, the most outrageous nods and their fervent hope for red carpet awesomeness. This marks the offical start of our second annual Serial Drama Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza, so make sure to stop by over the coming days for Emmy posts, polls and predictions leading up to the show on Friday, June 20th.
Tonight's the night! We are all set to make our broadcast debut at 10 PM tonight on In The Zone Radio.
We're incredibly excited to join the gracious hosts for what will surely be a fun evening of soap dishing. We're going to try really hard not to pepper too many sentences with "dude"s (Becca) and "like"s (Mallory).
We hope that you can tune in tonight! If you want to call in, please do! (Remember, it's your job not to make us seem like reader-less losers!) The number is (347) 996-5978. Or you can IM via AIM at InTheZoneRadio, or email questions to inthezone@sonuni.com.
If you can't listen tonight, fear not: The interview will be available as a podcast, so you won't need to miss one hypercritical moment.
Updated 5/7:
Well, we debuted. The host and at least a couple of listeners thought
we were
unfunny in person as opposed to in writing, and said so, which wasn't
the highlight of our lives but it mostly got better from there. And
seriously, it's not like we haven't put a lot of criticism out into the
atmosphere; it was bound to boomerang on us. Doing the show was really
a fun experience and we truly
appreciate the opportunity. Thanks very much to In the Zone Radio for
having us on!
If you want to check out the podcast, it's available here
in the upper right corner. (Mallory starts at the 8:42 mark, Becca
joins at 13:15, and we get called unfunny at around 52:30 and several
times thereafter. There's about a 75-minute live show and then we
stayed on after that for an off-air chat.) Since clearly we are in the
process of expanding our multi-media empire, next on the list is an
all-shirtless touring production of Xanadu starring James Scott, Jason Thompson, Peter
Bergman, and Greg Vaughn. We'll keep you posted.
There are few things in life that Becca and I enjoy more than the Daytime Emmys, as readers may remember from our 2007 Serial Drama Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza. It's a win-win situation for us, you know? If our favorites are nominated, we get to feel the exciting validation of "Yes! A strange body of voters who are prone to terrible mistakes agree that our favorite person to be named in the prehistoric prenom process should have a one in five chance of being called the year's best! Wooo!" and if they get snubbed, we can get our moral outrage on, all "How dare they not recognize the brilliance of [Insert Snubbed Actor Here]?! As God is my witness, I will never care about shoddily produced awards shows again!"
So between the potential for celebration AND criticism, we're on cloud nine and then if you throw in glorious or fugly fashion AND supermodels being upstaged by Muppets, it's pretty clear that this is the most wonderful time of the year.
Um...to sum these nominations up, I only have this to say: ...???...?!?!...???...
(and also: SUCK IT, BRIAN FRONS!)
(But mostly ...???...?!?!...???...)
Outstanding Younger Actor
Van Hansis (Luke, As the World Turns)
Jesse Lee Soffer (ex-Will, As The World Turns)
Darin Brooks (Max, Days of Our Lives)
Tom Pelphrey (ex-Jonathan, Guiding Light)
Bryton McClure (Devon, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Younger Actress
Jennifer Landon (ex-Gwen, As The World Turns)
Rachel Melvin (Chelsea, Days of Our Lives)
Vail Bloom (Heather, The Young and the Restless)
Emily O'Brien (Jana, The Young and the Restless)
Tammin Sursok (Colleen, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Supporting Actor
Trent Dawson (Henry, As the World Turns)
Daniel Cosgrove (Bill, Guiding Light)
Brian Kerwin (Charlie, One Life to Live)
Kristoff St. John (Neil, The Young and the Restless)
Greg Rikaart (Kevin, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Supporting Actress
Kelley Hensley (Emily, As The World Turns)
Heather Tom (Katie, The Bold and the Beautiful)
Judi Evens (ex-Adrienne, Days of Our Lives)
Gina Tognoni (Dinah, Guiding Light)
Tracey Bregman (Lauren, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Lead Actor
David Canary (Adam/Stuart, All My Children)
Thaao Penghlis (Tony/ex-Andre, Days of Our Lives)
Anthony Geary (Luke, General Hospital)
Peter Bergman (Jack, The Young and the Restless)
Christian Leblanc (Michael, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Lead Actress
Maura West (Carly, As The World Turns)
Crystal Chappell (Olivia, Guiding Light)
Nicole Forester (Cassie, Guiding Light)
Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, The Young and the Restless)
Jeanne Cooper (Katherine, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Daytime Drama
General Hospital
Guiding Light
One Life to Live
The Young and the Restless
Thoughts about the nominees, after the jump! And remember--we don't watch some of the soaps nominated, so I'll only comment on the ones I know. Please feel free to share your thoughts about the nominations for As the World Turns, The Bold and the Beautiful, Guiding Light, One Life to Live and Passions in the comments.
As you may have noticed, we at Serial Drama are fans of the aesthetically pleasing. We love pretty things. And when pretty people wear pretty things, it comes close to making our black little hearts feel something akin to happiness.
And when people wear heinous things, well...actually, it still makes our black little hearts feel something akin to happiness, since we enjoy mockery more than almost anything.
So last night's Daytime Emmys made us happy for one reason or another. There was the sublime, and the ridiculous, and we loved each and every one.
Our Picks For Best Dressed:
Our Picks For Worst Dressed:
And then there was Peggy McCay. I don't even think it qualifies as a worst dressed; it's somehow even more evil than that. It's like the video in The Ring. In seven days, Peggy is going to come out of your television and smother you with her poncho.
We made it through the fashion triumphs and failures, now it's time to mock admire the life's work of a large room full of professionals!
Continue reading "The Daytime Emmys Live Blogging Extravaganza!" »
Start your hyper-critical engines, the Emmys are here!
