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Michael Logan's Best of 2007: Supersized Edition!
Catherine Hickland by Donna Svennevik/ABC; Melody Thomas Scott courtesy CBS; Jon Hensley courtesy CBS
Best Soap: One Life to Live
It started the year utterly crappy thanks to head writer Dena Higley, but after Erika Slezak (our hero!) royally blasted Higley on the Web, ABC fired the scribe and promoted wonder boy Ron Carlivati. Like magic, the show instantly regained its heart, its thrills, its smarts. The cast is a dream, especially Slezak, whose Viki found heaven in a Texas diner, Catherine Hickland as crazy (or is she?) Lindsay and Tuc Watkins as that gold-digging man-whore David. Once again, we're loving Life!
Best Actress: The Young and the Restless' Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki)
As the distraught mama faced with divorce and a comatose daughter, she pulled out all the stops, then pulled out a few more we never knew existed. This was deep, blistering work. Plus the lady gets extra points for acting sans makeup on high-def TV!
Best Actor: As the World Turns' Jon Hensley (Holden)
His quiet, no-baloney performance was a relief in a year of so much male showboating. Whether playing Holden's tender relationship with his gay son or his righteous anger toward his cheating wife, Hensley felt no need to dazzle us. He simply opened up his soul.
Best Supporting Actress: General Hospital's Carolyn Hennesy (Diane)
Her turn as a mafia lawyer was a savage, bitchy hoot, though there'll be no Emmy love here — her category is inevitably hogged by leading ladies afraid to compete as best actress. But make no mistake: This is the supporting performance of the year.
Best Supporting Actor: GH: Night Shift's Graham Shiels (Cody)
He took a role that is already a cliché — the stressed-out, dope-addicted Iraq War vet — and infused it with great decency and humanity. But what was this transcendent actor doing on a third-rate soap spin-off? He should be a major movie star.
Star of the Year: Guiding Light's Caitlin Van Zandt (Ashlee)
Sweet, touching, funny and not a size 2, she's the most exciting young thing to hit soaps since... well, maybe ever. Van Zandt's character, a love-struck teen warped by her glam monster mommy, is more than a revelation — she's proof soaps have been doing it wrong for years. We don't want to see plastic, runway-gorgeous kids. We want to see real ones.
More Performances I Loved
Martha Byrne's sad, mesmerizing turn as the pill-popping Lily on ATWT.... Ted Shackelford, back from the dead as William's slimy twin Jeffrey on Y&R.... The indescribably delicious Orlagh Cassidy as GL's mommie dearest Doris.... Hill Street Blues vet Bruce Weitz as GH's crackpot mobster Anthony Zacchara. Ditto GH's Kirsten Storms, whose Maxie gave the eulogy from hell at her sister's funeral. Scorching!
Death also brought out the best in Martha Madison as Days of Our Lives' Belle. (Sorry, Deidre Hall, but it was Madison who stole the show when John Black was "killed" in a hit-and- run.) And though we didn't need further proof that Days sucks the talent out of pretty much everybody, we got it anyway: Two Salem escapees soared in new soap roles — Austin Peck as ATWT's goofy, high-octane Brad, and Farah Fath as OLTL's Gigi, a waitress with a hidden past — proving they do have the chops after all.
Best Episode
GL's 70th-anniversary hour, a loving, cockle-warming tribute to the show's legendary creator Irna Phillips, the mother of all soap scribes. The cast had a ball turning back the clock and playing their predecessors on radio and the early days of TV, but it was Beth Ehlers (Harley) as the fire-and-ice Phillips who had me genuflecting. A glorious performance.
Best Plots
The revelation that David is Asa's secret son on OLTL.... Demon seed Will's reign of terror on GL (casting that creepy little kid from The Omen was a stroke of brilliance!).... The "Who Shot Stephanie?" story on The Bold and the Beautiful — crafty, exciting, campy and, best of all, the culprit turned out to be an important character, not just some disposable day player.... I also must give props to the bold, historic love story between gay teens Luke and Noah on ATWT. Yes, even though the writing went horribly awry when Luke was shot in the forest by Noah's queer-hating dad. And, yes, despite the fact that the show clearly lost its nerve as the year went on, witness that Christmas kiss between the boys where the camera panned away just before lip contact and lingered on the mistletoe instead. Hey, Procter & Gamble, what's up with that?
Coming up in the next issue of TV Guide magazine: the worst daytime had to offer this past year, including death-by-pancakes, Days' most-questionable plot twist and the soap moment that out-grossed all others.
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Dec 27, 2007 4:32 PM
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Mr. Logan needs to double-check his calendar. GUIDING LIGHT's seventy-FIFTH anniversary? That won't happen until 2012.
Let's hope the light lasts that long..
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Dec 28, 2007 4:51 AM
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Deidre Hall and Martha Madison were great after John's death, but it was James Reynolds and Leann Hunley's eulogies at his funeral that really brought the house down. And god.....do NOT encourage the hideous writing and character assassination Brad Bell's been inflicting upon B&B. To call that show a shadow of its former glory would still be better than it deserves.
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Dec 28, 2007 7:24 AM
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GUIDING LIGHT's seventy-FIFTH anniversary? That won't happen until 2012.
This has been edited, thank you.
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Dec 28, 2007 7:42 AM
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Melody Scott truly did her thing this year. It's too bad she hasn't been recognized by the Emmys recently.
But I loved Kathy Brier's (Marcy- OLTL) work as well. I can't wait for that storyline to be over, though
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Dec 28, 2007 9:27 AM
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Thank you for singling out Carolyn Hennesy on GH - her Diane has been a highlight for a dreary Port Charles. Also I was one of the few who also enjoyed Bruce Weitz as Anthony Z but Brandon Barash who is playing Johnny Z deserves to be singled out. He turned Johnny Z from a crazy son of a mobster into an intriguing character -- and start of a possible Johnny/Lulu relationship.
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Dec 28, 2007 10:00 AM
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[Note: These comments contain a sentence that might be considered a spoiler for Days of Our Lives.]
To call that show a shadow of its former glory would still be better than it deserves. - hamactor1
Let's face it -- every soap currently on the air isn't as good as it used to be.
That said, B&B is a sometimes-campy show that works.
Days of Our Lives, on the other hand, cluelessly bounces along, giving all appearances of a show produced by Ringling Bros.
So now John Black (Drake Hogestyn) might not be dead after all? WOW! What a shock!
Well, not really -- no one ever stays dead on Days of Our Lives.
I mean, after the Captive Island storyline of 2004, how can anyone ever seriously get all het up about a death on Days? All one has to do is wait a month or two.
Yes, other shows bring back dead characters, too -- but Days has raised the practice to an absurdly predictable art (?) form.
Does Days hold one's attention? Yes, but only in the same way a carnival sideshow does.
This isn't to say that there aren't some good actors on Days. But as Michael Logan said, the show "sucks the talent out of pretty much everybody."
For some reason, in spite of -- or perhaps because of -- its ineptitude, Days has always had an inexplicably rabid fan base.
Any time the show makes a storyline misstep or gets dissed by a magazine, the Stepford fans go Jihad.
And for years, Days dominated in the viewer-voted Soap Opera Awards -- even in sub-par years -- because of well-orchestrated fanbase mobilization.
Like the Hulk, the message from Days fans always seems to be "you wouldn't like us when we're angry!"
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Dec 28, 2007 11:04 AM
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Thanks, Michael, for naming OLTL as Best Soap. The beginning of 2007 was indeed dreary, but Lanview has really stepped up to the plate. Finally, the best actresses on the show have story lines - Vicki in Paris, TX, Dorian losing her man yet again.
Now, if they could only keep their people of color on the show it would be fantastic. They let Renee slip through their fingers and where is that great villan RJ? OLTL was the 1st show to feature a major Black story line (Carla, Ed and Mama). Why can't they stick with the families that they create? Y&R does it (and well!), why can't OLTL? Well, that's a discussion for another article.
The best epis - Asa's funeral and reading of the will. Loved the nod to past important characters and how it incorporated new reveals. I'm hoping TPTB capitalize on the new relationships that were forced on characters by Asa's will. However, please stop the icky fake-Buchanan son/Natalie love story. That character (can't remember his name) is just icky to begin with. Pairing him with Natalie was eye-roll worthy and now, although he is her faux-uncle, she still desires him? Yuck!
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Dec 28, 2007 11:35 AM
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I like the Jared Banks storyline because the writers let the audience in on his lie nearly from the get go. It would've have been dreadful if they did what Y&R did and made Billy and Mac cousins. But the fact that Jared's father is connected with a former Buchanan, Vicki and Dorian knows the truth (but won't tell Clint), is what soap operas should be all about. Layers. Jared Banks is a boring character that probably should've been offed three months ago, but this situation is juicy.
And it's cool that the pros still get their screen time. But any show works best when EVERYONE had a good storyline AND could ACT, even the little tweens.
And that's what I like about OLTL this year. Talia/Antonio are probably in the dullest, supposedly-difficult relationship on that show. But the writers convinced me to like them. Meanwhile, nearly every important character on Y&R is stuck in the crumbling Clear Springs building, and I couldn't care less.
It's a shame that a male writer had to take the reigns from a female at OLTL to make it work again.
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Dec 28, 2007 12:07 PM
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Melody Thomas Scott and Jon Hensley were just great!
And I really hope ATWT keeps Luke/Noah going and doesn't back down like the Christmas show implied. If either of them gets gay-bashed they'll lose me as a viewer forever.
I personally think ATWT was the best soap this year.
End of the year changes by Miracle Worker HW Ron Carlivati don't make OLTL the best show for THE YEAR.
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Dec 28, 2007 2:00 PM
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I can only hope that 2008 will bring positive changes for All My Children. 2007 was horrible for AMC. I hope that more vets like Julia Barr, Robin Christopher, and Cady McLain will return. Kate Collins should be put on contract, pronto. The Laverys, Careys,Erica's Fetus Son, and Aiden need to go away. Give us new writers who understand the show and have the characters start acting like real people and stop shoving the same 5 or 6 characters at us. Give the Greenlee/Ryan/Kendall show a rest! I'm glad Rebecca Budig is coming back (although I feel sorry for Sabine Singh), but I'm going to barf if they saddle her with Cameron Mathison again.
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Dec 28, 2007 2:15 PM
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I personally think ATWT was the best soap this year.
You mean, with Carly faking her tumor and acting like a self-absorbed child who still hasn't learned that liars never get what they want? Really?
Or with Meg staying with Craig even before she got pregnant? Really?
And Rosanna acting like a desperate old maid for a man who doesn't even love her? Really?
I don't even want to remember how lame it was to watch Jack leaving Katie at the altar for Carly. Or how he actually agreed to marry Carry because he thought she was about to die. But I can't help it. That happened THIS YEAR too.
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Dec 28, 2007 2:21 PM
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Days will be the break out show in 2008 and OLTL will be right there. OLTL has the most black actors then any other show does and they are front and center.
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Dec 28, 2007 2:48 PM
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Chappy Quiddick:
Let's face it -- every soap currently on the air isn't as good as it used to be.
That said, B&B is a sometimes-campy show that works.
Then you're seeing something my friends and I aren't. That show's been a miserable hamster wheel for the last five or so years. All the rich complexity and magnetism Stephanie once held is gone, reduced to a one-note domineering bully. Whatever potential Eric ever had has been flushed away. Worse still, Bell INSISTS on shoving those characters back together every time when it's painfully clear that all the steam ran out of that pairing years ago.
Perfectly good characters have been driven off the canvas (Erica? Oscar? CJ, for god's sake?), stories and pairings with potential have been started and quickly aborted (CJ/Bridget, Eric/Jackie, Eric/Pam, Deacon/Macy, Bridget/Nick--which was passed over because EVERY guy has to get in Brooke's pants). The great Joe Mascolo was wasted after his initial story ended, to the extent that he quit out of boredom. Lesley Anne Down STILL doesn't have a purpose, and the one big arc she had was that "prostitution" thing, which was one of the most unnecessarily humiliating and insulting stories I can remember. Darla was killed off because Bell didn't know what to do with her anymore. When they finally scored with Felicia's cancer story, the reactions were so good that Bell weaseled out of it, a HEINOUS choice that robbed the story of all its power. And let's not forget Sally was left to sit around and do nothing for years while her company was basically used as a revolving halfway house for whenever someone threw a fit and decided to leave Forrester. Sheila's daughter was brought on, thrown into the mix, then yanked away. (And I refuse to even address that whole disgusting island arc where she returned with a baby.) When they attempted something new and daring, Eric's planned fling with the young intern Thomas was after, people complained and that was halted too.
The show relied for too many years on its core cast, seemingly refusing to introduce enough non-Forresters, leading to a litany of incestuous relationships and the scary realization that there wasn't enough foundation there anymore to keep things going after Flannery leaves. So then we got Bell scrambling to establish the Marones as a secondary core, which of course failed because he was too inept to write for them. He's done a decent job reinstating the Logan clan, but hell...even a broken clock's right twice a day.
Nothing ever changes, and no one ever learns. All that business with Stephanie and her mother began with great fanfare then petered out and led to absolutely nothing. Pam disappeared for months (again because Bell couldn't or wouldn't write for her) and just comes and goes at his whim; I guess we're to assume Ann's STILL rattling around out back in the guest house. Who knows, we'll probably never see her again. Stephanie never changed as promised after that story "taught" her what was behind her demeanor--she's still a bully, and why shouldn't she be? We've learned that no matter what she does, everyone always forgives her, and Eric ALWAYS takes her back. Bell made the weak, insulting choice of not addressing Darlene Conley's death with that WEAK crap about Sally moving to Europe--and I think it was months before he even threw us that bone. (I met Bobbie Eakes this spring, btw, and asked her opinion on that--she didn't like it either.) Brooke's still a dumb two-dollar whore, and we're getting into the 21st year of that same old back-and-forth with her and Ridge. Kids have been born and put through college since those two met, and STILL nothing's changed.
B&B may have been the best show around even as recently as a few years ago, but now it's just a disaster.
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Dec 28, 2007 8:31 PM
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It's so great to see OLTL getting it's due. After two headwriter regimes that were watchable, but not memorable, Ron Carlivati was able to reinvent the show, utilizing it's greatest strengths - its cast, its history - to make the last half of the year sheer brilliance.
Now when we get to Worst Soap, I'm betting the bank it's going to be AMC, which is in desperate shape with very little potential to regain its viewership.
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Dec 28, 2007 8:34 PM
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