The 40TH ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS

Emmy predictions:
Mike

Posted Monday, June 03, 2013 1:43:05 PM
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Emmy Predictions

MIKE BRADFORD

MIKE BRADFORD

Mike is a regular recapper of Days of our Lives for Soap Central. He has been a fan of Days of our Lives for over 15 years, but he also watches The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and General Hospital on a regular basis. This is his third year as an official Emmy predictor for soapcentral.com.

Previous Predictions
2012: 3 for 8
2011: 4 for 8



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OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

The Bold and the Beautiful
 
  This year, each nominated soap was allowed to submit two episodes instead of one. Three of the five soaps chose to submit consecutive episodes, while the other two submitted episodes that aired months apart from each other and, consequently, showcased completely different storylines in each episode.

I suspect that the edge is going to go to one of the soaps that submitted back-to-back episodes -- Y&R, B&B, or OLTL. Days of our Lives and GH's reels might not resonate with the voters because the choices are seemingly random. They aren't necessarily bad choices -- they just don't offer the same sort of "complete package" resolution that the other three soaps offered in their respective reels. Obviously, I'd love to see Days of our Lives win the award, but I don't expect that to happen. I wish that they had chosen two episodes from their "DAYSaster" storyline or two episodes that focused on either Chandler Massey or Eileen Davidson's storyline -- two of the strongest tales that the show told last year, each of which involved some of the best actors in daytime television.

It's never wise to count GH out in this category -- the show has been generating a lot of buzz lately and has won the award more than any other soap, even in years when many viewers believed that it was not at its creative best. I tend to attribute this to the fact that GH -- like B&B (at least in recent years) -- knows how to play the game, so to speak. GH likes to submit big "event" episodes that typically involve a lot of explosive drama -- sometimes quite literally -- and B&B has recently gained a reputation for submitting episodes that focus on social issues that tug at the heartstrings and almost seem to have been written specifically to secure an Emmy win. Both strategies are quite effective, since the coveted award is won on the strength of a single episode (or two, in this year's case) instead of being indicative of an entire year's worth of work. GH did that with one of their episodes this year, but I'm surprised that they chose to also submit a completely unrelated episode instead of doubling down on that strategy. I expect that choice to cost them the trophy.

That leaves Y&R, B&B, and OLTL. I liked Y&R's choices, but the actual death of Stephanie Forrester kind of trumps the presumed death of Victor Newman, so I think that it's going to be a battle between B&B and OLTL. B&B once again plays the somewhat heavy-handed emotion card that has proven to be extremely effective in the past, and OLTL offers the final two episodes that aired before its unwarranted cancellation. OLTL's final year was quite good, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them win, but that seems like less of a sure thing now that everyone knows that this won't necessarily be the last chance for that to happen (assuming that OLTL and AMC remain eligible to compete in their new online format).

I'm going for the safe bet -- B&B -- but I would much rather see OLTL or Days of our Lives win the award. I won't be surprised if there's a tie in this category, although it probably won't be the tie that I would like to see.

Who will win: The Bold and the Beautiful

Who should win: One Life to Live or Days of our Lives

Doug Davidson

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR
Doug Davidson
Paul Williams
 
  Peter Bergman and Michael Muhney's reels each suffer from the same problem -- there's too much going on in each of them. Bergman is strongest at the beginning of his reel, when Jack confronts Billy about Billy's betrayal, but then Jack's focused on business in the middle of the reel and health problems at the end of the reel, and things just never get back to the level that they were at in the beginning. This is also the case in Muhney's reel, which is also strongest at the beginning, when Chelsea lashes out at Adam, and loses steam after that, when Adam's focus turns to the two things that Chelsea is most upset about -- business and Sharon. Both actors have some good moments in their reels, but I just don't think that there's enough in either reel to win the coveted award.

That leaves Jason Thompson and Doug Davidson. Thompson's reel is the shortest one, and I think that it's probably a bit too subtle. Yes, it's sad to watch a husband deal with the death of his beloved wife, but there's just not much to this particular reel, and I suspect that Thompson probably had better performances during this storyline that he could have chosen instead.

Doug Davidson's reel is exactly what Bergman and Muhney's reels aren't -- a strong reel that has a singular focus throughout. Davidson's performance is emotional and riveting from beginning to end, doesn't go off on an unrelated tangent in the middle, and ends on a particularly high note. I think that he's the obvious winner here, but with the amount of buzz that GH has been getting for its creative resurgence in 2012, I wouldn't be completely surprised if Thompson managed to secure the victory.

Who will win: Doug Davidson (Paul Williams, Y&R)
Who should win: Doug Davidson

Peggy McCay

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS
Peggy McCay
Caroline Brady
 
  Wow, this category is so much tougher than the Lead Actor category this year (but I've said that every single year that I've participated in the Emmy predictions, so there's that). Any of these women could win the award, and I wouldn't complain at all.

I feel like B&B probably has the best shot of taking home the trophy, but when a show has two strong actresses engaged in a friendly competition for the award, there's always a chance that they could end up splitting the votes and allowing a dark horse to take the win. Obviously, Susan Flannery's reel has a finality to it that might resonate with voters -- "This is our last chance to give Flannery a trophy!" -- but Heather Tom won last year, and she submitted a reel this year that's certainly capable of securing a repeat victory.

Let's face it -- Flannery and Tom have each had their fair share of victories in the past. While that shouldn't matter in the end -- the trophy should go to the most deserving person, period -- in a tough category like this one, it might be a deciding factor. Michelle Stafford has also won twice -- once in this category, and once in the Supporting Actress category -- and if I had to choose the weakest of these four reels, it would be hers, but I have always loved Stafford. She's a great actress, she's always fun to watch, and I'm going to miss her when she leaves Y&R in June.

Peggy McCay is the only person in this category who has never won an Emmy. I would love to see her win, and I think that she has a pretty good shot of doing so. Her reel is very strong, but it isn't quite as long as Flannery's, and it's less than half the length of Tom's, so that might hurt her chances. Still, I'm giving her the edge, because this category is such a toss-up anyway, and Days of our Lives has always been my favorite soap opera.

There could easily be a tie in this category, but I'm only going to pick one winner, since anything else would feel like cheating. I want McCay to win, and I believe that she has a real shot at doing so, but I suspect that she might need some help from the aforementioned split-vote factor to secure the victory.

Who will win: Peggy McCay (Caroline Brady, DAYS)
Who should win: Peggy McCay

Scott Clifton

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
Scott Clifton
Liam Spencer
 
  I'm sensing some déjà vu here, and not just because Peter Bergman and Billy Miller chose the same episode for their respective Emmy reels. Once again, Y&R has two actors whose reels lose focus in the middle. Miller's reel is strongest at the beginning -- I might even argue that he trumped Bergman in their confrontation scene -- and Jeff Branson's reel is strongest at the end, but neither reel is solid throughout.

I don't like Spinelli. I never have. He irritates me. However, Bradford Anderson chose a reel where Spinelli wasn't being so...Spinelli, and that was a wise choice. For once, Anderson showed a Spinelli who wasn't pretending to be a film noir character or using silly nicknames to describe his scene partners. His reel also has a singular focus throughout, and I think that's important, but it does lose a bit of steam toward the end.

GH's recent buzz could lead to a victory for Anderson, but I think that Scott Clifton is the clear winner here. Clifton's reel doesn't just maintain momentum the entire time -- it builds momentum, ending on a particularly strong note. I think that Clifton is going to go down in history as the first person to win an Emmy for portraying a character with red skunk-striped hair and a neck tattoo who spends half of the reel wearing only his boxers. That arguably warrants a special trophy, but I'm sure that he'll be happy with the normal one.

Who will win: Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, B&B)
Who should win: Scott Clifton

Arianne Zucker

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Arianne Zucker
Nicole Walker
 
  Again, this category is much tougher than the Supporting Actor category is. Any of these five women could feasibly win the award -- in fact, this is another category where the possibility of a tie is not entirely inconceivable -- but I think that Arianne Zucker's performance is the standout here, and I'm not just saying that because of my Days of our Lives bias. She's a phenomenal actress, and it's heartbreaking to hear her talk about losing a second child. Yes, even more heartbreaking than seeing Katherine Kelly Lang say a tearful goodbye to Stephanie.

Who will win: Arianne Zucker (Nicole Walker, DAYS)
Who should win: Arianne Zucker

Chandler Massey

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR
Chandler Massey
Will Horton
 
  Without question, Chandler Massey. This wasn't even necessarily his best performance of 2012, and it's still miles ahead of everyone else's. No other soap opera has an actor in the under-twenty-five age bracket who is anywhere close to being able to compete with him. In fact, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Massey dominated this category for the next three or four years that he is eligible to compete in it (assuming that he remains on the show long enough to do so).

It would be cool to see a tie between Massey and Freddie Smith, whom I also love, just so that fans could see both of the men in this stellar Days of our Lives storyline share the stage, but I firmly believe that the award should go to the most deserving person instead of being used to make statements or create "moments." Massey's reel is the clear standout here, and he deserves to be the sole victor.

Who will win: Chandler Massey (Will Horton, DAYS)
Who should win: Chandler Massey

Kristen Alderson

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS
Kristen Alderson
Starr Manning
 
  For me, there's no clear winner in this category. Kristen Alderson's reel is good, but the inclusion of flashbacks makes it seem a bit disjointed to me. Jacqueline MacInnes Woods's reel is good, but it's an understated performance -- it's not big, loud, and flashy -- so it doesn't scream "Emmy-winning material." Hunter Haley King's reel is good, but it takes a while to get to the really juicy stuff. Lindsey Morgan's reel has lots of tears, just like Alderson's reel, but it just didn't do as much for me. I've never liked Kristina, though, so that could be part of the problem.

Personally, I really like King's reel, but this is probably Alderson's race to lose.

Who will win: Kristen Alderson
Who should win: Hunter Haley King


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OUTSTANDING WRITING IN A DRAMA SERIES
The Bold and the Beautiful
 
  B&B will probably win, but OLTL should win based solely on the strength of Erika Slezak's moving monologue about the power of soaps.

Who will win: The Bold and the Beautiful
Who should win: One Life to Live


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OUTSTANDING DIRECTING IN A DRAMA SERIES
Days of our Livese
 
  I'm giving the edge to Days of our Lives. I'd like to see the show win something for its "DAYSaster" storyline, and whether you loved that storyline or hated it, it's hard to argue that it wasn't well directed.

Who will win: Days of our Lives

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