DAN J KROLL
Dan is the founder and editor of Soap Central. His "must see" soap is All My Children, but in order to maintain the site he does watch most of the nine soaps on a regular basis. Dan started Soap Central as part of his personal home page in 1995. A resident of Philadelphia, he does somehow find time to do things that are non-soap-related, including sports, music, and enjoying the great Pennsylvania countryside. Last year marked Dan's best prediction, as he picked 5 of the 8 winners correctly.
Previous Predictions
2006: 5 for 8
2005: 3 for 8
2004: 0 for 8
2003: 2 for 8
2002: 2 for 8
2001: 1 for 8
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
So here's the dilemma for this year's Outstanding Drama Series race: an argument can be made that every one of the nominees could or should win the honor for top soap. One Life to Live, the sole non-CBS nominee, had two great submissions -- an execution and a funeral (not for the same person). Even though the almost execution of a main soap character has been done before (Days of our Lives did it several years back with Sami Brady) and everyone just knew that Todd wasn't really going to be put to death... there's a certain adrenaline rush involved in watching the character's life slowly tick away... like sands through the hour glass. Guiding Light has to be seen as the front runner in the category since it was the top nomination-getter for this year's Emmys. It amuses me a show ranked second-to-last in the ratings (and it's also been on the air longer than any other scripted series in television history) has essentially been dubbed the best. Guiding Light truly is a quality show -- and it is easy to watch even if you've never seen an episode of the long-running soap. Meanwhile, you have a show like The Young and the Restless, which has been the top rated soap for squillions of years now. Some argue that Y&R is top-billed because of its The Price is Right lead-in. Others feel that the show offers one of the most inclusive casts and tells the best story. So is it possible that people expect more from Y&R because it is the number one drama series on daytime television? One of the episodes that Y&R submitted for Emmy consideration was a stand alone episode that featured musings about how Carmen Mesta could have been murdered. The episode was very-much hyped... but I found it a little stale. It seemed as if the show tried too hard to come up with scenarios for all of the dozen or so suspects. Elsewhere, 30-minute powerhouse The Bold and the Beautiful has been ranked just behind Y&R in the ratings for just about as long as I can remember. Again, many argue that it benefits ratings-wise from its lead-in -- which is The Young and the Restless. B&B submitted clips that involved a surprising backstory: the hellish childhood of Stephanie Forrester, played by multiple Emmy winner Susan Flannery. Flannery, oddly, did not receive an Emmy nod this year. Also interesting is that Emmy winner Betty White (of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls fame) was not even considered for an Emmy nomination, even though she powered many of the scenes that made B&B so watchable last year. I think viewers still think of White as the ditzy Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls. That may play to her benefit when she is sassing about dog poo on a program like ABC's primetime legal drama Boston Legal or denying the fact that she looked the other way while her husband abused their child, as was the case on B&B. This is only the third time that The Bold and the Beautiful has been nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series field (OLTL also earned its third nod this year, but it also has one win in the category).
Who I'd like to win: The Bold and the Beautiful
Who should win: The Bold and the Beautiful
Who will win: The Bold and the Beautiful
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR
Based purely on the length of the material submitted, Ricky Paull Goldin should win this category. I also think that Goldin should win based upon the content of the material submitted. It's not quite the same thing, but watching Gus' detox scenes made me have a flashback to 80s and the detox from morphine of Albert Ingalls on Little House On the Prairie. It's one of the episods of that show that I remember clearly from start to finish. Anyway, let's move back to the 2000s. There is a little bit of a speed bump for Goldin: there have been reports on other message boards by Emmy voters that there were some sort of audio glitches in Goldin's reel. Would someone really not vote for someone because of some technical issues? Well, that's apparently what kept Michelle Stafford from winning a few years back. Then there's another wrinkle: Tony Geary. It's very hard to not vote for this man. I don't know if Geary is the best actor on daytime television -- but he is a great actor. He's racked up four previous Emmy wins, which equals the total wins of all the other nominees in this category. Then there is Michael Park from As the World Turns. I would just like to see this man win an Emmy. I'm not entirely sure that I can explain why. I've chatted with him on the Red Carpet in the past, he seems like a nice guy and I enjoy his work on ATWT. But... in one of his submissions he played second fiddle to Maura West. And I don't know that you can win a Lead anything if you aren't the lead performer in the scene.
Who I'd like to win: Michael Park
Who should win: Ricky Paull Goldin
Who will win: Ricky Paull Goldin
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Kim Zimmer Show! One year after snagging her fourth Daytime Emmy and declaring that she'd probably never submit her name for Emmy consideration... Kim Zimmer is once again on the final ballot for Outstanding Lead Actress. This marks the 11th time she's been there -- and five of those nominations are consecutive. And you know what: if you're one of the best actresses, you deserve to be on the ballot. Zimmer had stated that she would not submit her name for consideration of some of the other leading ladies on her show stepped up to the plate. And this year, one of Zimmer's co-stars did just that. Crystal Chappell, a winner in the Supporting Actress field in 2002, earned her very first nomination as a Lead Actress. And truth be told, I think she's going to win in her first time out. Zimmer had great material with her character dealing with what was to have been terminal cancer. Chappell relived the night that she was raped. Both are powerful, powerful stories. Then there's Maura West. I think she's been robbed of an Emmy at least once -- and I'd really like to see her win to make up for what I see as a really bad oversight. But this is not the Grammys or the Academy Awards... you know, the awards shows that give you an award when you're not quite-as-deserving just because they realized that they screwed you over in the past.
Who I'd like to win: Maura West
Who should win: Crystal Chappell
Who will win: Crystal Chappell
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
Here again is another example of a category where there are several people I really want to win for various reasons. Trent Dawson has done some great work over the years as ATWT's Henry. During the Hogan Sheffer tenure, Dawson had some really great comedic material. In this past year, the pendulum swung in the other direction and Dawson had some very dramatic material. Hearst and Rikaart are previous winners and both could easily win again. As I mentioned earlier in the predictions for some of the other nominees, certain performers can win just by showing up at the studio each day. Then there's Dan -- great name! -- Gauthier. He was dismissed from One Life to Live last year ... and it upset a lot of people, including his costars. He turned in a great performance and I have to admit that I really like it when a fired performer comes back to take Emmy gold. A lot of times, a show doesn't even bother to submit the names of performers who are no longer on the show (unless they left on their own).
Who I'd like to win: Trent Dawson
Who should win: Dan Gauthier
Who will win: Dan Gauthier
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Gosh... this is a tough one. I love Lesl Kay and her work. I've had the opportunity to speak to her many times at different events - and she's a great lady. She's a previous Emmy winner and I admit that I tuned into B&B specifcally to see her character die. We won't discuss if I needed the Kleenex or not. Like I said last year, I love Renee Goldsberry. She's another performer that is no longer with the show for which she was nominated... so she's got a lot of different factors that have me pulling for her. Then there is Genie Francis, a daytime television icon. Who doesn't know about Luke and Laura? And can you believe that a woman as synonymous with daytime as Genie Francis has never won a Daytime Emmy? And check this out -- it is only her second Emmy nomination and the last one was ten years ago! I am certainly not saying that Francis should win just because she hasn't before. Heck, that's what the Lifetime Achievement Award is for. This year, Francis' performance reminds me of the year Susan Lucci finally won her Daytime Emmy. Subdued, powerful performance without a lot of histrionics.
Who I'd like to win: Renee Elise Goldsberry
Who should win: Lesli Kay
Who will win: Genie Francis
OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR
I feel about Tom Pelphrey the way I did about former All My Children star Josh Duhamel. Both make acting look a little too easy. You could watch Guiding Light every day, for example, and it wasn't a big deal to see Pelphrey turn in a great performance. It's just what he does. So it's easy to cast a vote for him. My only concern this year is that much of his Emmy reel was weepy. There may be some voters who don't want to see a guy sob all the time. It would be great to see James Stevenson win for Passions - a show that has yet to win an acting Emmy. But, unfortunately, I wasn't wowed by his submissions... and I don't think he will make the cut. Van Hansis turned in some great performances on As the World Turns. The coming out storyline and "conversion" therapy plot was not as powerful as the one All My Children did... about ten years ago... but it was still good. I'm thinking that it will end up being a very close race
Who I'd like to win: James Stevenson
Who should win: Van Hansis
Who will win: Tom Pelphrey
OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS
Leven Rambin is All My Children's only acting nominee this year... such a shame. A show that was once so great was just... it was just horrible last year. Rambin does a great job as Lily, but I'm not sure that anyone who is not an AMC viewer would understand the nuances that Rambin puts into the autistic teen. Jennifer Landon is a front runner again, after having won an Emmy in her first at bat last year. I'd like to see her co-star Alex Chando win because I was just captivated with the slasher storyline last summer. I know it was cliché and a somewhat bad take on a B-movie - but it was great stuff. I'm not sure that she will get it.. but it would be a really nice surprise. Did I mention that I'm a sucker for first-time nominees? Another first time, Julie Berman, has a good chance to sneak in as a winner, but I'm concerned that in some of her scenes she was not really the lead in her scenes. It may not make a difference, as the voters may not hold the "younger" performers to the same standards as a "lead" or "supporting" performer.
Who I'd like to win: Alexandra Chando
Who should win: Leven Rambin
Who will win: Jennifer Landon
OUTSTANDING WRITING IN A DRAMA SERIES
I can tell you who will notwin this award. Sorry. That was another bitter All My Children reference. Oddly, I have no clue who is going to win this category. I am leaning towards General Hospital but that is on the strength of just one episode - the episode where the Spencers celebrated an early Christmas because they knew that Laura would be comatose again before the real Christmas rolled around. Guiding Light also had one really good episode - and the other was so-so. The Young and the Restless was a big letdown for me and it has been since the show's new head writer took over. But that's just my opinion at the moment. And I still want to see The Bold and the Beautiful take home one of the big prizes. I rooted for 30-minute Port Charles when it was on the air too.
Who I'd like to win: The Bold and the Beautiful
Who should win: General Hospital
Who will win: General Hospital
