Lisa Svenson does not watch soaps, but she knows what happens in all of them. By day, she works as a therapist, and by night and weekend, she is an editor for Soap Central. She did not watch any of the clips for any of the soaps (she watches no television and does not even have cable on the giant old television that lives in her family room and may or may not be plugged in), but she did read all the recaps when they were written. Her selections rarely have anything to do with the clips.
In previous years, Lisa has made picks by using pseudoscience, with experiments that have included pets, hydrodynamics, aerial trajectory, and other exciting techniques. These experiments have not had a high rate of success, but neither have her guesses based solely on her emotional response to reading all the recaps. Someday, perhaps she will find (or make) time to watch the reels, but that might fail to increase her chances of success.
I know I read what was in all the reels because that's part of what I do. However, I do poorly when I base my predictions on the reels (reading, not viewing). I know The Bold and the Beautiful did some touching scenes around Stephanie's death, but I did not pick that because it was around the time of my own brother's unexpected death, and General Hospital's handling of Edward's death, with Tracy's reaction (no Emmy nomination there?) resonated much more with me. No, that wasn't what GH submitted, but it's why I picked it.
What I didn't pick and why: While B&B might have done a nice job covering Stephanie's death, I can't erase the memory of Steffy/Hope/Liam from my mind. No, it's not in the reel, but I don't watch the reels. I didn't find the Y&R storyline about the amnesia and fake death to be that interesting. DAYS was interesting at the time, but it didn't stay with me. The OLTL episodes were art art mimicking art life, and it was a cool concept, but there wasn't a lot of OLTL for me to base emotional opinions on during the course of 2012. And since my votes are rarely are based on the reels, this seemed the right way to go.
Mostly I picked Adam because he seemed the most like a lead actor this year. When I think of all the reading I've done, of all the men nominated, only Jack equaled him for time he seemed to be present in scenes, and Adam was more interesting. He (like Billy Abbott, who I always pick, for the same reasons) seems to have a knee-jerk reaction to do the wrong thing, because it's such a practiced habit, but he also seems to truly want to do and be good.
What I didn't pick and why: I can't pick a substance abuse story that didn't ring true for me (Jack), and I do have some work with substance abuse in my history, so it's not an artistic value thing. It just seemed wrong. Paul's story with his son was pretty awful, but he just doesn't seem to be on-screen much, so I don't envision him as a leading actor (I know that's not his fault; he just seems underutilized). Patrick apparently did some very moving work with his grief, which is admirable, but there was the whole Britt thing that wasn't part of the reels but stays in my mind.
Stephanie seemed to die on her own terms, and accepted death. I wish the actress well and commend her choice to enjoy retirement.
What I didn't pick and why: I don't like the character of Phyllis. She might be a fabulous actress, but that would require watching. The Alzheimer's story seemed to have much too happy a resolution, so even if it was well acted, it didn't seem to have the lasting emotional impact the disease has on individuals and their loved ones. I know it's art, but I work with real people and can't separate the two. And Katie Logan is a frustrating character. She lives with a controlling and abusive man (locking her in a tower?), and that's not a healthy role model. She tolerates that behavior, then when she leaves, she begs for forgiveness upon her return. I'd like to see a stronger woman character, who doesn't need a man, even if she chooses to keep one around.
I always pick Billy. He seems real, wanting to do good but so often failing and screwing up royally. A lot of us do that.
What I didn't pick and why: Spinelli is a geek and I like geeks, but he was running against Billy Abbott, who I like for some inexplicable reason (no, it's not because he's easy on the eyes; none of the actors is ugly, and I don't watch). Ronan's role was brief, so there wasn't a lot to base opinions on. I can't pick Liam, even if he's a sensational actor. He's still written as Liam, who is unable to make choices, and who permits his dad to bully him (and why don't they do some education around abusers here? Bill is not emotionally healthy for anyone in his circle of influence).
There is no rational reason for this choice. Nicole wants to get her way, but sometimes shows a conscience. She is never boring.
What I didn't pick and why: I didn't really have a reason to pick or not pick anyone in this category. I just think I like Nicole more than the others.
I have to say, the pregnancy plot was obvious from the moment Will and Gabi slept together (you figure out a lot by reading about soaps over the years, and there is no one-night stand that has no repercussions). But the journey as Will realized that he was gay played out well (at least in recaps) and seemed believable as he went from pain to acceptance. When the choice of whether to reveal the truth and to whom was taken away from him, he dealt with it. His reactions aren't all perfect, but that is typical for people of his age who are still learning coping skills. He's an easy character to cheer for.
Who I didn't pick and why: Sonny has never told Will about Gabi's crime, and he's been sanctimonious at times about Will not telling the truth. I like him a lot, but don't like that omission. Fen is a bully, and I deal with people who have been bullied, so I don't like it. When it came back to Fen recently (not in the voting period), and he was bullied, I thought that was good -- if only they use it to ensure he sees the pain he caused, and it becomes a good lesson. There are too many bullies out there. I have very little recollection of Devon throughout the year. His surgery helped his music career, which he loved and then abandoned.
Over the course of the year, I liked the writing on General Hospital the best overall. It was usually interesting, and it felt like sweeps month most of the time. I also commend them for taking in characters from a canceled soap, so viewers wouldn't lose their connection to a show they loved. Yes, that legal business got messy, but it was still well done. The overall quality for the year was my sole reason for the choice over the others.
They seemed to have fun with what they did. I have no idea how well any of these shows looked, so any guess is random. Overall, Days isn't a bad soap to read about, and they've done a nice job with Will's story, so I'll go with it.
PICKS AT A CLICK (Check an overview of all our panelists' picks)
MIKE BRADFORD (Soap Central recapper)
editor/Non-soap viewer) --->
Related Information
The Nominees: Find out who is nominated this year.
The Pre-Nominees: Which performers threw their hats into the ring?
Our Predictions: Soap Central experts pick who they think will win Emmy gold.
The Emmy Archive:Find out who has won Emmys in the past.
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