Teddi Giggy is a Soap Central Two Scoops columnist for The Young and the Restless and a former One Life to Live recapper. She has been a soap fan since the early 70s and is currently a devoted fan of the four remaining network soaps, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful. She appreciates all of the different writing styles for each soap and enjoys having her favorite -- and not-so-favorite -- characters on each show. This is her third time predicting Daytime Emmy winners, and she hopes to improve her record from each of the prior two years when she went three-for-eight.
Previous Predictions 2013: 4 for 8
2012: 3 for 8
2011: 3 for 8
One Life to Live submitted excellent choices of its first online episode and the episode where it was revealed that Jeffrey was a member of a secret organization that Todd had been investigating. The Bold and the Beautiful provided two episodes highlighting Katie's reaction to the news that her husband had slept with her sister. And I absolutely loved the Days of our Lives submission of the video sex tape at Kristen and Brady's wedding.
The Young and the Restless is my choice for Outstanding Drama Series. The death of little Delia Abbott was a tragedy that soaps are made of. This storyline provided the cast with fantastic opportunities to showcase their remarkable acting and talent. The fans remained riveted to their television screens during this time, and many tissues were wept into as we all grieved for the darling girl. The Young and the Restless proved again in 2013 why it has remained the number one soap throughout the years.
This is a brutal category. All of the gentlemen deserve to win because their acting is just stellar. Each of the Y&R nominees has won before, and GH's Jason Thompson was deservedly nominated last year. Mr. Thompson's Patrick Drake was faced with an impossible decision of choosing between his fiancée, Sabrina, and the beloved wife that he thought to be dead, Robin. The scene when Patrick returned to Robin was so sweet! Christian J. LeBlanc showed a fierceness when Michael confronted his lovely wife, Lauren, about her secret affair. Good guy Paul Williams tried to save suicidal Jamie from jumping from a cliff, and Doug Davidson knows just what it takes to produce a hero on a soap. I love Peter Bergman as Jack Abbott. His war with Victor Newman has always been a staple of the show, and Peter knows what to offer in a scene to hook the viewers. After learning that Summer was his biological daughter, Jack displayed his anger and despair to Phyllis when he realized all of the years he had lost as Summer's father.
Billy Miller was just awesome last year in the hit-and-run storyline that resulted in Billy Abbott's darling daughter's death. Honestly, he could have picked any one of numerous episodes to submit from this storyline because his performances were all phenomenal. I am not surprised that Billy Miller and Amelia Heinle submitted the same scenes of Billy and Victoria together after the tragedy. Billy's every look and even the smallest gesture conveyed so much feeling and emotion. Billy Miller's Billy Abbott was my favorite character on Y&R, and I miss him dearly. The fans would welcome him back as Billy Abbott anytime. In my very biased opinion, Billy Miller should win for Lead Actor this year.
Katherine Kelly Lang's Brooke Logan on B&B was distraught after learning that her lover, the husband of her "precious little sister," decided to return to his wife and son. On Days of our Lives, Arianne Zucker cried as Nicole Walker shared her disappointment and betrayal to Eric, who had once believed that she had raped the good priest. Nicole tends to be her own worst enemy, but for once, she was the innocent, injured party who had been wronged. Eileen Davidson was brilliant as the psycho Kristen DiMera, and I didn't realize just how much until after she was gone. I am glad that she is returning to Days of our Lives so she can liven things up in Salem once again.
I will admit that I did not pick Heather Tom (Katie Logan, B&B) for her last two wins, but I have definitely learned my lesson now. I won't be so stupid again. I am on her bandwagon as she goes for her third win in a row in the Lead Actress category. Ms. Tom has such an expressive face and the hurt, pain and anger showed in her eyes as Katie ended her relationship with her husband, who had slept with the older sister that she loved so dearly. Heather Tom knows exactly the episodes to submit, and she picks the ones that showcase a wide range of emotions that she displays so beautifully. If she doesn't pull the hat trick with her third win in this category, I will truly be surprised.
On GH, Bradford Anderson as Damian Spinelli showcased both shock and anger upon learning from his girlfriend that he was the father of Maxie's baby, and Dominic Zamprogna as Dante Falconeri offered a terrific clip between Dante and his father, Sonny, discussing Lulu's anger with Dante over what she had felt was Dante's betrayal. Eric Martsolf's Brady Black accurately portrayed a man in over his head in heartache and drugs after learning of his fiancée's "fling." I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, though, that Eric had not submitted the episode containing Brady's reaction after seeing "the sex video" of Kristen and his stepbrother, Father Eric, at Brady's wedding to Kristen. I thought that might have been a little more powerful of a selection.
This was a very tough category for me. I really, really wanted to choose Steve Burton as Dylan McAvoy on Y&R because his acting displayed such vulnerability in Dylan upon learning that the beloved child that he had believed was his biologically actually belonged to Adam Newman. His heart was obviously broken in a million pieces when he learned that his wife, Chelsea, had lied to him about the baby's paternity from the beginning and that Connor was not his son. However, Scott Clifton knows just how to pick the right clips to submit to the academy. As B&B's Liam Spencer, Scott displayed a range of emotions, from anger to sadness and grief, when he talked to his father, Bill, played by the fabulous Don Diamont about the loss of his unborn baby. Scott Clifton has won Daytime Emmys the past couple of years, and I would not be surprised to see this one added to his collection.
Elizabeth Hendrickson did a terrific job on Y&R, playing the angry, sad, and grieving mother, Chloe Mitchell, who had just lost her only daughter. Melissa Claire Egan's Chelsea Lawson, also on Y&R, showed the regret she felt that she had needed to lie to Dylan about the paternity of her baby, while GH's Kelly Sullivan presented another side of Connie Falconeri, when she believed that Sonny was trying to take advantage of her grieving for her deceased son in order to get her alter, Kate, to return to him. And of course, Jane Elliot is always fantastic as Tracy Quartermaine on GH, and her scenes with Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer are always a joy to watch.
However, I actually knew who I was going to pick in this category before I even watched the clips of the submissions. Amelia Heinle was amazing and remarkable as Victoria Newman on Y&R, and she had me spellbound and crying in almost every scene she was in during the storyline about Delia's hit-and-run tragedy. And she absolutely selected the right clip to submit because it really showcased all of the emotion, heartbreak, and guilt that Victoria suffered because she not only mourned the stepdaughter that she had so very much loved and also worried about her beloved husband, but Victoria also blamed herself for Delia's death. I honestly believe that Amelia Heinle deserves the Daytime Emmy this year, and I will again be sad if she doesn't win.
Who will win: Amelia Heinle (Victoria Newman, Y&R)
This year's nominees for younger actor were phenomenal. Max Ehrich as Fenmore Baldwin and Daniel Polo as Jaime Vernon represented The Young and the Restless well with their submissions, both from the bullying storyline. And playing brothers on General Hospital, Chad Duell (Michael Corinthos) and Bryan Craig (Morgan Corinthos) offered their best in scenes going toe-to-toe with their onscreen father, Sonny, as played by the remarkable Maurice Benard.
But as I have done the last two years, I am going with my heart again and am picking Chandler Massey as Will Horton on Days of our Lives. Although his submission was comparatively short, he jam-packed his performance with feeling and emotion as he talked about how much he looked forward to being a father to his unborn daughter. His clip had me teary-eyed one minute, while he feared for his daughter's life, and laughing the next, as he and his love, Sonny, talked of his pathetic past attempts at ice-skating. Chandler has won for Outstanding Younger Actor the past two years and deservedly so. After I watched his submission, I realized just how much I miss him as Will on DAYS. I truly hope that he wins again in what will be the final year he will qualify -- unless he returns to soaps someday down the road. Please!
Last year's winner in this category, Kristen Alderson (Starr Manning, GH) submitted another excellent performance where Starr learned the identity of the real culprit who had killed her young daughter and her fiancé. While I admired Kim Matula's acting as The Bold and the Beautiful's Hope Logan, it almost seemed, especially at the beginning, to be a submission for Liam's Scott Clifton. But towards the end, I could understand why she had submitted it and why she was nominated. And I absolutely love Linsey Godfrey's Caroline Spencer, also on B&B, especially once the writers turned her a little wacko. Caroline was definitely at her wackiest in Linsey's submission.
I have to admit that I was split between the other two young actresses in this category. I admired Dani Manning's reaction to Victor Lord Jr. on OLTL, after he walked into her hospital room, because she almost believed that he was an imposter or that her drug overdose had caused her to suffer an illusion. I came very close to picking Kelley Missal solely on this reaction. However, after I watched Hunter Haley King's clip again from Y&R and remembered how terrific her acting had been all throughout the storyline where Summer Newman learned that Nick was not her biological father, I had to select her. Summer was in tears when she found out that the dad who had always called her his "Supergirl" was not really her dad in blood. She felt totally lost after the discovery and felt that her world had been shaken to the core. Summer no longer knew who she really was, and that is why I am picking Hunter Haley King for Outstanding Younger Actress.
Who will win: Hunter Haley King (Summer Newman, The Young and the Restless)
While The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of our Lives provided excellent writing during the year, The Young and the Restless offered exceptional writing with the hit-and-run tragedy of Delia Abbott, the memorial for Katherine Chancellor, and the special tribute to Jeanne Cooper. The Young and the Restless was graced with remarkable acting, especially during Delia's demise, and the writing is what gave the actors the chance to showcase their skills and talent. The Young and the Restless Writing Team proved it was a class act throughout the year. Katherine Chancellor would have been proud.
The Bold and the Beautiful seems to film on location more than the other soaps, which gives directors more opportunities to take chances and to try new techniques. Both One Life to Live and The Young and the Restless also had a terrific year for directing, so I would not be surprised if any of the three win. However, my pick for Outstanding Directing Team is The Bold and the Beautiful
Who will win: The Bold and the Beautiful
PICKS AT A CLICK (Check an overview of all our panelists' picks)
LISA SVENSON (Soap Central 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.
News and More: Return to Soap Central's FrontPage
