Episode 10,505; airdate November 23, 2010
A strong hour during which Dr. David Hayward — not so dead after all — walks into the courtroom during his murder trial and shocks Pine Valley. There are no out-of-the-park performances, but the noir-ish flashbacks detailing how the dastardly doc (played by fan fave Vincent Irizarry) faked his demise and tried to frame his rival Ryan are well crafted. The stuff of grand memories? Not really. Best moment of the tape clocks in at 28 minutes when a moaning Kendall (Alicia Minshew) walks to the witness stand and rips David a new one! But this is good, solid work!
Chance of a scoring a nomination: 6.5/10
Episode 13,741; airdate April 5, 2010
Oakdale icons Bob and Kim (Don Hastings and Kathryn Hays) find out the minister who married them 25 years ago was a fraud! Re-watching this episode, I can see how the judges might fall for the hour's sad, sweet, poignant charms; all enforced by flashbacks, a solid script, and good musical score. Adding to that, it all ends with a dazzling cameo by ATWT grad Julianne Moore. This is the show's last time at the Emmys, so one wishes P&G had picked something more powerful, like one of those great, searing episodes near the finale involving the death of Dr. Reid Oliver. But mush won out.
Chance of scoring a nomination: 7.25/10
Episodes 5922 and 5923; airdates October 14—15, 2010
God bless Brad Bell for trying to move soaps forward and doing it so transcendently. These back-to-back episodes find stage 4 lung-cancer victim Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery) roaming L.A.'s Skid Row in search of a young woman who has possession of her heirloom scarf. The adventure proves a life-changer when rich, privileged Stephanie sees how people are living on the streets a mere 20 minutes from her mansion. She decides to devote her final days to helping them. Flannery does her best work ever here, and that's saying something given her four lead actress Emmy wins. It's all stunningly, artfully filmed on location, and sure to wrench your heart, lift your spirit and make you shed a few cathartic tears. Can the judges ask for more?
Chance of scoring a nomination: 9/10
Episode 11,492; airdate December 29, 2010
This show smartly submitted Caroline's accidental announcement (in church, no less) that Philip is Chloe's babydaddy, a fabulously sordid, classically soapy event that leaves you dying to know what happens next. This tasty trash is intercut with other enticing developments (EJ working a marriage deal with Nicole, Brady trying to outsmart villainous Viv). A solid hour of dramatic television; though nothing stands out!
Chance of a scoring a nomination: 7/10.
Episode 12,106; airdate July 23, 2010
Franco-phrenia didn't score all that well with viewers, but GH is counting on it to impress the Emmy panel. And it might just work. The episode submitted, which has James Franco's serial killer character doing an epic performance piece at L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art, seemed limp and cheesy and hurriedly staged when it aired last summer but, weirdly, it comes off much better when you re-watch it with lowered expectations. The judges may well be impressed by Franco's psycho-sexual hambone performance and the unique, flashy style of the hour, which also includes a shocking revenge shoot-out at the hospital. This is not the pretentious mess I thought it was.
Chance of scoring a nomination: 8/10.
Episode 10,687; airdate May 17, 2010
I will be brief and kind (given the cancellation news) and simply say that the OLTL execs made a grievous mistake by submitting that musical episode set at the Llanview High prom.
Chance of scoring a nomination: 2/10
Episode 9535; airdate November 29, 2010What were they thinking — or smoking — over at Y&R when they decided to pick this episode as their best shot an Emmy gold? The set-up: Nutcase Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), torn between two brothers, flees to New Orleans to sort out her emotions. There's a lot of swell Big Easy scenery but next to no drama and, as a result, the performances are serviceable at best. Case is downright snoozy as her character wanders aimlessly about town. The directing is sloppy. The casting of the local day players is startlingly inept. And even scenes back home in GC with Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) battling over her affair with Deacon have little power out of context. The best part of the episode — the cliffhanger revealing Skye Lockhart is alive — will be meaningless to anyone who doesn't follow the show. Y&R traditionally picks well and grabs a slot in the best soap race. What went haywire?
Chance of a scoring a nomination: 5/10
Should the Academy nominate 4 soaps...the nominees will be:
All My Children
As the World Turns
The Bold & the Beautiful
General Hospital
Should they go the route of last year (3 nominiees)...
The Bold & the Beautiful
General Hospital
As the World Turns & Days of Our Lives will fight for the 3rd spot!
