News - Soap Buzz

122 December 31st, 2011 On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman’s Best and Worst List of 2011!

Courtesy/ABC

In an emotional, bizarre, and heartbreaking year in the world of soaps, there was still tremendous work done by the talented performers in the genre in front of the camera, as well as those behind-the-scenes who illustrated brilliant creativity and passion for their field, and for loyal soap fans everywhere.

In addition, there were several not so stellar moments, characters, or storylines that get the dubious honor of some of the “Worsts” of 2011.  So with that said, Michael Fairman presents to you his fourth annual Best and Worst of the Year.  In several categories, it was almost too tight a race to call, and so we have showed you the runner-ups in those particular cases, and in some cases, we had to call it a “tie”.

From Best Soap to Worst, to Best Overall Performance by an Actor and Actress to Most Irritating Character, to Best Storyline to Worst, to Best Newcomer to Worst Return, to Best Single Performance in a Storyline by an Actor and Actress to Most Tortured Character, to Most Inexcusable Way to Handle the Soap Audience, we dissect it all, in our annual look back at the year in soaps.

Now, while we know many of you have your own picks and choices, we encourage you to let us know your thoughts as well.  And most of all, we want to wish all our soapers a healthy, prosperous, and fantastic New Year!

So without further ado, after the jump, we reveal the list!

ON-AIR ON-SOAPS  MICHAEL FAIRMAN’S BEST AND WORSTS OF 2011!

BEST SOAP

One Life to Live

BEST WEB SOAP

Courtesy/ABC

Venice

WORST SOAP

General Hospital

MOST DISAPPOINTING SOAP

The Young and the Restless

MOST DISAPPOINTING EPISODE

All My Children finale

BEST STORYLINE

Tale of the Two Todds – One Life to Live

WORST STORYLINE

Who killed Skye? – The Young and the Restless

MOST BOTCHED STORYLINE

The Balkan and Brenda- General Hospital

LOOPIEST STORYLINE

Courtesy/MFSOAPS

Trippy-Berry Island with Brooke and Thomas – B&B

MOST OFFENSIVE STORY POINT

Lisa yielding an HIV positive blood-filled syringe as a weapon – GH

BEST RIPPED-FROM-THE HEADLINES SOCIAL ISSUE STORY

Teen suicide via bullying – One Life to Live

BEST WRITING

Ron Carlivati – One Life to Live

WORST WRITING

David Kreizman and Donna Swajeski – All My Children  (For the beginning of 2011)

Garin Wolf – General Hospital (For the latter part of 2011)

BEST SINGLE PERFORMANCE MALE

Courtesy/ABC

Jonathan Jackson – Lucky addresses Luke during Luke’s intervention – GH

BEST SINGLE PERFORMANCE FEMALE

Erika Slezak – Viki battles her alters in Erika’s special 40th Anniversary episode– OLTL

BEST SINGLE PERFORMANCE BY A YOUNGER PERFORMER

Austin Williams – Shane’s suicide attempt – One Life to Live

BEST EPISODE OF THE YEAR

The Fraternity Row Fantasy Episode – One Life to Live

BEST COMEDIC EPISODE OF THE YEAR

The Vicker Man Premiere – One Life to Live

Runner up:  The Blanca Show – One Life to Live

BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR

(TIE) Trevor St. John – One Life to Live,  Jonathan Jackson – General Hospital

Runner up:  Steve Burton – General Hospital

BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS

Courtesy/ABC

Florencia Lozano – One Life to Live

Runner-ups: Erika Slezak – One Life to Live, Crystal Chappell – Days of our Lives

BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR

Billy Miller – The Young and the Restless

BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Ilene Kristen – One Life to Live

BEST YOUNGER ACTOR

Chandler Massey – Days of our Lives

BEST YOUNGER ACTRESS

Molly Burnett – Days of our Lives

MOST BELOVED CHARACTER AND PERFORMER WE WILL MISS THE MOST

Michael E. Knight – All My Children

BEST RETURN

Courtesy/ABC

David Canary – All My Children

Runner up: Andrea Evans as Tina with David Vickers, the dog in tow – One Life to Live

WORST RETURN

Debbi Morgan – The Young and the Restless

BEST RECAST

Barbara Rhodes (Irene Manning) – One Life to Live

WORST RECAST

Tom Degnan (Joey) – One Life to Live

BEST RECURRING PERFORMER

Tuc Watkins – One Life to Live

BEST RUINATION OF A CHARACTER

Chloe Lane who becomes a hooker – Days of our Lives

MOST TORTURED CHARACTER

Jason Morgan – General Hospital

MOST OVERUSED PLOT DEVICE BY ONE SHOW AT ONE TIME

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The soap epidemic called The Doppelganger – DAYS, AMC, Y&R and OLTL all head them! Enough!

FAVORITE DOPPELGANGER

Jane – All My Children

WORST DOPPELGANGER

Caleb – The Young and the Restless

WORST WAY TO WRITE OFF A MAJOR  SOAP CHARACTER

Marty Saybrooke wanders on to a plane, because she is told her presumed dead husband Patrick is on board.  And, we see no on-screen reunion of Susan Haskell and Thorsten Kaye!

MOST UPSETTING MOMENT OF THE YEAR INVOLVING A PERFORMER

Trevor St. John ends up being killed-off of OLTL after a murky and confusing negotiation, and the return of Roger Howarth. Thus depriving fans of the two Manning brothers for any length of time.

MOST INEXCUSABLE WAY TO HANDLE THE SOAPS AND ITS AUDIENCE

Prospect Park allowing OLTL to film their final episode knowing that they couldn’t come up with a way to put it online, and making the actors tout that the show is continuing, and leaving fans in the dark with no proper press.

WORST DECISION THAT IMPACTS SOAP FANS

Courtesy/NBC

ABC cancels One Life to Live and All My Children in the same breath!

BEST TRIANGLE

Viki/Charlie/Echo – One Life to Live

WORST QUANDRANGLE

Steffy/Liam/Hope/Thomas – The Bold and the Beautiful

BEST COUPLE

Billy and Victoria – The Young and the Restless

MOST CRINGEWORTHY COUPLE (TWO YEARS RUNNING)

Adam and Sharon – The Young and the Restless

SEXIEST NON-COUPLE

Brooke and Thomas – The Bold and the Beautiful

WORST COUPLE

Joey and Kelly – One Life to Live

WORST QUANDRANGLE

Courtesy/ABC

Steffy/Hope/Liam/Thomas – The Bold and the Beautiful

MOST IRRITATING CHARACTER

(TIE) Siobhan McKenna – General Hospital, Damian Spinelli as Jackal P.I – General Hospital

WORST NEW FAMILY INTEGRATED INTO A SOAP

The Patels – One Life to Live

MOST REVITALIZED CHARACTER

Nikki Newman – The Young and the Restless

MOST CREEPY PERFORMANCE

(TIE) Brianna Brown – General Hospital, Bruce Weitz – General Hospital

BEST WEDDING

Sonny and Brenda’s wedding – General Hospital

BEST WEDDING FALL-OUT

John and Natalie’s confrontation after the double wedding of Natalie/Jessica busts up! – OLTL

BEST NEWCOMER MALE

Courtesy/ABC

Josh Kelly – One Life to Live

WORST NEWCOMER MALE

Barrett Helms – One Life to Live

BEST NEWCOMER FEMALE

Kate Mansi – Days of our Lives

WORST NEWCOMER FEMALE

Diana DeGarmo – The Young and the Restless

BEST NEW CHARACTER

(TIE)  Sonny Kiriakis, Days of our Lives,  Cutter Wentworth, One Life to Live

THE CHARACTER WHO KEEPS COMING BACK AND NO ONE CARES

(TIE) “Franco” and Lisa Niles – General Hospital

BEST GUEST STAR PERFORMANCE

Josh Duhamel – All My Children

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a comment >

Back to Latest News

122
  1. Emily says:
    December 31, 2011 at 11:05 am

    I was really disappointed with the Lisa Niles story because with Brianna Brown, there was actually potential. Brianna and Brandon Barash had good chemistry and a better storyline/writing job would have utilized Brianna’s talent. Instead, they wrote the character into a corner that left fans gagging. GH has so much talent on board… I sure hope the writing in 2012 does the talent justice.

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:32 pm

    I completely agree. Her talent was wasted. I saw much storyline potential with the Johnny/Lisa pairing…

    Reply

  2. Chris says:
    December 31, 2011 at 11:10 am

    I disagree with you naming The Patels as the worst family of 2011! I loved them, and thought they all did a great job!

    I know you probably named best new male newcomer and best new character to Josh Kelly/Cutter Wentworth because this year was a very slow year for “newbies”, and they weren’t a lot of them this year on the soaps, but I was indifferent to the Cutter character at the beginning since he was involved in that lame storyline con job scam with Aubrey scamming Joey, and the quadriangle between Cutter/Aubrey/Joey/Kelly. The I really hated the character when he eloped with Jessica when she was her DID alter Tess, and scamed her and her parents for a piece of the Buchanan fortune and The Buchanan Mansion, but then i grew to like him when he briefly reconciled with Aubrey/Christine, and we learned about his tragic backstory with Kim, and then learned he was Alex Olanov’s son and fell in love with Stacy/Gigi before his character ended up in a Kentucky prison for The Spotted Pony murder!

    Michael, did you based your choice on best male newcomer and new character of 2011 on that person’s performance of the character throughout the year, or to a certain point in the storyline when you changed your tune about that character? What did you also think about Terri Conn’s performance as Aubrey/Christine?

    Reply

    gloria replied January 1st, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    You know, I love the Patels too! I think Vimal & Rama are hilarious! And was looking forward to stuff with Neela, Jack & Shane. Lots of good stuff we’ll never experience.

    Reply

    Mary M replied January 1st, 2012 at 11:23 pm

    I so agree. I think the Patels are hilarious too. Still heartbroken that ABC cancelled the best soap on TV.

    1loveabcsoaps replied January 2nd, 2012 at 10:52 pm

    I love the Patels… Hurray for OLTL for adding Indians to the cast, and THEY are soooooooooooooo Funny!!!! On abc.com they beat up the Patels, BUT trust me, the PATELS know how to bring it….!!! That’s comedy, drama, or whatever they are doing in a scene.

    Heather replied January 4th, 2012 at 11:11 am

    I’ll second what you guys said. I love the Patels and I always enjoy seeing them on OLTL. Some fans are annoy by their accent but I guess that’s because these people aren’t use to the Indian accent. But I live in New Jersey and I interact with Indian people on a regular basis. So the Patels in OLTL doesn’t bother me one bit .I do find Rama very beautiful.

    Blake replied January 2nd, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    The only Patel I can stand is Vimal. Rama and Vimal’s sister annoy the hell out of me. Vimal’s sister I thought was only good when she cried after Jack was arrested.

    Reply

    lipstickcat replied January 3rd, 2012 at 9:31 am

    The Patels are great! Too bad we’ll never see how far they could’ve went with them.

    Reply

  3. Paul8148 says:
    December 31, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Agree with most,…..I have Jerry Ver Dorn in a three tie with Trevor and Jackson for lead actor…….

    Also for worst quad, I did not like the setup but i think the Steff/liam/Hope/thomas storyline has turn the corner in the last few weeks and is really good right now….

    Reply

  4. heidi says:
    December 31, 2011 at 11:16 am

    Great List Michael!!! Agree with most… Happy New Year and thank you for your great site, with awesome content and your wonderful interviews… oh and your fab podcasts!!!
    We can only hope someone picks up OLTL… anything can be possible!

    Reply

  5. Chris says:
    December 31, 2011 at 11:18 am

    Okay—- Just have to say this was obviously one man’s opinion. OLTL is not THAT great. Sorry to say…. You can tell what his favorite soap is. Too bad the ratings don’t prove it…… Happy New Year, all!

    Reply

    gloria replied January 1st, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    Umm, yes, OLTL is THAT great.

    Reply

    Mary M replied January 1st, 2012 at 11:23 pm

    Yes, OLTL IS that great!!!

    barbara t replied January 2nd, 2012 at 10:28 am

    and I second that.ok, here I go with the abc ways of rating a show if you over 49 you dont count,if you tape the show ,you dont count ,If you watched it on soapnet ,you dont count.but according to abc everyone is watching the chew,there counted.I dont care what anyone says,abc wants out of the soap world ,so to hell with the fans ,they want to go cheep ,thats why amc and olto were canceled.and how many more people are out of work?yes, thats abc/disney the family channel.And one life to live is the best soap on,and that show getting canceled is one of the biggest mistakes in television history ,killing a 43 year old show that made abc money and fans is wrong.

    Matt replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:23 am

    OLTL is ABC’s second highest-rated daytime show after THE VIEW. So how do the ratings not prove how great this show is?

    Reply

    david replied January 4th, 2012 at 2:33 am

    Yes, the ratings demonstrate viewers like the show–I love it–but ratings are not just about popularity–they are about money. All the networks care about are maximizing revenue to offset production costs. If a show has lower ratings but lower expenses, it can still generate more revenue than a higher rated show with higher expenses. Read some of the comments here:
    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/12/30/the-chew-hits-seriesweekly-high/114991/

    Matt replied January 4th, 2012 at 11:07 am

    My original comment was about how the ratings show that people are watching, not that the show is profitable.

    Blake replied January 2nd, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    Uh, OLTL is the best soap. All of the soap media’s have said that OLTL was the best soap of 2011. Daytime Confidential, Soap Opera Weekly, Soap Opera Digest, Nelson Branco, TV Guide, must I go on????

    Reply

    lipstickcat replied January 3rd, 2012 at 9:33 am

    I agree! OLTL is the best soap on T.V.! It’s crazy they cancelled it when others are still on!

    Blake replied January 2nd, 2012 at 3:41 pm

    The ratings do show it, OLTL has been up half a million viewers over last year, no other shows have done that. And it’s been above the soaps that weren’t cancelled: General Hospital and Days of Our Lives.

    Reply

  6. Gerardo Ramirez says:
    December 31, 2011 at 11:20 am

    Thank you,Michael.I agree with the vast majority of your picks.i dread that next year the worst coupling will be Victor & Sharon.Have a great New Year.

    Reply

  7. CclovesVilly says:
    December 31, 2011 at 11:24 am

    Woohoo! Great picks! I love my Villy. Miller and Heinle just SHINE together. There’s no one else like them

    Reply

  8. Mandy says:
    December 31, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    I agree with most of your picks especially Billy and Victoria as Best Couple and the return of Nikki Newman.

    Happy New Year!!!

    Reply

  9. Courtney says:
    December 31, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    Great list Michael!

    So happy to see Villy as the best couple! They definitely are! Love them And yay for BM getting best supporting actor! Well-deserved :)

    Reply

  10. Amanda says:
    December 31, 2011 at 12:39 pm

    Great picks but my favorite? Naming Billy and Victoria as Best Couple. They are a force to be reckoned with and their chemistry is amazing! <3

    Reply

  11. kay killgore says:
    December 31, 2011 at 12:53 pm

    I would have put cringeworthing couple as anyone the character of Nick Newman is with, he is most definitely the male whore of daytime. I guess I am in the minority but I think Sharon& Adam have great chemistry. Don’t forget the Baldwin brothers did a lot of bad things before they were accepted into Genoa City society. I could list them for everyone but it would take too much time. And I am sorry I just don’t get Steve Burton’s acting or lack of he looks stiff. Just my opinion otherwise I pretty much agree Michael.

    Reply

    Charlotte replied January 8th, 2012 at 12:45 pm

    Adam and Sharon have great chemistry, maybe one of the best of this show (Michael Muhney has chemistry with everybody but he really click with Sharon Case) however i think Michael talk about the story between the characters..am i right ?

    Reply

  12. Rachel says:
    December 31, 2011 at 1:03 pm

    I’m in agreement with 99% of your list but totally disagree about your worst female newcomer. As an actress she’s really good. It’s not Diana’s fault that the writing is one dimensional. I see her doing a great job with not so stellar writing and don’t fault her at all.

    Reply

  13. barbara t says:
    December 31, 2011 at 1:06 pm

    good picks ,and I love that you agree with me about franco and lisa niles ,Im glad she is gone ,hopefuly franco is gone with all his finger painting and please ,I forgot her name right now but the one with the irish accent what a waste of her and lucky.please make her gone to.We only have 9 more days of one life to live ,the best soap,best writing ,best actors,It will be missed.

    Reply

  14. CSG says:
    December 31, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    I agree with much of this list, but the Patels were integrated well into the OLTL canvas. Vimel was Clint’s lackey from 2010 and the addition of Rama was seamless. Tying her into new-ish characters also helped. I am neutral on Neela.

    I am confused with how Debbi Morgan is a worst return to Y&R when she was never there before. Is her character’s return the worst?

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:46 pm

    I don’t get how Debbie Morgan is the worst recast either. Yes she took over another character, but I don’t see anything worst about it. She’s doing a great job.

    Reply

    Michael Fairman replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:18 pm

    Hi Danielle and others that have commented on the choice of Debbi Morgan. First of all the category I chose her for was Worst Return NOT Worst Recast. Recast went to Tom Degnan of OLTL. Debbi Morgan is one of the finest actresses I know and have watched on soaps for decades. Thus far I feel her talents have been wasted by the Y&R team as Harmony, so as a return to daytime, after leaving the signature role of Angie, thus far, in my opinion it feels disappointing. Hopefully she and the character of Harmony will be given some meaty stuff to play in 2012

  15. Heather says:
    December 31, 2011 at 3:14 pm

    General Hospital was not the worst soap. Dante & Lulu’s wedding was the best, definitely better than Sunny & Brenda’s.

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    No Way boring Shrewlu and Dumbtay wedding was better than sonny and brenda’s

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    As much as I love GH….they have been telling lackluster, boring stories and not using character history. I wasn’t a fan of either of those weddings. Overall it has been pretty bad. I FF through a lot of it. :( Stupid ABC/D killing their product….

    Reply

  16. Joss says:
    December 31, 2011 at 4:50 pm

    Sorry, but I like the Patels! They’re great! When’s the last time a family of couple was integrated into a soap??

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:38 pm

    I liked Vimal from the beginning. His scenes with TSJ’s Todd were hysterical. I thought they didn’t cram them down our throats and used them just enough. I really thought Rama was a good addition as well. Loved every scene she’s been in! Neela…doesn’t have the time to grow on me like the other two…

    Reply

  17. jp says:
    December 31, 2011 at 5:26 pm

    I agree with most. Definitely hands down OLTL was the best soap of 2011. I hope the emmys will recognize them with this distinction this year. It will be an injustice if it goes to any other soap.

    Reply

    auotb replied January 2nd, 2012 at 1:53 pm

    ABC will be losing millions of viewers when OLTL goes off the air.It is the best soap hands down.Soap opera fans are a loyal bunch and ABC screwed us royal.Their biggest hit on nighttime viewership is a soap Revenge. So I think they should make OLTL a nighttime soap Im sure they will make a ton of advertising dollars then.

    Reply

    lipstickcat replied January 3rd, 2012 at 9:41 am

    ABC doesn’t care about the viewers! They only want to make cheap garbage so they get bigger profits!

  18. Doe says:
    December 31, 2011 at 7:59 pm

    I liked your picks this year. I’m sad cause I can’t say I will be waiting for next years list, anymore. I feel badly, Michael, because this must present a great deal of frustation for you and other journalists. But, I think because you are the best interviewer bar none, your creativity will find new avenues to write about. We still have Y&R and DAYS and GH and B&B and The online soaps. So hang in there everyone. Hope you will find new things to bring to us fans,Michael. You are the best.

    Reply

  19. linda says:
    December 31, 2011 at 8:18 pm

    Best Actor: Darnell Williams – All My Children
    Best Actress: Debbi Morgan – All My Children

    Best Couple – Jesse and Angie – Legends on All My Children

    Best Single Performance by an actor: Jesse (Daarnell Williams) delivers his stillborn daughter.

    Best Single Performance by A Couple – Angie (Debbi Morgan) and Jesse (Darnell Williams) at the gravesite of their stillborn daughter.

    No racial balance in this article.

    Reply

    Matt replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:22 am

    This is a Best and Worst listing, I don’t see how or why race should be a part of it.

    Reply

    Renata replied January 2nd, 2012 at 1:27 pm

    No racial balance in soaps. That’s why they’re dead and deservedly so.

    Reply

    Matt replied January 2nd, 2012 at 3:10 pm

    I agree that soaps aren’t racially balanced but no form of media is. If the lack of racial diversity was the reason the ABC soaps were cancelled, then there wouldn’t be any TV or movies. In fact, the ABC soaps have the best history at integrating non-white characters without tokenism. My point is that race has nothing (or should have nothing) to do with Best and Worst.

    Blake replied January 2nd, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    racial balance in this article? Wow.

    Reply

  20. adriana8900 says:
    December 31, 2011 at 8:26 pm

    reunite sonny and brenda in 2012 and renew robin and patrick wedding vows

    Reply

  21. Jo Ann Zinaman says:
    December 31, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    I Did NOT Think Debbi Morgan was the Worst Return of A Character on The Young And The Restless. I thought she did A Good Job. I thought the Worst Return was Gillian on All My Children. Gillian Barely said 5 Words. She might as well not have Returned. I know that Prospect Park wanted the Cliff Hanger, but I thought that Babe should have been Alive and Babe and JR and AJ could have Moved to San Diego. That way, Jacob Young could go to The Bold And The Beautiful and Alexa Havins could still do that Torchwood TV Cable Show. Jody

    Reply

  22. Erika says:
    December 31, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    Jason Morgan the most tortured character?!?! Oh please, we have been tortured with Jason’s insertion into storylines that he has no business being in for years. How about tortured viewers! Completely over the character and “his pain”.

    Reply

    Jules replied January 1st, 2012 at 7:46 pm

    HA! Where’s the “Most Overrated Character”? Now that category belongs to him!

    Reply

  23. aria says:
    January 1, 2012 at 6:14 am

    josh duhamel as best guest star? really, i thought he was boring.

    Reply

  24. emtk says:
    January 1, 2012 at 6:15 am

    Great list! One Life To Live was outstanding this year! I cannot believe that it is being taken off the air. There is so much junk on TV right now – talk shows, reality shows, game shows…TV is turning into one big infomercial. I find myself watching less and less.

    Reply

  25. Chris says:
    January 1, 2012 at 11:09 am

    Completely disagree about Diana DeGarmo. Angelina is an annoying character but DeGarmo’s acting is actually quite good.

    Reply

  26. Mary says:
    January 1, 2012 at 11:15 am

    I only watch ABC soaps , so I can’t really comment on the other soaps, But I do agree OLTL has been the best ABC soap for the last few Yrs actually. I use to think GH was the best soap but they have ruined this show. I A about TSJ I miss him as Todd, I disagree about Jonathan Jackson and Steve Burton. I think JJ got to much credit for scenes when all he did was cry and all SB did was make faces. I think the worst couple was Jason and Sam and any couples on GH. I also disagree about the pat els I thought they were integrated fine, but I thought to much time was spent on them at the end where it should have been spent say on John and Natalie. I also think BH should have been given some Kudos for her portrayal of when Jake died even though they did not give her enough of a role, which was a wasted Opportunity IMO. I also think killing Jake off was the worst decision for Gh in 2011.

    Reply

  27. Dani says:
    January 1, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    The ass kissing of Jonathan Jackson continues. I have never seen so much unwarranted praise for an actor on an ensemble show who has been incapable of connecting with any screen partners. Good acting is not enough and tears and screaming are crutches for him. Jacob Youngs scenes with Cady McClain at the end of AMC were 100 times more powerful. AS for actors, where is Darnell williams or James Scott who did better more varied work this year than his normal scene chewing. And Nikkis xmas episode beats Carvalatis tripe.

    Reply

  28. Dani says:
    January 1, 2012 at 12:09 pm

    One last item, Cord and Tina’s wedding on OLTL tops all the weddings on soaps the entire year

    Reply

  29. Kay says:
    January 1, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    Jason Morgan(GH) is not the most tortured character. From GH that honor goes to Samantha McCall-Morgan. I agree with returns nobody cares about, Franco was just a load of crap and ruined peoples viewing habits. His 3 stints sucked

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    Totally agree

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    Also totally agree

    Reply

  30. MissyLady says:
    January 1, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    OLTL is the best soap!

    Marty throwing Natalie off the roof was fantastic!

    Jason Morgan is a joke and has been for the last three years!

    Lucky cried way too much for my taste and I am SO glad that JJ is gone!

    Reply

    gloria replied January 2nd, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Oooh! Agree with everything you said!

    Reply

    SS replied January 2nd, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    Me too!

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    I agree with the Marty and Lucky comment

    Reply

  31. mike says:
    January 1, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    Trevor St. John, very good. Roger Howarth, even better. Best surprise of the year, Michael Easton, given some emotional scenes to play he hit it right out of the park. Best overall character on any show, the one and only very original Roxy Balsom. Lets hope Frank and Ron drag her over to GH. She would be great running Kelly’s.

    Reply

    gloria replied January 2nd, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    OMG-Roxy running Kelly’s would be GREAT fun if only there were any likable characters left to go to Kelly’s. OMG again-what if Mike came back to Kelly’s too. Ron Hale who played Roger on RH with Ilene!!! Too fantastic! To see them together again would be too much.

    Reply

    Iakovos replied January 3rd, 2012 at 9:31 am

    Roxy to Port Charles and Kelly’s Diner is inspired! Love it!

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    What a GREAT idea! Definitely bring back Ron Hale from retirement. I think working with Ilene again would be just the thing to influence him! :)

    Reply

  32. Sarah says:
    January 1, 2012 at 8:46 pm

    People need to stop hating on JJ. He’s a really good actor and had a lot of powerful scenes this year. I think he did a great job with what he was given and so what if he gets some praise for it, it is well deserved, imo. He will be missed.

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    Yea he will be missed but he still cried to damn much. Everytime u turn around he’s crying or eyes watering up.

    Reply

    MissyLady replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    JJ is highly overrated. The man CRIED in every freaking scene! Cam hiccups and Lucky cries. Jake plays with his bike and Lucky cries. Liz rolls her eyes and Lucky cries! Sheesh. JJ cried so much that I went out and bought stock in Visine and Kleenex!

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:43 pm

    The worst part is that Jonathan was just playing the scenes they gave him. THAT was one of his complaints to TPTB, his stories were too intense all the time. I can’t hate him or fault him for that. Having said all that….I think the writers at GH are trashing the majority of their characters. Many of them are not acting like the characters we have come to know and love.

    Reply

  33. Lea says:
    January 1, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    Sorry you don’t like Sharon/Adam sir, but they kick all manner of ass in the chemistry department…no other couple can TOUCH them for hotness! GOO SHADAM!!

    And OLTL is not the Best Soap. Carlivati is waay too focused on storylines and couples(cough RexGig cough) that virtually nobody else gives a damn about!

    Don’t get mr started on his damn FORD obsession!!

    Reply

    gloria replied January 2nd, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    What show have you been watching? Nobody cares about Rex & Gigi? Rex is only Bo’s best friend/nephew & he is Natalie’s brother & Clint’s son-Gigi is Viki’s dear friend-major connections on the show! I mean I watch Y&R every day but boy the bedhopping-you need a scorecard from day to day. At least on OLTL the couples are well defined & the Fords have grown on me. I just cringe when I see a scene with Nick & Jack-Jack is his former stepfather & has also been married to both of Nick’s wives. Now Victor proposing to Sharon is plain gross, I don’t care what the reason turns out to be. Phyllis is gross too, just whorish. Adam is a disgusting pig who got away with WAY too much-never a reasonable explanation for what he did to Ashley. I HAVE NEVER LIKED HIM & NEVER WILL. Sharon should just go ahead & marry Adam & get all that she deserves.

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:38 pm

    Sharon + Adam = SHAM!

    Reply

    MissyLady replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:38 pm

    IMO the Rexx/Gigi stuff had more to do with Frons liking JPL and FF. The Gigi being alive started to amp up once Dirty Soap was picked up by E!

    Reply

  34. kalamaty says:
    January 1, 2012 at 11:24 pm

    I think Best Newcomer should have been Jessica Collins, aka Avery on Y&R…. she’s a real breath of fresh air on the show and has a certain charm and presence on camera that’s very appealing.

    Best Overall would have to go to Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor. How does she not win every year? The woman is such a force and presence. Every one of her performances moves me on some level. She’s just so real! Stacy Haiduk is amazing, also, as well as Tricia Cast and The Stafford!

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    So agree about Avery and Mrs. C.

    Reply

  35. Mary M says:
    January 1, 2012 at 11:27 pm

    Loved the Tale of 2 Todds storyline on OLTL. I am a huge RH fan, but I also love TSJ. They should have kept him. Could you imagine all of the hilarious messes that these 2 brothers could’ve been involved in? Their back and forth banter was wonderful. Going to miss OLTL so much after January 13th.

    Reply

    gloria replied January 2nd, 2012 at 5:34 pm

    Agree-would have been great to have these 2 together for yrs. to come. There is so much wonderful untapped story that could be. I thought Roxy & Echo were hilarious together & can everyone stop for a minute & think about this-

    If Matthew married Destiny:

    Bo’s daughters-in-law would be Dorian & Destiny! How crazy funny is that?

    And I just die laughing when David calls Nora “step-Nora”

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:31 pm

    Totally agree Mary

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    SO agree! Another wasted opportunity….
    and Gloria…what a thought! :)

    Reply

  36. Chris B says:
    January 2, 2012 at 12:32 am

    I think it’s disappointing seeing Tom Degnan as Worst Recast. Many people give him flack, but he did a great job both as Adam on ATWT and Joey on OLTL. He was the perfect actor looks wise and his performances were always strong. Everybody wants to constantly rave about Carlivati, but he DID NOT do Kevin or Joey justice. The writing for Joey was TERRIBLE. Nothing with Dorian and they paired him in one of the worst stories Joey has EVER had. There was also no chemistry with Kelly, a character that didn’t work with Gina Tognoni’s return. He wasn’t at fault.

    I wanted to see his Joey and also Dan Gautier as Kevin doing more substantial work.

    Reply

    MissyLady replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:42 pm

    I think Nathan Fillon’s turn as Joey Buchanan really put the kibosh on any other actor playing the role. Tom did very well in scenes with ES and JvD, but his pairing with Gina Tognoni and Terri Conn was awful hard to swallow.

    Reply

  37. Charlotte says:
    January 2, 2012 at 12:38 am

    Wow, so much OLTL bias. I love OLTL but the Tale of Two Todds should have been tied with the Balkan tale as “Most Botched Storyline.” It was a convuluted mess most of the time.

    Ron Carvilati has his strengths and maybe gets “best writer” by default but he’s bad just as often as he’s good and some of his stuff was an unwatchable mess.

    Diana DeGarmo was definitely NOT the worst newcomer. She’s quite funny and has a ton of potential. The writing is the problem, not the proven Broadway star playing the role.

    Reply

    MissyLady replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:45 pm

    The Todd vs Todd story line was probably well written at first and then along comes Frons whizzing on the final product which probably was re-written fifty times!

    Reply

  38. rose says:
    January 2, 2012 at 7:07 am

    I’m really going to miss OLTL. It’s taken over GH for me which has become such a disappointment over the last couple of years. And to think this is the only one left on ABC (gag!!!). Great actors with such dark story lines. It used to be way more balanced with humor (Lucy, the character of Ned’s wife who came out of the cake, even Alexis at times). The intrigues and adventure from the Scorpios, Cassadines and Luke was more fun to follow that the constant gang wars and fallout with Sonny and his “enemies.” Plus, there was far less whining (Robin I’ve loved you over the years, but get over yourself), soul searching (the Sonny/Bensonhurst thing is beyond stale, who cares, and Lucky, enough already) and breakdowns from the characters. Then you throw in the Franco pervert. If I wanted that during daytime I’d watch “Criminal Minds.”

    Reply

  39. Heather says:
    January 2, 2012 at 7:38 am

    Trevor St John and Steve Burton? Better overall than, say, Vincent Irizarry and Michael Muhney? How about Darnell Williams? Very strange choices.
    Diana DeGarmo has been a fun highlight on Y&R amid all the poorly written, out if character crap with the longtime characters. She’s fresh and very talented. Making her worst newcomer suggests the blame is hers but it’s obviously the writers. I’m hopeful Angelina is redeemed after this on the run story wraps.
    Bob Guza was the worst writer of the 1st half of 2011. Garb then picked up where he left off.

    Reply

    Rachel replied January 8th, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    Yep Michael Muhney deserves a nom, even an emmy nom, he is as powerful if not more than a Trevor St John (they look alike by the way), yep the writing can be terrible but the guy always manages to make his scenes with EVERY of his screen partners interesting, you can’t deny it, moreover he adds humor and snarky, witty quite twisted banter to the otherwise too serious Y&R, this soap is lucky to have him..too bad their writing is subpar..for the most time (although their dialogue stay superior compare to other soaps)

    Reply

  40. Lola says:
    January 2, 2012 at 9:55 am

    I disagree about Molly burnett. shes annoying. fire her days.

    Reply

  41. marknsprmo says:
    January 2, 2012 at 10:23 am

    Howcome the best story is a doppleganger story and also the doppleganger story is the most over used plot devise and generally universally reviled? How does one write a soap with that kind of information?

    most improved soap of the year Days of our Lives

    Overall the list is a little ABC centric. A couple of nods to Days, a few boos to B&B (was their bad quadangle so bad it needed to be listed twice?) and Y&R and a nice nod to NIkki Newman and the rest was pretty much about ABC. How about that splendidly understated performance that Suzanne Rogers gave this year that pretty much was the reason to watch Days for the first 7 months? She took a thirty year old character that has been backburned for 20 and made her the leading star. She also made her the leading love interest as well as the pivitol character of the whole show.

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:50 pm

    You can’t fault the author with the list being ABC centric…there were a total of 6 soaps on air in 2011 and half of those were on ABC.

    Reply

    Robin replied January 8th, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    please i like the Maggie character, she is sweet but to say she is ‘LEAD’ come on..as for her coupling with Victor..meh..people are outraged by some couples with ugly history but dear Victor tried to kill her daughter but no for this ‘sweet old couple’ all is well and good, sunshine and rainbows..lol

    Reply

  42. Matt says:
    January 2, 2012 at 11:21 am

    Although I agree with most of Michael’s choices here, it seems kind of insensitive and pointless to just call something or someone out as “worst” without any explanation.

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:29 pm

    I soooooooooo agree. He could have at least explained

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    I agree. I’ve said the same thing about actors vs characters. Many characters and their storyline can really stink….but that is not the fault of the actor. The fact they can still carry off these storylines and character changes show that they are good actors. Let’s not bash them as ‘worst’ over things most have no control over!

    Reply

  43. Renata says:
    January 2, 2012 at 11:21 am

    I’ll be glad when OLTL is gone so the soap bloggers will stop tripping all over themselves to pimp that heartless, brittle, plot driven pile of garbage.

    Reply

    barbara t replied January 2nd, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    WHATS YOUR PROBLEM?, and what pile of garbage are you referring to?

    Reply

    Lea replied January 2nd, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    Renata probably thinks that OLTL and especially Ron Carlivati are way over-rated….and I agree with her.

    It’s not as bad as GH, but that is not saying much.

    Y&R is better on it’s worst day than OLTL!!

    MissyLady replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    How many freaking years did everyone jump up and down screaming at the top of their lungs how great GH and Y&R were in years past? What goes around comes around and this time it’s OLTL that has the press jumping for joy. Besides, two weeks from now everyone will be talking about _____________ fill in the blank soap opera.

    Reply

    barbara t replied January 3rd, 2012 at 10:11 am

    oh ,I get it,we are all like little children here ,my soap is better than yours,Still doesnt answer my question ,WHATS YOUR PROBLEM and what pile of garbage are you referring to.

    Reply

  44. JC says:
    January 2, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    I thought Sam and Jason Morgans wedding was the best.
    JJ is a joke as an actor in my opinion. Anyone can bring tears to their eyes.
    Jason Morgan’s BOP is so over-rated.

    Reply

  45. SS says:
    January 2, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    Jason Morgan is far from tortured, he kills, doesn’t seem to care. His son died, he didn’t bother going to the memorial. That’s not tortured, that just disrespectful and I’m with other posters Jonathan Jackson cried ALL the time, happy, sad, he’s been over emotional in scenes for months. He’s done some of the best scenes but regarding overall performance, no way.

    Reply

    Danielle replied January 2nd, 2012 at 7:27 pm

    I totally agree. I think Micheal is more tortured than Jason. But I understood y Jason didn’t go. Thanks to his skank mother Liz, he didn’t get a chance to be in his life.

    Reply

    MissyLady replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:55 pm

    Say what? If Sam had not hired those thugs from the park and then conned Jason into believing that he was a danger to not only Jake, but to Cam then the man would have claimed his son four years ago. Liz is NOT Jason’s mother. The man has a mind of his own which means he could have claimed Jake at any time. You can blame Jason not knowing his son on Brian Frons and his agenda to keep a fictional soap character from being a father to his child.

    Michael Fairman replied January 2nd, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    Jason Morgan in my opinion, this past year was tortured in his soul and as a character, and the irony is – yes , he kills people for a living. Making the choice even more complicated.

    But Jason lost his son Jake, and was tortured over it and the whole event surrounding his choice to stay out of his life, and then stand in the background and let Lucky and Liz grieve for his son, while he stayed out of the way. Then “Franco” comes back, rapes Sam, all in his plan to get to Jason, and Jason is now having issues surrounding that. Jason tries to keep everything in all is hurt and pain, and now is having these outbursts.

    But make no mistake, in a normal soap year for the character of Jason Morgan I would never make him most Tortured. But the guy on a personal level has been through a lot – hired killer or not. That is the best explanation i can give. But hey, all of us are entitled to our opinion, and I do appreciate your thoughts and everyone else’s as well!

    Reply

    CTwildheart replied January 3rd, 2012 at 1:00 pm

    MissyLady, I think Danielle was referring to Liz as the “skank mother” of Jake – not Jason. Also, if you’re gonna go back four years and try and blame Sam…then you probably need to go back more years than that and blame Sonny for giving Jason the opportunity to become a hit man. Or the Quartermaines for pushing him in that directions. Or AJ himself for causing the accident…

  46. nikki says:
    January 2, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    All I know is u got it right with Sonny & Brenda’s wedding.

    Reply

  47. Dani says:
    January 2, 2012 at 7:19 pm

    Jonathan Jackson is no way above reproach for his performances and frankly I am glad to finally read fans all over the internet not blindly praising him as the press does. There are no perfect actors and frankly movie critics over the years have on occassion panned brando, olivier, deniro, streep, hepburn, davis but Jonathan Jackson is above reproach? GMAB.JJ is a good actor but I watch soaps to be entertained and watch an ensemble not emmy baiting monologues and frankly JJ like Tony Geary now fails to connect with his screen partners. Geary does on occassion but JJ’s performances have all been distant. Its disappointing but I think it leads credence to the fact it was Genie Francis who was his glue not Anthony Geary and without her ease and warmth and her part of Lucky, JJ this go around was just an isolated, cold, heartless SOB and like Luke, little remaining of the teen Lucky we all came to adore. Greg Vaughan as it turns out was a better and warmer version of Lucky than JJ has been. Sometimes you can’t go back.

    Reply

  48. Danielle says:
    January 2, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    So the only ones I disagree with are: Most disappointing soap, Most disappointing disappointing episode. I cried becuz they brought all the families back together, Best episode of the year, Worst Return, I think Debbie Morgan is doing an excellent job on Y&R.

    I wish he would have given his reasons

    Reply

  49. Danielle says:
    January 2, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    And Jonatha Jackson cried to damn much

    Reply

  50. Danielle says:
    January 2, 2012 at 7:35 pm

    And I totally disagree with Debbie Morgan being the worst recast. She’s doing a good job as Harmony on the Y&R. Better than the prior person

    Reply

  51. Jim says:
    January 2, 2012 at 9:05 pm

    Ron Carlivati for Best Writing. Really? Dropped storylines and lines such as: Carbon Monoxide: The Silent Killer?’ Um. No.

    Reply

  52. Marina says:
    January 3, 2012 at 7:55 am

    How the heck does Steve Burton, the monotone robot, makes it as runner up for best actor and the extremely brilliant Michael Muhney does not? Sounds like a bias to me by someone confusing Michael and his character Adam. Michael Muhney as Adam is the reason I, and many others, even continue watching Young and the restless. And for the record, while they do have their haters, Sharon and Adam have a legion of fans too. They are def. better than the infantile Billy and Victoria. Billy dumping Victoria to search for himself and stealing a baby for her doesn’t really scream romantic to me, but I could get past that as I have for Sharon and Adam and other couples I love if they had some chemistry, but they don’t. They try way too hard for me. And Jonathan Jackson cries all the time. I do agree with Trevor, he and Michael Muhney are very alike as actors, another reason why I am puzzled by the lack of Michael in this categoty and he was real Todd to me. Not boring Roger Howarth. Oh and I love the Patels.

    Reply

    Robin replied January 8th, 2012 at 1:05 pm

    I agree Marina about Muhney he is the gem of Y&R with maybe Billy Miller.
    As for the Sharon and Adam pairing..well lot’s of daytime people (fans and press) don’t root for ‘controversial’ couples, except few exceptions and above all when the writers whiplashed or quite made cancelled the ‘ugly’ story..Luke and Laura..Luke and Laura..ha ha. Of course the Y&R tptb doesn’t help with their OTT writing..

    Reply

  53. Iakovos says:
    January 3, 2012 at 9:37 am

    Watching the OLTL marathon over the weekend showed me soaps were better back in the day. They seemed more reality based somehow. Stories took their time to play. I was struck by much of this watching the 1979 OLTL episonde which was most of the hour devoted to Karen Wolek (the amazing Judith Light) on the witness stand. As much as I love fansites and entertainment reporting, the spoilers and cast announcmements do ruin the element of surprise. And the constant bedhopping,casual regard for marriage, and near-incest in two major soaps really annoy. OLTL is not perfect (too many secret parentages and lost babies for my taste) and the Two Todds plot was a littlke crazy for my liking… BUT there is a grounding on OLTL I do not find elsewhere. OLTL will be missed. GH can pick up the slack with restoration of legacy characters and an infusion of a new strong core family (perhaps based on a legacy character who has been off the canvas).

    Reply

  54. CTwildheart says:
    January 3, 2012 at 1:27 pm

    I LOVE the debate your list gets! Sadly, I doubt I’ll be looking forward to next years list – if there is one….

    Reply

  55. BETTYEJ says:
    January 3, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    Your list was on target, but this year to me the worst soaps happen to be a tie, Bold and Beautiful and Young and Restless.

    Reply

  56. Vicki says:
    January 7, 2012 at 9:05 pm

    I loved the fact that you acknowledged OLTL, even giving it some of the worst storylines. I disagree with you about the Patels. They are great comic relief and it is refreshing to see an Indian family on a soap. I also disagree about the worst recast. That has to be the actor who plays Jack. While he is a good looking guy, he needs a few years with acting coaches. The little boy who plays Sam is a better actor.In fact, the babies who play Liam and Ryder are better actors.

    Reply

  57. Robin says:
    January 8, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    Michael me think you forget Days Ej and Nicole as well as Ej and Taylor as worst couples, their story was horrible, horrible, horrible and still they continue to put Ej (and interesting character portrayed by an actor who can be awesome with the right screen partners) with Nicole the shallow and i try to hard to be sexy, useless character..and given their story..they are far more cringeworthy than Y&R Sharon/Adam for example and they don’t have even enough strong chemistry to make their awful pairing bearable..awful.

    Reply

  58. Karen says:
    January 17, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    Austins performance of being bullied was a wonderful performance. We have had many suicides of teens in the state and this woke everyone up.Thats whats wrong with the world today and the OLTL writers took this one on supurb. Josh Duhmal was a great come back and I’m glad he called to come back for those few days. I miss the Gillian and Ryan moments it would have been nice to have seen some reflections more with AMC on those dynamic duo

    Reply

  59. Christi says:
    April 1, 2012 at 2:16 am

    I have to say I love love LOVEDDDDD the Jackel PI!!!!!!!! I did not find him irritating at all…. I thought Bradford Anderson was brilliant in the role and both broke my heart and had me laughing hysterically. I also thought that, while I wasn’t happy with much of Garin’s writing, I thought this storyline was awesome. I loved the mystery of it and how so many storylines were woven together.. and there were so many beautiful “touches” like Dianne and Max and Spinelli out by the garbage cans, Max and Dianne arguing while the Jackel, beginning to crack, sits dazed and looking like he wants to jump out of his skin… also how the Jackel laid on the ground reciting twinkle twinkle little star , KNOWING there was SOMETHING he was missing… I just loved it SO much!!!!!!!

    Reply

Leave a comment