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This year marked my fifth year on the red carpet at the Daytime Emmy Awards. The event took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on June 16, 2013. The telecast was hosted by AJ Hammer (Showbiz Tonight), Sam Champion (Good Morning America), and Robin Meade (CNN Morning Express) on HLN.
Getting to do the red carpet was not an easy feat, but with the help and expression from fellow fans and colleagues, THE BUZZ was able to attend to get some video interviews. It seemed very…busy. Maybe it was just me, but it became so tight, it made it much more difficult to snag people down for interviews. However, in spite of that, I was able to meet some new faces, talked with a few familiar ones, and had a good time doing so. In that retrospect, it was worth it. Networking in this business is a must.
As far as the ceremony was concerned, I wish it could have centered a bit more on the daytime dramas this year. After all, as Nelson Branco pointed out in SoapUncensored (which I completely forgot), we did not see a celebration of the anniversaries of “The Young and the Restless” and “General Hospital.” You have two shows that turned 40 and 50 years respectively, and not even a clip package for both shows to honor them. How come? Seeing past and current cast members pay homage to their shows, while also showing some classic clips would have been wonderful. It would not only benefit the fans, but also everyone in the industry as well.
Now, how could we also forget that even the Daytime Emmys celebrated a milestone? The award ceremony itself turned 40! Imagine if we saw some memorable moments from Daytime Emmys past. One clip, in particular, they could have shown was the infamous win for Susan Lucci in 1999. Another aspect that could have been done to celebrate the awards was maybe some background about how it first came into production, talk about honoring those in daytime television, etc. Instead of that, we were subjected to couch interviews, which seemed very awkward and off-putting, and singing.
I was intrigued by the couch interviews at first, but when you have this done right after they win their award, it seems very…forced. I honestly felt that was what the press room was for. I noticed that addition ended rather abruptly. I also took notice that my Twitter feed was not too fond of the show, including some within the industry. If you have soap actors, and other people within the industry opening up about their feelings on the telecast, and not a one of it is positive, something is amiss.
The main audience who watches the Daytime Emmys is the soap opera fans. The majority who attend are soap opera actors. Do the math here. Having it center more on the talk programming aspect of it will make the soap fans object to the show. A major comment that always gets made is the lack of clips being shown. While it was a good idea to put the reels on the HLN website for fans to see, having a clip being shows during the nomination announcements, it gets everyone there a chance to see a little glimpse into their acting ability.
There were a couple of things I did enjoy. For one thing, the Aisha Tyler incident where she got the wrong envelope? That was hilarious how she handled that off the cuff. Who also did not laugh when they saw Julie Berman‘s face when it was announced she won? All I kept saying in my head was, “Julie, you HAVE to get up!” I thought people were joking when they said George Lucas AND Carrie Fisher were there. Doug Davidson FINALLY winning the award after playing the role of Paul Williams on “Y&R” for 35 years was my favorite part of the evening. Very well deserved!
I do hope that we get a televised Daytime Emmys next year, but I think it needs to shift focus. With the fact that we now have 6 soaps back in the mix again, we can garner more attention to the soaps. Maybe do a compilation of interviews/scenes about the returns of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.” Honestly, in my opinion, I think TVGN could take on the Day. Emmys. As CBS partly owns the channel now, it would be a good fit for a channel that centers on television. With “Y&R” coming to the network on July 1, I could see the Daytime Emmys finding a new home. Angelica McDaniel, the Senior Vice-President of CBS Daytime, knows how to make an award ceremony work. I think this would be a great change if this were to take place. While some may not receive the channel, what if the possibility of a live stream on its website were made available? At this point, anything is possible, correct?
In conclusion, it was wonderful to see everyone in daytime come together to celebrate the genre they work so hard in. I will never understand why this genre gets the flack as it does, as the actors go in 5 days a week, memorize TONS of pages of dialogue each and every day, writers coming up with new storyline ideas…it is a tough job and a tough business. However, we have some of the best in it, and they make it work. Congratulations to everyone who got the gold that night! Until next year…
