You know the story, each show is allowed to offer two actors for prenomination in each category, then the academy chooses the nominees, from the lists each show provides.  While some think it's more equitable, it does mean that talented actors get overlooked.  Was one of them your favorite?

Last year for the first time, the Academy came up with a way to prevent what they thought were attempts by some shows to load the nominations with a lot actors from their own shows.  Having each show submit only two names for each category, they surmised, would allow actors from more shows to be considered.   The Emmy committee then viewed  reels of each of the 'pre-nommed' actors to decide who would actually be considered for the award.  It's kind of like the Olympics; countries don't send every athlete, they only send the top ones.  While this is probably a good thing, some talented and deserving actors are going to get overlooked. 

So let's examine this year's list of actors submitted by ATWT for consideration.  Our own Soapboy gave a complete list of every shows' choices recently, and here are the ones from ATWT:

Best Lead Actress:  Martha Byrne and Maura West

Best Lead Actor:  Roger Howarth and Michael Park

Best Supporting Actress:  Tamara Tunie and Cady McClain

Best Supporting Actor:  Mark Collier and Grayson McCouch

Best Younger Actress:  Jessica Dunphy and Peyton List

Best Younger Actor:  Brent Groneman and Agim Kaba

I congratulate all these people, and I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for them.  They all deserve to win.  However, you may have noticed that there are some names that did not make the list.  Well, don't worry, because I am here to throw a tantrum on behalf of all of you!  Now I know that an actor has to be on contract to be considered; no recurring characters allowed.  But that's not going to stop me from complaining; some of ATWT's recurring actors kick butt and take names as far as their performance is concerned!  So here are only a few of the non-nominated actors whom I believe deserve an Emmy. 

First, what about Trent Dawson?  His Henry is alternatively touching and downright hilarious.  He reacted to Simon's return by screaming like a girl and fainting dead away.  When he came to, he showed his true emotions by embracing his friend, a beautiful brotherly gesture.  Henry is Katie's best friend (and don't you just know that he has a mondo crush on her?), he is Sage's baby sitter much to Jack's dismay, and he is a thorn in the side of the Oakdale PD every chance he gets.  The writers give Henry great lines and situations, and Trent makes the most of every opportunity to steal any scene he's in.  Trent is a talented actor who SHOULD be on contract, but for some reason TPTB haven't offered him one.  The instant they wise up and get his signature on the paper, he should be nominated for an Emmy.

Now who left Hunt Block off this list?  He IS on contract, and he's one heck of an actor!  Of course I love to hate him, but he has been showing his tender side with the adoption story.  Now before you all immediately scroll down to the bottom to get my email addy and send me an earful about how Evil Craig was the cause of everything, YES I agree with you.  But Craig's reason for not wanting to adopt was that he couldn't face possibly going through what he'd gone through in losing Bryant.  The scene where Craig dreamed of fishing with a possible young son, then losing him, showed Craig's softer side.  His bonding with Cabot in spite of himself ("Caaaaaabot!") while the baby held onto Craig's nose was perfect.  His final moments with Rosanna, screaming, begging, and finally collapsing at her feet were incredible.  Hunt Block has done a lot with his character over the years, and the fact that we hate him is a tribute to his talents.  I personally think that Hunt is one of the most underrated actors on daytime today.  He turns in one superior performance after another, and is almost always overlooked by the academy. 

How many scenes does Colleen Zenk Pinter have to rip apart with her intensity before she gets an Emmy?  You love her, you hate her, you sympathize with her, you jeer at her, but she keeps you coming back for more.  Barbara Ryan has been through the mill the past year.  She connived to get Dusty to break up her son and his fiancée, she grieved over the supposed loss of her son Paul, she did everything she could to keep Paul and Rose apart when Paul turned up again, and in the end she tried desperately to protect her younger son Will, to no avail.  And through it all, Colleen squeezed every drop of emotion she had into her performance.  When she showed up at the church in a nun's habit with a pistol in her hand, it was classic Barbara, as only Colleen does.  Not the only actress to play Babs, Colleen took on the role in 1978 and has never slowed down.  And all this in addition to being a fulltime mother/stepmother to six children that she shares with her husband, actor Mark Pinter.  Yet, no Emmy for Colleen.

Marie Masters married a serial killer this year.  Marie has played Susan Stewart for eleven years, took a break for 7 years, then came back and has been with the show for the past 17 or so years.  This year saw her character get a chance for love with that romantic handsome doctor, Ric Decker.  Too bad he was a crazy, patient-killing maniac!  But Marie was exhilarating as the love struck Susan, who thought she'd never have another chance at romance.  She was swept off her feet like a giddy schoolgirl, as Ric pursued her and wooed her.  She fought for her man until forced to confront the awful truth, and Marie turned in a powerful performance as the realization, shock, and horror poured over her.  And now Marie is paired up with Kathryn Hays as two mothers battling over their children's romance, so we can look forward to more banner scenes for her and Kathryn!  Will the Emmy look favorably on her?  Probably not.

I'm sure you have other favorites that you've followed and loved, favorites who have never won an Emmy, never been nominated for an Emmy, never even been considered for an Emmy, and now you find that I overlooked them too.  What does this tell us?  ATWT is packed with talent, from the top to the bottom, actors who labor for the love of their craft, episode after episode, year after year, with little or no recognition from the academy.  All I can tell you is to take a deep breath and join me in a hearty shout of "boooooooo!"

Also, I want to mention that I appreciate your letters.  I've received a few complimentary and a few critical, and I feel honored that you took the time to send me a thoughtful and often opinionated email.  All comments are welcome, even though I can't answer them.  To the person who asked me how James Stenbeck arrived in Oakdale, I also found mention of Brad Hollister as the person he came with.  And to those of you who were a little ticked off that I dissed AMC with a comment about a train wreck last week: while I apologize for putting it in the column if it offended you, I still believe it.  But keep the letters coming!  Good, bad, or ugly, I read them all.

Til then,

I'm in an Oakdale State of Mind!

  CAROL


 

Photos courtesy of CBS Daytime