Top 10 Actors

1. Van Hansis

2. Jon Hensley

3. Robert S. Woods

4. Tyler Christopher

5. Peter Bergman

6. Rick Hearst

7. Tuc Watkins

8 David Canary

9. Jordon Clarke

10. Anthony Geary

 

 

Van Hansis, ATWT (Luke Snyder)- what do you say about his amazing young man? He can do it all- anger, vulnerability, weeping, physical pain and love. Why can’t all the soaps have ATWT’s cast director?

Jon Hensley, ATWT (Holden Snyder) – Yes, I know- 2 ATWT actors topping the list. Sue me.

Going back to the beginning of the year, his performance as a man who felt abandoned and felt guilty about it during his wife’s coma was outstanding. He is a staunch supporter of his gay son and can switch from angry to vulnerable on a dime. Watch for Hensley at Emmy time. 

 
Robert S. Woods, OLTL (Bo Buchanan) - was there a better single performance this year than Bo grieving his father in the family barn? I don’t think so.

 

Tyler Christopher, GH (Nikolas Cassadine)- if anyone can tell me that they didn’t feel every bit of Nik’s grief when Emily died, I will eat this laptop. Excellent Emmy reel for the talented Mr. Christopher.

 

Peter Bergman, Y&R (Jack Abbott) - He’s consistently awesome.

 

Rick Hearst, GH (Ric Lansing) - see #5.

 

Tuc Watkins, OLTL (David Vickers) - Get this man on contract. NOW.

 

David Canary, AMC (Adam and Stuart Chandler)- much like Alicia Minshew, poor David was given so many horrible scenarios to play this year and still infused Adam and Stuart with lvitality, vulnerability and bite.

Jordan Clarke, GL (Billy Lewis) - watching his tearing grief at Reva’s bedside to his continuing struggle against alcoholism, Billy is always fascinating because Jordan always hits the right notes.

 

Anthony Geary, GH (Luke Spencer)- Because he’s Anthony Freaking Geary. Enough said. No? How about he shines with Kin Shiner and Jane Elliott? No? He can do it all and when he’s gone you want him back? Yes, that’s it.

 

Top 10 Actresses of 2007

1. Beth Ehlers, Guiding Light
2. Catherine Hickland, One Life to Live
3. Melody Thomas Scott, Young and Restless
4. Alicia Minshew, All My Children
5. Erika Slezak, One Life to Live
6. Susan Flannery & Katherine Kelly Lang, Bold & Beautiful
7. Kirsten Storms, General Hospital
8. Deidre Hall, Days of Our Lives
9. Maura West, As the World Turns
10. Gina Tognoni, Guiding Light

Beth Ehlers, GL (Harley Cooper Aituro) - This lady doesn’t get enough credit. Not only did she sell us on Harley the independent woman, Harley the Devoted Mom/Sister/Daughter and Harley of the Panic Attacks, her turn as Irna Phillips during the GL flashback episode was scarily good.

Catherine Hickland, OLTL (Lindsey Rappaport)- Not only do we love Ron Carlivati for revitalizing OLTL, we love him for putting the luminous and endlessly fascinating Lindsey in a murder mystery that actually made sense. And we couldn’t take our eyes from Catherine’s riveting performance.

Melody Thomas Scott, Y&R (Nikki Newman) - it takes a brave actress to appear on screen for days on end with greasy hair and no makeup. MTS knew it was the right choice to portray a frantic mother worried about her child. We also loved Nikki going toe to toe with her formidable and ruthless husband, Victor.

Alicia Minshew, AMC (Kendall Hart Slater)- Watching her try to spin gold out of the crap the AMC writers were giving her was painful but she made it work. Almost.

Erika Slezak, OLTL (Victoria Lord) - Not only is she my hero for calling Dena Higley out on her ish, but she’s like totally good.

Susan Flannery & Katherine Kelly Lang, B&B (Stephanie Forrester, Brooke Logan) - How can you include one and not the other this year? The feud went beyond petty into downright horrible with Brooke’s rape and the aftermath. These two were consistently amazing.

Kirsten Storms, GH (Maxie Jones) - What is it about Days actors being so good in other roles? Kirsten rocks Maxie’s fierceness as well as hints at her vulnerable, insecure side.

Deidre Hall, Days (Marlena Evans Black) - From tearing grief to consoling mother to worthy adversary, Deidre showed how masterful she can be when she’s allowed.

Maura West, ATWT (Carly Tenney) - just because she’s awesome and the show is terrible without her.

Gina Tognoni, GL (Dinah Marler) - watching the first scenes after Dinah lost her memory was so realistic it was hard to watch. Seeing Dinah struggle with remembering how to turn a doorknob? Heartbreaking.

Top 10 Rivalries

1. Liz vs. Sam (General Hospital)
2. Rosie vs. Elizabeth (The View)
3. Jack vs. Genoa City (Young & Restless)
4. Lumi vs. EJami (Days of Our Lives)
5. Dorian & Lindsay vs. Viki & Nora (One Life to Live)
6. Carly vs. Katie (As the World Turns)
7. Todd Manning vs. the McBain Family (One Life to Live)
8. Josh vs. His Brain, or Lack Thereof (Guiding Light)
9. Donna vs. Stephanie (Bold & Beautiful)
10. Guza vs. the Quartermaines and Their Fans (General Hospital)

Liz vs. Sam: Without question Liz vs. Sam is the biggest rivalry in daytime. Whether it is just Liz vs. Sam or Liason vs. LuSam or their other not so nice couple names, no one topic generates more back and forth online or amongst Daytime Confidential listeners in the TV Fan Online Forums than the great Liz vs. Sam debate.

Rosie vs. Elizabeth: After months of simmering tension behind the scenes and onscreen an all out war erupted between Rosie and Elizabeth on The View. It was quite literally some of the most fascinating TV to air all year. Egos were bruised, Rosie quit the show before her contract was up and conservatives championed Elizabeth as the Rosie slayer. Even after leaving the show Rosie continued to bash Elizabeth with much the same ferocity that she had went after Donald Trump earlier in the year.

Jack vs. Genoa City: Long time fans of the Young and Restless have been fuming over the hatched job done to the character of Jack Abbot by LML in 2007. Thanks to her Jack Abbot was in every imaginable rivalry. Pit against Catherine, Nikki, Jill, Gloria, Neil, Michael, Victor, Sharon, and his conscious Jack Abbot seemed to be fighting a new battle at every turn. And though some of the storylines were fascinating to watch, Jack Abbot fans watched in horror as one after another he lost each battle he had fought so valiantly. After such a bruising year for Jack Abbot maybe 2008 will the be the year of Victor Newman's downfall.

EJami vs. Lumi: After all these years who would have though that Lucas would actually have a viable rival for Sami's affection? Unlike Austin and countless other men, who we all knew were just mere speed bumps on the road towards Lumi, the character of EJ and the EJami pairing continues to eat away at the Lumi fan base, polarizing Sami fans and generating tons of conversations on Days of Our Lives forums everywhere.

Dorian & Lindsay vs. Viki & Nora: For years we've seen Dorian do battle with Viki and Lindsay do battle with Nora but it was 2007 that we saw most evidence to date that a Dorian & Lindsay vs. Viki and Nora battle is brewing. Anyone who watched the charity casino night where Viki lost 20 million to Dorian for charity saw the foreshadowing as Lindsey hovered over Dorian's should and Nora hovered over Viki's. Thanks to four amazing actresses and great writing we can't wait to see more of this rivalry.

Carly vs. Katie: This was the year of Carly vs. Katie on As the World Turns. They fought over pretty much anything and everything imaginable. Portrayed by talented actresses, the characters of Carly and Katie are a bit worse for the wear as 2007 winds to a close but with the dawning of 2008 comes the hope that their rivalry will continue to grow, though hopefully with a bit more character development.

Todd Manning vs. the McBain Family: Some of One Life to Live's best moments of 2007 came from the rivalry being developed between Todd Manning and the McBain family. From the moments of pure heartbreak when Marcie testified in court with Todd looking on without sympathy, to the anger of Michael towards Todd for what he was doing to he and his wife or the uneasy partnership between John and Todd as they searched for Marcie the rivalry between Todd Manning and the McBain family is and was something we are tuning for.

Josh vs. His Brain, or lack thereof: Why is it that such an ugly rivalry has developed between Josh and his own brain? Watching him battle himself is one of the most painful things in all of daytime. Unfortunately, it appears to be a battle he is losing, as his brain becomes a bigger and bigger black of nothingness each day he remains with Cassie. Little else can explain the decisions Josh has made over the past year. Here's to what little remains of this once great character.

Donna vs. Stephanie: Step aside Jackie, get out of the way Brooke, there's a new rivalry on the Bold and the Beautiful and it's a good one. Who could have guessed that the rivalry between Donna and Stephanie could be so entertaining? This rivalry is a new twist on the Logan vs. Forrester age-old battle and it's almost a guilty pleasure.

Guza vs. the Quartermaines and Their Fans: No battle on our list, save Viki vs. Dorian, has been fought for as long or as hard as Guza vs. the Quartermaine family and the fans who support them. The actors who portray(ed) Lila (until she died), Edward, and Alan were all fired at least once before fan outrage and campaigns brought them back in some form. The actors who portray(ed) Ned, Lois, Brook Lynn, AJ, and Justice saw their characters written off or killed. In 2007 alone Guza has killed off three Quartermaines; Alan, Emily, and Georgie and though fans were able to save Alan there seems little hope that Emily or Georgie will receive such a reprieve. In this ongoing battle 2008 is shaping up to be a pivotal year.

You all are going to have to forgive me on this one. Last night when I went to post the Top 10 Storylines I had a great description for each choice as to why we chose it and then when I was about finished I hit the wrong key and lost it all. So here, in a much more simple format, is the Top 10 Storylines of 2007.

The ironic thing about the Top 10 Storylines of 2007 is that even though we hate mob storylines, murder, and the killing of veteran and heritage family characters, five of our Top 10 involved the death's of veteran or heritage family characters.

We hate that General Hospital killed off Alan Quartermaine but there is no denying that the Metro Court Hostage Crisis was a great format and that there have been many repercussions. We hate that One Life to Live killed off Asa but how they have used the death to spawn other storylines has been flawless. We hate that Days of Our Lives killed off John but it provided two of the best weeks the show has had in a long time. We hate that General Hospital killed off Emily Quartermaine but it provided Tyler Christopher, Rebecca Herbst and Leslie Charlson the opportunity to display some of their best work in years. On Guiding Light, I personally never cared for Tammy but if one takes a look at the repercussions of her death there is no denying that killing off Tammy  had a major impact.

Top 10 Storylines

1. Metro Court (General Hospital)
2. Asa's Death and reading of the will  & Viki in Paris Texas (One Life to Live)
3. Luke & Noah, daytime's first gay couple (As the World Turns)
4. John Black's Death (Days of Our Lives)
5. Emily's Death (General Hospital)
6. Tammy's Death (Guiding Light)
7. Who Shot Stephanie (Bold & Beautiful)
8. 70th Anniversary Episode (Guiding Light)
9. 5000th Episode (Bold & Beautiful)
10. Stephano's Return (Days of Our Lives)

One thing that Lisa and I have discussed at various points throughout the year is how few really good couples there are in daytime anymore, in terms of true romance. That is one of the reason's why the Top 10 Couples of 2007 was a hard category to decide on.

Top 10 Couples

1. Luke & Noah (As the World Turns)
2. Elizabeth & Jason (General Hospital)
3. EJ & Sami (Days of Our Lives)
4. Luke & Tracy (General Hospital)
5. Jared & Natalie (One Life to Live)
6. Lucky & Sam (General Hospital)
7. Lizzie & Bill (Guiding Light)
8. Lucas & Sami (Days of Our Lives)
9. Colleen & Korbel (Before Recast, Young & Restless)
10. Ashley & Coop (Guiding Light)

Luke & Noah: No couple in daytime received as much mainstream press as As the World Turns' Luke and Noah. However, what is ironic about this couple is that even though they made headlines for being the first gay couple in daytime they are actually an honest to goodness romantic couple.

Elizabeth & Jason: Liason made earned the second spot on our list for the sheer fact that this couple has been years in the making and even though they slept together in 2006 it was 2007 that they finally came into their own.

EJ & Sami: You might find it odd that Days of Our Live's Sami Brady appears twice on our list but we had to do it. There is a connection and chemistry between EJ and Sami that can not be denied and everyone can tell that Sami is fighting her feelings for EJ. However, the reason we've ranked EJami so high is because EJ has done one thing for Sami that Lucas has never done and probably never will. EJ accepts Sami for who she is, no matter what.

Luke & Tracy: Who knew that Luke would ever find a woman beside Laura he could truly love? Certainly not Luke. But that is what has happened with Luke and Tracy Quartermaine and what started out as blackmail became true love in 2007. Tracy accepts Luke for who he is, long "vacations" and all but will still call him on his crap. Luke sees through Tracy's frosty exterior and loves her for her insecurities.

Jared and Natalie: Two word is all it takes to describe this couple, fantastically refreshing.

Lucky & Sam: 2007 may have been the year of Liason but 2008 is almost certainly going to be the year of LuSam. They're popularity continues to sky rocket and the fact that they even those of us who aren't fans of the couple can admit they are hot together has to say something for them doesn't it? It would not surprise us if this couple moved much higher on next year's list.

Lizzie & Bill: These two are the newest couple on our list and they've only slept together once but its obvious that Guiding Light has struck gold with Lizzie and Bill. These two have single handedly made it worth watching Guiding Light again and that doesn't happen very often. Now if they would just keep Ava away from them everything would be right in the world.

Lucas & Sami: For years we've wanted these two to get together. For years we've wanted to Lucas to accept Sami for who she is. Well we got one of our two wishes and in many respects it was worth it. Unfortunately Lucas never seems to be able to accept Sami for who she is and unless that changes this couple doesn't have a prayer. Last year this time Lumi would have made it into our top 3 picks, the way things are going Lumi won't even be on next years list.

Colleen & Korbell: The Young & Restless struck gold with Adrienne Leon and Eyal Podell as Colleen and Korbell and then they had to go and #&@#$@#*& it up by firing Adrienne Leon because of her weight and recasting the character. So here is to the one true Cadrian. You'll never be the same and we miss you dearly.

Ashlee & Coop: Why do we love Coop and Ashlee? Besides their cool squish name, we love that Ashlee is the confident one, that Ashlee insisted that Coop win her and has made the otherwise bland character of Coop into someone likable and dare we say fun?

Honorable Mentions: Our own Belinda (Daytime Confidential) & Jerry Jacks (General Hospital), David Vickers & John McBain (One Life to Live), Stephanie & Brooke (Bold & Beautiful), Marina & Cyrus (Guiding Light), Brad & Katie (As the World Turns)