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Drama: is there anything else quite like it? There's a reason that conflict, emotions and aggression are always easily able to snag our attention. Drama was on everyone's mind Saturday night as the 2012 Daytime Emmy Awards aired. Read on to find out who the big winners were.
Oscar Lives Up To His Name
The evening began on a light note with Anderson Cooper and Oscar the Grouch getting into a little banter about the quality of daytime TV. Suffice it to say that Oscar lived up to his name. After Cooper's praising introduction to the ceremonies, Oscar remarked, "Thanks for that big pile of steaming garbage! I hate daytime. It's the worst time of the day." Cooper reminded Oscar that he's been on a daytime TV program for years, which he grudgingly acknowledged. Guess living in a garbage can isn't great for one's demeanor. The banter was a bit cheesy, but hey, when you're honoring daytime television, there's no such thing as too much cheese.
Fifth Time's A Charm
Jonathan Jackson of General Hospital was a big winner this evening grabbing his fifth Daytime Emmy for his portrayal of Lucky Spencer. Jackson gave an energetic, gregarious speech, thanking an awful lot of people -- the entire cast and crew of General Hospital, as well as his parents, wife and kids, siblings, and a couple kids he hung out with a few times in third grade. (Okay, that last one may not be true, but it seemed like it could have been.) He also added thanks to the monks of Mount Athos, who, he said, "are ceaselessly praying for the life of the world."
In Good Taste
The evening's award most dependent upon the taste of the voters, Outstanding Culinary Program, went to Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction. The very dapper, TV-ready Bobby Flay was on hand to accept. He thanked his wife, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit star Stephanie March, to cheers from the audience. Flay then graciously turned and thanked the producers and directors who make the show possible -- all of whom were women! "It takes a village of women to prop up one guy," Flay quipped. He closed by saying, "I dropped out of high school in tenth grade and food saved my life. Thank you."
A View On A Lifetime
None other than Barbara Walters was on hand to present the evening's Lifetime Achievement Award to The View producer Bill Geddie. Walters gave Geddie a truly flowery introduction, saying that "When we put the show on the air, we were told we didn't have a prayer in daytime -- but Bill's leadership got us through some dark days." Upon accepting the award, Geddie remarked "35 years ago I was buffing the floors of a TV station in Oklahoma and I was watching Barbara Walters interview someone on television. I thought to myself, one day I'm going to be a thorn in that woman's side. I'm going to make her sick of me! Only in America." Geddie went on to thank "Every TV host who ever said what they really felt in front of a camera."
The Trifecta
Heather Tom of The Bold And The Beautiful completed something of a Daytime Emmy triple crown Saturday night, garnering the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series, which means she has now won in all three acting categories -- for Young Actress and Supporting Actress as well. Tom gave one of the most measured, composed speeches of the night -- even though she had tears in her eyes as she approached the podium! She thanked showrunner Brad Bell for being "the best boss a girl can have," and, noting she is pregnant, thanked her husband "for giving me so many things -- not the least of which is kicking me right now!"
Thanks For The Memories
Daytime-TV legend Susan Lucci came out to give a speech in honor of her now concluded series, All My Children. Lucci recounted someone telling her once that "They say that cotton is the fabric of our lives, but I think it's all my children!" Lucci was a bit wild-eyed with devotion to the program that gave her fame, and it's clear she recognizes just how much the program did for her. Soap stars Cameron Mathison and Erica Slezak joined Lucci to honor other soaps, including the now gone One Life To Live.
It Doesn't Get Any More Dramatic Than This
Lucci returned to present Outstanding Drama Series which went to General Hospital. As the entire cast and crew of the show piled onto the stage, recently departed exec producer Jill Farren Phelps accepted the award. Thanking everyone associated with the program in a gracious fashion, she added a remark that really closed the ceremony on a touching note. "Someone once told me that the best stories never end," she said. "From the old guard to the new guard, keep the magic going." That does it for this dramatic evening. What did you think -- did anyone get robbed? Are you on the General Hospital bandwagon? How'd you feel about Anderson and Oscar?
