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On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman's Best and Worst List of 2011!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/ABC

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

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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.

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?

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….

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!

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!

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.

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

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

Happy New Year!!!

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 🙂

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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”.

All My Children

‘All My Children’ Episodes to Stream on Pluto TV Canada

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Starting on May 1, All My Children fans in Canada will be able to see classic episodes of the beloved former ABC soap opera when they stream on Pluto TV Canada. 

Pluto TV picked-up the All My Children Channel that the Nixon family has created in partnership with BEONDTV +. The show which aired for 41 years on ABC and ended on the network in 2011, had so many memorable storylines and characters; the least of which is the enduring run of Erica Kane played by soap icon, Susan Lucci.

As previously reported, starting with episodes from the year 1995, which was the 25th anniversary of the soap. Pluto TV Canada viewers will be able to catch 8 episodes on repeat per day. With the success of the venture, the Nixons are hopeful that they will bring viewers many more years of the show to come.

Photo: ABC

Sarah Nixon, producer, shared with Michael Fairman TV exclusively, “We are thrilled that Pluto TV has launched All My Children in Canada! Let’s hope the engagement from our incredibly loyal fans across the border will encourage ABC to bring it to the U.S.!  We share what Aggie (Agnes Nixon) always felt, that it is the enthusiasm and love from the fans that has kept this legacy beloved and relevant – to this day!”

In addition, 0ne week ago, during Susan Lucci’s visit to Los Angeles promoting her book La Lucci, she was joined by her former Pine Valley castmates, Rebecca Budig (ex-Greenlee, AMC, now Taylor, B&B) and Eva LaRue (ex-Maria, AMC) and the trio posed for a pic. At that time, LaRue shared via Instagram, “NEW All My Children channel streaming classic episodes 24/7 now on Pluto TV Canada! Fingers crossed to watch soon on Pluto US.”

That was also confirmed this week by TV Watercooler’s Jeevan Brar who took to X and expressed,The All My Children channel begins streaming this Friday, May 1 on Pluto TV Canada.

So, Canadian viewers, excited about Pluto TV’s All My Children channel? United States fans, hopeful from Sarah’s message that perhaps soon, we can see the beloved soap once again as well? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

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Mark Consuelos Mourns the Loss of His Father

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Saul Consuelos, the father of All My Children alum and Live with Kelly and Mark co-host, Mark Consuelos (ex0-Mateo, AMC), has died. During an emotional moment on this mornings, April 6 edition of the syndicated talk show, Mark shared, that his dad, “passed away peacefully” back on March 23 following a long illness.

His wife and co-host, Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) paid tribute to her her father-in-law expressing, he was, “the greatest person I’ve ever known. I can honestly say I will miss him every day for the rest of my life, as I know you will, as our children will. He really is so symbolic of everything you are.”

Kelly and Mark’s children, Joaquin, Michael and Lola Consuelos are said to be taking this extremely hard. Ripa added, “This is the first loss they’ve ever experienced in their lives. And I said, ‘By the time I was 8, I had no grandparents. You got to grow up (with grandparents). You got to have deep, meaningful conversations (with them).”

Photo: KRipaIG

In another moment, Mark reflected on his dad. “It’s funny, I used to make a joke about my dad … if you asked him what time it was, he would tell you how to build a watch. There were a lot of lectures, a lot of lectures and I learned so much. If he was fixing something in the house, he’d make me watch and do it. And I didn’t know at the time why he was doing that. But now at the house, I’m able to do at least half of the stuff that he did. I learned the most by just watching him.”

Mark added that Saul Consuelos came to the U.S. from Mexico in his early teens and served our county for decades, detailing, he “Ended up at Special Operations Command in Tampa. This young kid from Mexico just got his education from the navy. Was always going to school. Was brilliant. Got his Masters while I was a kid.  He loved his country so much, If you’re going to put a face to an immigrant, he would be the prime example of what this country promises people.”

In a very heart-tugging moment, Consuelos shared that now its important they be there for his mother, Camilla. “We gotta take care of mom. We’re trying to convince my mom to move to New York. She’s such a character, she’s stubborn. What do you think, a cooking segment here on Fridays with Camilla?”

Now below, watch the very touching and emotional moments as Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa mourn the loss of Saul Consuelos.

Let us know, what you thought of the remarks made by Kelly and Mark on the death of Mark’s father via he comment section.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar Visits ‘The View’ Where Hosts Sidestep Controversial ‘Buffy’ Reboot Axing, But Talk ‘All My Children’

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On yesterday’s March 17 episode of The View, All My Children alum, Sarah Michelle Gellar (ex-Kendall Hart), was the special guest. Since Monday, Gellar has been the subject of a hot-button issue since about the surprising turn of events that the highly-anticipated Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, in which she stars, and which was directed in the pilot by Oscar-winning director, Chloé Zhao, was no longer moving forward.

Gellar‘s appearance on the ABC morning talk show was devoid of any mention of Hulu cancelling its planned Buffy: New Sunnydale, in which Sarah was set to appear along with Ryan Kiera Armstrong. However, Gellar did discuss her new movie Ready or Not 2: Here I Come from Searchlight Pictures.

It should be noted that both Hulu and Searchlight Pictures are owned by The Walt Disney Company, while The View is produced by ABC News, which is also owned by The Walt Disney Company.

Courtesy/ABC

During the awkward interview, when it became clear the ‘Buffy’ reboot topic was off the table, The View co-host Sunny Hostin, talked about the “intense fight scenes” that have become a staple of her TV and film career starting with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scream 2, and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

The ladies of The View also brought up Sarah’s beginnings on All My Children as Kendall Hart (1993-1995), showing a scene with her and her on-screen mother, the iconic Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci. The discussion sprung out of another All My Children alum, Michael B. Jordan (ex-Reggie Montgomery) winning the Oscar this past Sunday for Best Actor for his role in Sinners. The View’s Joy Behar was quick to point out with Gellar, the All My Children alums that have gone on to great fame.

Photo: ABC

Previously on Monday, Gellar opened up to PEOPLE about being blindsided before while at the SXSW Film & TV Festival premiere for Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. “I got the call as we were stepping onto stage for the premiere of their own movie. And it’s also the weekend of Chloé going to the Oscars as a best director nominee for Hamnet. For them to call us on the Friday of what should have been Chloé’s victory lap for an incredible film, and my world premiere of something that I worked very hard for is… that says something.”

She went to say, “We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for him.” Deadline reports that “multiple sources” identified the executive as Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich.

“I loved the duality that we had with this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now,” Gellar told People about the setup.  However, according also to Deadline “After the pilot was completed and delivered, according to multiple sources, Hulu’s main note was that it played too young, with some indicating that the streamer also felt the show was too “small.”’

In the rewrite, sources also told the outlet that the writers did not take big enough swings, so they set out to do a rewrite it again. The last revision was more adult, featuring a lot more of Gellar’s Buffy, and was described as a more of a streaming show than a network one. When all is said and done there is hope that another Buffy IP will be up and running within the next couple of years.

You can check out Sarah Michelle Gellar’s full segment on The View below. Now let us know, bummed there is no Buffy reboot? What do you think about how this high profile Hollywood saga was side-stepped on the morning show? Did you love Sarah as the original Kendall Hart on All My Children? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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