It is time again to discuss the best and worst of the year on soap operas. This year is slightly different than the past years because we have a new soap with Beyond The Gates. It is also different that three out of the five soaps weren’t horrible this year.
Best Matriarch: Tracy, General Hospital
What a year this has been for Jane Elliot and the character of Tracy. Tracy used to be the black sheep of the Quartermaine family to the point that she once had the family robbed on Thanksgiving and has been kicked out of the family home multiple times by Monica. Now she is the center of the family and inherited the family home.
It has been a joy to watch Tracy become the matriarch of the Quartermaine family. She supported Michael in his custody battle with Willow and didn’t snitch on him when she saw him at Drew’s house after he was shot. She’s bonded with her criminal nephew Jason over his mother Monica. She’s tried her best to bring newly discovered grandson Gio into the family fold and protect him from the dangers of his grandfather Sonny.
Jane Elliot has truly been the Most Valuable Player for GH this year. She’s done wonderful work all year especially with the fallout from Monica’s death. I know she doesn’t put herself up for Daytime Emmy nominations often, but she should for her work this year. She needs to be nominated with her best friend Deidre Hall in Outstanding Lead Actress and one of them needs to win.
Worst Matriarch: Brooke, The Bold and the Beautiful
Brooke married a man who calls her daughter a bitch and a slut. What kind of mother does that? If a man Taylor was with called Steffy a bitch and a slut, I feel confident that Taylor wouldn’t put on a sexy night gown for him. Though this is consistent behavior for Brooke. She was with Bill when he was actively trying to ruin Hope’s life. Brooke always puts herself first and that makes her the worst matriarch on soaps.
Best Recast: Rory Gibson as Michael, General Hospital
I’m sure you are shocked at this choice. I apologize if you dramatically dropped your coffee mug at one of the most well-received recasts in soap history being named the best recast of the year. Though if you think about it, you should blame Rory Gibson for that shattered coffee mug. It isn’t my fault that he’s talented and handsome and is everything we wanted for the character of Michael. So when your mother-in-law tells you that your husband’s high school girlfriend Shelly Carmack wouldn’t have dropped that mug, you remember to blame bubble butted Rory and not me. Send him the invoice!
Worst Recast: Billy Flynn as Cane, The Young and the Restless
Another shocking choice. Who would have thought a forty year old American man playing a fifty something Australian would be considered the worst recast of the year? Who could have predicted that fans wouldn’t respond well to the weird train thing or constantly talking about A.I. or the baffling pairing with Phyllis? If you dramatically spat out a mouthful of wine onto a Dickensian street urchin at the surprise of this pick, that’s Josh Griffith’s fault. He created the mess. Billy Flynn is doing the best he can with multiple things working against him. There’s a reason why fans compare this to Maura West playing Diane Jenkins.
Actors Who I No Longer Want To Be Fired: Brandon Claybon & Giovanni Mazza, Beyond The Gates and General Hospital
Earlier this year, I declared that if Brandon Claybon’s acting didn’t improve by June, they should recast the role of Martin. Fortunately, Brandon has gotten better. His work when Martin’s secret about having to kill that racist in self-defense was good. He’s also shown a lot of growth when Martin was fighting for his marriage to Smitty. I am happy that they don’t have to recast Martin and they can put off the second big recast on Beyond The Gates for whenever it needs to happen.
In the case of Giovanni Mazza, it was a combination of a botched character introduction and limp acting that had me wanting him to be shown the door in 2024. Gio just randomly playing the violin was not interesting. However, GH and Giovanni Mazza worked to fix fan sentiment. They brought on Emma as his love interest and started working on a retcon that he was Dante and Brook Lynn’s son. They also gave the character a more fun and charming vibe. Giovanni also improved his acting. Now fans like Gio and no longer want him to be beaten to death with his violin.
Best Wedding In Terms of Romance: Bo and Hope, Days of Our Lives
I’m not even a big fan of Bo and Hope, but I thought the episode where they remarried was so heartfelt and special. The episode was all in the Horton house with Bo and Hope and newly created flashbacks of Tom and Alice. It really goes to show that you can achieve good soap opera on a small budget. You just have to utilize the characters well. It also helps when you are playing on decades of history of a beloved couple that fans had been waiting for years to reunite. I view that episode as a straight up gift to fans.
Best Wedding In Terms of Drama: Bill and Hayley, Beyond The Gates
Michele Val Jean really decided to start her new soap off with a bang when the first week ended with Dani pulling a gun on her ex-husband Bill and his side piece Hayley. It made a statement in terms of drama and for who Dani is as a character. She isn’t inherently a violent person, but Bill and Hayley had pushed her too far. It wasn’t just Bill leaving her for Hayley. It was them moving into Fairmont Crest and Hayley parading herself around the country club.
Dani was also forced to attend the wedding due to Bill blackmailing Anita and Vernon. Being forced to watch your ex-husband marry the former best friend of your daughter would drive a person to do something crazy. I have a feeling Dani might have to get the gun out again with the recent murderous revelations about Hayley and I can’t wait for it.
Weirdest Writing Choice On General Hospital: Writing Britt Like She’s Rocco’s Real Mommy
General Hospital has been good this year and I’ll give Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten their flowers in part two of this list. This is part one so they are getting scolded for the absolute idiocy of writing Britt like she’s Rocco’s real mother. She was Dante and Lulu’s OB/GYN and she stole their embryo and implanted it in herself. She did all this to try to keep Patrick Drake. Dante and Lulu didn’t get Rocco back until he was eight months old. Why would you look at this nasty history and play it like an adoption story?
It is so offensive to tell a story that basically says because Rocco came out of Britt’s vagina that she’s his real mother. Oh, and she fed him avocado! That clearly matters more than the years of lovingly being raised by Lulu. Apparently that matters so much that Britt, Liesl and Nathan are referred to as Rocco’s other family. Maybe Rocco’s new “grandmother” Liesl can tell him about the time she held him with one hand and had a dagger in the other hand while Dante and Lulu looked on in horror. What a fun memory with his “real” family!
I understand up to a point that they wanted to play this history with Britt’s return from the dead, but they didn’t need to sniff a bunch of glue and decide to write it like Britt is Rocco’s real mother. It feels like the same level of offensive as when they tried to make Natalia the homophobe a victim for Ava outing her as a bigot. There needs to be someone to tell Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten that Britt isn’t Rocco’s real mother because he came out of her vagina and she changed his diapers to trap a man. Even now Britt is declaring that Rocco is her son and it is disgusting.
The Annie Dutton Award For Achievement In Being Crazy: Allison, Beyond The Gates
It is new for a soap psycho to hire a male escort to pretend to be her husband so she can have threesomes with the influencer she’s obsessed with. It is also new to have a Black bisexual psychotic woman on a soap. I think it is progressive to treat LGBT characters like you would a straight character. An LGBT person could go crazy and kidnap someone. We aren’t all delicate and mentally well angels. Some of us need to be in a padded room.
I also have to commend Brianna Roberts for her performance. She struck a balance between what you’d expect from a soap psycho and also felt like a real person who desperately needs help for her delusions. I want her to return. Whether it would be as a newly mentally well Allison or because she wants to put Chelsea in a cage this time, I’d take either one.
Weirdest Writing Choice on Days of Our Lives: Keeping Ron Carlivati’s OutlineÂ
Usually when new head writers are hired, the plans of the former head writer get trashed and they wrap up those stories and start their own stories. They might keep something like when Chuck Pratt joined Y&R he kept the Adam return story that was allegedly ghost written by Josh Griffith. Otherwise, it is the norm for the old plans to get Old Yeller’d on the spot. That’s why it is so unusual that Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford had to use Ron Carlivati’s outline for months.
I doubt it was Paula and Jeanne’s idea to keep Ron’s plans going with changes here and there like the identity of E.J.’s shooter. It must have been a decision made above them to use the stories of the man they no longer wanted to be head writer. That said, even with Ron’s long story in play, the show did feel more character driven than when Ron was executing his stories. Now that Ron’s outline is done, we are getting Jeanne and Paula’s vision for Days of Our Lives and I am optimistic about what we’ll get in 2026.
Biggest Waste of Time: Damien, The Young and the Restless
Why would you go to the trouble of creating a new character who is the half-brother of one of your established characters just to kill him eight months later? Josh Griffith even hopped onto Wikipedia for this one to learn about Amy and her being with Nate Sr. He even went through the trouble of casting Valarie Pettiford as Amy. All of that just to have Damien die at the hands of a dayplayer!
Did they do all this so Lily can be with a Black man for literally a week and then kill said Black man off immediately when her white ex-husband is back? It has been a complaint for years that Lily is only with white men. It feels like a giant middle finger to fans who point that out. “Oh, you want Lily to bang a Black man? Sure! Tee hee. We’ll do that. You didn’t say how many times or if he’d live afterwards…”
Weirdest Writing Choice On The Bold and the Beautiful: The Two Deaths of Luna
It was bizarre to kill Luna off two times in a year. The first death was after the shootout with Liam where it was revealed Li saved her and was keeping her hidden for stupid reasons. Then she raped Will, got pregnant and went back to prison. Now she just escaped, got hit by a car and died. What was the point? The story could have been over after Liam shot her. There was no need to have her rape Will and refuse to use the word rape. There was no need for a pregnancy. Sometimes when you reach a natural endpoint, you should stick to that and not prolong a story unnecessarily.
Dispatches From Soap Land
*I know Y&R hates Asian characters, but would it have killed them to just bring Allie back for a few episodes for this Noah story?
*I am glad Gabi got to talk with Arianna about her past. Even with the annoyance of that period having Daniel around, I’m fond of that era of Days.
*I do think GH should put Jacinda with Kristina. They can recast Sasha for Michael until he’s ready to have hate sex with Willow.
