Best Soap: As the World Turns

This show did not have quite as stellar a year as it did in 2001. Two big stories were duds (Scotland and the Teens on the Run horror show). But, when I sit back and think about this show and try to pin down my problems, it's more about timing than anything. Catch Us If You Can has gone on far too long while the story of Margo's liver transplant was over in a week. If the time spent on the stories were reversed, we wouldn't be complaining. And unlike every other show on daytime, all of the characters have brains in their heads (except maybe the teens, but they're young). James Stenbeck works as a villain because he's very smart - he has to be. The rest of Oakdale are pretty savvy. When Margo, Jack or Hal arrest the wrong guy (Abigail, Aaron) it's not because they're incompetent like the folks in Llanview. It's because the evidence tells them to, but they don’t stop looking. And when the cops are making bad calls, as Hal is doing now as he morphs into Inspector Javert, that behavior IS the story rather than a plot device. ATWT just cleaned up when the NAACP Image Award nominations. They deserved to. The people of color on this cast, most notably Tamara Tunie's fascinating Jessica, are given meaty stories to play and intricately woven into the rest of the canvas, including the A story involving James Stenbeck. And one more thing. The casting department is on their toes. Not only do they usually get great new actors for their show (Mark Collier, Mike), they also know when to cut their losses (ex-Chris). And, even though it was last year, they brought Scott Holroyd into our lives and for that we are eternally grateful.

Worst Soap: General Hospital

Many shows took the craptastic to new depths this year, most notably One Life to Live, and Port Charles. And geez, ABC Daytime, if All My Children is your best soap, you need serious help. But no show was more redundant, unnecessarily dark or downright boring than General Hospital. Obviously, starting the year with Megan McTavish at the word processor is going to doom any soap, but Robert Guza and Charles Pratt didn't make things any better when they took over. They made things different, but not better. It's still The Sonny Show, AJ is still the most muddled character in the show's history and we're still being pelted by emaciated blondes. Genie Francis and Tony Geary played the Hell out of her exit story, but the return and murder of Rick Webber rewrote history egregiously. Rick was always the romantic hero, the good guy. To bring him back only to reveal him as a philandering murderer and then play Weekend At Bernie's with his corpse was sick, and not in the good way. The continued use of Sonny Corinthos as the focal point of the show has made the character so ubiquitous he no longer exists as a flesh and blood character, only a plot point. It's nice to have Vanessa Marcil back, sure, but the Alcazar mystery is a non-story. Note to soap scribes: if you want us to care about a murder mystery, make sure you haven't spent the last six months turning him into the living incarnation of all evil in the Universe. Is anyone save Ted King's agent sad that Alcazar is dead. Does anyone care who killed him since he repeatedly tried to rape Brenda and kill Sonny, Jason and Jax? And since the viewers' two prime suspects (Brenda and Skye) could both claim self defense the whole mystery requires everyone to lie with no reason and act like idiots. Actually, after the last three years, the cast of GH can do that in their sleep.

Best Story: The Spa, As the World Turns

This is what an umbrella story is supposed to be. Every major character was involved, it had mystery, comedy and suspense and for an arc told entirely on the soundstage, it convincingly jumped from Oakdale to Switzerland and Belgium to Tennessee.

Worst Story: Psychotropic candles, Port Charles

Okay, the 13-week arc thing ain't working. An entire story ("Superstition") which hinges upon magical, mind-altering candles and your leading man being trapped in a misty, wooded limbo behind a barn is not one that should be told. And it unleashed Evil Livvie upon the world. They're working on a vaccine, but I'm not hopefull. She seems to be multiplying.

Best Actor: Peter Bergman, Young and the Restless

Because I can’t think of anyone else and the Emmy voters seem to love him. Oh, yeah, Jacob Young. They like him, too. Emmy voters are drunks, I think.

Best Actress: Maura West, As the World Turns

Carly is a fascinating character. She's not a villain in any conventional sense of the word and she's not really an anti-hero. We root for her even though she makes mistakes (sleeping with Mike, stealing money to pay her blackmailer) because we understand her motivation. West brings a lot of things to the character, including wits, humor and impeccable timing. And she sells the idea that while she loves Jack, there are things about Mike and Craig which draw her in.

Best Supporting Actor: Trent Dawson, As the World Turns

There is no time when Henry Coleman's presence in a scene is anything less than welcome. He's the funniest character on the show yet also brings the humor out of everyone he deals with, even Lesli Kay's ever-more skeletal Molly. I hope he sticks around for years to come.

Best Supporting Actress: Nancy Lee Grahn, General Hospital

Given the foulest lemons imaginable, Grahn had to make quite a bit of lemonade this year and she made it the hard way. By keeping her characters emotions realistic even though the story was preposterous (her "love affair" with Sonny Corinthos) she sold the emotional truth and kept us interested. Her breakdown at Kristina's memorial service was out of control and overwrought, but it was wholly believable and perfectly played.

Best Younger Performer: Kristen Alderson, One Life to Live

Damn she's funny. And smart.

Worst Actor: Maurice Benard, General Hospital

I have never witnessed anyone do a worse job at hiding their boredom than him this year. Maybe his kicky new haircut will help.

Worst Actress: Jessica Morris, One Life to Live

I wonder if the crew guys ever try to have fun with Ms. Morris by writing profanities or nonsense phrases on the cue cards just to see if she'll read them out loud. Why the writers of this show continue to let this lovely but dubiously talented young woman continue to drive story is the best mystery of the soap year.

Biggest Missed Opportunity: Jamie Ray Newman, General Hospital

Kristina's death set in motion a lot of major story, but Jamie Ray Newman was the only one of Megan McTavish's three trillion heretofore unmentioned sisters I could actually stand. Once she had the opportunity to play something other than the patron saint of Feng Shui, she tore into the material. It's too bad they couldn't have figured out a way to let her live and kill someone else. Like Megan herself.

Worst Recast: Maxie (Danica Stewart), General Hospital

First, Jill Farren Phelps fired Robyn Richards so Maxie could be aged to the point where she had breasts (even though the new actress was only two years older than the previous actress who had played the role for 10 years). All of this was so we could endure several uncomfortable scenes with her and Lucky. It was creepy, it was horribly acted and it made me ashamed to be a soap viewer. Ah, that touch of Phelps!

Best Recast(s): Cady Maclain, As the World Turns; Alicia Minshew, All My Children

Maclain and Minshew both had difficult jobs when they took over their roles. Cady had to shake off the image of Dixie Cooney, the sweet corn pone from Pigeon Hollow to play Rosanna Cabot, a savvy rich business woman with more insecurities than dollars. She did it perfectly, creating Rosanna as a cold woman who was really a lost little girl. And who knew she could be this wickedly funny? Alicia had the dubious honor of following in the footsteps of one the most successful soap graduates in years, Sarah Michelle Gellar. From the first moment she made Kendall her own, wearing her black leather pants like she owned the world. She's a smart actress playing a smart character. That's getting rarer on AMC every year.

Best Week: Live Week, One Life to Live

So much happened storywise, the actors were all working their asses off and loving every minute or it and Executive Producer Gary Tomlin pulled out all the stops for this unprecedented week of live television. I was spellbound. Unfortunately…

Worst 51 Other Weeks: One Life to Live

The rest of the year featured everyone being an idiot and not realizing Niki was back, the unabated assimilation of the show by the evil robot Jennifer and a glacially paced trip to the Island of Misfit Rapists.

Most Welcome Return: Thaao Penghlis, Days of Our Lives

I don't watch Days, but he seems to have re-energized the show. Good for him.

Best Couple: Rex and Seth, One Life to Live

Okay, so they're not really a couple. But the rest of the new couples this year or so boring, let me dream, please.

Worst Couple: J.R. and Kendall, All My Children.

Ew. I mean…ew. Ewwwwwww.

Best Villain(s): James Stenbeck, As the World Turns; Zombie Charity, Passions

Stenbeck (Anthony Herrera) is the classic soap supervillain: rich, urbane, evil but vulnerable to love. Zombie Charity (Molly Stanton) lives in a cave and screeches out witty retorts. Both made their shows more enjoyable and drove story ably this year.

Worst Villain: The Avatar, Port Charles

What? I mean, seriously, what?

Best Soap Internet Tie-In: Katie Magazine, As the World Turns

Funny, in character and not crass in anyway.

Worst Soap Internet Tie-In: Shop the Soaps, ABC Daytime

No, I don’t want to own the same sheets Leo and Greenlee just slept on. Does that make me a bad fan?