For a second year in a row, the Daytime Emmys took a pre-summer road trip to Hollywood's Kodak Theater. Unlike last year when ABC debuted the Hollywood version of the Daytime Emmys, this year's ceremony took a decidedly different turn. Gone was Rick Springfield serenading daytime viewers in the Fan Zone with hits from the 80s. In its place were spiffy new graphics and a concerted effort by CBS, the host of this year's telecast, to show viewers that many well-known performers got their start on daytime. And if many of those stars just happened to appear on CBS's primetime lineup - so be it.
CBS did up the ante in terms of allowing fans to get closer to the action: a special red carpet bleacher section was set up on stage. But the decision was met with mixed reviews. Some celebs felt that having fans on stage could detract from the experience of receiving an Emmy.
"It ends up being almost silliness," said Peter Bergman, Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless. "It's not how I want to celebrate a career achievement."
This year's Emmy celebration was a two-night affair. In a first, this year's technical portion of the Emmy ceremony, the Creative Arts, was held in Los Angeles the night before the main Emmy telecast. In previous years, two simultaneous ceremonies were held in New York and Los Angeles a week prior to Emmy night.
Unlike your typical awards show, this year's Daytime Emmys featured suspense, intrigue and - well, soap opera. Would Rosie O'Donnell reunite with her former hosts of The View? Would outgoing game show host Bob Barker end his daytime career with another Emmy. As they say on the soaps, stay tuned...
