Okay, let's be honest for a minute: Everyone has their favorite star that they'd like to see go home with an Emmy. But being a fan favorite isn't enough to guarantee a victory on Emmy night. A panel of volunteers watches each nominee's Emmy submissions and then casts his or her vote for the best of the bunch.
In recent years, the Emmy voting process has been... well, a soap opera of its own. The media was, in some years, blocked from seeing the clips submitted by each nominee. Some members of the media fired back by refusing to offer coverage of the Daytime Emmys. This year, things seem to have calmed down substantially on both sides.
Following is an account of the scenes that were submitted by the nominees.
As the World Turns
Episode 1 - (Aired Wednesday, June 8, 2005)
Carly has been grabbed from behind and dragged up the stairs, past Lily's door and into the attic. Jack calls out Lily's name but when he gets no answer he heads back to the station. Later, Carly is bound, gagged and locked in a trunk. Terrified but unwilling to give up, she manages to break her hands free. She then finds a dime on the bottom of the trunk and works meticulously to loosen the hinge. Meanwhile, Lily goes downstairs in search of Carly. The lights go out, but she finds a flashlight and tries not to panic. When she hears Carly call her name, she goes back upstairs and into her room where the door slams shut behind her. She picks up the phone, only to have it go dead. Meanwhile, downstairs, someone pours gasoline and lights a match, setting the house on fire. Lily smells smoke and tries to get out the window, but flames drive her back. The door suddenly opens and Keith enters. Afraid, Lily fights him, but he picks her up and carries her out of the burning house. Once out of the house, they hear a voice and realize Les was behind the whole ordeal. At gunpoint, Les forces Lily and Keith to go with him. After talking with Jessica and Ben, Jack calls Holden and the two of them check out Lily's car and are horrified to realize the brakes were tampered with. They race to Lily's house to find it on fire! Meanwhile, Luke goes to Keith's to talk but finds the place ransacked. He picks up a key off the floor and then spots Lily running into the woods with Keith and an unidentifiable man. When Luke gets to his house, he sees the fire and tells Holden about seeing Lily. Frantic about not being able to get in touch with Carly, Jack gets a clue as to her whereabouts when Luke shows him the key. Jack runs into the burning house and finds Carly in the attic but he can't get through the flames. She tells him to save himself so that their children won't lose both parents. Meanwhile, Holden tracks down Lily with Keith and Les in the Snyder farm storm cellar and discovers that Keith has been shot. Holden fights Les to prevent him from shooting Lily but Les gets the gun away and is about to kill Holden when a shot rings out from behind. Les falls and behind him stands Jack and Carly, who have escaped the fire. While Jack and Carly hold each other and Lily tends to Keith, Holden stands by watching, alone.
Episode 2 - (Aired Monday, July 11, 2005)
While alone in her mother's cabin, Jennifer has fallen off of a stool and gone into labor. A concerned Dusty shows up and is about to drive her to the hospital when it becomes clear it's too late and he helps deliver the baby! Jennifer is relieved but Dusty fears for Jennifer's very premature baby. Will gets Gwen to the hospital where Bob and the other doctors try to stop the labor. But, their attempts fail and Gwen's very premature baby is born. Meanwhile, Craig tries to reassure Rosanna he's totally committed to adopting Gwen's baby. Later, Margo also senses Craig's pain over the loss of his child and is thrown for a loop when Craig announces his upcoming adoption. Meanwhile, Rosanna confides in Carly. An alarmed Carly reminds Rosanna what happened the last time that Rosanna adopted a child with Craig. But, Rosanna insists things will work out and asks her sister to be the baby's guardian. Carly agrees and gives the adoption her blessing, though she remains concerned. When Carly leaves, the impact of the situation, and her distrust of Craig becomes too much for Rosanna to bear and she breaks down. Meanwhile, Paul is spending time with Emily. Emily calls him on his somewhat forced good spirits but he tells her he just wants to have fun. Later, Paul runs into a crying Rosanna and the two hold an electric look. Meanwhile, Craig gets word that Gwen has gone into labor. Lucinda bonds with Meg over a game of pool. Later, Lucinda announces she's decided to go ahead with a lumpectomy and will hire Meg as a live-in nurse. Sierra and Lily are relieved Lucinda's moving ahead with her medical issues but are less than enthusiastic to hear Meg's going to be around full-time.
General Hospital
Episode 1 - (Aired Friday, November 4, 2005)
In the wake of the train collision, several dazed and injured passengers begin trying to extricate themselves and others from the wreckage. Sonny manages to climb free from one demolished car and helps Alexis, Ric and Reese out in turn. Though Tony insists that Jason isn't competent enough to make his own decisions, Monica backs up her son's choice not to undergo surgery. Tracy snarls at Skye after she invites Lulu to join her father and stepmother for dinner. Elizabeth is horrified to find Lucky bleeding badly near the railroad tracks. Jason receives word that the train carrying Robin and Sam has crashed. Skye reminds a scoffing Luke that fatherhood is a lifetime commitment. Later, Luke panics to learn that his son was aboard the ill-fated train. Max and Sam attempt to pull Robin free but she remains pinned beneath a large chunk of steel. Courtney hisses at Jax to back off when he hovers anxiously at hand. Jason arrives at the tunnel to find search and rescue teams working feverishly to reach the trapped victims within. Emily and Nikolas share an emotional reunion as Jax volunteers to search for a way out. Alexis warns Ric that her labor has begun. Lulu bitterly informs Skye that the only family Luke cares about is Lucky. Huddled inside the derailed commuter car, Carly elects to remain hidden from the others. Meanwhile, Manny chortles to see the results of his handiwork. As his strength ebbs away, Lucky thanks Elizabeth for the chance to be her husband. Jason heads down a ventilation shaft in hopes of effecting a rescue.
Episode 2- (Aired Tuesday, November 8, 2005)
Jason and Sam team up to rescue Robin. Robin's notes and medicine are lost during an explosion. Lucky is seriously injured, but Luke, Nikolas an Elizabeth are able to get him to safety. Carly fights off Manny and later finds Max's gun. Lulu and Luke collide over Luke's failure to tend to Nikolas. Alzacar tries to find Carly. Alexis goes into labor and Elizabeth fears that she will need a cesaeran section.
Guiding Light
Episode 1 - (Aired Friday, May 27, 2005)
Gus and Harley have taken refuge at the construction site of Harley's new house. Gus is determined to head to the Spaulding house for answers but before he can go he discovers Harley's been wounded. He enlists Rick's help, and while Rick tends to Harley's wounds, Gus goes. Meanwhile, Buzz has the horrible task of going to the morgue and identifying what he believes will be Harley's body. When the sheet is lifted he realizes Harley must be on the run but covers and claims that the body is Harley's. When Frank arrives, Buzz tries to get him in on the cover-up but conflicted Frank says Buzz knows he has to try to find her. Later, Frank gets a tip to Harley's whereabouts but when he arrives at Harley's house, he realizes he is too late. It's the night of Phillip's birthday and Alan has assembled the family for a celebration. All of Phillip's children are invited so they can understand who their father really was. Gus arrives and during the celebration, he is prevented from getting any time alone with Olivia. But he's given another mysterious clue, a letter with stationary from an unknown hotel. Suddenly a blackout hits and the attendees scatter. Outside, a guilty-looking Olivia staggers to a tree with a bulky envelope and a shovel in hand. She starts to dig as Harley arrives, convinced that Olivia's about to bury evidence. But, it turns out Olivia's bulky envelope holds only a collection of love letters she wrote to Phillip but never mailed. She explains she's burying them because she's ashamed to have ever felt something for the man. Meanwhile, inside, in an unknown location, a pair of bloody gloves is removed from an envelope. Alan tries them on and studies them.
Episode 2 - (Aired Monday, November 28, 2005)
The entire church holds its collective breath as the minister at Tammy and Sandy's wedding asks if anyone knows of a reason why these two should not be joined together. Jonathan ominously shifts in his seat. However, he 'forever holds his peace' and Tammy and Sandy are pronounced husband and wife. They turn around and happily march up the aisle, only to be greeted by an arrest warrant. It accuses Sandy of bigamy, since he is still legally married to Ava. Sandy admits he and Ava were once married and that he did walk out on her. But he swears they signed divorce papers weeks ago. This is all a misunderstanding! Tammy doesn't want to hear about it and runs off. She comes face-to-face with Jonathan, who gets into the "Just Married" car. She tosses her wedding bouquet out the window and they go tearing into the night. Harley and Gus continue with their plan to convince Beth they're on the outs by cutting short their make-out session to fake a fight. Beth offers Gus a deal: help her get Harley out of Spaulding and save his marriage as a result. Harley ends up at Company, where she finds Mallet on top of Dinah. Mallet explains that Dinah, driven to drink by the sight of Tammy's wedding, broke into Company. He was just subduing the perpetrator. Trying to defend her own actions, Dinah prompts Mallet to admit he still has feeling for Harley. But Harley doesn't want to hear about it. She tells Mallet to be a man and repress. Mallet tells her to do the same. Harley insists she has no feelings whatsoever for Mallet, but their debate is cut short by Gus' arrival.
The Young and the Restless
Episode 1 - (Aired Tuesday, May 24, 2005)
At the loft, Mac admits to J.T. that she wants to give him, and herself, another chance, and that she is going to move back in. J.T. is happy, and welcomes her back home. Paul offers Christine his support during Daniel's ordeal. Just then Ashley and Tom enter, back from their fishing trip. Ashley admits to Paul that she doesn't know much about Tom, but that he is different in a good way. They start ‘fishing' with each other, teasing about where they each stand towards each other, and agree that their future together may look bright. Jack, Phyllis, and Daniel are about to walk in the door when reporters and photographers jump out of the bushes, taking pictures and demanding interviews. Jack tries to hide them and demands for the reporters to get off his property. They get inside, but the ambush has hit Daniel hard. He goes straight up to his bedroom. Daniel tells Phyllis that he doesn't want to stay with Christine, but Phyllis tells him that he must go there. Daniel tells Lily that they have to make it seem like they aren't seeing each other, but that he really needs her now more than ever. He says he will be at the arranged hiding place at the Abbott's. Later, Malcolm tells Lily that Daniel seemed way too calm for a guy in his situation, and asks Lily if she is going to help him bolt. Malcolm wants Lily to look him in the eye and tell him that she's not going anywhere with him. Nick, Sharon, Noah, Victor, Nikki, Victoria, and Doris are all gathered around Cassie's bed. Cassie asks if Sharon is mad at her and Sharon, gathering all her emotion, says she isn't. Cassie tells Victoria to take care of her dad, and Victoria replies that Cassie will also help to do that. Victor and Nikki remind Cassie of the night they went horseback riding and named a star for her. Everyone enters back into the room, and Olivia informs Victor that his doctors are here, although Olivia doesn't think that she has much longer. Everyone clears out of the room except for Nick and Sharon. They tell her how much she has enriched their lives, and how a part of their hearts is reserved only for her. Nick sings her a lullaby, and the monitor shows that Cassie has died.
Episode 2 - (Aired Tuesday, December 13, 2005)
After the wedding reception, Mackenzie, J.T., Kevin, Scott, and Victoria go to the coffeehouse. Kevin kisses Mac, and he realizes how deep his feelings are for her. Michael and Lauren head off on their honeymoon in the Newman jet. Paul tells Ashley about Jennifer Mitchell's disguises that he found in her room, and that he's going to fly to Toronto to meet her personally. He shocks Ashley when he tells her that John has a gun to protect her from Tom. Devon and Yolanda are surprised when Dru arrives home from St. Louis, and Dru reminds Devon that fighting is unacceptable behavior. In her St. Louis hotel room, Sharon and Brad discuss how much they have come to mean to each other, and they kiss passionately. Realizing that they've already gone too far, they pull apart. Brad goes back to his room and Sharon leaves a phone message for Nick. Nick takes Phyllis home and she invites him in. They drink wine and play video games. They kiss passionately, undress, and make love.
