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The pages on the calendar may have changed, but the nominees for this year's One Life to Live edition of the Soap Opera Central Awards look very much as they did last year.
Roger Howarth (
Todd Manning) and
Kassie DePaiva (
Blair Cramer) proved once again to be the powerhouses of the year gone by. Howarth and DePaiva combined for eight nominations; four for each.
Howarth, who was named the Outstanding Lead Actor, Favorite Character (for his work as Todd Manning) and Outstanding Overall Performer, was once again nominated in all three categories. In addition, Howarth earned a nod as the Most Attractive Male Performer, the only category in which he was nominated and did not win last year.
While on the subject of the Most Attractive Male Performer category, in addition to Howarth all four nominees in the category also appeared last year. Those nominees are
David Fumero (
Cristian Vega), Howarth,
Kamar de los Reyes (
Antonio Vega) and last year's winner
Ty Treadway (
Colin and Troy McIver).
Moving back to DePaiva, the actress earned honors in all of the categories in which she was nominated last year. DePaiva, who won the Outstanding Lead Actress field last year, will once again go toe-to-toe with
Catherine Hickland (
Lindsay Rappaport),
Erica Slezak (
Viki Davidson) and
Hillary B. Smith (
Nora Buchanan). All four actresses were nominated last year, with Smith taking the prize. DePaiva also earned a Most Attractive Female Performer and a Favorite Character for her work as Blair Cramer. DePaiva also earned a nod in the Outstanding Overall Performer category as do all of the Supporting and Lead Actor and Actress nominees.
Still on the topic of Howarth and DePaiva, the pair's on-screen story captured the attention of many viewers. In fact, the wacky and oft times heartbreaking off and on romance between Todd and Blair featured prominently in the Storyline and Moment sections of the ballot. Todd and Blair's relationship - from their first non-wedding to their recent decision to really tie the knot - earned a nomination as the Favorite Storyline of the year. Conversely, Todd's decision to give away Blair's baby because he thought someone else was the baby's father earned a nod as the Least Favorite Storyline of the year. Todd's decision to give up the baby was nominated for the Most Memorable and Worst Moment of the year. The double nomination speaks to the ability of writers to shock viewers, but at the same time feature high-profile drama. Todd's wedding day announcement that Blair had shot Max broke the hearts of some fans who wanted Todd and Blair to get married, but the resulting moment in time earned a nomination as the Most Memorable Moment of the year.
Another storyline that was featured prominently in the nominations this year was the announcement that Jessica Buchanan was not really Viki's biological daughter. The storyline powered
Erin Torpey (
Jessica Buchanan) to nominations in the Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Younger Performer fields. Melissa Archer (Natalie Balsom) was also rewarded for her portrayal of bratty Natalie, Viki's biological daughter. Archer was nominated as Outstanding Newcomer and Younger Performer. The baby swap storyline earned nods as Favorite and Least Favorite Storyline and the moment of truth when Jessica learned that she wasn't Viki's "real" daughter earned nominations as the Most Memorable and Worst Moments of 2001.
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