laurisa

I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but Tony and I are contractually obligated -- from time to time -- to release a bit of snark towards our otherwise beloved DAYS. We’ve tried to get out of it once, but Justin showed up and warned us that we had in fact signed an agreement. So, alas, we closed our eyes and barreled through the task of selecting the Worst of DAYS for each year, naming them after the granddaddy of all things that suck, Dr. Alex North.

The 2012 honors will be posted on Monday December 31, 2012. But since no one’s ever heard of waiting until New Year’s Eve to throw a party (like it’s some sort of national party day or something!) we thought you’d like to have a little fun with some delicious trivia bits from the last five years of Alex North Memorial Awards.

1. There have been 206 recipients of an Alex North Memorial Awards (ANMA) between 2007-2011.

2. We only give our ANMAs to characters, plot points, and storylines. Actors never receive the dishonor because they’re all too entirely talented and have way better hair than either Tony or I.

3. Despite appearing in the “Worst of” category, not all ANMA are bad. Categories like “Worst Waste of a Storyline”, “Most Underutilized”, “Most Likely Scapegoat” and “Worst Sendoff” reflect a mild to severe misuse of the character on the writers’ part, and one that we hope will change thanks to our totally effective public acknowledgement of the injustice.

4. The Brady last name holds the most “Worst Veteran” awards with Sami (2009), Shawn Sr. (2007), Caroline (2010), and Hope (2007) all receiving nods.

5. Of all the characters to win “Worst New Character” since 2007, only Daniel Jonas remains on the show. Three are dead (Colleen Brady, Madeline Peterson-Woods, and Madison James). Two are either in jail or on the run from the law (Jeremy Horton and Dr. Ben Walters). The rest have been written out of Salem.

6. Caroline Brady is the only character to win both “Most Underutilized Character” (in 2009) and “Most Over-Utilized Character” (in 2011). Be careful what you wish for, kids!

7. E.J. DiMera holds the record for “Worst Couple” winning the award twice with Nicole Walker (2008 and 2009) and once with Taylor Walker (2011). Word of advice -- stay clear of Brandon, okay Elvis J?

8. Dario Hernandez is the only on-screen member of the Hernandez family to escape the ANMA curse. Rafe won 5 for “Worst Couple” (with Sami in 2010), “Swing-and-Miss Character” (2009), “Broken Record Award” (2010) “Worst Storyline Resolution” (for Emily Hudson’s death storyline in 2009) and “Worst Storyline” (for his globetrotting investigation to find Anna in 2010). Arianna snatched up 3, winning both “Swing-and-Miss Character” and the “I Didn’t Get It Award” (for her breakup with Brady) in 2010, as well as “Worst Storyline Resolution” (for her murder in 2011). Gabi took home 4 honors for “Worst Couple” (with Will in 2010), “Broken Record Award” (2011), “Worst Love Life” (2011), and “Most Likely Scapegoat” (2009). Even Rafe’s old partner, Sophia, won 1 for “Worst New Character” in 2011. Maybe there’s a very good reason why Ma Hernandez stays clear of Salem.

9. Most obvious statement ever: “Broken Record Award” winners tend to repeat -- Sami Brady (2007 and 2010), Nicole Walker (2009 and 2010), Philip Kiriakis (2009 and 2010), Lucas Horton (2 in 2007), and Abigail Deveraux (2 in 2011).

10. Tony DiMera and Benjy Hawk are the only characters to receive “Worst Sendoff” honors for storylines that killed off the characters. Ironically, both men are still dead. More ironically, both men were DiMeras.

11. Lucas Horton is the only character to win “Worst Sendoff” twice, once in 2008 and again in 2010. Saying goodbye to this guy is never easy.

12. Boys club- Kayla Johnson, Sami Brady, and Stephanie Johnson are the only females to win “Most Regressed Character”. All the rest are fellas.

13. The last time someone other than a Kiriakis won the award for “Most Underutilized Character” was in 2009. Justin, Adrienne, and Sonny have dominated the category since.

14. Sami Brady and Daniel Jonas have each won “Most Over-Utilized Character” twice, keeping us from having to pick between the two of them for “Most Over-Utilized Winner of the Most Over-Utilized Character” category. Whew! Bullet dodged.

15. Surprisingly enough, only one DiMera has ever won the “Most Likely Scapegoat” award. Stefano took home the trophy in 2011. This probably has everything to do with the fact that scapegoats are almost universally innocent.

16. No one from either the Horton or Kiriakis families has ever won the “Thick as a Brick Award”. The Bradys, DiMeras, and Lockharts were not so lucky.

17. Only one of the “Worst Waste of a Storyline” winners was ever addressed again. In 2008, Stefano proposed to Kate but the storyline was dropped for nearly a full year until September 24, 2009, when Stefano blackmailed Kate into marriage. The two went on to become a fan-favorite coupling. Just think of the other nine lonely winners just waiting out there for some writer to remember them!

18. Of all of the “Worst Storyline” title holders, only the 2008 winners -- the Sami/Rafe/Nicole/E.J. quad -- is still going on to date. The rest -- i.e. Touch the Sky (2007), Bope’s separation (2009), E.J./Taylor (2011) -- have mercifully fallen over the proverbial storyline cliff.

19. Sydney DiMera is the youngest ever recipient of an ANMA. She won the title of “Most Over-Utilized Character” in 2010. Being the trophy in a paternity battle between your mom, dad, and the mom who kidnapped you will do that to a girl.

20. No character has ever won both “Worst Return” and “Worst Sendoff” -- proof that it really does get better!

Want to see who made history on the nice list? Check out Tony's blog for a list of 20 Random Facts About the Golden Doughnuts.