Tony_2Scoops

Days of Our Lives has always set the bar high for holiday traditions. Perhaps the one that immediately pops into most viewers’ minds is the Horton Family gathering around the Christmas tree to hang their personalized ornaments. As your faithful DAYS Two Scoopers, Laurisa and I, love that tradition, and wanted some pageantry of our own to honor the show at the end of each year.

So, in the spirit of the holidays, we decided to come together, celebrate, and kick up the standard “Best Of” and “Worst Of” columns when we became Scoopers in 2007. And thus the Golden Doughnuts and Alex North Memorial Awards were created! But just in case you still have a few questions, this blog will answer them. If you still have more after reading, please feel free to post a comment or drop us an email. With that, let’s discuss!

What exactly are the Golden Doughnut Awards and Alex North Memorial Awards?
The Golden Doughnut Awards (GDA) and Alex North Memorial Awards (ANMA) are simply the “Best Of” and “Worst Of” selections picked by the DAYS Two Scoopers at the end of each year.

When did the GDA and ANMA begin?
The traditional “Best Of” and “Worst Of” columns for DAYS were officially renamed the GDA and ANMA in 2007, but the original soapcentral.com yearend reviews for DAYS began in 2004. Past columns can always be found in the archive section by clicking here!


How were the GDA and ANMA named?
Laurisa and I wanted to rename the yearend reviews to celebrate all things DAYS! Nearly one thing DAYS fans can agree on is that everyone loves Alice Horton. Your DAYS Two Scoopers certainly do! So to pay tribute to Salem’s favorite golden girl we selected Alice’s signature pastry. We often joke that our cyber-statuettes would be gold trophies in the shape of doughnuts!

The “Worst Of” awards were officially named in honor -- dare say dishonor -- of one of the worst characters in DAYS history, Dr. Alex North (below). We unanimously agreed that Dr. North and his storyline were a greasy thumbprint on the well-polished hourglass. Hence his name was used to symbolize all that was wrong on DAYS in a given year.



How were the categories selected?
The initial categories (awards) were selected by Laurisa and me. We each came up with a list, researched award categories, and then combined our brainstorms and findings to create comprehensive lists that would thoroughly spread the love (or loathing) around. Throughout the years, awards have been added and/or retired to reflect the constantly changing face of DAYS. There are currently twenty categories in both the GDA and ANMA.

When are the GDA and ANMA revealed?
The “Best Of” and “Worst Of” columns are typically the last two of the year, although sometimes the “Worst Of” column is posted the first week in January.

Awards appear in place of the weekly Two Scoop column as well as on Soapcentral Live!

How are the awards selected?
Although the awards present both Laurisa and my picks, award recipients are selected solely by the individual Two Scoop Columnist. We do not “group think” or rely on the other to make selections.

Beginning the second year of the GDA and ANMA, we created a check-and-balance system to avoid too many repeat winners in an attempt to spread the love around (or criticism in the case of the ANMA)! Scoopers agree that we cannot pick the same winner for each category. Additionally, characters can only win a maximum of one individual award from each Scooper. Same goes for actors.

Finally, Laurisa and I have been known to email each other throughout the year to claim “Dibs!” on a certain character we want the personal honor of celebrating at the end of the year. Standard rules of “Dibs!” apply, of course.

A reminder about Two Scoops
Two Scoops is an opinion column. The views expressed are not designed to be indicative of the opinions of soapcentral.com or its advertisers. The Two Scoops section allows our Scoop staff to discuss what might happen, what has happened, and to take a look at the logistics of it all. They stand by their opinions and do not expect others to share the same view point.