Backstabbing, catfighting, blackmailing—and that was before the nominations came out.

The nominations for the 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced on CBS' Early Show Wednesday morning to little, but not no, controversy.

While most of the major categories honored the usual lineup of nominees—Ellen DeGeneres, Guiding Light and Bob Barker are among the repeat contenders, with the soap garnering a leading 17 nominations—there were a few glaring snubs, and surprising entries, on the morning's list.

Unexpectedly absent from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' kudos list were Regis Philbin and his chatty cohort Kelly Ripa, who failed to garner nominations for either Outstanding Talk Show Hosts or Outstanding Talk Show—the first time in years they failed to show in the categories.

However, the Daytime Emmys aren't exactly hitting Reege while he's down—Live with Regis and Kelly instead qualified under a brand-new category this year, Outstanding Morning Show, which will theoretically incorporate the Todays and Good Morning Americas and for which the Academy won't announce nominations until mid-April.

Making the hosting cut instead were DeGeneres, Dr. Phil McGraw, Soap Talk's Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway, Tyra Banks, newcomer Rachael Ray and the Rosie O'Donnell-led foursome on The View.

The femme-fueled chatfest also banked a nomination for Outstanding Talk Show in its first season sans Star Jones Reynolds or Meredith Vieira, going up against Oprah Winfrey's protégés Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray for the prize. Winfrey herself was expectedly absent from the proceedings—she bowed out of the competition years ago to relieve herself of the burden of finding a place to store all her awards.

Meanwhile, while Vieira lost out on a View nod, she was once again nominated for her solo efforts as Outstanding Game Show Host for the syndicated hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? She goes up against Jeopardy!'s Alex Trebek, The Price Is Right's Barker, Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak and a surprise entry, Ben Bailey from Discovery's Cash Cab, a trivia show that takes place in the back of a roving Manhattan taxi.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is also up for Outstanding Game Show, vying for the hardware against Jeopardy! and The Price Is Right.

Martha Stewart's eponymous show is pitted against reigning Food Network heavyweights Paula Deen's Home Cooking and the Barefoot Contessa for Outstanding Lifestyle Program.

Appropriately enough, the nominations for the best of the soap operas was rife with plot twists.

In the all-important Outstanding Drama Series category, the usually dominant General Hospital, which has won the top prize seven times in the past decade, was shut out.

Instead, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Guiding Light, One Life to Live and The Young and the Restless will battle it out for the award.

As for the leading ladies, Susan Lucci and Deirdre Hall were nowhere to be found. In their stead: As the World Turns' Maura West, The Guiding Light's Crystal Chappell and Kim Zimmer and The Young and the Restless' Jeanne Cooper and Michelle Stafford were up for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Outstanding Lead Actor contenders, meanwhile, included As the World Turns' Michael Park, General Hospital's Anthony Geary, The Guiding Light's Ricky Paull Goldin and The Young and the Restless' Peter Bergman and Christian LeBlanc.

While The Guiding Light walked away with the most nominations, As the World Turns was just one behind, with 16. The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Sesame Street and The Young and the Restless  raked in 12 nominations apiece.

The show will air live on CBS from Hollywood's Oscar home, the Kodak Theater, on June 5.

Here's a breakdown of the major categories:

Drama Series:  The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS), The Guiding Light (CBS), One Life to Live (ABC), The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Lead Actress, Drama Series:  Maura West, As the World Turns; Crystal Chappell, The Guiding Light; Kim Zimmer, The Guiding Light; Jeanne Cooper, The Young and the Restless; Michelle Stafford, The Young and the Restless

Lead Actor, Drama Series:  Michael Park, As the World Turns; Anthony Geary, General Hospital; Ricky Paull Goldin, The Guiding Light; Peter Bergman, The Young and the Restless; Christian LeBlanc, The Young and the Restless

Supporting Actress, Drama Series:  Lesli Kay, The Bold and the Beautiful; Genie Francis, General Hospital; Rebecca Herbst, General Hospital; Gina Tognoni, The Guiding Light; Renee Elise Goldsberry, One Life to Live; Heather Tom, One Life to Live

Supporting Actor, Drama Series:  Trent Dawson, As the World Turns; Rick Hearst, General Hospital; Dan Gauthier, One Life to Live; Greg Rikaart, The Young and the Restless; Kristoff St. John, The Young and the Restless

Talk Show:  Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, The View, The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Talk Show Host:  Dr. Phil McGraw, Dr. Phil; Ellen DeGeneres, The Ellen DeGeneres Show; Rachael Ray, Rachael Ray; Lisa Rinna, Ty Treadway, Soap Talk; Tyra Banks, The Tyra Banks Show; Barbara Walters, Rosie O'Donnell, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, The View

Game Show:  Jeopardy!, The Price Is Right, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Game Show Host:  Ben Bailey, Cash Cab; Alex Trebek, Jeopardy!; Bob Barker, The Price Is Right; Pat Sajak, Wheel of Fortune; Meredith Vieira, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Lifestyle Show:  Barefoot Contessa, The Martha Stewart Show, Paula's Home Cooking

Lifestyle Show Host:  Cathie Filian, Steve Piacenza, Creative Juice; Emeril Lagasse, Essence of Emeril; Martha Stewart, The Martha Stewart Show; Paula Deen, Paula's Home Cooking