The Soapgeist - Sept. 21/09

SUDSIEST INTERVIEW FROM THE WEEKEND
Finally — someone has called out Guiding Light’s executive producer Ellen Wheeler on various issues during her tenure as show killer. Check out this brilliant new interview with TV Guide Magazine’s Michael Logan, It’s so good, there are no need for translations — Logan took care of that himself.

Surely you’re aware that the “Otalia” fan base is unhappy with the couple’s lack of physical intimacy. Any response to the complaints that you got cold feet?
I am very satisfied with where Natalia and Olivia end up. Their story came into being when I was asking for [more] romance on the show. And I’m not just talking about flowers and candles and sexual romance. I mean a romance in the sense that love is this grander, broader spectrum through which we look at all things. We wanted to explore the romantic nature of all kinds of love, between parents and children, between friends. Just watching Olivia and Natalia become friends was so precious.

But why so stingy with the kisses?
In developing the end of their story, I found myself wishing we had another year to watch all parts of their relationship as it bloomed and changed. But we did as much as we could on the way out.

The new production model obviously didn’t save GL but do you think other soaps will in any way benefit from what happened here?
I think we achieved a level of nuance and naturalism that is to be admired. But I want to stop you: That’s a little bit of a misnomer there, because [the production model] did save GL for a year and a half.

I’ve seen you quoted elsewhere saying that same thing, and I don’t get it. When this new production model was launched I clearly remember it being promoted as a way to move GL into the future, using information culled from research groups about what today’s viewers want to see on their soaps. It was not stated that the show would be cancelled if you didn’t go with this production model.
I can tell you absolutely that it kept the show on the air. We could not have stayed in the [previous] model with the budget cuts that came down, so something had to change. And the change was going to have to be drastic and enormous. I’m not saying it had to be this exact model, but this was the one we came up with and we had to come up with it pretty quickly. But without taking those budget cuts we were going to be cancelled.

[Logan note: OK, I’m not that nuts! I went back and looked at my interview with Wheeler in the February 25, 2008 issue of TV Guide Magazine, in which she told me that the switch to the new production model followed a two-year viewer research project conducted by Procter & Gamble. Here’s what she said: "Our audience has been very clear to us. They don’t like the non-reality of soaps — the fake grass, the fact that people in Springfield never seem to go to work or actually do their jobs or take care of their children. They want the stories and characters they love but with the same sense of reality they get from Grey’s Anatomy and other nighttime shows.” Wheeler then ended the interview with: “This is not a desperate survival move. This is a creative, financially efficient way to move soap operas into the future. GL has always led the way.”]

I think people were surprised that [CBS Daytime chief] Barbara Bloom didn’t seem to know the cancellation was imminent and expressed shock when it happened. Word is, she was on your set — not long before the axe came down — expressing confidence that you guys would get a pickup.
There are people above in every corporate structure. I can’t talk about what happens at CBS. I know for a fact how devoted P&G Productions has been to keeping their shows on the air. I’m not involved with the network. It would be up to them to answer that.

[Logan note: Bloom was invited to take part in TV Guide’s coverage of GL’s exit from the airwaves but her press rep at CBS did not want to relay the request if I was going to revisit the topic of cancellation. The rep was only willing to put in the request to Bloom if my angle was “what people loved about the show.” So that went no further.]

Were you shocked?
That the show was cancelled?

No, that Bloom was so out of the loop at CBS? That the network programmer who approved — and, we can assume, instigated — the extreme makeover of GL wasn’t involved in the ultimate fate of the show? Doesn’t this suggest that the empress has no clothes? This summer, [CBS Entertainment President] Nina Tassler got up on stage at TCA [the TV critics’ press tour] and pretty much signed the death warrant for As the World Turns. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but there seems to be an increasing disconnect between the true powers-that-be and the network’s daytime division.
I am never surprised by anything that goes on in corporate America. At the same time, I do understand that there is a bottom line and [deciding where that line is] is somebody else’s job. I’m glad it’s not been my job. I’m glad my job has been about telling stories.

For the rest of the kick-ass interview, click here.

WEEKEND SUDS FLASHES
Byrne takes on Gotham
Crystal Chappell who? Last week, Emmy winner Martha Byrne teased fans to expect a big announcement today. Is she reclaiming her role as Lily on As the World Turns or joining another soap? Nah. Byrne, who was most recently seen on General Hospital for a guest-starring stint as Andrea Floyd, announced that she is producing and starring in a new online series titled Gotham.

Co-starring with Byrne are former World Turns’ co-stars Michael Park and Annie Sayre. “We have 15 Emmy winners involved in this project,” Byrne tells Soapgeist.

Join the Gotham fan Facebook page for more updates.

PODCAST OF THE MONTH Daytimeconfidential.com astute observation/review of GL’s disappointing finale On this special, must-hear episode of Daytime Confidential, Luke, Jamey, Mike, Jillian, Melodie and J Bernard discuss GL’s final episodes, including: • The final weddings, reunions and departures; the death of Alan Spaulding and its impact on the Spaulding family and Springfield; Olivia and Natalia are finally together, but didn't get to kiss, even with a one-year jump into the future; Josh and Reva rode into the sunset and GL’s last word was “always.” • The DC gang discusses what GL’s passing means for the seven remaining soaps and what, if anything, can be done to save them from the same fate. • DC readers and listeners call in with their thoughts on GL’s final week. All this and much more on today’s special episode of Daytime Confidential.

SOAP SYLLABUS More proof P&G wants out of the soap business? Welovesoaps.net recently posted a fantastic New Yorker feature profile on The Young and the Restless’s co-head writer Hogan Sheffer, which was written during his Emmy-winning stint on As The World Turns. In the insightful article, former P&G executive Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin and executive producer Christopher Goutman state they travelled to L.A. in 2000 to look for new writing talent because the year prior they only received one Emmy nomination which caused them much concern. Since World Turns has been off the Emmy radar for years, why isn’t P&G looking for a new head writer today? Do the math.

EXTINGUISHING INTERVIEWS — The Most Wanted GL Actresses, Gina Tognoni and Marcy Rylan

Gina Tognoni — “I want to work with Maria Arena Bell!”
TVGuide.ca: So … it’s over, darling!
Gina Tognoni: Yes, all good things come to an end. But hey, I got two Emmys in five years.
 
TVG : Two wins out of three nominations. Not bad, girlfriend.
GT : I know, huh. Great odds.

TVG: I’d rather have your track record than Heather Tom’s — who has won only twice out of 12 nominations.
GT: Yeah, I think actors should only nominate themselves when the work merits it. You can wear out your welcome in this business very easily.

TVG: Would you like to be nominated every year … or is it fun to attend the Emmys just as a guest?
GT:  [Laughs] Well, it is easier. I would say my anxiety was 10 times less than last year. I was pretty chill this year at the Emmys.

TVG: What’s next for you? I’m hearing Y&R, B&B and One Life are battling for your goods. I have to ask — why not try prime time or film? You’re such a soap whore! [Laughs]
GT: Because I love to work! [Laughs] I am looking to see what else is out there in other mediums, but at the same time, I love daytime, and I believe in daytime. I would love to see Kelly return to Llanview on One Life. I’m open to anything, really.

TVG: As much as I love One Life, I think I’d rather see you on Y&R. You’ll secure a job for the next five years at least. I’m not sure how much longer One Life has …
GT: I love, love, love Y&R. Listen, I’d love to play Victoria Newman. I looked at that role a while ago.

TVG: Maria said she’d love you on the show in any role.
GT: Awww … she’s so sweet and I’d love to work with her because she’s so fantastic, and also Paul Rauch, who, if you can believe it, I have never met. I admire how much Maria loves her show and I’d love to stay on CBS.

TVG: Why are you such a soap fan?
GT: I used to watch GL with my grandmother at nine years old. We bonded through GL. I used to watch Mindy Lewis and Reva Shayne, and to be able to work with Krista Tesreau and Kim Zimmer, well, it was such a surreal experience when I landed the part of Dinah. I love the pace of daytime. Thank to this medium, I feel the most freedom as an actor. It is different than other things on TV but that’s what I love about it. Soaps are their own entity.

TVG: But you don’t want to move to L.A. … Is that a misnomer, because I wanted to slap you when you turned down Carly on GH!
GT: [Laughs] It is a misnomer. I never say never. When it’s right, it’s right. My life is situated in New York …

TVG: Crystal Chappell made commuting work for her …
GT: Exactly. So, we’ll see. I’m open to anything.

TVG:  Would you do anything on Venice?
GT: Yes! Crystal already gave me a script. The role definitely appeals to me. Listen, I support anything Crystal does. I think Venice is ballsy.

TVG: It’s ironic that Crystal’s Venice character is named Gina!
GT: I know! How cool is that? And Danny Cosgrove is playing her brother on Venice …

TVG: From lovers to siblings!
GT: I know, huh! It’s all so cool. And if I take this part, I’ll be playing Daniel’s lover — so it’s the reverse, I’m going from sibling to lover!

TVG: That’s so sick that it just might work! Can’t wait. So you’re not going to take a little break from soaps?
GT: No. I want to get back to work right away. I just got married, but I like a balance in life.

TVG: You left GL earlier than your castmates, which meant you got a head start on the mourning process.
GT: Yeah, I wasn’t there on the last tape day. I was in the last episode because my contract was up but it was OK since there were only a few weeks left of taping and we pre-taped my scenes.

TVG: OK, Gina — you were a big cheerleader for Ellen Wheeler’s new vision …
GT:  Yes. And I know what you’re going to say — we, as an acting company, were all in denial. There were so many signs but we chose not to listen because we loved the show so much. We were in creative denial. We wanted it to succeed. But you know what? I think this past year has made us all better people.

TVG: Do you think you’re more recognizable as Dinah or Kelly? I’d say Kelly.
GT: It’s funny, I get more recognized as Kelly, for sure. There’s something about those ABC soap fans that is so passionate and loyal. It could be because ABC is more popular in the northeast and I live there. Listen, as long as I’m remembered in a positive light, I’m happy.

TVG: Are you going to miss working in Peapack, and changing in cars?
GT: No! That was the downside of the job, let me tell you.

TVG: You won’t have that problem on Y&R.

Ed. Note: It has been announced that Tognoni will indeed be joining the cast of Venice as Daniel Cosgrove’s love interest.

Marcy Rylan — “Playing Lizzie is my reward!”
TVGuide.ca: You were robbed of a supporting actress nod!
Marcy Rylan: Thank you, but playing Lizzie was the reward for me.

TVG: Are you over soaps now? Let’s face it, you have the talent to go the distance in other mediums.
MR: I’m an actor. I’ll take a great character whether it’s on daytime or prime time or film.

TVG: Good answer.
MR: That’s how I’ve approached my career my whole life.

TVG: And you’re in L.A. permanently now.
MR: Yes, I moved here this past month. Actually, I’ve always lived on both coasts. I’ll live in New York for a couple of years, and then L.A. for the next two years. I like having the best of the both worlds. I’m kind of an outdoor girl, so I like L.A. for that. I love playing volleyball on the beach. But I also love the hip, downtown vibe in New York.

TVG: When are you due?
MR: I’m due in about [four weeks]. As soon as I have the baby, I’ll be taking meetings and auditions.

TVG: What was it like filming the last episode of GL?
MR: I couldn’t believe it was our last show. I still can’t. I feel like I’m just on maternity leave or vacation! I cried all the way home that day.

TVG: Would you have stayed on GL? I know your contract was up soon. All the actresses who’ve played Lizzie’s left after their first contract and made it big elsewhere.
MR: I don’t know what it is about Lizzie. I think it’s because she’s complicated. You saw it when she lost Sarah …

TVG: That’s when you really blossomed as an actress …
MR: Thank you. I think so, too. I found my style and niche as an actor during that time, for sure. I don’t know … Part of me thinks I would have stayed, but the other part thinks it’s so important to play other characters. Honestly, I hadn’t made a decision. Actually, let me give you the scoop. My contract actually expired in January of this year, and I was going to leave, but then I heard Grant Aleksander was coming back, so I had to work with him and then I stayed to work with him. Can I tell you? It was so worth it. Hands down, he’s one of the most talented actors I’ve ever worked with. He’s so talented, that man. To be able to finally act with Lizzie’s father, someone she kept talking about for years, was just awesome.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK GL: The End — How did the Guiding Light finale fare? Depends on who you ask. Soapgeist thought it was lazy, self-serving, and unimaginative.

DAYS’ Shawn Christian — “I promise I won’t maul Nadia Bjorlin’s face anymore. But can I keep the gay scarf?”

Like father, like son on GH — “The passing down of the Corinthos’ heirloom, the almighty rifle.”

Former Y&R star Victoria Rowell at the Primetime Emmy Awards — “I feel Obama’s pain!”

^ EJECT: Guiding Light: Goodbye to All That! By Mimi Torchin http://www.mimitorchinphotography.com/

“It is easy to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends.” —Joan Didion

That’s a quote from the essay “Goodbye To All That from Joan Didion’s renowned 1968 book of essays Slouching Toward Bethlehem. I’ve already used the title of the book, slightly altered, as a title in an earlier column, and I remember the book meaning a great deal to a young, impressionable Texan just arriving in Mecca, or New York City, as some of you call it, a year after it was written. Someone older who I had a mad crush on gave it to me to read and I devoured it, and it remained in my intellectual blood stream, if not my conscious mind, forever. “Goodbye To All That” was about the young, impressionable Didion when she first came to New York City and how her experiences there didn’t live up to her expectations, not my experience at all. New York certainly lived up to my dreams of it and more. The dreams changed along the way, but still there was (and remains) so much fulfillment and excitement in that fabulous city where anything you can dream can happen, and often does. But I’m rambling and you might think that I’m procrastinating getting to my final, forever, the end, last ever column about Guiding Light that will be about the final, forever, the end, last ever episode of Guiding Light. And you’d be right. But that last show, like Didion’s dream of her life in NYC, also had big expectations to live up to and didn’t, or didn’t as much as I had hoped for. There is at least one more point to be made here (besides the fact that I miss the voracious reading of my youth and hope that with the passing of the “light” and the decline of my interest in TV in general, and the soaps in particular, I’ll return to that most satisfying intellectual pursuit).

Also (Also? Maybe “by the way,” is better, as this is an awkward segue), I want to thank Nelson’s editor for her forbearance about/with my overwrought hyperbole and nearly terminal verbosity. You’ve been a brick through this whole damn thing (a quote from something or other), and I hope you’ll indulge my shortcomings and long-winded prose for one, last week. [Ed. Note: Wouldn’t have it any other way, Mimi. Perhaps I should tweet you (is that what all the kids are saying these days?) instead of communicating with you through Soapgeist!] Of course, I also and primarily thank Nelson for generously giving me a forum in which to chronicle my take on the last gasps of the great and long-enduring grand old lady of soaps, Guiding Light. And I want to thank my parents for … wait, that’s part of my Oscar speech. Never mind.

So besides the quote at the top of the page (you’ll have forgotten it by now, so feel free to go back and read it again), which isn’t exactly perfect because it means something a little different in context than it sounds like here, but does encapsulate how we feel about beginnings and ends — two entirely different experiences, one that inspires joy and anticipation and one that often, depending on the circumstances, imbues us with a profound sense of loss and a deep feeling of melancholy, one of my most favourite states — there’s one other thing. Slouching Toward Bethlehem and much of Didion’s other works chronicle the failure and degeneration over the years of American values and culture. In so many ways it is this loss of the underpinnings of American society that killed the 72-year-old GL, though some of those values are well and thankfully buried, if not in this episode. I won’t beat this dead horse to a bloody pulp, but let me at least shake an angry index finger at the networks for buying that rancid bill of goods from the Great American Advertising industry that insisted only people from the ages of 18 to 49 had any value to society and the bottom-line mentality of buying and selling products that makes the television world spin. Here’s what I say to that: unmitigated BS. So since the networks forced the show runners and writers to disregard and discourage their older core viewers who had been faithful for decades, they disappeared and with them the children and grandchildren whom generations of their elders had mentored into the world and lives of Springfield USA, probably more than any other soap on the air. It has been over the years the surest way to bring younger eyes to the screens, drawn, like to campfires of old, to the warmth and comfort of family love and the thrill of hearing great stories of things before and beyond their ken. Goodbye to all that, goodbye to Guiding Light, goodbye to soap operas. Not the whole story of their decline and slow death to be sure, but a big, gaping gash in their aorta.

So, what I found both sad and, at the same time rather touching and nostalgic in a sick kind of way, was that this last episode of Guiding Light — filled with happy endings, hurried pairings and marriages of long-ago sweethearts, and more babies and children than a Navaho shaman could shake a rattle at — was a shameless throwback to those old-fashioned American values, wrapped up in a religious glow of heterosexual wish fulfillment and misty-eyed dreams of what used to be. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t quite as transported as I might have been by this penultimate airing of my favourite “story,” a show I have loved shamelessly for 30 years — especially when I had been so eager and prepared to be moved to torrents of tears. Even with enough kissing to potentially make Springfield ground zero of a U.S. swine flu epidemic, Olivia and Natalia still got no kiss. No effing kiss. NO. KISS. Oh, they got to hold hands and stare at each other all goo-goo-eyed and be graciously accepted into the great straight kingdom of Springfield as a loving couple (oh, thank you, great white father for your bountiful gift) and got to name their baby Francesca after the baby daddy Frank and were even going to procreate all on their own (I kept thinking, “Who is the father?” “Did they keep the turkey baster?” “Isn’t beautiful Jessica Leccia sick of being pregnant for 12 months?”). Lovely assimilation and all that, but assimilation isn’t everything. Identity of one’s own is really, really important. As the wisest, deepest person I know always says to me, straight people aren’t just like gay people except for who they love; they are who they are because they love the same sex and for so many other things that make us different. And if you don’t at least see some of that sexual, passionate, other love, then you are saying that gay people are merely poor imitations of straight people. So, that really put a big, soggy damper on the whole, often nostalgic, final episode for me.

But still, I will wake up Monday and Tuesday and, even, Wednesday and feel a big hole in my day and a little pain in my heart (I find my heart is almost too easily pained these days, but that’s another story) when Guiding Light doesn’t air and won’t air every again. So let me just say a tender goodbye to all that GL has meant to me and to so many others for so many years. Mostly, I will miss terribly and want to thank my friends Reva (Kim Zimmer), Josh (Robert Newman), Alan (Ron Raines), Phillip (Grant Aleksander), Alexandra (Marj Dusay), Holly (Maureen Garrett), Rick (Michael O’Leary), Lillian (Tina Sloan), Beth (Beth Chamberlin), Buzz (Justin Deas), Frank (Frank Dicoupolos), Dinah (Gina Tognoni), Billy (Jordan Clarke), Lizzie (Marcy Rylan), Jeffrey (Bradley Cole), Bill (Daniel Cosgrove), Blake (Liz Keifer), Vanessa (Maeve Kinkead), Doris (Orlagh Cassidy) and so many, many others who I  have loved and sometimes loathed (in a good way) throughout the years. But most of all I will miss Olivia (Crystal Chappell) and Natalia (Jessica Leccia), whose story in the show’s last year held up a mirror to the lives of so many gay women who have loved and watched this show for many, many, many years without ever seeing their own lives reflected in it. It was, in the end, an imperfect reflection, but let’s remember it as a beautiful beginning and not a disappointing end. Goodbye to all that. Let’s remember all the dreams and hopes, sadness, joy, laughter and tears Guiding Light gave the viewers for 72 years, and not the things it didn’t. Most of the time it was a truly, magnanimously, wonderful journey.

—In this week’s Suds Report, Nelson Branco will weigh in on what he thought of GL’s finale.

THE NELSON RATINGS
Can’t watch all the soaps this week? No worries — here’s a cheat sheet!
 
Top 3 Soaps to Watch:
1. One Life To Live, ABC
2. General Hospital, ABC/A
3. The Young and the Restless, CBS/Global
 
Top 3 Storylines to Watch:
1. The Kish Diaries, One Life
2. Téa Bags a Rapist, One Life
3. Revenge of the Nerd: Spinelli weds a Maxi-mista, GH
 
Top 5 Actresses to Watch:
1. Beth Maitland (Traci, Y&R)
2. Stacy Haiduk (Psycho, Y&R)
3. Florencia Lozano (Téa, One Life)
4. Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki, Y&R)
5. Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS)
Ed. Note: Hurry back to daytime, Crystal Chappell!

Top 5 Actors to Watch:
1. Trevor St. John (Todd, One Life)
2. Eric Braeden (Victor, Y&R)
3. Brett Claywell (Kyle, One Life)
4. Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R)
5. Stuart Damon (Ralph, World Turns)

Top 3 Comic Geniuses to Watch:
1. Tuc Watkins (David, One Life)
2. Robin Strasser (Dorian, One Life)
3. Lynn Herring (Audrey, World Turns)
 
Top 3 Duos to Watch:
1. Todd and Téa, One Life
2. Maxie and Spinelli, GH
3. Jill and Katherine, Y&R

Top 3 Triangles to Watch:
1. Téa/Todd/Blair, One Life
2. Nikki/Victor/Ashley, Y&R
3. Sonny/Olivia/Johnny, GH

Top 3 Guilty Pleasures:
1. Kate marrying Stefano, DAYS
2. Fast-forwarding through all of AMC
3. All the man-on-man kissing on One Life 

Top 3 Rivals To Watch:
1. Téa and Blair, One Life
2. Patty and Victor, Y&R
3. Kyle and Mr. Fish, One Life

Top 3 Families To Watch:
1. The Abbotts, Y&R
2. The Cramers, One Life
3. The Chancellors, Y&R

Top 4 New Duos To Watch:
1. Fish and Kyle, One Life
2. Layla and Cristian, One Life
3. Ross and Blair, One Life
4. Victoria/Katie and Brad/Bill, B&B

Top 3 Young Actors:
1. Drew Garrett (Michael, GH)
2. Eddie Alderson (Matthew, One Life)
3. Shenell Edmonds (Destiny, One Life)

Top 3 Biggest Wastes of Talent:
1. Lesli Kay (Felicia, B&B)
2. Elizabeth Hubbard (Lucinda, World Turns)
3. Carolyn Hennesy (Diane, GH)

Top 3 Hair Models: The B&B Edition — No one does bad acting better!
1. Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy)
2. Texas Battle (Marcus)
3. Hunter Tylo (Taylor)

Top 3 Soap Magazine Covers (based on art direction):
1. Soap Opera Digest — Y&R’s Victor and Nikki
—tie —
Soaps In Depth — GH’s Spixie Wed!
3. Soap Opera Weekly — Big News!

Top 3 Soap Moments To Watch:
1. Tuesday: One Life’s Fish and Kyle face life outside the closet. “Whew — thank God we’re on ABC because if we were on CBS, our sex life would be over,” says a relieved Oliver.
2. Wednesday: DAYS’s Lucas falls off the wagon — and Bryan Dattilo loses a paycheque for a while.
3. Thursday: World Turns’s Maddie returns to feel up Adam’s hot chest.

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Nelson Branco is a Toronto freelance entertainment journalist, who regularly contributes to Hello! Canada, The National Post, The Los Angeles Times' theenvelope.com, TV Guide USA, tvguide.com, Inside Entertainment, OUT, and fab magazine, along with spearheading the soap coverage for TVGuide.ca's popular daytime TV hub. After graduating from Ryerson University in 1997, he moved from Toronto to New York in 1998 to take on the roles as senior news editor at Soap Opera Update. Branco first freelanced for Soap Opera Weekly as an intern in 1994, and after leaving Soap Update to help create and launch Bauer Publishing's In Touch Weekly in 2003, Branco continued to freelance occasionally for its sister publication, Soaps In Depth. Most recently, he helped create and launch Canada's first celebrity magazine, Weekly Scoop in 2005 as its news and entertainment director. Branco is also a contributor to a new TV show titled Planet Soap to air in Canada and America.