The Suds Report - Feb26/10

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SUDSIEST QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
“[Laughs] I think so! My World Turns character would kill you as soon as look at you. These character roles are so much more fun. But, I’ll tell ya, the schedule is now a mind-blower. It’s only been 18 months since I finished up on GH but since then soaps have gone crazy. They’re shooting eight episodes a week at DAYS now. The speed is really scary. But give me a part and I can still rip through it!”
—Former GH star Stuart Damon on his new made-to-order DAYS role to TV Guide Magazine
Translation: Does anyone have any spare speed?

“Yes, I feel like my dancing skills have greatly improved since starting [Italy’s Dancing With The Stars].”
—B&B’s Ronn Moss in Soap Opera Weekly
Translation: Unlike my acting.

“It’s just as difficult to move down the block as it is to go cross-country.”
—One Life’s executive producer Frank Valentini at the soap’s block party as reported by Soap Opera Weekly
Translation: Tell that to Thorsten Kaye and Alicia Minshew — and all the AMC crew members, which approximately total over 200 people.

“Leslie [Moonves] is a superb executive who has led CBS to a position of unparalleled leadership in the industry. This agreement not only secures the future of the company for many years to come, it also further aligns and strengthens the interests of the chief executive with those of our shareholders.”
—CBS Corp. Chairman Sumner Redstone regarding his network president’s contract renewal
Translation: Except for our daytime lineup.

“I have the privilege of working with the greatest team of people in this or any other business. I am very gratified that my relationship with the company will continue as we build on the strong foundation we have laid for ongoing growth and success.”
—Les Moonves in an official press statement regarding his new contract with CBS
Translation: Except for our daytime lineup.

“I didn’t have any experience whatsoever [on soaps] and I would say, ‘Why do I have to repeat stuff so much? Why do every time we do a scene we have to talk about what we did in the scene before?’ Gloria [Monty, GH’s executive producer] would say, ‘You’re doing radio. You may think people want to watch you because you’re gorgeous, but they’re listening to you.’ I think that’s what they forgot along the way. People do listen to it. They do listen to great voices, and they want you to tell a story. They don’t just want to look at breasts. People have forgotten that, I think.  Telling a story depends on a really great storyteller. You trust your emotional journey to that person and I think people let some of that go.”
—Emmy winning soap vet Ian Buchanan in an interview with Welovesoaps.net
Translation: A sexy English accent doesn't hurt either!

“Yes, when Tristan [Rogers, GH] was involved we had a lot of remotes — he liked that action stuff.”
—Buchanan on the myriad location shoots during his GH tenure
Translation: Wow — have times changed! Today, Tristan couldn’t get arrested in Port Charles thanks to a certain corporate agenda.

“Let’s just say that every day that I work here, I treat it as it were my last. [As for rumours of my exit], I love this job, but let’s just say I’m an equal-opportunity job-seeker.”
—Y&R’s Michael Muhney in an interview with Soaps In Depth
Translation: Just like Adam — boys or girls — I don’t discriminate!

“[When asked if I could briefly return to AMC during my mat leave,] I said [to my producer], ‘I don’t want to leave my baby right now, which she totally understood, but she told me that they would fly out my baby and my husband [on their own dime], so I said, ‘Yeah!’”
—AMC’s Alicia Minshew in Soap Opera Weekly
Translation: ABC just took the cash out of One Life’s budget.

AWARDS SHOW CENTRAL
Let the politics begin!
NATAS revealed the pre-nominees for The 37th Annual Daytime Emmys this morning! Final nominees will be announced on May 12. Here they are! Thoughts? Tune into Soapgeist on Monday for my reaction to this year’s semi-wacky pre-nom list.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

ALL MY CHILDREN
Bobbie Eakes
Alicia Minshew

AS THE WORLD TURNS
Terri Colombino
Maura West

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Susan Flannery
Katherine Kelly Lang

DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Kristian Alfonso
Alison Sweeney

GENERAL HOSPITAL
Sarah Brown
Laura Wright

GUIDING LIGHT
Crystal Chappell

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Erika Slezak
Hillary Smith

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Jeanne Cooper
Michelle Stafford
Sharon Case

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

ALL MY CHILDREN
David Canary
Thorsten Kaye
Vincent Irizarry

AS THE WORLD TURNS
Jon Lindstrom
Michael Park

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Don Diamont
John McCook

DAYS OF OUR LIVES
John Aniston
James Scott

GENERAL HOSPITAL
Maurice Benard
Anthony Geary

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Jerry ver Dorn
Robert S. Woods

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Peter Bergman
Doug Davidson

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

ALL MY CHILDREN
Melissa Claire Egan
Chrishell Stause

AS THE WORLD TURNS
Cady McClain
Julie Pinson

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Heather Tom
Betty White

DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Nadia Bjorlin
Arianne Zucker

GENERAL HOSPITAL
Carolyn Hennesy
Rebecca Herbst

GUIDING LIGHT
Beth Chamberlin
Tina Sloan

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Ilene Kristen
Bree Williamson

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Stacy Haiduk
Elizabeth Hendrickson

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

ALL MY CHILDREN
Ricky Paull Goldin
Jacob Young

AS THE WORLD TURNS
Trent Dawson
Austin Peck

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Brandon Beemer
Kyle Lowder

DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Shawn Christian
Joseph Mascolo

GENERAL HOSPITAL
Bradford Anderson
Jonathan Jackson

GUIDING LIGHT
Jeff Branson

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Mark Lawson
Brian Kerwin
Brett Claywell

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Billy Miller
Greg Rikaart

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

ALL MY CHILDREN
Brittany Allen
Shannon Kane

AS THE WORLD TURNS
Marnie Schulenburg

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Jacqueline MacInnes Wood

DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Molly Burnett
Shelley Hennig

GENERAL HOSPITAL
Julie Berman
Kirsten Storms

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Crystal Hunt
Farah Fath

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Christel Khalil
Emily O’Brien

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

ALL MY CHILDREN
Daniel Kennedy
JR Martinez

AS THE WORLD TURNS
Mick Hazen
Billy Magnussen

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Drew Tyler Bell

DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Casey Deidrick
Dylan Patton

GENERAL HOSPITAL
Drew Garrett
Nathan Parsons

GUIDING LIGHT
Zack Conroy

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Scott Clifton
Scott Evans

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Bryton James
Kevin Schmidt

THE IDIOT RATINGS
Winners: Sorry, DAYS — B&B bounces back! One Life hits No. 5 in demos!
Losers: Why is One Life still the last-rated soap?

Numbers are based on Live+Same Day ratings
Ratings for the week Feb. 15-19, 2010
Courtesy of SoapOperaNetwork.com

(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)

Total Viewers
1. Y&R 5,143,000 (-97,000/-314,000)
2. B&B 3,404,000 (+137,000/-169,0000)
3. DAYS 3,275,000 (-50,000/+258,000)
4. AMC 2,902,000 (-69,000/+173,000)
5. GH 2,753,000 (-133,000/-48,000)
6. ATWT 2,670,000 (+242,000/+107,000)
7. OLTL 2,622,000 (-70,000/+62,000)

Households
1. Y&R 3.7/11 (-.1/-.3)
2. B&B 2.4/7 (same/-.3)
3. DAYS 2.3/7 (same/+.3)
4. AMC 2.2/7 (same/+.1)
5. GH 2.0/6 (-.1/-.2)
5. OLTL 2.0/6 (same/same)
7. ATWT 1.8/6 (same/-.2)

Women 18-49 Viewers
1. Y&R 1,150,000 (-90,000/-118,000)
2. GH 996,000 (+20,000/+52,000)
3. DAYS 866,000 (+13,000/-34,000)
4. OLTL 821,000 (+38,000/+65,000)
5. AMC 775,000 (-27,000/-24,000)
6. B&B 752,000 (+21,000/-89,000)
7. ATWT 640,000 (+54,000/-66,000)

All My Children, ABC, A — Dancing With Mr. Kelly Ripa? • James Mitchell would’ve been proud. Check out Soap Opera Spirit nominee Jill Larson in Martin Scorsese's latest film, Shutter Island. Yikes — from Chucky Pratt to Scorsese. Despite the movie’s faults, Larson did an awesome job — as always! But be forewarned AMC-ers — Larson appears in only one scene in the flick, but may get more play in the DVD release. Which should be very soon … • According to this week’s Soap Opera Digest and Michael Fairman’s On Air, On Soaps, there is a real possibility that a former AMC star may be joining Dancing With The Stars as a contestant? My bet? Mark Consuelos. • Is Dixie whistling from heaven again? Yep! This week, Dixie’s ghost — and Stuart — appears to JR in heaven to urge her son to fight for his life. Zzzz … I’d love it if JR asked Dixie, “Why do you look like Skye Chandler and Liza Colby? Is there a hairstylist in heaven?” I had to write that before Soap Opera Digest’s Carolyn Hinsey did …

Funny, because that’s not what Canary told me at the Emmys, Julie! 

FYI — Canary will continue shooting AMC into April. The story? Palmer’s death prompts Adam’s exit. Yeah, right — because Adam and Palmer hang out all the time! Word is that Adam will leave town with Brooke, so don’t expect Julia Barr to stick around for much longer. Really, Lorraine?

• It’s too bad Michael Cohen isn’t One Life’s publicist! Here is yet another AMC PR campaign in Los Angeles magazine featuring Cameron Mathison, Susan Lucci and Becky Budig. But don’t be too impressed — it’s a pretty unimaginative spread titled Drama Queens. There hasn’t been any drama or queens on AMC in about a decade!

• Speaking of favourite ABC children, to put the alphabet network’s discrimination in perspective, the other day I counted how many AMC promos aired during ABC’s daytime lineup, and those twits in Pine Valley easily won hands down. AMC even beat GH’s promotional efforts, hence their ratings increase. Heck, if you watch The View, you’ll notice there is practically an AMC promo every day!

• Remember when AMC used to cast promising new talent instead of blond hair models? Well, AMC’s last big find, Leven Rambin, last seen on Grey’s Anatomy as McSteamy’s daughter, has been cast on the Alphabet’s new show, Scoundrels, based on the New Zealand series Outrageous Fortune. Rambin will play the daughter of Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen. Meanwhile, Kelli Giddish, whose show Past Life was recently cancelled by Fox, has joined Jerry Bruckheimer's drama pilot for NBC titled Chased.

As The World Turns, Global/CBS — Ass the World Turns!
• Soap Opera Spirit Award nominee, Don Hastings, told closeted soap fan, Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman that he wouldn’t mind joining One Life to work opposite Bob Woods as a serial killer!

• Hasn’t earnest Jake Silbermann improved a lot since his blindness storyline? Good work, Jake. Silbermann may just win most improved actor of 2010!

• Screw water-boarding! Memo to Dick Cheney — if you want to torture a terrorist, make them watch World Turns and B&B in a row!

• So would Cady McClain return for World Turns’s swan song? The Emmy winner tells Soap Weekly, “I have not been approached, but of course, I would always be happy to return if the show needed me.”

• According to a source, World Turns closed down production today due to a New York City blizzard. So expect a lot of network interruptions today.

The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS/CTV — Shudder City!
• Just when you thought this show couldn’t get any worse, next week, Jackie’s loyal hubby-cub, Owen, has grief sex with Bridget! “Is it his twin, Casper,” wonders Soap Opera Weekly’s in-denial Mala Bhattacharjee? Nope! But good idea! Perhaps you should be writing the show, Mala. It couldn’t get any worse.

• Remember when B&B was the king of business/corporate storylines? Um, not so much anymore. Steffy fooled Bill? Seriously? Why don’t you respect your audience, B&B? I’d like an answer to that. Seriously.

Days of our Lives, NBC/Global —  EJ should run for president! • My head is spinning! Maybe I shouldn’t delete my soap spoilers when they come in weeks in advance! Two weeks ago, EJ faked his daughter Sydney’s death to pay back Sami who had just recently mourned her faux offspring, Grace! It was super-cruel, but must-see TV. This week? EJ brings Sydney back from the dead — reuniting the most dysfunctional future soap adult character on the planet with her mother, Sami — so he can look like the hero in Samantha's eyes. I love this storyline! And so does the No. 1 soap magazine star, Lauren Sinnema (Sydney), who boasts yet another Soap Opera Weekly cover this week! • Hey, Gary Tomlin — I wouldn’t mind seeing a James Scott and Crystal Chappell hookup or romance. Just suggesting … Hey, they’d be hot together. And they’re both fierce actors. And not so bad to look at, either.

• Peter Reckell out? Don’t worry, DAYS fans, the Emmy-nominated actor is just leaving the show for a month because he’s gone over his guarantee (thanks, Crystal), and Sony refuses to pay him overtime, reports Soap Opera Digest. Yep, pull your most popular leading man off air during the climax of a story. That makes sense. Not!

• Was he driving in Genoa City? Galen Gering tweeted yesterday that he was in a car accident, smashing his Prius in the process. But don’t worry — he’s fine.

Daytimeconfidential.com — Podcasts of the Week!
• Make sure you listen to DC.com’s hilarious and spot-on podcasts this week. And I mean all of them! Listen to Jamey Giddens’ brilliant Jackie MacInnes Wood impersonation here. Oh, and find out what went down during One Life’s block party here. Finally, learn why DAYS beat B&B as the No. 2 soap opera last week here.

General Hospital, CTV/A — Prince Bauer?
• It's about time!

• Four-time Emmy winner Michael Learned is joining the cast for a short-term story arc. Learned will play Shirley Smith, a cancer patient, and will air in April.

• Bradley Cole tells Soap Opera Digest he’s not sure if his character will share scenes with his former GL co-star, Laura Wright. But he assumes that she had something to do with his appointment. Isn’t it funny that his character’s name is Carlton Bauer?

• Will daytime’s most promising new couple, Dante and Lulu, make “lovelies” next week? Looks like it ...

Guiding Light Alum News — Jeff Branson’s new adventures!
• Screw daytime! Emmy winner Jeff Branson is auditioning for a new role on CBS’s new series, The Quinn Tuplets. FYI — Branson recently booked a gig on  House.

One Life To Live, ABC — All that I have … is one life to live!
• Exposition works much better when Snoop Dogg is filling in the citizens of what’s happening in their Llanview! 

• The other day, my jaw dropped when Kassie DePaiva opened up the show by singing One Life’s Peabo Bryson theme song. Gorgeous. Can’t we bring back this theme song? Puh-lease?! The only thing I hate about this show is their opening credits.

• As much as I love her, Amanda Setton deserves an acting citation. When Kim learned Stacy died, Setton phoned it in. And it was bad, really bad. Just being fair.

Speaking of that douchebag, who else thinks Stacy may still be alive? Hello — no one has found a body yet. Hopefully, One Life will bring back the character with a new actress.

• Next week, Suds Report will be attending Crystal Hunt’s umpteenth birthday party, her 23rd so far! Joking. Who knew her birthday was a national holiday? During Hunt’s final scenes, which Emmy-winning actress freaked out when working opposite Hunt in a car because the hair model had to catch a first-class flight?

• Has SOS winner Trevor St. John been working out? Sure looks like it! St. John told Suds last year he didn’t need to go to the gym to maintain his sexy physique (hate him!), but clearly he’s been pumping iron.

• I still don’t believe Mitch is Rex’s father. Sorry … it’s just not working for me.

• Remember those Starr cartoons back in the day? I say bring them back starring Jack. Did you know that Bree Williamson’s Canadian hubby, Michael Roberts, is an animator? Maybe ABC could snag him in a two-for-one deal? “I’d love that,” Roberts told Suds. “For some reason, along with comedy, Canadians excel at animation. We’re renowned for it.” Speaking of Williamson, did you know she used to live at Queen and Dundas during her Toronto days?

• Isn’t Destiny the smartest character on soaps?

Steamboat, YouTube — Guiding spoof!
• Hungry for a soap spoof? Tune in here to see Steamboat, a LOL-series lampooning Ellen Wheeler’s GL, er, soaps, created and written by Springfield’s own Michael O’Leary. Kim Zimmer, Michael Park and many other soap vets star. Hmmm … I wonder who Zimmer’s role is based on? Have to say, as much as I love the soap-tire so far, the title is really stupid! No soap would ever be titled the unromantic moniker of Steamboat! Heck, I keep calling it Showboat! To think of all the possible fun names available out there, I have to question this decision. But at least the show is LOL-hilarious! And, as always, Zimmer is delicious.

The Young and the Restless, CBS/Global — Congrats! • Here’s a pic from the New York WGA ceremony where Y&R won the best daytime serial writing award. Pictured are: Melissa Salmons (now at One Life), Tom Casiello, Lisa Connor (now at AMC) and Janice Ferri Esser. (Photo credit — Josh O'Connell). Former Y&R head writer Sally Sussman Morina hilariously presented the award with her husband, Y&R producer Tony Morina in L.A. before World Turns' Don Hastings announced the winner in N.Y.

• She’s no Valene! In an interview with Retroality.tv, Joan Van Ark revealed that she quit Y&R, not because she couldn’t handle the medium, as was claimed, but because she encountered creative differences. She said, “I wanted [Gloria] to be Anna Nicole Smith, Goldie Hawn and Drea de Matteo all rolled into one. But [the producers] were taking her to Joan Collins-shoulder-pads-via-bitch. I’m spoiled because of Knots Landing, where I had the blessing and joy of collaboration. We all got to contribute and collaborate [on the script]. In daytime, there’s no such thing. [Y&R’s producers] are wonderful, but it’s more or less their way or the highway. I felt like a visitor [on Y&R]. It’s a nice place to visit but I didn’t want to live there. I loved my sons on the show [actors Christian LeBlanc and Greg Rikaart]. The original idea for me was to go in and do a story arc — a short burst of character — and then I’m outta there. I’d love to go in as a different character and screw up Ted and Gloria.” I say bring Van Ark back as Gloria’s evil twin!

• The role Amelia Heinle tries to play on Y&R will now be referred to as “Faux-toria.” If Y&R thinks they’re going to turn a wrong into a right, then they’re as insane as Chucky Pratt. I will never accept Billy and Victoria together. Ever! Miller’s better than that. While the future Emmy winner may be one of daytime’s finest actors, he’s no miracle worker! Listen, I like Heinle — she’s gorgeous and could be a very talented actor — but she’s not Victoria. End of story! Start listening to the fans, people! One Life does …
 
• Oh-so-underrated Thad Luckinbill is far too talented and handsome to be wasted on the back burner. I say pair him with Ashley! [Ed. Note: Um, no. Yuck.] OK, Denette — how about Chloe, then? Or Adam ... ?

• The most talented ensemble in a daytime storyline so far? Stephen Nichols, Eric Braeden, Jess Walton and Jeanne Cooper! Bam! It’s called a soap-gasm when they share the screen.

• Just Jack! And just saying — Jack’s an idiot. Stacy Haiduk deserves an Oscar nomination for her dual role (or triple, when you consider Haiduk playing Patty, Emily, and Patty pretending to be Emily). 

• Wilson Bethel should’ve been cast as Chance. He actually looks like he’d be in the don’t-ask, don’t-tell army! BTW — Bethel is a leading contender to play the coveted role of Captain America in the new film franchise. But he's got stiff competition. Former DAYS star Jensen Ackles, now the co-lead in Supernatural, pulled out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.

• Aren’t Michael Muhney and Trevor St. John so similar in their acting styles? If you look closely, they even look alike. They remind me of Six Feet Under’s Michael C. Hall and Peter Krause. I would love to see Muhney’s take on Todd Manning, and St. John’s interpretation of Adam. Or, maybe not. I like them as they are.

Want to dish the soaps with Nelson Branco? Join The Suds Report discussion group today on Facebook.com.

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.