The Nelson Ratings: Mar. 16, 2009
REMOTE CONTROL: RATING THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
<< REWIND: MASTER CLASS PERFORMANCE
The Young and the Restless — Rikaart’s shining moment
After watching Emmy winner Greg Rikaart’s heartbreaking performance, as Kevin begins dealing with a cruel relapse of his childhood abuse and the effects of Stockholm Syndrome, I’m absolutely certain that this acting dynamo will win an Oscar one day.
Y&R’s brave decision to further investigate Kevin’s torturous childhood is simply inspired (soap chief Maria Arena Bell hasn’t met a past storyline she couldn’t clean up).
Having said that, this cruel storyline is extremely painful to watch... but in a good way. Watching Kevin systematically being tortured for pure sport is hands down one of, if not, the most uncomfortable experiences I have had in my soap viewing career. Since Rikaart’s debut as the socially challenged computer geek, I have always felt protective of the character, so as you can imagine, I understand exactly what Gloria and Michael are feeling. In fact, I’ll have to often pause the television to catch my breath and cuddle with my dog, Kayla, for some much needed love.
Memo to Y&R: sign this handsome and talented force of nature to a lifetime contract — with outs, so he can win that little golden man — and never, ever force him to take a pay cut (I’ll help make up the difference if cash is tight). This industry cannot afford to lose a talent like Rikaart. Ever. And artists of his calibre should never, ever be asked to take a pay cut due to the mismanagement of certain network executives.
On a final note, the unbelievable Emily O’Brien (Jana) deserves a lot of praise as well. The Daytime Emmy-nominated starlet can now call herself Greg’s equal because she has graduated from the Rikaart school of acting.
Bravo, peeps!
SUDS DETOX/INTERVENTION:
No soaps in March!
What if you aired a soap opera, and Nelson Branco refused to watch? For the month of March, I won’t be watching one single minute of soaps. Yep, you read that right. Not even daytime gems, One Life to Live or Y&R. Why, you ask? Did I finally come to my senses? Perhaps.
In this experiment, I want to find out if life is better or worse without daytime TV. Are soaps toxic to our mental health? Or do they help us get through the hard times? Will I sleep better? Or will I have even more nightmares of a naked Brian Frons pole-dancing with Kelly Monaco? Will I spend more time in the gym? Or find a cure for cancer with an extra six hours a day?
Yes, sadly, I’ll be missing Greg Rikaart’s killer storyline and performance on Y&R (and Roscoe Born’s cameo as Terrible Tom on March 31). But in April, I can catch up on all the excellent drama and acting I missed on YouTube.
Tune into Nelson Ratings to find out how I’m dealing without my daily suds fix. I’ll be writing a journal each day, which will include what I am desperately missing from the soap world — and most important, which shows and characters I don’t long for. I have a feeling the results will even surprise me.
God help us all.
CAREER THERAPY:
Should Noelle Beck fire her agent?
This past weekend marked a year since Martha Byrne (ex-Lily) was forced out of As The World Turns. How is that working for you, [executive producer] Chris Goutman? Let’s review: your show is in the ratings and creative toilet, while the Emmy winner is writing on the No. 2 soap in daytime. Yes, a year makes quite the difference, doesn’t it? Memo to Beck: Run for your life.
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SUDS SNAP OF THE WEEK:
Otalia who?
GH head writer Bob Guza promised that daytime has never seen anything like it, but the moment GH fans have been waiting for could be right around the corner.
THE IDIOT RATINGS
All soaps increase except for GH!
Total Viewers from March 2-6
—courtesy of Soap Opera Network
Current Ratings (Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)
1. Y&R 5,395,000 (+115,000/-82,000)
2. B&B 3,503,000 (+136,000/-480,000)
3. DAYS 2,914,000 (+9,000/+16,000)
4. AMC 2,700,000 (+66,000/+141,000)
5. GH 2,685,000 (-2,000/-234,000)
6. ATWT 2,674,000 (+143,000/-403,000)
7. OLTL 2,633,000 (+39,000/+149,000)
8. GL 2,212,000 (+135,000/-533,000) |
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THE NELSON RATINGS
Can’t watch all the soaps this week? No worries — here’s a cheat sheet!
Top 3 Soaps to Watch:
1. The Young and the Restless, CBS/Global
2. One Life to Live, ABC/A
3. Guiding Light, CBS/E!
Top 3 Storylines to Watch This Week:
1. Sweet yet damaged Kevin deals with Terrible Clint, Y&R
2. Sharon is a few highlights short of a hairdo, Y&R
3. Anything Otalia, GL
Top 5 Actresses to Watch:
1. Emily O’Brien (Jana, Y&R)
2. Jeanne Cooper (Katherine, Y&R)
3. Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS)
4. Kirsten Storms (Maxie, GH)
5. Florencia Lozano (Téa, OLTL)
Top 4 Actors to Watch:
1. Greg Rikaart (Kevin, Y&R)
2. Eric Braeden (Victor, Y&R)
3. Bradford Anderson (Spinelli, GH)
4. Chris Engen (Adam, Y&R)
Top 3 Duos to Watch:
1. Olivia and Natalia, GL
2. Bill and Lizzie, GL
3. Maxie and Spinelli, GH
Top 3 Love Triangles:
1. Phyllis/Nick/Sharon, Y&R
2. Ashley/Victor/Nikki, Y&R
3. Rafe/Sami/EJ, DAYS
Top 3 Duos to Avoid Like The Plague:
1. Neil and Karen, Y&R
2. Neil and Tyra, Y&R
3. Rick and Steffy, B&B
Top 3 Hair Models:
1. James Michael Gregary (Clint, Y&R)
2. Ronn Moss (Ridge, B&B)
3. Molly Burnett (Melanie, DAYS)
Top 3 Soap Magazine Covers:
1. Soap Opera Digest: GH’s Carly/Jax/Claudia/Sonny
2. Soap Opera Weekly: The Bachelor/DAYS’ EJ and Nicole
3. Soaps In Depth: Sharon Case (Sharon, Y&R)
Top 3 Soap Moments To Watch:
1. Thursday: Jared and Natalie find proof to expose the Chloe paternity mystery on One Life. “But before we do that, Sparky, first let me get a quick haircut and blow dry,” says Jared.
2. Wednesday: Brooke laughs in Stephanie’s face when La Forrester prays for a Taylor and Ridge reunion on B&B.
3. Tuesday: On GH, NASCAR’s Jeff Burton gets under Maxie’s skin. “You’re over 40, buddy, so you won’t last long here. Unless you sell Monavie Juice!” screams Maxie.
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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.
