The Nelson Ratings: Mar. 30, 2009
SUDSIEST QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“It was an economic decision [not airing the Daytime Emmys]. Ratings dropped on the awards show — as they have on most awards shows — and at a certain point you’re looking at what the purpose is of doing it. [Later] I don’t believe [our soaps are] mired in the past. We constantly work creatively and collaboratively with our studio partners to keep these shows engaging and relevant for their audiences. That’s validated by their success.”
—My gal pal, CBS VP Barbara Bloom in The Hollywood Reporter regarding the future of daytime
Translation: Future of soap opera? Not if I can help it. Plus, I have nothing to do with the success of Y&R. Well, not yet anyway!
“I own your ass, and Steffy’s, too. There will be a lot of ins and outs, Ridge, and by ins and outs, I mean a lot of ins and outs!”
—B&B’s Rick Forrester taunts Ridge in one hell of a campy scene
Translation: I’m such a bottom.
SUDS FLASHES:
Tricia Cast returns; Jess Walton refuses pay cut!; Lights out on GL?
• Emmy winner Tricia Cast (Nina) is reprising her iconic role on The Young and The Restless later this spring or early summer, report sources. The best part? This time around, Cast’s comeback is not a cameo.
• Soapoperadigest.com reported Friday that Y&R sent out a casting notice to replace Emmy winner Jess Walton (Jill) due to illness. TVGuide.ca has since learned Walton leaving due to sickness is not true. “Y&R asked Jess to take a pay cut, and she walked off the set. She had been feeling ill, but that’s not the reason she bolted.” So, is Walton’s walkout a contract ploy? “Nope,” continues the insider. “She’s serious. Jess may be the first daytime actor to actually stand up to these pay cuts everyone is being forced to take.” Let’s see how Walton’s historic decision will affect the industry… Sorry, Brenda Dickson (ex-Jill) fans, Y&R is looking for a “big name” to fill in Jill’s pumps. More in Friday’s Suds Report.
• Emmy winners Rick Hearst (Ric, General Hospital) and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R) auditioned for roles on ABC’s buzzed-about new dramedy, Cougar Town, which stars Courteney Cox and co-stars Soap Opera Spirit Award winner Carolyn Hennesy (Diane, GH).
• Former GH hunk, Réal Andrews (ex-Taggert) reported on his Facebook page that One Life is holding him for a big part.
—Auditioning for the role of Guiding Light’s Michelle Bauer are: Sabine Singh (ex-Greenlee, AMC), Amanda Baker (ex-Babe, AMC), Alicia Leigh Willis (ex-Courtney, GH), daytimeconfidential.com’s Jamey Giddens, along with a couple of other high-profile soap actresses. But what’s the point, since...
• The Suds Report first reported in November that GL was in serious danger of being cancelled. Although we've heard rumblings that the show would be renewed for at least another a year (actually, 18 months to be specific), industry bible TV Week reported yesterday that the oldest show in television will more than likely be cancelled this September. Reportedly, CBS chief Barbara Bloom is already looking to replace the hour as you read this. However, a major network insider tells The Nelson Ratings that they have heard differently. “Due to the recession, no local aflliate can afford to create their own local progamming, nor does its national network. That’s what could save GL,” he says. In order to survive, TVGuide.ca was informed that GL had to produce a 1.8 rating by April. Tragically, despite TeleNext’s suicidal promotional attempts, the show hit a 1.5 last week, so the end may be closer than we think. Too bad, too, because the show’s writing has improved — not as much as we’d had hoped, but nonetheless, it was an admirable effort. Stay tuned, soapers: this is one story we wish we were wrong about. It seems as if there is nothing guiding about this light. Thanks a lot Alan Locher, Ellen Wheeler, Lisa Lugassy and Barbara Bloom.
AWARDS SHOW CENTRAL:
ATWT is GLAAD once again! Plus: Sliming the Emmys?
Wisely, I opted to skip the fixed GLAAD Awards, to cover the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles. This past Saturday, As The World Turns once again won the GLAAD Award for outstanding daily drama series. On hand to accept were Soap Opera Spirit Award winners Van Hansis (Luke, ATWT) and Jake Silbermann (Noah, ATWT). |
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At the Kids Choice Awards, a brilliant idea popped into my head: wouldn’t it be funny if the Daytime Emmy Awards slimed daytime executives on stage? Now that’d increase the ratings, non?
SOAP DETOX
Week 2: Genoa City, where are you?
Not watching Y&R is killing me! Killing me, I say. More next week.
THE IDIOT RATINGS
GL/B&B lose big; AMC and One Life beat GH!
Total Viewers from March 9-13
—courtesy of Soap Opera Network
Total Viewers (last week versus last year)
1. Y&R 5,116,000 (+23,000/-406,000)
2. B&B 3,299,000 (-231,000/-796,000)
3. DAYS 2,986,000 (+288,000/+36,000)
4. AMC 2,699,000 (+81,000/+184,000)
5. OLTL 2,664,000 (-20,000/+16,000)
6. GH 2,646,000 (-101,000/-342,000)
7. ATWT 2,532,000 (-148,000/-666,000)
8. GL 2,133,000 (-127,000/-534,000)
Households
1. Y&R 3.6/12 (same/-.3)
2. B&B 2.4/8 (-.1/-.5)
3. DAYS 2.2/7 (+.2/same)
4. AMC 2.0/7 (+.1/same)
4. OLTL 2.0/7 (same/same)
4. GH 2.0/6 (-.1/-.3)
7. ATWT 1.8/6 (-.2/-.5)
8. GL 1.5/5 (-.2/-.4)
IMAGINARY EMMY SPEECHES
Y&R’s Maria Arena Bell wins best writing
On Aug. 31 at L.A.’s Orpheus Theater, Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS) walks on stage to present outstanding drama series writing, the industry’s highest honour.
Sweeney: “And the winner is, Alison Sweeney from Days of Our Lives!—”
Announcer [interrupts]: “—Nice try. Actually, the Emmy is awarded to The Young and the Restless!”
Refusing to hand over the Emmy to Maria Arena Bell, Sweeney is tackled by Y&R's co-head writer Hogan Sheffer, who sits on her until Maria can reach the podium.
Bell: “Move over, bitch. This is my Emmy. [Composes herself] Wow. Thank you. To think I won my first Emmy Award during my first year as head writer of the No. 1 soap opera on air, is just so cool. As most of you know, my brother-in-law, The Bold and the Beautiful’s Brad Bell, is still Emmy-less. Yes, Thanksgiving will be a little awkward, but I take comfort in knowing that my father, er, father-in-law Bill Bell is smiling down from the heavens, wishing he had sired me. Finally, I’d like to thank Ken Corday for firing the best writing team in daytime. Sit on this, dumbass!”
WHAT IF…
… soaps were still on radio?
One actor could play every single role on the soap — and save mucho dinero, in the process.
SOAP CON
Got Antivie and Monocaine?
Are you feeling blue? Sick and tired? Well, never fear soapers: for only $4,000 a bottle of my new elixir, Antivie and Monocaine, you can look like Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie! Plus: for each bottle you buy, you’ll exclusively get to talk to not only Nelson Branco on a muted personal call, but also receive a pair of my dirty underwear. Autographed, of course! So, what are you waiting for? Warning: Drinking Antivie and Monocaine in excess is known to cause blindness, dementia, and, in some cases, extra limbs and appendages.
TWEET, TWEET
Barbara Bloom Twitters
—“I’m re-watching my epic storytelling on Port Charles. Those 20-odd weeks as head writer were the happiest moments of my life.”
—“I hate Brian Frons, and yet I’m sexually attracted to him. Discuss.”
—“Y&R would be so much better if I was head writer. Maria is so overrated.”
—“Should I wash my hair this week?”
—“My best friend [AMC exec] Julie Hanan Carruthers and I just sabotaged another ABC-CBS casting coup!”
—“I’m learning to read and write today.”
—“Remember when I was PC’s saviour? You do know I was the head writer of Port Charles, right? Good times.”
—“How will I dismantle Guiding Light and World Turns this week? Any suggestions?”
THE NELSON RATINGS
Can’t watch all the soaps this week? No worries — here’s a cheat sheet!
Top Soaps to Watch:
1. The Young and the Restless, CBS/Global
2. Guiding Light, CBS/E!
3. One Life to Live, ABC/A
Top 3 Storylines to Watch This Week:
1. Billy weds Chloe and beds Sharon, Y&R
2. Otalia, baby!, GL
3. Horny twins Zoe and Zac want some Nuke action, ATWT
Top 6 Actresses to Watch
1. Maura West (Carly, ATWT)
2. Jessica Leccia (Natalia, GL)
3. Crystal Chappell (Olivia, GL)
4. Susan Flannery (Stephanie, B&B)
5. Jeanne Cooper (Katherine, Y&R)
6. Shenell Edmonds (Destiny, One Life)
Top 5 Actors to Watch:
1. Greg Rikaart (Kevin, Y&R)
2. Billy Miller (Billy, Y&R)
3. Trevor St. John (Todd, One Life)
4. Van Hansis (Luke, World Turns)
5. Nicholas Galbraith (Zac, World Turns)
Top 5 Duos to Watch:
1. Olivia and Natalia, GL
2. Kay and Jill, Y&R
3. Chloe and Billy, Y&R
4. Zoe and Zac, ATWT
5. Vienna and Henry, ATWT
Top 3 Love Triangles:
1. Phyllis/Nick/Sharon, Y&R
2. Olivia/Natalia/Frank, GL
3. Chloe/Billy/Sharon, Y&R
Top 3 Duos to Avoid Like The Plague:
1. Neil and Karen, Y&R
2. Starr and Schuyler, One Life
3. Rick and Steffy, B&B
Top 4 Hair — And Lingerie — Models:
1. Drew Tyler Bell (Thomas, B&B)
2. Jackie MacInnes Wood (Steffy, B&B)
3. Ronn Moss (Ridge, B&B)
4. Crystal Hunt (Stacy, One Life)
Top 4 Passionate Fan Bases:
1. Liason, GH
2. Otalia, GL
3. Nuke, ATWT
4. Spixie, GH
Top 3 Soap Magazine Covers:
1. Soap Opera Digest: Kay is not Jill’s mother!, Y&R
2. Soaps In Depth: Kevin and Amber, Y&R
3. Soap Opera Weekly: More GH stupidity — Claudia/Sonny/Carly/Jax
Top 3 Soap Moments To Watch:
1.Thursday: Stephanie recalls her love story with Eric on B&B. “I remember the first time Eric cheated me. Ah, the good old days,” she says wistfully.
2. Friday: Y&R’s Katherine and Jill have their cake and wear it, too!
3. Monday: John announces to Llanview that he tied the knot with Blair on One Life. John whispers to himself, “I’m now one step closer to getting in Todd’s pants.”
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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.
