SUDS FLASHES:
Homophobia on One Life’s set? Emmys give back! Welovesoaps.com’s new podcast series!
—It was daytimeconfidential.com’s turn to set the blogosphere on fire this past weekend when Jamey Giddens broke news that Patricia Mauceri has been reportedly fired from the recurring role of Carlotta Vega on One Life to Live, allegedly due to the star’s protests about Carlotta’s small role in the upcoming gay storyline between Kyle and Fish. “Carlotta was supposed to have a small role in the upcoming 'Kish' storyline. She objected to Carlotta’s positive attitude about homosexuality, saying it conflicted with her personal beliefs.”

The source goes on to say the role of Carlotta was recast with Saundra Santiago (ex-Angelina, One Life; ex-Carmen, GL). Santiago’s first tape day was June 26.

A close friend of Mauceri's tells NR, “She’s a staunch Christian and is very opposed to homosexuality.” The insider goes on to say the recast is ironic because Patricia and Sandra are “close friends.”

— The 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards released this statement today: “Three of daytime TV’s biggest stars — AMC’s Susan Lucci (Erica), and GH’s Anthony Geary (Luke) and Kelly Monaco (Sam) — will travel to Kenya next month with Feed the Children, an international, non-profit relief organization that supports more than 100,000 children in Kenya’s slums.  The three will document their journey with their own cameras as they aid Feed the Children founders Larry and Frances Jones in delivering food and items to the needy and accompany them on visits to local schools, as well as an abandoned baby centre built by Feed the Children. Part of the footage they shoot while over there will air as a segment entitled Daytime Gives Back during the Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards, airing Sun., Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CW Television Network. AMC will also incorporate the trip into their show, in a yet-to-be-determined storyline involving Lucci’s character, Erica Kane.”

For more information, please visit the Feed the Children website.

—Online comings and goings: Welovesoaps.com’s Roger Newcomb tells Nelson Ratings that my pal, Absolutely Shouldless author, Damon L. Jacobs, will be joining its “cast” as a regular contributor.  “I’ll be writing features, conducting interviews, and a few other surprises,” Jacobs states. Also, Newcomb reveals that welovesoaps.com will be launching an innovative soap podcast on July 7.

— So how is Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki, Y&R) being written out? Despite published reports on other sites, Nelson Ratings learns that Nikki will not be visiting her ill sister, Casey. “It’s a shocking cliffhanger,” says a source.

— America’s Next Top Photographer: SoapOperaDigest.com revealed that B&B is welcoming back Victor Alfieri (ex-Franco, DAYS) as L.A.'s favourite sexy photographer, Giovanni on July 16. With a suspicious influx of leading men heading to B&B, many insiders are wondering if the CBS sudser will be expanded to one hour when GL signs off the airwaves on Sept. 18.

—Who said soap actors were all self-absorbed? Nicholas Galbraith (ex-Zac, World Turns) tells The Suds Report that, “I’ll be visiting India to teach in an orphanage/boarding school. If anyone would like to sponsor me so I can secure the funds to help out these kids, I’d be grateful.”

—Goodbye Dinah, hello Kelly? The Suds Report was updated Friday night with news that Gina Tognoni quit GL. The Emmy winner’s last tape date was June 26. “The show threw a goodbye party for Gina,” says a show mole. There is still no word as to why Tognoni didn’t renew her contract a few months until GL’s finale.

—Take that, Soap Opera Digest: It’s daytimeconfidential.com’s turn to break the news this week! The popular website announced that Bradley Cole is reportedly leaving GL before the finale, as The Suds Report alluded to a few weeks ago. “Jeffrey will not make it past July. Edmund will be involved and David Andrew MacDonald (ex-Edmund) may make an appearance,” says their source.

—Can’t we all just get along? In Friday’s Suds Report, our AMC blind item hinted that two stars were feuding over something said in a recent interview. NR can reveal that the actors in question are Beth Ehlers (Taylor) and JR Martinez (Brot). In the light-hearted Star Dish Radio interview, Ehlers commented:

“As many times as I would casually try to go into my boss’s office and say, ‘Uh, you are going to start integrating me, right?’ When you’ve been doing this as long as I’ve been doing it, you know how it’s supposed to be done. But you can’t tell your bosses that because it’s like any other job in the world, you can’t know more than your boss because they hate you for it. And so you have to be careful when you go in that you don’t tell somebody how to do his or her job. And I wanted to scream at people. I wanted to go in and say, ‘Hello, you're burying me here. You’re making this really hard. First you give me somebody who, God bless him, I love J.R. but he's not an actor.’ And so that’s hard enough with somebody who ... it’s going to be a long time before he gets out of second gear. And I’m constantly having to hedge my performance because I can’t be doing Shakespeare while he’s doing something else.”

In response, Martinez tweeted:

“Apparently there are rumours going around about Beth (Taylor) and J.R. (Brot) having a feud between each other. C’mon peeps. We’re not. I simply didn’t agree with her choice of words in her radio interview. I never expected her to coach me; just give tips to help the [storyline].”

Martinez, who was nominated for a 2009 Soap Opera Spirit Award for outstanding actor in a new role or recast, will air his side of the story on a special episode of Star Dish Radio tonight.

—The truth shall set soap fans free: The Hollywood Reporter’s Roger Friedman wrote a brilliant, brave op-ed piece on the demise of Guiding Light. Friedman alleges what The Suds Report has been reporting for over a year: P&G/TeleNext are purposely killing their shows so the company can get out of the soap business. Read here for more.

 

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:
GL water fight: My hose is bigger than your hose!
*Screen grabs by DC.com’s Luke Kerr

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:
Michael Muhney’s kick-ass debut on Y&R as Adam Newman:

 

 

REMOTE CONTROL: RATING THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

II PAUSE:
ALL MY CHILDREN: One Step Forward, Two Steps Backwards
Head writer Chuck Pratt has done one thing right since taking over the reins at AMC — and that’s resurrecting our feisty, bitchy and selfish glamour puss Erica Kane. But as usual, Pratt is screwing with a potentially sizzling love triangle between Adam/Erica/Ryan by throwing in that hot mess Annie into the equation.
Fearless Prediction: Taylor leaves town for Genoa City.

> PLAY:
AS THE WORLD TURNS: Adam and Margo
A corpse could have predicted that Riley is Adam but World Turns’ unimaginative plot twist has revived the show slightly, mainly due to Ellen Dolan’s amazing performance. This past Friday, Margo interrupted Col. Mayer and Adam and was shot by Noah’s homophobic daddy! I have to admit I was kind of riveted.
Fearless Prediction: Running out of women to sleep with, Dusty comes on to Lisa.

II PAUSE:
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Felicia gets screwed again!
It looks like B&B is exploring a possible romantic and sexual hook-up between Katie and Bill. Good luck with that, Brad Bell.
Fearless Prediction: Owen is revealed to be Sheila and Massimo’s other love child!

<< REWIND:
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Ridge Forrester’s AA partner
Who knew? The oh-so-beautiful Shelley Henning is impressing the pants off of me as Stephanie descents into a pill addiction. I’m also rooting for Philip and Steph to make it as a couple.
Fearless Prediction: Daniel is arrested after mauling Chloe’s face to death!

 Days of our Lives, NBC

>> FF:
GENERAL HOSPITAL: In Treatment with Bob Guza
After catching up on my In Treatment episodes, I realized that one of the reasons why watching GH is the most painful part of week is because the entire canvas is devoid of any character or psychology. Ideally, in every episode a new layer of a character’s soul, mind and heart should be peeled back to illuminate the audience. There is no need for explosions — just honest storytelling. That’s what makes viewers fall in love with characters, care about them and most importantly, invest in the people on their screen. When characters become caricatures and not real human beings, viewers tune out in droves because they’ve stop caring. Droves. The only character on the show that fascinates me is Andrea Floyd (Martha Byrne). You know Andrea has a story inside that broken, manipulative heart of hers but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before GH screws that up, too.
Fearless Prediction: Renegade FBI agent Nelson Branco arrives in Port Chuck and murders Jason and Sonny. Robert Scorpio is revealed to be the mastermind — and just like that all is right with the world.

II PAUSE:
GUIDING LIGHT: Kiss me, lesbo!
Soap Opera Weekly founder Mimi Torchin weighed in on her favourite soap super-couple Otalia, their lack of physical contact and the reveal that Natalia will find out she’s pregnant with Frank’s baby. She opines, “I just don’t know how a love story that started out so brilliantly — just like hundreds of great heterosexual soap opera love affairs but with a delightful twist and took us so willingly and eagerly through the real-time journey as these two woman discovered, to their great surprise, that they loved each other ‘like that’ — could have turned into such an overwrought, outdated cliché about the pain and tribulations of ‘forbidden’ love. This is 2009, for heaven’s sake! These adult women, after months and months of emotional foreplay, have not even really kissed! It’s like a tickle in your nose that never becomes a sneeze: maddening. Making Natalia pregnant is the last straw, despicable! It’s the laziest, cheapest, most annoying and enraging plot point on daytime since Erica’s unabortion on AMC! Can you tell how much I hate it? There were at least 10 other ways to deal with Jessica Leccia’s (Natalia) maternity leave. A nice little coma (thanks perhaps to some selfish act by that spoiled brat, Rafe, for example) would have been perfect.”

Torchin continues: “Here’s the thing in a nutshell: Have some cojones, Ellen Wheeler. The show is already cancelled. What have you got to lose? Be brave, be true to Olivia (Crystal Chappell) and Natalia’s courageous commitment and their wonderful, unusual (for soaps) love story and let’s consummate this relationship! We don’t have to see it happen on-screen; the build-up and afterglow will suffice. Give us a real, romantic kiss and the well-deserved, happily-ever-after these two wonderful characters deserve and we, the audience, will be happy as well. Go out with a bang (or a bell, as in wedding?) with Otalia, not a bloody whimper!”
Fearless Prediction: Olivia, too, learns she’s pregnant when it’s revealed that she and Josh shared a one-night stand months ago when Nat was about to wed Frank.

<< REWIND:
ONE LIFE TO LIVE: Evangeline who?
The gorgeous and talented Tika Sumpter is by far my favourite One Life actress these days. I have fallen madly in love with Layla, and her fledgling romance with Cristian, and pray she moves on to the front burner this summer. Let’s hope One Life doesn’t screw this up. Because you know she’s black and all.
Fearless Prediction: Viki becomes uncomfortable when Carlotta asks her friend if she’d visit Makeout Point on Llantano Mountain with her!

<< REWIND:
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Adam and Rafe’s down-low affair!
With all the hype surrounding Adam and Rafe’s sexual affair, viewers were understandably upset when the couple had sex off-screen. “Is this another CBS kissing/sex ban?” they cried. Well, I’m going to give soap chief Maria Arena Bell a break on this one — and this is why: Filming a sex scene between a straight and gay man could come off as offensive. Firstly, Adam would have to appear uncomfortable in the situation which could anger gay right groups, etc. It’s also not a romantic hook-up, so I’m waiting to see how Y&R handles another gay storyline in the works which promises to be romantic. Moreover, I hear Y&R doesn’t want a fan base to develop between Adam and Rafe because they are not the endgame — and Adam is as straight as Brian Frons is.
Fearless Summer Prediction: Rafe has trouble walking for a few weeks.

THE IDIOT RATINGS
DAYS still in the black! B&B increases!

Ratings for the week June 15-19, 2009
—Courtesy of Soap Opera Network

*TVGuide.ca values viewers of all shapes, colours, sexualities, and ages, which is why we print the total viewing audience tallies. Screw you, Madison Avenue! We’re not buying your bull anymore. And memo to soaps: perhaps you should start selling ad space that cater to older, gay, and black audiences. You know, the people who actually watch this garbage! These are desperate times — you can’t afford to turn away any revenue streams available.

(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)

Total Viewers
1. Y&R 4,769,000 (-5,000/-82,000)
2. B&B 3,142,000 (+116,000/-481,000)
3. DAYS 2,590,000 (-226,000/+56,000)
4. OLTL 2,534,000 (-61,000/-113,000)
5. AMC 2,429,000 (-90,000/-124,000)
6. GH 2,425,000 (-209,000/-381,000)
7. ATWT 2,232,000 (+23,000/419,000)
8. GL 1,822,000 (+12,000/-466,000)

Households
1. Y&R 3.4/11 (same/same)
2. B&B 2.3/7 (+.1/-.2)
3. DAYS 2.0/6 (-.1/+.1)
4. AMC 1.8/6 (same/-.2)
4. OLTL 1.8/6 (same/-.3)
4. GH 1.8/5 (-.1/-.4)
7. ATWT 1.6/5 (same/-.3)
8. GL 1.3/4 (same/-.3)

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. Days of our Lives, NBC/Global
3. One Life To Live, ABC/A

Top 3 Storylines to Watch:
1. The Hair Model, The Psycho, and The Gay Lawyer, Y&R
2. Got Fish, Kyle?, One Life
3. Nicole’s Cradle of Lies, DAYS

Top 5 Actresses to Watch:
1. Stacy Haiduk (Mary Jane/Patty, Y&R)
2. Martha Byrne (Andrea, GH)
3. Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R)
4. Crystal Chappell (Olivia, GL)
5. Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS)

Top 5 Actors to Watch:
1. Michael Muhney (Adam, Y&R)
2. Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny, GL)
3. Grant Aleksander (Phillip, GL)
4. James Scott (EJ, DAYS)
5. Scott Evans (Fish, One Life)

Top 3 Comic Geniuses To Watch:
1. Ilene Kristen (Roxy, One Life)
2. Alley Mills (Pam, B&B)
3. Trent Dawson (Henry/Geneva, World Turns)

Top 3 Duos To Watch:
1. Olivia and Natalia, GL
2. Rafe and Sami, DAYS
3. Owen and Jackie, B&B

Top 3 Triangles To Watch:
1. Phyllis/Nick/Sharon, Y&R
2. Heather/Rafe/Adam, Y&R
3. Olivia/Sonny/Claudia, GH

Top 3 Guilty Pleasures:
1. Y&R’s Mary Jane’s stuffed cat, Kitty
2. Vail Bloom’s (Heather) Farrah Fawcett hair, Y&R
3. Roger Newcomb’s Soap Opera Digest cover analysis

Top 3 Rivals to Watch:
1. Téa and Blair, One Life
2. Sami and EJ, DAYS
3. Victor and Adam, Y&R

Top 3 Families to Watch:
1. The Cramers, One Life
2. My Two Mommies, GL
3. The DiMeras, DAYS

Top 3 New Couples to Watch:
1. Fish and Kyle, One Life
2. Johnny and Olivia, GH
3. Adam and Rafe, Y&R

Top 3 Duos to Avoid Like the Plague:
1. Rex and Stacy, One Life
2. Annie and Adam, AMC
3. Meg and Damian, World Turns

Top 3 Child/Teen Actors:
1. Drew Garrett (Michael, GH)
2. Shenell Edmonds (Destiny, One Life)
3. Carmen LoPorto (Jack, One Life)

Top 4 Biggest Wastes of Talent:
1. Lesli Kay (Felicia, B&B)
—tie — Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke, B&B)
3. Colleen Zenk Pinter (Barbara, World Turns)
4. Carolyn Hennesy (Diane, GH)

Top 3 Hair Models:
1. Drew Tyler Bell (Thomas, B&B)
2. Cailtlin Van Zandt (Ashlee, GL)
3. Crystal Hunt (Stacy, One Life)

Top 3 Passionate Fan Bases:
1. Otalia, GL
2. Defending Y&R’s Chris Engen (Adam)
3. Nuke, World Turns

Top 3 Soap Magazine Covers:
1. Soap Opera Digest — Y&R’s Sharon Lies to Nick!
2. Soaps In Depth — GH’s Spixie
3. Soap Opera Weekly — July Sweeps Preview

Top 3 Podcasts:
1. StarDish Radio: The Beth Ehlers interview
2. Daytimeconfidential.com: One Life recasts Carlotta!
3. Brandonsbuzz.com: Featuring Michael Bruno

Top 3 Soap Moments To Watch:
1. Thursday’s Canadian Episode: Y&R’s Cane receives his DNA test. “Wow — so that’s why I’m hung like a horse,” he boasts.
2. Friday: GL airs its final Bauer barbecue. “Why does the Bauer house always look different each year,” asks Danny. “And why are they just serving grapes and bread? Where's the meat? I love meat.”
3. Friday: B&B’s Owen and Jackie marry in Hawaii. “What is Brenda Dickson talking about? I love Hawaii,” says Jackie.

 


 


 

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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.