The Suds Report - Oct16/09

SUDSIEST QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
“They are cutting contracts all around. I mean, everybody has to bite the bullet. It’s not like anyone gets special treatment. If you don’t want to play fair with everyone, then don’t play. If you want to step out … everybody is dealing with the same stuff. So if anybody thinks they are better than anyone else, then they should leave if they want to. It’s a cast. We are all working together. We are all working our hardest to make it go, and if you don’t want to work with everyone than you are not helping.”
—A ballsy Adrienne Frantz on Eric Braeden’s contract stand-off to On Air, On Soaps’s Michael Fairman
Translation: Fans watch Y&R for Amber Moore, not Victor Newman.

“It’s such a shock when you find out [who the killer] is.”
—Melissa Claire Egan regarding the AMC killer reveal this week
Translation: Because it’s much more unimaginative than you ever thought.

SUDSY CONTEST
Wanna cruise with your favourite soap stars?
You may have to sleep with me to win this contest, but click here to find out how you can win a free cabin on Mike Gold/Cameron Mathison’s Soap Cruise this January! Be warned: I’ll be on board!

PROGRAMMING BLOTTER
More reality TV on daytime!
More bad news for serialized soaps? The New York Post reports that NBC has given the green light to air reruns of the Real Housewives brand in 2010. According to the article, the repeats of the shows will run in back-to-back episodes for viewers to catch up with their favourite “reality” show. So far, NBC stations in L.A., Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington will broadcast the shows.

THE IDIOT RATINGS (for Oct. 5-9)
Winner —  DAYS increases thanks to Crystal Chappell
Loser — World Turns continues its decline and all ABC soaps tie

*Courtesy of Suds Report

1. Y&R 3.6
2. B&B 2.3
3. DAYS 2.2
4. AMC 1.9
4. GH 1.9
4. OLTL 1.9
7. ATWT 1.7

All My Children, A/ABC — Is Budig being paid a million dollars? Ripa and Consuelos return to AMC!
• On today’s Live! With Regis and Kelly, Kelly Ripa announced that she and her hubby, Mark Consuelos, will indeed reprise their roles as Hayley and Mateo during AMC’s 40th anniversary this January for two episodes as Suds Report hinted a few weeks back via a DC.com podcast. Clearly, the real-life super-couple haven’t been watching the show during their absence. ABC confirms the stunt casting to Suds Report.

• The Hollywood Reporter’s Roger Friedman wrote an op-ed piece quoting an AMC actor who claims what Suds Report joked about in a recent column, which suggested that head writer Chuck Pratt and ABC chief Brian Frons requested AMC move to L.A. so they could get Rebecca Budig back on the maligned series. Friedman wrote, “An actor recently told me that Frons is obsessed with one actress who had left the show because she lived in Los Angeles.” He quotes his source as saying, “He paid her a million dollars to return for a year. Now he’s moving the whole show out there hoping she’ll come back.”

Meanwhile, Pratt’s love for Budig was made obvious when he told Soap Opera Digest that the planets aligned when ABC moved AMC to L.A. because that’s where the actress resides. “She’s always been my favourite,” the derivative scribe says. “She’s a force of nature and a whirlwind of energy and all that good stuff.” Calm down, Pratt!

However, there is some question as to whether Pratt and Budig are on the same page. Budig told TV Guide Magazine that a clueless Pratt asked the actress how he could bring back Greenlee back from the dead, but he tells Digest that at a lunch date, he came up with something off the top of his head which caught her fancy. Yeah, I’ll be the judge of that.

• Sign this petition if you want to save AMC and get rid of Chuck Pratt as head destroyer.

• First James Franco, now Josh Duhamel? There’s a crazy rumour circulating around AMC that the soap wants the Emmy winner to return to the show for its anniversary week this January. Now that Budig’s back on AMC, there could be a ghostly visit in Greenlee’s future.

• Viewers will learn who killed Stuart next week. Question is — does anyone care? Thought not.

As The World Turns, Global/CBS — Terri Colombino separated!
• Soap Opera Weekly reveals that Pelphrey’s character, Mick, will be involved with Barbara, Emily and Paul. Apparently, Mick sets up Paul in some plot-contrived mess. Kelley Menighan Hensley tells Digest half-seriously that she hopes World Turns pairs up Paul and Mick sexually because Roger Howarth has a man-crush on the former GL hunk.

• Everyone's favourite ingenue, Alexandra Chando, will guest-star on Sherri. Clearly, Chando lost a bet.

• Have you caught the dreadful and painful Let’s Make a Deal remake? Another reason why Barbara Bloom should be legally prohibited from ever managing a TV show, network, or chequing account.

• He speaks! Co-head writer and show killer David Kreizman tells Soap Opera Weekly that GL’s demise has inspired World Turns to shape up creatively. Yep, these hacks are just starting to realize the glaring truth now, folks! “[GL’s cancellation] has re-dedicated everybody to saying, ‘All right, let’s pull out all the stops now,’ storytelling-wise and production-wise. We’re going on this big road trip, which mostly airs in November. Jack and Carly are going to be visiting different towns and seeing characters from the past of the show at each spot.” One of those characters will be Molly.

• Missing Grayson McCouch? Looks like World Turns will romantically pair Dusty and Janet together after Jack embarks on a soul-searching journey with Carly. That’s what happens when you accidentally kill your hunky brother.

• Terri Colombino and her husband Artie have separated, according to set insiders.

• It’s official — Suds Report has a huge crush on Colleen Zenk Pinter! Well, duh — who doesn’t? Oakdale sexiest cougar is stealing the show as Babs has sexy time with that gay queen, Henry. Zenk Pinter is currently adorning my bedroom walls, and I refuse to apologize for that. Seriously, it’s nice to see the Daytime Emmy-nominated vet back in the thick of things in a fun storyline — and back in satin sheets. Despite her arduous battle with cancer, Pinter has never looked better. Brava!

The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS/CTV — Did Tylo dictate Phoebe’s death? • Surprise, surprise! Donna’s baby daddy, Aaron D. Spears, is a major find as Marcus’s father. Perhaps Texas Battle will be inspired to learn how to act opposite the very talented Spears. • Remember that blind item about an actress who used a real-life tragedy to inspire a gut-wrenching performance so she could win an Emmy? Two words: Hunter Tylo. Obviously, it didn’t work. So don’t blame head writer Bradley Bell for making Taylor lose two children (Phoebe and Jack) as Tylo mourned the accidental death of her child, Mickey, last year, because multiple sources confirm that the idea was Tylo’s! “Brad isn’t that mean to put Hunter through all of that when she was mourning a child in real life,” offers one B&B-er. Also, several set insiders told Suds Report that Tylo even held her son’s real-life prayer card while Taylor gave her eulogy at Phoebe’s funeral. “It was really uncomfortable,” says a witness. “And sick and twisted.” Yep, another reason why actors should just act and not dictate storyline. Memo to Tylo — you would be better served taking an acting class.

• Nadia Bjorlin will perform the song “Tell Him” with Gloria Gaynor at The L.A. Grammy Museum when the singer is honoured. “Nadia Bjorlin is on my favorite daytime drama, DAYS,” says the gay icon. “I’m a huge fan of the show and of hers from her TV and film projects. We also share some of the same representation, so I asked her if she would want to perform a duet with me and she called me right away and said ‘yes!!’”

A thrilled Bjorlin says, “I was totally blown away when Ms. Gaynor asked me if I would perform with her! I’m a longtime fan of hers and it’s an honour to be asked to sing with Gloria.”

• Good news: DAYS tied for ninth place in prime time and daytime online downloads with over four million unique viewers.

• Does this mean Jim Reynolds is getting a story that doesn’t involve that autistic kid? Valerie Wildman is back as Fay, Nicole’s mother on Nov. 30. Looks like Nicole will be heading to jail to help write out Ari Zucker for her mat leave.

• In story 411, Nicole comes on to Chad to prevent him from learning her baby secret. Ewww!

• My BFF, Alison Sweeney, will pop up on Tuesday’s episode  of The Jay Leno Show. Don’t more people watch DAYS than Leno these days?

General Hospital, CTV/A — Lucky Gate! • Was Greg Vaughan fired? Or did he quit? According to Jonathan Jackson, Vaughan quit! The Emmy winner told Soap Opera Weekly that ABC called Jackson because, “the role of Lucky was open and Greg wanted to do other things.” Sources close to Vaughan tell Suds Report that Jackson was lied to. “Greg was fired — period,” maintains a pal. “This is just another example of how ABC lies to its cast and the press.” Well, I could have told you that! In other news, Weekly is hearing that Emmy winner Genie Francis could be headed back to Port Charles to welcome back Lucky and that Natalia Livingston may be out as Emily 2.0. Gotham, gothamtheseries.com — Kinkead Byrnes in Gotham! • Springfield continues to be represented on the web. The latest former GL star to join a web show is Emmy winner Maeve Kinkead, who has been cast as Dinah Cummings in the première episode of Martha Byrne’s new online venture. Look for Gotham to debut in November.

• Hypocritical much? Stop the presses — I haven’t watched One Life in over four weeks! Why? Well, this past month I was on the road, and while I caught up on all the other soaps, I’m still behind on One Life because I had initially decided to watch the best show on daytime last. As time passed, I kept putting off watching One Life because I felt like I was tuned in thanks to daytimeconfidential.com’s ABC podcasts and the soap mags. However, putting off life in Llanview week after week made me realize that watching soaps are a habit, and if you’re not disciplined, it’s extremely hard to throw yourself back into a daily show. Yes, even a show like One Life, which is my fave series ever, boasts a big gay storyline, and is generally the best show on the daytime dial. Which got me to thinking — here I am trying to entice lapsed or new viewers to tune in to the struggling ABC soap, and I can’t do it myself. Don’t worry — I’ll catch up on all things Llanview this weekend and I’m sure I’ll regret having not checked in to Llanview sooner, but this was an interesting study, albeit an accidental one.

Venice, venicetheseries.com —  Buy Crystal Chappell’s G-string!
• Want to buy a piece of Crystal Chappell … er, Venice? Head over to the Venice website to purchase merchandising from the future hit web show.

The Young and the Restless, CBS/Global — More Braeden fallout!
• Someone named Yvonne Zima is joining daytime’s darkest and most depressing show as Daisy, Summer’s nanny.

• Emmy winner Kristoff St. John had some wise words to share to Michael Fairman’s On Air, On Soaps concerning the Eric Braeden contract scandal. He says, “I think that no comment is the best policy to take when other actors are going through contract talks. I don’t believe Eric Braeden will leave the canvas as the character of Victor Newman, but if he does, it would be sad to see him go at such a critical time in the show’s history. We have a guaranteed two years left on network television. I think in order to survive and to get another contract and licensing agreement out of CBS, the wise decision would be to get him back. Is it the wisest decision for Eric to accept the terms of the contract? I don’t know, and I cannot comment on that. It would be a huge loss to the show and the audience worldwide.” Meanwhile, Victoria Rowell weighs in to Suds Report, saying, “I stand by Eric, of course, but I am seriously worried about Y&R’s future without the Emmy winner.” Ditto that business, girlfriend.

• The Hollywood Reporter’s Roger Friedman defends Eric Braeden’s decision to walk away from Y&R here. It’s an excellent read, peeps! And right on the money.

• Digest confirms that former Passions/AMC/DAYS star Marcus Patrick auditioned for the role of Malcolm. Isn’t he a little young, Y&R, to be playing Lily’s father and Dru’s baby daddy?
 
SOAP OPERA MYSTERY HOUR — This week’s hottest blind items
—Which exiting stud is widely known for his small package?

—What show, which is moving to out west, has been warned not to deal with a certain shady west-coast photographer?

—Which ABC actor was obsessed with a rival network hunk but when the big queen caught a glimpse of another soap star, he quickly ditched the object of his affection?

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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.