The Suds Report - Jan1/10

SUDSIEST QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“This was a year of staggering loss in which CBS killed its hallmark serials World Turns and Guiding Light. Adding insult to injury: Exec producer Ellen Wheeler and CBS Daytime chief Barbara Bloom were squarely to blame for GL’s demise when their “revolutionary” makeover (which they thought would save the soap genre) sent hundreds of thousands of fans fleeing, yet neither woman would accept any responsibility at all. Instead, they made it seem like we were the ones too stupid to get it.”
—TV Guide Magazine’s Michael Logan speaks out on the most shameful lie this past year in his annual worst-of-soaps list
Translation: Never grant Ellen Wheeller nor Babs Bloom an interview because they’re liars.

THE IDIOT RATINGS
Winners — All soaps increase! World Turns is the comeback kid!
Losers — One Life lowest-rated soap again!

Numbers are based on Live+Same Day ratings
Ratings for the week of Dec. 7-11, 2009
(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)

Total Viewers
1. Y&R 5,109,000 (+284,00/-61,000)
2. B&B 3,359,000 (+185,000/-521,000)
3. DAYS 3,121,000 (+331,000/+227,000)
4. AMC 2,663,000 (+17,000/+96,000)
5. GH 2,606,000 (+109,000/-188,000)
6. ATWT 2,596,000 (+143,000/-197,000)
7. OLTL 2,453,000 (+42,000/-38,000)

Households
1. Y&R 3.7/12 (+.2/same)
2. B&B 2.4/8 (+.1/-.4)
3. DAYS 2.2/7 (+.2/+.1)
4. AMC 2.0/6 (+.1/same)
5. ATWT 1.9/6 (+.1/-.1)
5. GH 1.9/6 (same/-.3)
7. OLTL 1.8/6 (same/-.2)

Women 18-49 Viewers
1. Y&R 1,188,000 (+59,000/+83,000)
2. DAYS 851,000 (+59,000/-113,000)
3. GH 848,000 (+5,000/-125,000)
4. B&B 722,000 (-20,000/-168,000)
5. AMC 660,000 (-27,000/-113,000)
6. ATWT 645,000 (-29,000/-78,000)
7. OLTL 627,000 (77,000/-174,000)

Ratings for the week of Dec. 14-18, 2009
(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)

Total Viewers
1. Y&R 4,696,000 (-413,000/-519,000)
2. B&B 3,237,000 (-122,000/-588,000)
3. DAYS 2,903,000 (-218,000/+95,000)
4. AMC 2,611,000 (-52,000/-79,000)
5. ATWT 2,545,000 (-51,000/-359,000)
6. GH 2,500,000 (-106,000/-300,000)
7. OLTL 2,386,000 (-67,000/-298,000)

Households
1. Y&R 3.5/12 (-.2/-.3)
2. B&B 2.3/8 (-.1/-.4)
3. DAYS 2.1/7 (-.1/same)
4. AMC 2.0/7 (same/-.1)
5. GH 1.9/6 (same/-.3)
6. ATWT 1.8/6 (-.1/-.3)
6. OLTL 1.8/6 (same/-.3)

Women 18-49 Viewers
1. Y&R 1,102,000 (-86,000/-16,000)
2. DAYS 895,000 (+44,000/-9,000)
3. GH 806,000 (-42,000/-132,000)
4. B&B 779,000 (+57,000/-98,000)
5. ATWT 661,000 (+16,000/-85,000)
6. OLTL 631,000 (+4,000/-159,000)
7. AMC 625,000 (-35,000/-161,000)

RADIOACTIVE SUDS
Soap Central goes Live — but without Kelly and Regis!
Mary Hart, who? There’s yet another soap show on the horizon. Beginning Jan. 8, 2010, soap fans will have a new way to keep up with all the latest news and information about their favourite daytime drama series and stars. That's the day that soapcentral.com founder Dan J Kroll will launch Soap Central Live, a lively, weekly, hour-long all-things-soap radio program on the VoiceAmerica Network. Soap Central Live will air every Friday at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and will be available at no charge to anyone with Internet access.

AWARDS SHOW CENTRAL
The Indie Soap Awards announced! Plus — The Sudsy Critics Awards!
—Welovesoaps.net is the leader in championing soap opera web shows —and here, they reveal their first annual award nominees for 2009. Website founder Roger Newcomb tells Suds why he gave birth to this important award event. “Dozens of web soap operas debuted in 2009, many of which were independent productions created by writers and producers that have tried to break into daytime but were unable to do so,” he says. “A lot of those creative forces are extremely talented and many of their shows had brilliant moments. I would like to see what these people could do with an actual budget that’s even a fraction of what a daytime soap has. I created the Indie Soap Awards as a way to recognize this new wave of talent who have a huge passion for the genre and want to see it continue.” Click here for the nominees!

—Several soap opera critics were invited by On Air On Soaps’ Michael Fairman to list the best and worst in soaps in 2009. Here are our picks!

All My Children, ABC/A — Hayley Falls!
• Third! In! The! Ratings! Regis Philbin’s on-screen lover, Kelly Ripa, spoke to TV Guide Magazine’s Michael Logan about her return to AMC for the venerable soap’s 40th anniversary on Jan. 4-5. Ripa and I go way back, but I will say that I still love how much she downplays her acting talents. She was an amazing actress. And still is. Mrs. Consuelos tells La Logan, “I’m crawling, begging, tail between my legs, soap opera script in hand! I wanted to come crawling back with my Emmy in hand but I never won one on AMC because I wasn’t good enough. But that’s OK. One day, I’ll get over it. One day I’ll let go of the bitterness.

As for how surreal it was for Ripa to return back ‘home,” the talk-show superstar says, “It was hard to go back because I knew that once I did I wouldn’t want to leave. And I remembered everything, which is more than I can say for the people at AMC! The crew from Live With Regis and Kelly came over to the soap with me to shoot a segment and they wanted me go to my old dressing room and have the actress who’s using the room now answer the door. [AMC director] Enza Dolce was there to be our production coordinator. So I walk down the hall to my old dressing room and stop at the door and Enza says, ‘Where are you going, Kelly? You’re going to the wrong room.’ I said, ‘No, honey, you’re standing outside the wrong dressing room.’ She says ‘No, this is your dressing room.” I said, ‘Don’t tell me! I lived in my dressing room for 12 years and this is my dressing room!’ I was like, ‘Let me give you the tour. Eileen Herlie was in that room over there, Jennifer Bassey was here, Ruth Warrick was here, Michael Nader was there, Jimmy Mitchell was there.’ I named every person in a row, and then they were mortified. So no matter how important and pivotal I try to make myself out to be on AMC, really nobody remembers me ever having been there.”

However, Ripa wouldn’t have minded a script re-write. “The writers wanted to add some controversy so they have Hayley getting into an argument with Erica Kane,” she sets up. “Erica thinks that maybe Hayley is disapproving of her relationship with Ryan and that she’s going to get all scandalous and gossipy and tabloidy with her documentary. When we were running through the scene, Susan Lucci and I are looking at each other, like, where the hell is this coming from? Neither of us could remember our characters ever having a fight with each other. I was afraid to say anything but, thank God, Susan stops everything on the set —because she’s Susan Lucci and she can do that sort of thing.”

I disagree with Ripa. Since Ryan and Hayley almost fell in love at one point, I think the writers actually played into their history. Finally.
 
• Here’s a cool interview with the real Greenlee, Rebecca Budig-Guiney, with welovesoaps.net’s Roger Newcomb.

• Soap Opera Digest dedicates its issue to AMC’s 40th anniversary this week. Writer Mara Levinsky deserves a huge raise for summarizing the show’s entire story history. Good work!

As The World Turns, Global/CBS — Doctor, cure the gay!
• As Suds Report previously reported, Noah is getting a hot doc to help cure his blindness. And no, it’s not Daniel Cosgrove. Eric Sheffer Stevens has been cast in the recurring role of Dr. Reid Oliver. Reid will be Noah’s eye doctor, but will also cross paths with Katie, Henry, Bob and Kim. He will first air on Jan. 19. Expect everyone to hate Dr. Reid — except Luke.

• Readers of Afterelton.com named Nuke the best gay couple of the decade! Congrats. I think it’s well deserved. Say what you want about World Turns’s refusal to show Nuke in a sexual manner, but this historic romance was revolutionary. There wouldn’t be a Kish without Nuke.

The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS/CTV — Charlie Sheen who?
• Did someone lose a bet? A writer is diving into sudsy waters by watching soaps for the first time in an experiment for TVAddict.com. Why he started with B&B is a mystery. Here’s his first report.

• Who knew? I’m liking Whip and Taylor. Kind of. Sort of. Whatever.

• Isn’t Sarah Brown stealing the show lately? Proud of the three-time Emmy winner!

• That was fast! Like Suds predicted, Bill and Katie split up this week after a couple of months of being newlyweds.

Days of our Lives, NBC/Global — Up in heaven!
• Suzanne Rogers is the new Deidre Hall! The Emmy winner is about to embark on her biggest storyline in years. Next week, Mickey dies — and it is rumoured that Maggie falls off the wagon. John Clarke and Kevin Dobson will not be returning to film the death scenes — Mickey will die off-camera. With Bryan Dattilo leaving DAYS, I wish that the comeback soap could have created a dramatic situation in which Lucas was drunk driving with Mickey, or Lucas could have died as well. But who knows what will materialize on our screens.

• Mark Hapka informs Soap Opera Weekly that he has signed a four-year contract.

• Weekly is reporting that Lisa Trusel is returning to the NBC sudser for Mickey’s funeral on Jan. 14 and 19. Remember how hot Melissa and Pete were back in the day?

General Hospital, CTV/A — In the Depp end • Pirates of Port Chuck? In a Soap Opera Digest news story this week, head writer Bob Guza “threatened” James Franco that if he doesn’t reprise his role as Franco, he’s going to lure Johnny Depp to replace him. And the Golden Globe Award winner bought it. Um, how about luring back Genie Francis, Bob! Clearly, Franco’s GH appearance hasn’t impact your ratings one bit. In fact, since the Milk star’s highly touted appearance, the GH ratings have nosedived! Work on Vanessa Marcil and get back to me … Though I think there is a bigger chance of Depp joining GH than our dear Brenda Barrett returning …

• This past week, Mark Lawson appeared on Fox’s hit morning show, Good Day Live. The Soap Opera Spirit Award winner tells Suds his fiancée set up the interview hit where he reveals he doesn’t wear underwear. Well, duh!

• Emmy winner Ron Carlivati finally outdid his masterpiece, the Paris, Texas opus, with the Kish love story. This past week, Kish finally made love on-screen — and it was simply a beautiful piece of work! Congrats to everyone involved. And memo to P&G/Telenext — the world didn’t stop turning for One Life, even though World Turns spun its axis this past month. Discuss.

As for the actual sex scene, welovesoaps.net’s Damon Jacobs says, “I'd say this was a beautiful and historical moment in television history. It was wonderful to witness the old boundaries penetrated, literally and figuratively."

Jacobs’ partner-in-crime, Roger Newcomb, articulates the momentous impact of this achievement by saying, “We hear a lot of talk about treating gay couples and characters ‘like any other’ on soaps. For one day, in a shining moment that represented the LGBT community well, One Life actually did it with Kyle and Fish. Kudos to everyone involved.”

Soap Opera Digest columnist Carolyn Hinsey simply offers, “I like that One Life didn't make a big deal of Fish and Kyle’s love scene. It was almost identical to Gigi and Schuyler’s, right down to the candles and the post-romp gushiness. Kish are just another couple on the show, as they should be. I also liked that the episode had lots of Stacy in it, which meant I could fast-forward and watch the whole thing in about 25 minutes.”

Finally, On Air On Soaps’ Michael Fairman reminds us how important this soap moment was. “In my 20 years covering daytime, I felt Kish’s love scene was a huge step forward for the soaps, and for the representation of the LGBT community. And the Pièce de résistance? We got to see two men in bed ... together and they even snuggled! Hankies!”

The Young and the Restless, CBS/Global — The Victoria Rowell Book Club out on May 4!
• Want to win a phone call from Michael Muhney? Follow him on Twitter to speak to 2009’s best recast. Click here to see what you’re missing out on. But if you want to call Muhney on your own, head to the Genoa City Athletic Club men’s room — you'll find his digits in the first stall!

• That was fast! Is Y&R the new B&B? Next week, Emily and Jack become engaged! Naturally, Patty freaks out … How much you want to bet that Patty takes over Emily’s existence as Jack’s wife?

• Pick up Soaps In Depth this week. They sport a gorgeous cover featuring Michelle Stafford and Joshua Morrow. The rest of the issue is a pretty good read, too. For example? A fun and spirited interview with Emmy winners and BFFs Jeanne Copper and Christian LeBlanc. I’ll have what Jeanne’s drinking, thanks!

• Kelly and Skylar live! I pray Y&R romantically pairs Eileen Davidson and Stephen Nichols together. They were super-hot on Santa Barbara — and along with their respective DAYS careers, they could prove lightning does strike twice. • Holy soap opera cat fight! What could be in Victoria Rowell’s sizzling novel, Secrets of A Soap Opera Diva, that has the biz a-twitter? Another possible bestseller if Amazon.com pre-sales are any indication. Tongues are a waggin’ and biting perfect French pedicures right down to the bloody cuticle! And guess which soap star had a mega-meltdown when their manager informed him or her, “Sorry, couldn't get my hands on an advance copy?” Don’t worry — on May 4th, everyone can get his or her hands on the scandalous book!

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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.