AllMyChildren-related stories
Posted May 23rd 2009 12:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
After weeks of hype, scoops and spoilers, message board fodder and threats against columnists to not reveal a thing lest they be flogged and embargoed out of the business,
All My Children's big murder mystery kicked into high gear when it turned out that the victim was not really one of the characters on the cover of Soap Opera Digest.
For the network, all this was great.
ABC Daytime got a bump in the Nielsens and it seems the post-murder intrigue, i.e. whodunit, is keeping viewers DVR'ing, Soapnet watching, or just planning on watching during their lunch hours (like the old days). But getting back to the victim,
AMC had a chance to do something really bold and dramatic. Instead
head writer Chuck Pratt Jr. played it safe. More on the victim, including the name in case you don't know by now (yes, that's a warning), after the jump.
Continue reading All My Children's murder mystery rip-off
Posted May 15th 2009 10:32AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Emmys, Reality-Free
They have feuds. They have babies (at least one of them). They have daily debates. But the ladies of
The View have no sway with
the Daytime Emmys. Well, that's not entirely correct. The ladies themselves, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Barbara Walters, Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Talk Show host(s), but their show was snubbed.
Whether it's deemed a Talk Show/Entertainment or Talk Show/Information, it's not deemed worthy. But
The View's missing nomination is merely one of the many oddities of
the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy nominations. Something is really bizarre in the batch of noms.
Continue reading Weirdness in the Daytime Emmys nominations
Posted Mar 17th 2009 12:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
There are many things the soaps do well. You know, things like lavish weddings, fancy dress balls, murder trials, even corporate boardroom shenanigans. On the other hand, there are more action-oriented story lines that just bring out the worst in soaps.
In the last few weeks, for instance,
All My Children staged the worst looking motorcycle/car crash I've ever seen on TV. It was riotously funny, and that was not the desired effect. When a wedding gown-wearing Greenlee (sans helmet) careened off the road into a frozen river, the sight of her veil flying in the wind as the tires screeched, with the headlights blinking and the actors pretending to be tossed around, was a hoot. All I was thinking while watching the accident was: "Could this be executed any worse?" (Also, what a waste of Rebecca Budig's return.)
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: Do what you do best... drama!
Posted Dec 6th 2008 1:37PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, Daytime, Reality-Free
You would think that with higher unemployment and more people spending more time at home during business hours that networks would be throwing money at their daytime TV divisions. (insert ominous organ music that implies trouble is ahead here)
You would be wrong. Networks are starting to scale back on their daytime soaps including some stars' salaries, according to
USA Today.
ABC has been doing the most axe-chopping to their daytime lineup. Long running favorites like
General Hospital and
One Life to Live have been ordered to make some serious cutbacks and
All My Children stars Susan Lucci, Michael E. Knight and Ray MacDonnell are seeing paychecks with George Costanza-like shrinkage.
Continue reading Could the networks drop the soaps?
Posted Sep 11th 2008 2:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
Executive experience. We've been hearing an awful lot in the media lately about what constitutes executive experience and how important it is when a person gets the chance at an important position. Well, you know what I've learned while watching soap operas? Experience is overrated. Anyone can be a CEO or mayor or run a company, it's easy.
Take Donna on
The Bold and the Beautiful. Until recently, Donna was a model. She used her beautiful body, great features and dazzling smile to show the finest in Forrester Creations. Now, due to her husband's heart attack which resulted in a coma, Donna has taken over the company and appointed herself CEO. It doesn't matter than Donna's never designed a thing or knows how to mass produce, market and distribute a clothing line. Never mind that she couldn't balance her checkbook let alone the bottom line of an international fashion business. Because she had Eric's power of attorney, she took control of the company. Executive leadership was something that she absorbed from Eric, right? Like osmosis or transference. Yeah, right.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: No experience necessary
Posted Aug 25th 2008 12:02PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Programming, Celebrities, Dancing With The Stars, Casting
Dancing With the Stars is a show that makes no sense to me. I understand the appeal of it; I'm usually very interested in any program that involves celebrities doing ridiculous things on national television and I know that people love bright shiny costumes, but it still somehow manages to hold no interest for me whatsoever.
With that said, I know that the announcement of each season's
DWTS cast is heavily anticipated and rumored for months before the actual announcement. We heard that
Dan Marino may be a contestant; a claim that was
soon denied. 82-year-old
Cloris Leachman was another name floated, as was Magnum, P.I. himself,
Tom Selleck.
Kim Kardashian and
Kathy Griffin were also said to have been approached.
As with most rumors, some of these turned out to be false, but others had some truth to them. Follow me after the jump for the official (and completely insane) cast of
Dancing With the Stars' seventh season, along with some twists the producers have cooked up for this go-around.
Continue reading ABC announces new cast of Dancing With the Stars
Posted Aug 19th 2008 2:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
When
All My Children snared veteran head writer Chuck Pratt Jr. to take the reins and "write" the S.S. Pine Valley, the scribe promised swift action. With a look toward kicking up the soap's ratings more than a notch or two. Pratt, whose credits include
Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Melrose Place, Life Goes On and
Santa Barbara, among others is certainly capable.
I liked ABC drafting Chuck for
All My Children, but I'm thinking that the announcement yesterday,
an open casting call for an Iraq war veteran to play an Iraq war veteran, is a publicity stunt. The executive producer, Julie Hanan Carruthers, said in a press release that casting a real life soldier will heighten the experience for viewers. Excuse me, but I think that's utter hogwash. All My Children doesn't need an actual veteran of the war in Iraq to create a great soap opera storyline. That's why they brought in Chuck Pratt, Jr.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: All My Children's looking for a real Iraq vet
Posted Aug 5th 2008 9:25AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Celebrities, Ugly Betty, Casting, Reality-Free
One of the best things about moving your show to New York? New York guest stars.
Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa have signed up to play themselves on the September 25th season premiere of
Ugly Betty. Conveniently,
Ugly Betty's star,
America Ferrera, announced the casting news while she was a guest on ...
Live With Regis & Kelly.
In addition to the morning duo, other guest stars lined up for the new East Coast version of
Betty include Ripa's husband, former
All My Children star
Mark Consuelos and Long Island native
Lindsay Lohan. Lohan is reprising her role as Betty's high school rival for five episodes.
I'm a sucker for shows that are filmed in New York, so I'm super-psyched about this season of
Ugly Betty. Now that they've already snagged Regis & Kelly, what other New Yorkers should
Ugly Betty try to get as a guest star? Personally, my fingers are crossed for
Anderson Cooper. But then again, my fingers are
always crossed for Anderson Cooper.
Posted Jul 16th 2008 8:32AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free, Army Wives
If there's one thing about success in the entertainment business it's this: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That means if something is working on another show, steal/borrow the idea. As I've pointed out before,
the soaps are inspired by movies and TV shows all the time, including
Ugly Betty and
The Devil Wears Prada and
24 and anything else that the daytime dramas can adapt into the soap opera format.
The latest form of flattery will be on
All My Children with the introduction of Beth Ehlers as a new character in Pine Valley, Lieutenant Taylor McBride, a U.S. Army vet who has recently been deployed in Iraq.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: Beth Ehlers reporting for duty to All My Children
Posted Jul 13th 2008 9:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Casting, Damages, Reality-Free
I don't know how Mario Van Peebles finds the time for all the work he's been doing lately. Somehow he fits it all in. And now he's circling back.
Mario Van Peebles will return to FX's Damages for six episodes, reprising his role as Agent Harrison. He was briefly seen as the FBI agent who approaches Ellen about going after Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). Indications are that Ellen will work with the Feds in some way, because Patty has definitely crossed the lines of legality -- and morality -- multiple times. Agent Harrison only cares about the former.
At the same time, Van Peebles is also assigned to direct FX's motorcycle drama
Sons of Anarchy. That new series, with Ron Perlman, premieres in September.
Continue reading Damages gets more Mario Van Peebles
Posted Jul 10th 2008 2:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
Soap operas are a funny form of television fiction. They have rules all its own, they can tell all kinds of stories and do them in the most unusual ways. Here's a few things I've noticed lately, things that seem to only be possible, on a soap.
Only on a soap...can a medical clinic be conceived, built and stocked in less than a month. It's true. It happened in Port Charles. On
General Hospital, soon after Emily died -- and Nikolas stopped seeing visions of her thanks to a brain tumor -- he decided to dedicate a health clinic in her memory. Since Nikolas is a royalty, some kind of prince, cost was no object. He never met with an architect or designer, never spoke to contractors, never searched for a location and dealt with permits. He did have a fight with the mayor for a couple of shows about opening the clinic after it was already completed. If only all construction projects could be done so easily. Jeff Lewis on Bravo's
Flipping Out doesn't even work that fast!
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: Only on a soap...
Posted Jun 26th 2008 10:22AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Emmys, Reality-Free
Did you enjoy the
Daytime Emmy Awards last week? Were you happy to see grand soap stars like Anthony Geary and Jeanne Cooper honored? I have no complaints with the winners -- and as I mentioned in previous posts, I had predicted some of them correctly. But I do have qualms about so many actors and actresses who weren't even nominated.
A lot of great performances weren't recognized. Therefore, I've decided to recognize a few actors and actresses who should be on the ballot in 2009! That's right, this is a pre-emptive list of six who should be included in next year's Daytime Emmy nominations.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: My Emmy nominations for 2009
Posted Jun 17th 2008 4:21PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Reality-Free
Death on a daytime soap is kind of like death in science fiction: it may be the real thing, but then again, maybe not. Fans of
One Life to Live were recently stunned by the death of Nash Brennan. His was truly a case of sudden death. One minute he was a vital part of the scene, negotiating to keep the land for his vineyard, the next he was taking a swing at Jared, falling through a skylight and fatally injured.
The chances that Nash's death is not the real thing seems remote. He was shown on his deathbed in the hospital, saying goodbye to his wife Jessica, making a heart with his finger to show her that he'll always love her. It was sad and poignant and final. At least, I think it was final. You can't always be sure on soaps, as I said.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: Dead but not gone
Posted Jun 5th 2008 11:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Emmys, Reality-Free
The Daytime Emmys are coming.
The nominations have been announced and ABC plans to broadcast the award presentation on June 20 at 8 p.m. (EST) with Sherri Shephard and Cameron Mathison sharing the hosting duties. One of the things that invariably drives soap fans nuts is not being able to see the Emmy submissions; that is, the actual shows that the Blue Ribbon Panels are seeing when they choose the Emmy winner from the set of nominees.
Well, in a landmark move -- one more reason to love the web -- the
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has teamed with YouTube to create venue to see most of the nominating clips and judge for yourself. That's what I've done and I've decided to handicap the big Daytime Emmys contests. Tell me what you think, if you judge these clips the way I have.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: You judge the Emmy submissions
Posted Jun 2nd 2008 8:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Daytime, WGA Strike, Reality-Free
The headwriter carousel is spinning in the world of soaps and two shows have tapped new scribes for their shows. Only they're not new, really, only new to these shows. See, in soaps, everything old is new again when it comes to headwriters. The names are usually the same, just the soaps are different.
First,
All My Children has brought in the super-experienced Charles Pratt, Jr. to take over the script duties. He being June 23, but with the lead time for soaps, his stories won't begin unfolding for about six weeks. Still, ABC daytime prez Brian Frons, was singing Chuck's praises in the announcement, saying, "Charles Pratt, Jr. is a master storyteller. His talents in writing today's biggest primetime hits in conjunction with his vast experience with daytime dramas will undoubtedly elevate
All My Children stories in new and exciting directions."
Pratt does have extensive experience, including
Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Melrose Place, Santa Barbara, and back in 2002,
General Hospital. The guy can spin a yarn and joining
All My Children he'll have lots of great characters to explore. He's also coming in just as two major stars have been added to
the All My Children cast, Guiding Light transplants Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paull Goldin.
Continue reading New (old) headwriters for All My Children & Y&R
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