News Brief

OLTL 40th anniversary scorecard! Michael Fairman writes: "The 40th anniversary shows delivered in many ways. Kudos once again to Ron Carlivati, the head writer of the series, who played homage to history, and put enough comic gems, and asides for long time fans of the show to keep us entertained, and most of all gave us a chance to shed some tears for it's sentimentality. Only a true fan of the show and a terrific writing architect could pull this off!" INTERVIEW: GL's Lawrence St. Victor The GUIDING LIGHT star (Remy) stopped by "BuzzWorthy Radio" last night. 1 As sand goes through the hourglass, there's always someone to make us laugh Jennifer Kate blogs: "Larry Haines died last week. In case you didn't know who Larry Haines was, he was Stu Begman for thirty-five years on the soap opera SEARCH FOR TOMORROW. When Jo (Mary Stuart) had troubles, he and his wife Marge would provide a joke, a cup of coffee and a friend. Although the character of Stu wasn't a comic one, he brought a comic sensibility to his role that was welcomed and probably needed back in the day. It got me to thinking though of the most underrated role a soap opera could play; the comic role." FUSION PARTY: AMC Fan Club Weekend From Melissa Claire Egan's official website: We are excited to announce that tickets are on sale for our FUSION PARTY taking place during ALL MY CHILDREN Fan Club Weekend! Join us for an afternoon of fun hosted by Melissa Claire Egan ("Annie") and Chrishell Stause ("Amanda"). We are also pleased to announce that Fusion girls Amanda Baker ("Babe") and Alicia Minshew ("Kendall") will be stopping by as our special guests! And they may only be a year old, but Jacqueline & Rebecca Levine ("Baby Jenny") didn't want to miss out on joining their on-screen sister for some partying and will also be making an appearance! Young, restless & dressed to impress "To reel in new teen viewers on summer vacation, daytime TV shows flesh out and focus more on the storylines of the younger cast members (and I do mean flesh out: There are an awful lot of pool party scenes in July). If you're nine years old and grandma's babysitting you, resistance is futile." INTERVIEW: AMC's Denise Vasi The ALL MY CHILDREN star (Randi) stopped by "Stardish Radio" last night. 1 CORRIE has HOLLYOAKS feel Angela Griffin has fondly recalled her five-year stint on CORONATION STREET. Speaking to the Press Association, the 31-year-old, who played hairdresser Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap, noted that the show has changed dramatically in the 10 years since her departure. She said: "Fiona was such a brilliant character and I got such fantastic scenes to play. My memories of Corrie are just having such a brilliant time, learning so much; so different to how it is now. When I was there, there was only me, Tracy Shaw and Chloe Newsome as the young people. Now there's a slight Hollyoaks kind of feel. And they're always out at these different parties." DirecTV subscribers will get 'FNL' first Got DirecTV? If so, you'll see the third-season premiere of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS on Oct. 1. If not, you'll have to wait until February. Nobody seems to know how this strange new arrangement will work for "FNL." On the brink of being canceled due to low ratings, the Austin, Texas-based show was saved in the spring when satellite company DirecTV stepped up to the plate to help finance the new season in exchange for an exclusive first-run in the fall. Executive producer Jason Katims this week said that the 13 new episodes may be slightly different from the ones that will air on NBC. Without some of the content restrictions of broadcast TV, the stories may have racier content and dialogue, and they could run longer. Presumably NBC would then have to whittle and edit them for the February premiere. WHERE ARE THEY NOW: AMC's Bill Mooney William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody, in the form of actor and author Bill Mooney, performs "Tonight! Buffalo Bill! The Rollicking Good Times of William F. Cody," a one-man show that he has been performing for two years. Mr. Mooney, who appeared on TV soap opera ALL MY CHILDREN for 13 years, says, "Audiences will learn all about the West from the man who did it all — Pony Express rider, Army scout, fighter and friend of Indians, and, of course, buffalo hunter." 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily through Thursday, Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Free with museum admission.

Nielsen Ratings Week of July 14-18, 2008

From the ABC Daytime ratings release: * ABC extended its streak as Daytime's No. 1 network in key Women 18-49 to 10 straight weeks (1.3 rating/841,000), topping No. 2 CBS by a solid 16% (vs. 1.1 rating/725,000) and No. 3 NBC by a greater 26% (vs. 1.0 rating/669,000). * ABC ranked a dominant No. 1 in Daytime in Women 18-34 (0.9 rating/298,000), beating No. 2 NBC by 28% (vs. 0.7 rating/232,000) and No. 3 CBS by 47% (0.6/203,000). * For the fifth successive week, "General Hospital" took Daytime's No. 1 spot in Women 18-34 (1.0 rating/350,000), and finished a solid second in Women 18-49 (1.4 rating/945,000). * In Women 18-34, ABC delivered the week's Top 3 programs in Daytime, and 4 of the Top 5 overall, marking the 15th straight week ABC positioned 3 shows among the Top 5: "General Hospital" (No. 1, 1.0 rating/350,000), "One life to Live" (No. 2T, 0.9 rating/307,000) "The View" (No. 2T, 0.9 rating/295,000) and "All My Children" (No. 5T - 0.7 rating/241,000). * In Women 18-49, for the second consecutive week, ABC placed all programs among Daytime's Top 5 programs, marking the 15th week running the net has ranked at least 3 shows among the upper echelon: "General Hospital" (No. 2, 1.4 rating/945,000), "One Life to Live" (No. 3T - 1.3 rating/843,000) "The View" (No. 3T, 1.3 rating/843,000), and "All My Children" (No. 5T, 1.1 rating/733,000). * Scoring Top 5 ranks in key demos, "All My Children" overpowered NBC's "Days of Our Lives" at 1 o'clock by 4% in Women 18-34 (241,000 vs. 232,000), by 10% in Women 18-49 (733,000 vs. 669,000) and by 11% in Total Viewers (2.57 million vs. 2.31 million). * A Top 5 player for the 14th straight week in target young women, "One Life to Live" defeated CBS' "As the World Turns" in head to head competition (2:00 - 3:00 p.m.) by a hefty 72% in Women 18-34 (307,000 vs. 179,000), by 28% in Women 18-49 (843,000 vs. 647,000) and by 4% in Total Viewers (2.66 million vs. 2.57 million). * "General Hospital" towered over CBS' "Guiding Light," beating the time period competitor (3:00 - 4:00 p.m.) by a robust 141% in Women 18-34 (350,000 vs. 145,000), by 59% in Women 18-49 (945,000 vs. 596,000) and by 35% in Total Viewers (2.96 million vs. 2.19 million). Following are the Daytime Lineup averages, plus Top 5 Programs Ranks - Week of July 14, 2008:Daytime Rank: Total Viewers Women 18-49 (Rtg/000s) No. 1 CBS 3.47 million No. 1 ABC 1.3/841,000 No. 2 ABC 2.88 million No. 2 CBS 1.1/725,000 No. 3 NBC 2.31 million No. 3 NBC 1.0/669,000 Top Daytime Programs in Women 18-49 (rank based on rating)Program Net Rtg/000s The Young & the Restless CBS 1.6/1.02 million (-30,000) General Hospital ABC 1.4/945,000 (same) One Life to Live ABC 1.3/843,000 (-42,000) The View ABC 1.3/843,000 All My Children ABC 1.1/733,000 (-32,000) The Bold and the Beautiful CBS TBD/733,000 (-34,000) Days of Our Lives NBC TBD/669,000 (-51,000) As The World Turns CBS TBD/647,000 (-19,000) Guiding Light CBS TBD/596,000 (-13,000)

REVIEW: SORDID LIVES

I am probably a bit biased here as I have a stronger affection for stories told about Southern families than some. I am from Tennessee. And while the Ingrams of Winters, Texas, on SORDID LIVES are over the top and extreme, I do get flashes to my life growing up and some of the real "characters" that I knew. Also, one of my favorite singers of all-time is Tammy Wynette, whose music and image were key in the original film and play, and now the television series. SORDID LIVES: THE SERIES was created, written and directed by Del Shores. It follows the lives of the Ingram family who mostly live in west Texas but also includes Ty (Jason Dottley), who is a struggling former soap actor in Los Angeles. In the premiere episode, Ty's only connection back home was a couple of phone calls, to his "Mama" (aka Latrelle, played by the wonderful Bonnie Bedelia) and Aunt LaVonda (Ann Walker). 1 The show is set in April 1998 on the day Tammy Wynette died (I remember having a Tammy CD marathon that day myself). Brother Boy, the brother of Latrelle and LaVonda, is a patient in a mental institution where he dresses in drag like Tammy Wynette. Latrelle has been looking into programs that could "cure" him from his homosexuality, even though her Aunt Sissy says that she saw on JENNY JONES that you are born gay or not. The matriarch of this clan is Peggy, played by soap veteran and GOLDEN GIRL Rue McClanahan. Her daughters think she is missing in the premiere, but she is actually at the state prison inviting Bitsy Mae Harling (Olivia Newton-John) to come home with her for reasons not revealed. We also have LaVonda's white trash best friend Noleta (Caroline Rhea), who lives in a trailer in Sissy's backyard with her husband G.W. (David Steen), a Vietnam vet with two wooden legs. In the opener, she has a fight with G.W. because he wants to have sex without his wooden legs on and she refuses. She's also seen watching her favorite soap on TV, featuring ALL MY CHILDREN's Bobbie Eakes. I laughed the entire episode. Between the big hair, smoking, pill popping, Tammy Wynette, Olivia and some fabulous performances, this was all I could ask for in a thirty minute comedy soap (Soapcom? ComSoap? Soapedy?). GRADE: A-

Laurence Lau Joins ATWT Cast

1 Since the soap magazines are annoucing this, I will go ahead and reveal as well. Laurence Lau (ex-Greg, AMC; ex-Sam, OLTL; ex-Jamie, AW) has been cast as Brian Wheatley on AS THE WORLD TURNS, the man Lucinda hires to run Luke and Noah's foundation. When I was on set last week, I watched Lau tape scenes. He will debut on August 18th. He's not exactly what I pictured when I read the Brian audition script, as I envisioned him as a love interest for Lucinda, and Lau still has the same baby face he had when he burst onto the scene in the early 80s. He looks more like Lucinda's son to me. I have no idea if there is anything romantic between their characters or not. But Lau is a capable actor and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with this role.