[William]

The Nelson Ratings: March 10, 2008

By Nelson Branco



Last week’s soap reviews, this week’s viewing cheat sheet, and top-rated actors!
THIS WEEK’S POLL QUESTION:
Which former head writer would you like to see back on daytime? Vote on Tuesday!

MAGAZINE COVER OF THE WEEK: ABC Soaps In Depth
GH: One of these people dies — Carly/Sonny/Kate/Claudia
Only one? Can’t all of them die? Please?

REMOTE CONTROL: THE SUDS EDITION
Summarizing the good, the bad, and the ugly on daytime TV



REWIND: MASTER CLASS ACHIEVEMENTS
OLTL unleashes Todd the Monster
Freud would have a field day with Todd Manning on OLTL. This week, in some of the most explosive and ugliest scenes ever broadcast on daytime TV, head writer Ron Carlivati once again dug into Llanview’s past to show exactly what he thinks of Todd Manning. In short, he’s a monster. Ever since he raped Marty Saybrooke, Todd has been one of the most controversial characters on soaps, yet Carlivati chose to do something rather unique, bold and risky with one of his marquee characters. Instead of trying to sell us that Todd’s a changed man, Carlivati essentially initiated a dialogue with the audience: “You want to know how damaged this man is? I’ll show you — and it ain’t pretty.” When Starr and Cole had sex for the first time, Todd barged in and beat the son of his rape victim relentlessly (the dramatic ironies runneth over) — turning his daughter’s first sexual encounter into a violent act. For Todd, sex and violence go hand in hand, and he can’t separate the two. Convinced Cole raped his daughter as karmic payback, Todd, in that instance, became unhinged, paranoid, and out-of-control. Ripping into Langston for setting the rape in motion because “she’s jealous Starr has parents, and wants Cole for herself,” Todd’s soul-murdering spree had only just begun. For the first time, Dorian Lord’s eyes registered fear as Todd bullied his entire family. When Starr insisted that Cole didn’t rape her, Trevor St. John and Kristen Alderson secured their Emmy nominations — and likely wins — next year. As Starr wrote her father off, Todd reactively almost hit Starr — twice — and I really felt as if I had intruded in a very personal moment. Alderson, St. John and Carlivati went there — and it was so riveting that I predict they could all win Emmys in their category with just that one scene where Todd and Starr had it out. Another dramatic irony that hasn’t been fleshed out yet is the fact that Todd has not dealt with his own rape by Margaret. I believe Todd went into post-traumatic stress mode when he saw Starr in bed with Cole. The only missing link in this story, however, and it’s a big one, is Marty Saybrooke (I bet she’s hiding out with Billy Douglas with his lover Joey Buchanan in London!). Memo to OLTL: get Susan Haskell back before ATWT steals her.

DaytimeConfidential.com Podcast: The (Soap) View
I’ve written ad nauseam how much I adore DaytimeConfidential.com’s weekly podcasts, so I won’t say anymore except to say ABC Daytime honcho, Brian Frons should hire this intelligent, industry-savvy, passionate, and entertaining panel and turn this brilliant and addictive show into the soap version of The View! And oh yeah, let me produce it! This show is box office gold as we like to say in the business — and you can’t call yourself a soap fan if you aren’t listening to this must-hear show. Also, I want to give a shout-out to Tina, an ABC soap fan/expert, who does not let General Hospital get away with a damn thing! I can almost hear her grinding her teeth through my speakers. Line of the week? Jay: “A drunk Taylor is a good Taylor!” And I haven’t forgotten sweet Mike, the podcast’s resident CBS expert, who rounds out this perfect cast. DaytimeConfidential.com’s mastermind Luke asked me to be a guest on an upcoming show, and I must say I’m extremely nervous. I’m such a fan of the show, and that I'm scared I'll pull a Lynn Marie Latham!

Hunter Tylo: The Performance of her Career
After this week’s tour-de-force performance, no one has the right to question Hunter Tylo’s acting abilities ever again. As Taylor completely lost it, Tylo gained everything. Although this storyline is fun and campy, it is also sad to watch because hearing Tylo scream out for her baby after her son died in real life, is well, a little mean on the part of B&B writers, but it sure made for memorable television, as well as one hell of a star turn. Hunter’s my new hero.

PLAY: EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Y&R to LML: A week-long “F*ck you” message!
Quick — who had a worse week, ATWT producer Christopher Goutman or former Y&R terrorist Lynn Marie Latham? I would go with the latter, and tell you why. Y&R was not shy or coy about devoting its entire week to letting Lynn Marie Latham know (this would be the week filmed right after the writers’ strike) what they really thought of her. It took me a while to figure it out, I must admit, but when I did, I was impressed that their happiness over her firing clearly mirrored my own. LML is an eco-nut and restructured the show around many of her mini-obsessions, even if it didn’t make story sense. Recently, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) told me LML didn’t think women should be exposing their breasts in the workplace, and this week the Emmy winner practically smothered my face in them! Good thing I’m a breast man! I’m thrilled that new exec producer Josh Griffith, the new Ron Carlivati, is determined to rid the series of any and all LML reminders, and I love how he’s involved the audience — because we all suffered during her reign of terror. LML is the daytime TV equivalent to President George W. Bush — and I don’t think I’m overstating that fact. She’s been impeached, and now our Genoa City finally looks and feels like home.

Y&R’s Amber and Daniel — Chemistry Alert!
Wow — I can’t believe I’m about to say this but I’ve become a huge Amber-Daniel fan. Their surprising romance and infectious chemistry really works, and I can’t believe they weren’t paired before this as a couple. I like that Amber and Daniel are best friends, because you rarely see friends become lovers on soaps anymore. And dare I say it? Yep, I will — I take everything I’ve ever said about Adrienne Frantz (Amber) back. Oh, and before I forget — whomever made Michael Graziadei (Daniel) look like a man again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

more at - http://tvguide.sympa...lson.htm?isfa=1

[Scott]

MG is smoking!!!! Him and AF together are amazingly hot and I do love Daniel and Amber together.

Starr and Todd's scenes on OLTL have rocked, but Todd really is nothing but a monster.