Soap Opera Uncensored: Issue 23

by Nelson Branco

SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED

  Volume 02, Issue 13 (No. 23)

  BY NELSON BRANCO

  Copyright 2012 Nelson Branco

  INSIDE — GODDESS OF THE OPERA: Exclusive Interview With DAYS Superstar Deidre Hall! SOAP OPERA PARADISO: Soap Vet Paul Rauch Addresses Ellen Holly’s Public Attacks, His Advice To Frank Valentini, Oprah, And His New Projects — Only in SOU! Spotted on the GH Set: Is Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo Returning? Sad News: Mimi Torchin on SOAP OPERA WEEKLY’s Demise! Kristian Alfonso Interview: “DAYS Is Doing Something We’ve Never Done Before!” New Interview: Susan Lucci Speaks Out On Prospect Park, DEVIOUS MAIDS, AMC, and Erica Kane! Y&R: Guess Who’s Headed To Canada? Trevor St. John Lands New TV Gig! GH Ratings Analysis: Is The ONE LIFE Invasion To Blame? A Comedy for ONE LIFE’s Robin Strasser? Y&R Spoiler: Who Is Chelsea’s Dad? Every Week: Fearless Predictions! Plus: Last Week's Reviews, Unbelievable Blind Items, and Next Week's Cheat Sheet!

  UNCENSORED MASTHEAD:

  FOUNDER/EDITOR: Nelson Branco

  EDITOR AT LARGE: Denette Wilford

  Follow Soap Opera Uncensored at: @nelliebranco or @SoapUncensored

  NOTE FROM EDITOR/FOUNDER:

  You asked — and it’s happening. For more information on subscribing to daytime’s first weekly e-zine SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED, email soapuncensored@yahoo.com

  6 months: $19.99 (*normally $64.74)

  1 Year: $34.99 (*normally $129.48)

  *Based on $2.49 issue price

  PRE-ORDER BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL: A ONE LIFE TO LIVE TRIBUTE

  Hi, loyal soaper!

  UNCENSORED QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

  “For the network to succeed, Oprah Winfrey must expand her presence, perhaps with a daily show that airs in the afternoon or in prime time. She must also invest in quality sitcoms and dramas that fit with the OWN branding. Wouldn’t HOT IN CLEVELAND have fit in well with the OWN brand?”

  ---Debra Caruso, owner of media relations firm DJC Communications

  Translation: Or AMC and ONE LIFE?

  “I made the choice on my own. I made it more of a physical connection than an emotional connection because Will just met this guy 30 minutes or an hour prior to that happening, so there’s no real emotional connection. It’s definitely a physical desire that takes over, so that’s why I thought the rough approach was more appropriate.”

  —Chandler Massey in an interview with AFTERELTON.COM

  Translation: And E.J. will be no exception!

  SUDSY NEWSSTAND

  SOAP OPERA WEEKLY FOLDS

  It’s an end of an era: The magazine that made me fall in love with journalism and gave me my first professional start and byline, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, has folded.

  Founded in November 1989, the former bible of the daytime industry was an immediate hit and success with Mimi Torchin at the helm and with News Corp. as its publisher.

  Torchin introduced a fresh new approach to daytime journalism. It treated the industry and its fans with respect (much like ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY did with its followers), and documented the genre’s growth on and off screen with razor-sharp but funny insight, fair yet tough criticism, late-breaking news all amidst beautiful, avant-garde photography as its backdrop.

  It was also groundbreaking. WEEKLY went on to change the Daytime Emmy Awards with its newly formed New Committee Group, introduced the Soap Opera Museum, and inspired many future writers, including myself.

  In 1991, SOW and its sister publication were both sold to K-III, which later became known as Primedia. The company later sold SOW and SOD to Source Interlink in 2007. In 2011, SOW and SOD's licensing rights were purchased by American Media.

  The last issue is rumoured to be the April 10th edition.

  According to sources, SOAP OPERA DIGEST is safe.

  WEEKLY’s founding — and best — editor-in-chief Mimi Torchin weighed in on the sad but not-so surprising news:

  “You know, I've been trying to think of what to say about the end of SOAP OPERA WEEKLY. I know I should be sad and, in many ways, I am. But really when I think of WEEKLY, I only remember the happy times. The joy we took in the work. The days filled with creativity, excitement, hard work and, well, most of all, laughs, laughs, laughs and a lot of love. SOAP OPERA WEEKLY gave me the happiest and most creative years of my life. It gave me access to and the honour of covering a great, beloved industry filled with talented, committed and fascinating people. It gave me a staff that became a family, a staff that was so good, so willing to work their butts off, so eager to cover the soap industry with the integrity the magazine was devoted to, so happy in their work, so caring, and so much fun that I was able to be the kind of boss I needed and wanted to be: a benevolent dictator! Truthfully, of course, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY was collaboration, a meeting of the minds and a place where everyone's ideas were important and everyone had their say and was listened to. Yes, the buck stopped here; that was a very tough position to be in and I took it seriously. But WEEKLY was a group effort all the way. Through it all we shared many happy and some sad times. We shared our lives and were there for and with each other always.

  “Before SOAP OPERA WEEKLY I was just an unsuccessful actress, a pretty successful freelance writer, and kind of a free spirit. SOAP OPERA WEEKLY gave me a career for 11 years, a job to go to where I had real purpose. It gave me a sense of responsibility to an incredible staff, the company that employed me, the industry we covered, and a great readership. I got paid nicely to do it. I looked forward to doing it every day (and a lot of nights!). I got to dress up in pretty clothes and go to black-tie events, be on television, and mingle with the cream of the soap business. I got to express my opinion about anything I wanted every week and no one told me I couldn't. We put out a really good, intelligent product and I never had to sacrifice my ideals. Was anyone ever luckier in his or her professional life? The day I gathered my original tiny staff together to begin work on the very first issue of SOAP OPERA WEEKLY I said, "Kids, this ain't brain surgery." I didn't want us to take ourselves too seriously. But we did take our work very seriously and I think we were respected for it.

  “When I was fired after 11 years, it was a shock and very, very painful. In order to move on I had to separate myself emotionally from the magazine, something I was able to do with surprising ease. Even when I went back five years later (I even got a "Top Strap" on the magazine!) and wrote "Speaking My Mind" again (well, "Still Speaking My Mind" actually) for three years, I was just a writer for hire. But happily, I did remain emotionally attached to the people I worked with, and we are loving friends to this day. I cherish these people and the great adventure we shared.

  “So, yes, I'm sad to see SOAP OPERA WEEKLY end. It was inevitable, I'm afraid, as this once great industry now consists of just four soaps. Lots of web series are cropping up all over the Internet and perhaps we'll all be watching scripted serials on our laptops, phones, iPads...a brave new soap world. But my heart and memories are in that old world, the one we covered with so much zest, the one with the world's most devoted fans, greatest actors and writers, venerable history...the one with a thriving SOAP OPERA WEEKLY. It was the time of my life, and I thank all of you who contributed to it with all my heart. How can I be sad?

  Former managing editor, and one of my dear, lifelong soul mates, Freeman Gunter was surprised to learn of the magazine’s death. “How sad,” he wrote me. “I was at a reunion party for [current managing editor] Gabby Winkle about a month ago and it was going strong then. Most of the old gang was there and they all seemed to still have their jobs. I sat with Mimi, who was really fun, and I met her gorgeous girlfriend. But, frankly, I didn't know how they could keep going when there are hardly any soap operas left.”

  Unfortunately, SOAP OPERA
WEEKLY, much like GUIDING LIGHT, ceased being the magazine it was intended to be a long time ago, which is why I’m not as devastated as I might have thought about its folding. Moreover, in this day and age, there is no reason why one company should be publishing two magazines with only four soaps on the dial and possibly three by this fall.

  But I will say, had the journal been allowed to evolve with the industry, the times and the technology, WEEKLY could have easily been the last magazine standing