Wednesday, August 26, 2009

News Round-up: Barash, Betty, Howarth, Real Housewives

THE WRAP: Can the REAL HOUSEWIVES Franchise Save Daytime Soaps?
Josef Adalian writes: "NBC Universal's syndication unit has struck a deal with NBC and Hearst-owned TV stations to syndicate HOUSEWIVES as a one-hour, five-days-a-week strip starting in 2010. Assuming most NBC and Hearst stations air HOUSEWIVES in the daytime hours, the show could serve as an interesting experiment regarding the future of soap operas. HOUSEWIVES plays as a soap, but because it's unscripted, its production costs are a fraction of what networks pay for traditional serials. If repeats of "Housewives" do particularly well, it could prompt one of the networks to explore the idea of launching a first-run unscripted soap in daytime."

TiVo sues AT&T and Verizon
Unable to strike a deal with either of the major phone companies that offer TV services, TiVo on Wednesday sued them both. TiVo filed its DVR patent infringement lawsuits against AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas, where it has been battling -- mostly successfully -- Dish Network for five years.

ATWT's Roger Howarth selling condo
Howarth has dropped the price of the three-bedroom condo on Greenwich Street he shares with wife Cari Stahler. The sixth-floor pad, which the couple bought for $2.075 million in 2005 and listed for $3.195 million in March of this year, is now listed for $2.999 million.

GH's Brandon Barash named a Muscular Dystrophy Association National Celebrity Ambassador
By making public appearances at MDA events, starring in public service announcements and giving news media interviews, Barash will help raise public awareness of MDA’s battle against muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases.

Susan Lucci, Anthony Geary, Kelly Monaco used DXG HD camcorders in Kenya
Taking viewers behind the scenes in a special “Daytime Gives Back” segment for the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, stars such as Susan Lucci, Anthony Geary, Kelly Monaco, Montel Williams, Erik Estrada, Kyle Massey and Devon Werkheiser will be using DXG-595V camcorders to film and share their experiences with Emmy viewers, and for the production of a separate special program, “Kenya, How We See It”. The 36 Annual Daytime Emmy Awards and the “Daytime Gives Back” segment will air on the CW Network on August 30th. “Kenya, How We See It” is scheduled to air this fall.

CW Holds VAMPIRE DIARIES-Themed Blood Drives
The "Starve a Vampire. Donate Blood" initiative, which began Aug. 25 and runs for five weeks, will hit up more than 230 high schools and college campuses across the nation. It encourages students to donate blood through the American Red Cross.

Daytime Emmy predix: ONE LIFE TO LIVE star Susan Haskell will win best actress
That's according to two Gold Derby soap gurus.

Ugly Betty's worst outfit yet? America Ferrera dresses as a hotdog
The actress slipped into an oversized hot dog costume on set in New York yesterday.

Former AMC and DYNASTY star Michael Nader to guest on COLD CASE
Nader guest stars on the season premiere on Sept. 27 as a dashing man with whom the victim shared a shipboard romance.

4 comments:

  1. Is it really a soap if its an unscripted "reality" series? No I don't think so its just another way to put actual actors, writers, directors and so forth out of business and give the networks an excuse to do it.

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  2. Katie, I totally agree. But when SOAPnet is pushing to create a new definition of "soap" things get even scarier for us fans of daytime soaps. I think the next Irna Phillips will be discovered on the web.

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  3. NBC's decision is very scary! I can't stand most reality TV shows like Real Housewives. They bring out the worst in people.

    The flipside is that a show like the "Hills" is marketed as a reality show but is believed to be scripted. The cast principles supposedly make $50K to $100K an episode. With 13 to 20 episodes a year, that's better money than most soap stars are going to make.

    Ellen Wheeler's attempts at filming in fixed locations in Peapak, N.J. reflected the filming style of some reality shows. GL would have benefited immensely if the show had hired a former producer/director of the "Real World" or the "Hills" to act as mentor to the GL's production team to transition to its new production model. Such a mentor could have guided GL away from some of the missteps it took as it moved to its new production model.

    Today's GL, now settled into its new production model, actually flows nicely and makes the best use of outdoor scenes in daytime. I understand now that GL filmed outdoors because that reduced the cost of maintaining sets.

    On the downside, GL failed miserably this week when it featured Alan Spaulding in the cheapest, most pathetic looking "office" for a CEO I've seen on TV. (Why didn't they just film Alan in a CBS executive's office?)


    P.S.
    I can see why Roger Howarth would like to sell his home. After his pay cut, who knows if he can afford the apt.

    Howarth's home is beautiful:
    http://www.warburgrealty.com/property/620913

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  4. SoapFan78, you are so dead on correct about Alan's office, which looked like a closet!

    The decision to air Real Housewives in daytime is another nail in the coffin of traditional daytime soaps. Just like judge, talk and game shows, this reality soap will be cheaper to produce than our current crop, which spells trouble for the remaining serials.

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