On soaps, every now and then the powers that be -- usually the head writer who's overdosed on Red Bull and jelly beans months before -- comes up with the idea of doing a special episode. They'll focus on a single character and think outside the box. Sometimes they hit the jackpot; sometimes they create a clunker. The Young and the Restless offered a very special New Year's Eve episode yesterday and it was a home run.

Headwriter Maria Arena Bell and her talented team, including Hogan Sheffer, decided to put the character of Billy Abbott under the microscope and, as it turned out, Y&R pulled off a great episode.

It wouldn't have worked nearly as well if not for the riveting performance of actor Billy Miller. He rose to the occasion and this could be an award-winner if it's submitted for the next round of Daytime Emmys. If you haven't seen it yet or it's in your DVR waiting to be viewed, be warned that there are SPOILERS ahead.

As the click ticks down to 2010, many of us look forward to watching that famous ball drop in Times Square. While hundreds of thousands will gather in New York City to see the event first-hand, most of us will be home in our comfy pajamas watching from our living rooms.

'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010' begins at 10 PM ET on ABC and runs through 2:05 AM. The just-married 'Good Morning America' special correspondent Melissa Rycroft will be chatting with revelers in Times Square, while pop star Fergie will host segments from Las Vegas' new venue, Aria at City Center.

3 ... 2 ... 1! The ball dropping in Times Square is synonymous with New Year's Eve. But if visiting Times Square in person seems a little too cold or crowded for you, you can watch the spectacle live, online, right here. Happy New Year!

'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve' (10PM, ABC)
There are other celebrations, hosted by other celebs, but the granddaddy of all NYE soirees remains this annual Dick Clark production, co-hosted now by Clark wannabe Ryan Seacrest. And we mean that wannabe bit in a good way, as few other host/producers can assemble the caliber of celebs Clark and Seacrest can, including performances by Daughtry, Jennifer Lopez, The Black Eyed Peas, Robin Thicke, teen heartthrob Justin Bieber and Colbie Caillat. The New York City-based leads up to, of course, the countdown to midnight, and the Swarovski ball drop in Times Square.

New Year's Rockin' Eve - Thursday December 31, 10 pm, ABC

For the first time, the pre-taped musical segments will originate in Las Vegas, where they really know how to throw a party. Fergie will play hostess, with musical acts The Black Eyed Peas, Robin Thicke, Colbie Caillat and many more. Jennifer Lopez returns from the rock she crawled under to perform live in Times Square, along with 'American Idol's Daughtry.

Last April, TV Squad reported that Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter were dating. Dexter dating his sister? The scandal!

I've got to give props to the couple, though ... they got married on New Year's Eve and managed to keep it a secret until yesterday. You think that's a coup, then get a load of this: Reuters reports that the couple dated for about a year and a half before marrying, yet the story of them dating only broke last April. So in this day and age of Hollywood gossip, they managed to keep their relationship a secret for almost a year, if Reuters is accurate.

So is it that the public is somehow respectful of serious actors, and awards them their privacy? Does the public -- and the media -- reserve their obnoxious invasion of privacy for the celebs who thrust themselves into the limelight, through either their bad behavior or the roles they choose?

Regardless, let's quietly extend our congratulations to the happy couple, both for their marriage and the fact that they were able to date and marry in private, with the kind of respect everyone deserves.

If you happened to be watching Fox News' 3-hour UParty 2009 New Year's Eve special, you might have caught a glimpse of some unbelievable words scrolling across the bottom of the screen. " ... and let's hope the magic negro does a good job. " Wait ... what the ... ?!

The ticker usually contains news bites from Fox itself, so those particular words might have garnered a little shock. As it turns out, though, it's all very innocent. Well, sort of. It was actually a text message from a viewer that said, "Happy New Year and let's hope the magic negro does a good job. Love, Jen and John C."

This should comes as no surprise to anybody: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest was the most-watched TV special on New Year's Eve. The ABC special beat out Carson Daly on NBC.

Dick Clark has been doing these specials since I was a kid (they started in 1972) and I like so many others thought he'd be doing it forever due to his immortal nature. I'm beginning to suspect that the theories that he is, in fact, a robot might be untrue. Obviously the torch will eventually be passed to Mr. Seacrest (whose name now adorns the title of the show),

ABC should run a promotion stating that each year "could be Dick Clark's last year". That could boost ratings. On the other hand, it looks like they don't need the boost. The question is: when Dick is finally put out to pasture, will viewers abandon the sole host Ryan and start watching Carson?

It's probably a little too late to mention this, but you could ring in the New Year with Paris Hilton at the Trademark night club in Sydney, Australia, and it will only cost you $129.

That's just one of the many celeb ways you can toast to 2009. You could also party with Lindsay Lohan at Mansion night club in Miami for $200. Her girlfriend friend significant other publicity partner Samantha Ronson will be the one spinning the records. How about going to Las Vegas and spending $200 to party with Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz? You could also spend the night with Spencer and Heidi (from The Hills, if you don't know). Actually that sounds like the most depressing New Year's Eve ever, so don't do that.

You could also ring in 2009 at my house. You won't have to spend the above amounts, though I might ask you to pitch in for some bags of Doritos (Nacho Cheese flavor). I'll have Dick Clark, Anderson Cooper, and Kathy Griffin at my house.* Happy New Year!

*via television

A Marathon of Marathons
Sure, the holidays mean primetime reruns, but they also mean marathons, and here's a rundown of some of the best.

TV Land really loves the Ricardos with 12 hours of 'I Love Lucy' (9AM), Lifetime unspools the 'Top 8 of 2008' TV movies (8AM), Sci Fi has a whopping 46 hours of 'The Twilight Zone' (8AM) and VH1 replays all eight episodes of the 'I Love the New Millennium' miniseries (12PM);

Meanwhile, TLC investigates seven hours of 'Mystery Diagnosis' (8AM), 'Earth: The Biography' airs for seven hours on NGC (12PM), Spike has 15 hours of 'CSI' (9AM) and Troy Dunn helps people track down their loved ones in six hours of 'The Locator' on WE (7PM).

Ryan Seacrest and Proctor & Gamble will be kissing cousins. Well, in the sense that they're co-running a charitable promotion to catch couples kissing on camera for New Year's Eve.

At first, I thought they were going to have various listed celebrities kiss Ryan Seacrest, which I would have found far more amusing (two of them are Billy Bush and Mario Lopez). Sadly, it is not. Ah, who'd want to kiss Ryan Seacrest anyway?

Scope mouthwash ran a similar promotion at the last New Year's Eve special. Frankly, I don't even watch the networks on New Year's anymore, but I understand that I'm in the minority. I prefer to be at a party with friends or watch reruns of anything I find entertaining.

Why can't the networks run a special showing people with hangovers the next day? Perhaps it could become a reality show when people realize with regret the next morning exactly who they kissed.