By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman
Sorry for the prolonged absence of late. I’ll spare you the gruesome details of a medical issue that finally kept the entire gastroenterology department of a major New York City hospital in high gear for one long day. I’m on the road to recovery now, thanks to a team of superb doctors, one guardian angel nurse and one magnificent husband, and happy to be back at the keyboard.
Through it all, I continued to watch soaps, of course. All of you would have done the same, n’est pas? We can’t let a little pain in the gut stand between us and our shows, now can we? So let’s play a little catch up:
The Young and the Restless. I am not surprised that Nick and Sharon are not married yet. If they did succeed, there wouldn’t be much of a soap opera would there? After all, they’ve been breaking up and making up for twenty years! … Gina Tognoni has made an auspicious debut as Phyllis. Many of her scenes have little dialogue, yet Tognoni can express a variety of fearful ad particularly bewildered expressions well. … I have no doubt Victoria will deliver her baby soon; I don’t know how she can go on not knowing who the biological father is (Billy her ex, or maybe Stitch, in my view her one true love). … Because Niki isn’t as strong as she thinks she is, she’s fallen off the wagon occasionally. … I particularly like Meredith Baxter as her friend Maureen. She has a certain vivaciousness and intelligence that adds a lot to Y&R. I think it has been particularly wise that they have made her the mother to Stitch and Kelly.
The Bold and the Beautiful carries on with the most consistent storylines on soaps. It was finally revealed — much to my surprise – that Hope’s true love is Liam, although she can’t have him because she’s married to Wyatt, by whom she is already pregnant by him. Liam to me has always been very spoiled and full of himself. I’ve much preferred Wyatt’s boyish charm. Wyatt’s biggest problem is his mother Quinn. To me, Rena Sofer is the most charming performer on soaps right now as Quinn has a bit of the devil in her and will never change. … Speaking of never changing, do you think Brooke and Bill will ever get married? They come near Liam and Hope for number of weddings that almost happened but never really did.
General Hospital really disappoints me. The show seems to write for characters it cares about and leaves many others idle and undeveloped. … Nina is way overdone, although I think Michelle Stafford is definitely giving an Emmy-winning performance. … Sonny and Carly continue to cheat behind Franco’s back, making him seem like a total fool. … Although I like Billy Miller, I’m not crazy that Jason is back. He never paid for anything he did on the show, ever. … I like the romance between Maxie and Nathan. Kirsten Storms is adorable and Ryan Peavey is by far the most attractive male on the show. … All in all, G&H off its game is interfering with my convalescence. It’s always been the stellar attraction of my afternoon, and I want it to be so again.
By the way, illness makes one reflect a lot more than one would otherwise. So lately I’ve been thinking about how much it means to me that I’ve spent nearly twenty-five years as Marlena De Lacroix. First, I’d like to thank all off you out there for your loyalty and steady and always thoughtful correspondence. I’ve gotten to know so many of you well over the years.
As the twenty-fifth anniversary of Marlena is coming up at the end of November I have a special request of all of you. Help me think of a special way to celebrate! Send me your ideas and wishes and we’ll come up with a remarkable way to mark the anniversary. Meanwhile, I’ll try to feel better and I hope you’ll be thinking and praying for me as I think about you.
Connie — Glad to hear you’re on the mend! Not to be maudlin, but what about a list of 25 soap people we’ve lost since Marlena debuted. Not just actors (Beverlee, Terry Lester, Bernie Barrow, Connie Ford, Ruth Warrick), but also behind-the-scenes folks (Doug, Jim, Bill Bell, Gloria)…
Hi Marlena,
Glad you are on the road to recovery. We missed you. You are spot on with General Hospital. I’m growing weary of the occasional sightings of my vets (Bobbie, Felicia, Monica, Robin, and even Anna doesn’t get regular airtime or story) as just prop for new characters. I do have a bit of hope though that Jason will be sent in a whole new direction – perhaps the Quartermaine direction? And don’t get me started on Sonny and Carly…..will they ever pay for their lies and crimes? Ugh.
Welcome back. You missed something important about why GH is misfiring a lot these days.Tony Geary’s return had to be delayed again so Carlivati and company had to do a lot of vamping for time until the actual Luke could return. Also with the show’s taping schedule as it is, I think the missing pieces were harder to replace.
Dear Connie/Marlena,
I am sorry you’ve been suffering with such problems. (I had surgery last year for a “hot appendix.” The experience reminded me of a number of reasons why I personally appreciate my life.)
I wish you the best with your recovery.
A quick note on the daytime soaps: I also really like the superb Meredith Baxter’s guest work [as Maureen] on “The Young and the Restless.” She has a great friendship chemistry with Melody Thomas Scott’s Nikki, who should be in the running for next year’s best-actress Emmy. (She’s only been nominated once. Inner politics, perhaps, has been problem.) … Rena Sofer [Quinn], so revealing with her character’s psychotic behavior, is a blast on “The Bold and the Beautiful.” … And Maxie [Kirsten Storms] and Nathan [Ryan Paevey] are my reason for lately tuning in “General Hospital.” (Nathan adores Maxie, and she’s finally coming around to embrace the most possibly healthy romance up to this point in her life. This is fresh. And it’s much-needed in daytime and on “GH.”)
Welcome back, Marlena. I wish you the absolute best. And thanks for your fascinating column.
I hope that Maureen on YOUNG AND RESTLESS turns out to be a blackmailing sleazeball. I still think she’s up to no good, enabling Nikki’s alcoholism for her own agenda. I would like it if Maureen befriended Nikki to get tidbits about the Newman’s, so she can write a salacious tell-all. After a publisher has agreed to do the book, Victor gets wind of it and manages to stop publication. But Maureen is determined to get the story out there, so she goes the print on demand route. Imagine, the confrontations between Eric Braden and Meredith Baxter. Finger lickin’ good.
Another possibility is for Maureen to tell Nikki that she is a lesbian and she and Nikki have a sexual encounter. Of course, Nikki was tipsy on chardonnay. Unbeknownst to Nikki, Maureen had a camera whirring and has video proof of her sexual experience with Mrs. Victor Newman. Nikki wants to pay the blackmail because she is concerned how the public would view her. Victoria doesn’t think the public would care. In this day and age, please. People would think it was cute. But Nikki is embarrassed and doesn’t want word getting out about her same-sex encounter.
Well I am sure we are all happy you are on the mend. I understand about illness. heart, arthritis, and ulcerated colitis all in the past three years .keep fighting. That is what you do. I use the gym, guess I could thank GH for that. The show is so bad lately, I go to the gym instead. .I do not enjoy the show at all. I agree Nathan is adorable, with or without Maxie. But I just don’t care if I watch it at all. Hope you will be feeling better soon. I agree with Jonathan Reiner. ” idea .In memorandum ..Soaps use to be fun to watch. Now it just makes me wonder wth are tiic thinking ?I don’t believe the show is misfiring because TG is done , he is not the only character and he needs to go for good. If tiic can only write for TG, they need to find new jobs. They have brought back all the murderers, allowed the killers to go free again, they take old stories and rewrite them ,not for the better. FrankenRon have ruined this show. .I have read ideas on online blogs that have a thousand times better story ideas. Just regular bloggers who have more talent than Re-Ron. . I thought Guza and his goons were bad, these two are just as bad.
So glad to hear you’re back to fighting form, Marlena!
Happy almost anniversary, Miss Marlena! I still fondly remember us celebrating your twentieth anniversary on Brandon’s Buzz five years ago, and I’m SO happy to hear that you’re on the mend just in time to mark number 25!