Thinking Fans Comment Update July 31: How to repeat soap histories? Melanie counts the ways ... James cheers the Reva/Josh movie wedding ... while esther is generally unimpressed by retreads ... and more. See Comments below. ____________ By Patrick Erwin Each of the eight daytime soaps on American network TV these days has a … [Read more...]
Point-Counterpoint: The Infuriating Holden/Carly Romance on As the World Turns
July 10, 2008 by 18 Comments
What is daytime's most unpopular romance? Judging from fan complaints, I'd say it's Holden and Carly on As the World Turns. Here are two characters -- wed not to each other -- who are or were partners in two separate long-running supercouples. Well, so what? Since partner switch -- and adultery -- are staples of soaps, I can't quite understand … [Read more...]
Why Today’s One Life To Live Reminds Me of the Glory Days of Guiding Light
July 2, 2008 by 20 Comments
By Patrick Erwin I've been writing about soaps for a while, but I am a relatively new daily fan of One Life To Live. Yes, as Marlena has observed, some of us soap viewers are boarding the OLTL lifeboat, and I, for one, have bought my ticket! I watched OLTL a bit here and there (especially during the first Malone years), but I am really … [Read more...]
Losing “The Natural” — An Appreciation of Beth Ehlers, Guiding Light’s Irreplaceable Harley
May 29, 2008 by 13 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Beth Ehlers is on her way to ABC and All My Children's Pine Valley, and they're all damn lucky to have her. But for the second time in just a few months, P&G and CBS have made the boneheaded move of allowing someone who was woven deeply into the tapestry of a show to walk away. P&G clearly hasn't learned from the loss … [Read more...]
Why Guiding Light is Self-Destructing
May 16, 2008 by 18 Comments
By Patrick Erwin The other day I got so fed up, I turned off Guiding Light and swore I'd never turn it back on. That might have been an overreaction -- of course I've been watching it so long that I'll inevitably tune in again sometime. But in my up-and-down relationship with GL, it's time to give it some tough love. My old friend has changed … [Read more...]
10 Merry Mid-Month of May Questions
May 14, 2008 by 13 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix and Patrick Erwin 1. When you saw John-Paul Lavoisier as Rex in his recent pre-wedding scenes on One Life to Live, wandering around a bar drunk, shirtless, and disheveled with a wild head of hair, didn't he remind you just a little of Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones? 2. Have you been lost in the maze of brunettes on As … [Read more...]
More Emmy Noms 2008: How ‘bout a Little Self-Respect?
April 30, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Basketball may have its March Madness, but the soap world has its own spring madness ritual -- the Daytime Emmy nominations. The discussions about this year's nominations have come fast and furious since they were announced yesterday. Marlena gave her take on the whole process, and I had a few thoughts of my own I thought I'd … [Read more...]
Guiding Light and All Soaps: Don’t Change the Quirky Characters We Love!
April 25, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Being a Guiding Light fan hasn't been an easy road over the last few years. But one consistent bright spot for me has been the mother-daughter duo of Doris and Ashlee Wolfe. Ashlee, in particular, is always a joy to watch. She's a full-figured ball of energy, quirky and often funny, even when she doesn't intend to be. I think my … [Read more...]
When Cliché Stories Go Startlingly … Right!
April 15, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Soap fans and critics alike complain loudly when we encounter the overused soap plotline. We can see most of them coming from a mile away! We know, for example, that one woman, plus two men, multiplied by a short period of time = "Who's the daddy" story. It seems like a good third of all soap characters have discovered … [Read more...]
Patrick’s Postcards from Oakdale, Salem and Springfield
April 10, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been around as much lately. I've been dealing with the plot twists and turns of my own storyline, including a move to another city -- not just any city, but the Windy City of Chicago. Chicago is, of course, the cradle of soaps, where Irna Phillips started it all and where Bill Bell began. … [Read more...]
