By Connie Passalacqua Hayman This week marks the 24th anniversary of the debut of my alter ego, Marlena De Lacroix. My first column with that byline under the standing headline Critical Condition debuted in the second issue of Soap Opera Weekly the last week of November 1989. Weekly was an immediate success and Marlena became very popular very … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2013
General Hospital: Jam-Packed November Sweeps
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman It’s traditional for a soap presents its strongest stories during sweeps, and this November hasn’t been a disappointment on General Hospital. Au contraire, the month isn’t over yet. To paraphrase Bette Davis in All About Eve: “Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy 30 days.” The … [Read more...]
The Bold and the Beautiful: Bill’s Balderdash
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman It may be the strangest game changer in soap history. While The Bold and the Beautiful’s Bill Spencer was climbing to a mountain top in Aspen, he slipped and fell. Not that far, thanks to his safety line. But far enough, he said, to frighten him into an epiphany. According to Bill, … [Read more...]
The Young and the Restless’ Record-Breaking Stunt
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Yet again … is it right or wrong for a soap to kill off a child? I led a column with this perennial question several weeks ago when Delia Abbott was killed on The Young and the Restless, reiterating my longstanding opposition to what I regard as a creepy plot device that exploits the … [Read more...]