Timmy says, “Here’s to a great Summer!”
Bonjour, mes amies. It’s summer, primetime for soaps, when our favorite shows put out their best to catch the attention of the lucrative young demographic on school vacation. In the 80’s and early 90’s, it was the season for bare-chested hunks and hunkettes engaged in great love stories. Now, well, let’s have a look.
To celebrate summer 2025, Marlena welcomes you to our own party. This is the first of two posts aiming to serve up my frank opinions and invite yours about what’s happening this year on our shows. Comparison to the past is inevitable, of course, a favorite activity in the world of soap fandom these days. Let’s enjoy ours with a refreshing memory of the Martimmy, the favorite drink of Passion’s Timmy and Tabitha, in honor of the late Josh Ryan Evans and my great friend the late headwriter James E. Reilly. I still have the commemorative Martimmy glasses given to the press by NBC Daytime.
The Bold and the Beautiful: Nothing New To See Here
Ho hum. See how The Bold and the Beautiful repeats itself. I was shocked when I reread my column called “B&B: Try Harder” from last summer. This year resident pyscho Luna (played by Lisa Yamada) is still on the loose. Last year, she murdered two people and kept Steffy in a cage. This time, she invaded Steffy’s son Hayes’ nursery school and tied up the teacher. Then, she pulled out her trusty gun and shot her grandmother Sheila (played by Kimberlin Brown) in the foot. Liam (played by Scott Clifton) came to the rescue. She shot him in the heart, getting shot herself in the struggle. But is she really gone? That is the cliff hanger. We get that, because we’ve seen it so many times before.
Mr. Bell, (Bradley) surely you know that repeated excessive violence is not what soap viewers want to watch. They want fresh and original stories. Human, heartfelt stories with fresh twists and surprises. Not a carbon copy of what we did last summer. Did CBS Daytime really permit this? Or could this be just a lame attempt to compete with Beyond the Gates, B&B’s time slot neighbor and the center of attention in the soap world these days?
Something good did come out of all this: Lisa Yamada received a Daytime Emmy nomination as Best Emergent Talent. Congratulations to her on her fine performance in this difficult role.
General Hospital: A Display of Summer Sparklers
My congratulations to General Hospital headwriters Chris von Etten and Elizabeth Korte for creating a summer that literally is all fireworks. First, they paired the suicide by booze and pills of Natalia (played by Eva Larue) who was being run out of town by Sonny with an arson fire that took place at Charlie’s Pub, trapping Kristina Corinthos Davis (played by Kate Mansi.) Natalia and Sidwell’s son Marco (played by Adrian Anchondo) came to the rescue. Later he went to the hospital to find the dead body of his mother. How heart wrenching! After that, uber villain Sidwell (played by the marvelous Carlo Rota) arrived to console his son, unexpectedly exposing this character’s soft human side.
So, what else is new? Still more violence in the ongoing war between mob lords Sonny (played by Maurice Benard) and Sidwell. But there’s summer romance, too. A lot of it is happening at the Metrocourt Pool, with everyone in bathing suits. Lifeguard Gio (played by Giovanni Mazza) is a real treat. And there is promising romance between young Josslyn (played by Eden McCoy) and new hunk Vaughn (played by Bruce Durfee). What a player. When last seen he was also courting Gio’s girlfriend Emma Scorpio Drake (played by Braedyn Bruner).
And, on a personal note, Marlena would like to thank GH for helping her heal her broken heart. You all remember my beagle boy Nigel Bartholomew-Smythe, who passed away last year after 16 very loving years. He was so beautiful, a GH writer once asked him to be on the show. One day at the pool Emma, Gio’s squeeze, arrived with her new pet beagle named Outback, in honor of the Australian grandfather Robert Scorpio. Outback is gorgeous as only a beagle can be!
I’m also enjoying the sheer love and joy that comes with motherhood as depicted by Sasha Gilmore (played by Sofia Mattson) at the birth of Daisy, her new daughter with Michael Corinthos (played by Rory Gibson). Gibson, who was formerly Noah on Young and the Restless, has the appeal and charisma of a movie star. I think he looks a lot like Gregory Peck.
Daisy has already disappeared a couple of times. Is she really being kidnapped? And is the culprit vengeful Willow (played by Katelyn McMullen)? Okay, soap cliffhanger in play. But better than B&B’s. In this busy GH summer, Marlena happily says: tune in tomorrow.
A Soapy Series of Novels for Summer Reading
If you’re bored with today’s televised soap opera fare, this soapy read might offer you an appealing break. Marlena and her veteran fan G.L. Yancy have shared the unraveling of many a tangled soap story. Now novelist Yancy has one of his own to offer: a series of novels he has titled Woven Branches: A Southern Serial. He is three books into the series now, with more to come.
The setting is an old town called Noeware, Georgia. Yancy, a native of Atlanta who lives in Rome, Ga., says the town is fictitious, but the region in which it is located is very real. “Noeware is west of Savannah, a bit southeast of Columbus and about three decades from Atlanta,” he explains. There are layers to be peeled back and long hidden secrets to be unearthed. He promises “a soap opera world full of love, drama, sex and murder.”
Book One titled The Road to Noeware, follows journalism student Allison Edwards as she is drawn into research for a feature story that turns into an investigation of the history of the county’s founding family. Book Two, The Noeware Man, follows the shadowy comings and goings of a killer who commits a gruesome murder. Book Three, The Book of Ruth, is named for the town’s tough lady mayor, whose name is Ruth and fully deserves her nickname, Ruthless.
The series is available on Amazon, in audiobook and print formats, with samples of each. Yancy promises, “The series is ongoing. Book Four will be released in the fall. I am nowhere near the stopping point. Maybe there will be twenty or more. After all, it is a soap opera.”
Well, I certainly appreciate all of your columns, friend, but I am so honored by this one. I appreciate you so much for recognizing my little Southern Serial, and hope your readers will give the series a try. I am humbled to have been recognized by such a respected soap journalist.
Our pleasure G.L. The best thing about the soap world is the friends you make in it!
This was a great write-up and I can honestly say I feel the same way about B&B! They need a writer to act as a consultant. There’s so many marvelous soap-like series, the producers would only do the show a favor by asking someone from outside the B&B bubble for a fresh perspective.
Interesting viewpoint. I wonder if the show might welcome an outsider.