By Marlena De Lacroix The star of the 2008 Emmys was a body part your mother blushingly called your "backside." Stars couldn't stop talking about derrieres, and wound up acting a lot like them. "Oh, oh, I love your butt, what a cute little butt, I'd take that cute little butt," All My Children's Rebecca Budig (Greenlee) squealed as she … [Read more...]
On the Soap Shrink’s Couch: Guiding Light’s Joshua Lewis
June 19, 2008 by 4 Comments
By Damon L. Jacobs Look into his eyes. Those deep blue eyes. There you may see a man who has great capacity for warmth, generosity and concern for his family and community. Look a little deeper, however, and you will also see anger, bitterness and an intense fear of being inferior to others. But let's back up a bit. Guiding Light's … [Read more...]
Marlena’s Emmy Picks in 2008’s Humpty Dumpty Soap World
June 18, 2008 by 11 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I'm not overly excited about this week's Daytime Emmys. I could be fluffy and say it's because they moved the ceremony to L.A. several years ago and I don't get to go and to buy a dress, and to me (I attended here in New York 23 years in a row) the Daytime Emmys was always about The Dress. But the truth is, daytime drama, … [Read more...]
Introducing Our New Column: Soap Shrink by Damon L. Jacobs
June 13, 2008 by 1 Comment
How many times have you seen a soap villainess or villain -- or even a soap hero or heroine -- do something that is so wrong and so bizarre that you've jumped up from your armchair and screamed: "WHAT IS WRONG with her/him?" In the vast, messy world of today's soap opera -- where cheap thrills usually trump character development, history is all … [Read more...]
On the Soap Shrink’s Couch: General Hospital’s Carly Corinthos Jacks
June 12, 2008 by 11 Comments
By Damon L. Jacobs Hello and welcome to my cyber office. These sessions will be an opportunity for us to examine the psychological profiles of some of our favorite soap characters, explore their symptoms, and get a better grasp of why they do the things they do. My hope is that we will have a dialogue about each person, and this will lead to a … [Read more...]
Brian Kerwin: Marlena Interviews One Life To Live’s Sole Daytime Emmy Nominee and Broadway Star
June 9, 2008 by 9 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Kerwin (Charlie Banks, One Life to Live) for the Broadway theater site, Theater Mania. I talked to him both about his Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor (OLTL's only acting nomination this year) and his very contrasting, on-going role as a pervert who … [Read more...]
All Hail La Strasser: She’s the “Alexis of Daytime” — Again!
June 4, 2008 by 29 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix About 1984 or so, when the primetime world was at the height of Dynasty-mania, all the daytime soaps were hustling to introduce characters, all costumed in big-brimmed hats, who were supposed to be the "Alexis of Daytime." Elizabeth Hubbard, new as Lucinda on As the World Turns, was supposed to be the Alexis of … [Read more...]
I’ll Take Manhattan(ites)
June 3, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix My friend Roger Newcomb, who is the editor of We Love Soaps, invited Moose and me to attend a Tribeca screening of Manhattanites, the film he co-produced with Lyle Kaminer. We really enjoyed it, and I think you'll like it too, especially if you are a soap fan. Manhattanites tells the story of a group of young people … [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...]
General Hospital’s Monstrous Lies, All My Children’s Truthful Memories
May 22, 2008 by 45 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix Yesterday, I was trying to write my long promised column against the most perversely inhuman, possibly most disturbing soap storyline of all time, but the words just would not come out. I'm talking about the General Hospital storyline written by Bob Guza that began with 12-year-old Michael getting shot in the head and … [Read more...]
