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...]
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...]
Beverlee McKinsey: Singularly Magnificent
May 5, 2008 by 25 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I feel sorry for younger soap fans who never got to see Beverlee McKinsey on soaps prior to her retirement from major roles in daytime in 1992. McKinsey, who died last week in California at 72 of complications from a kidney transplant, was singularly magnificent! When she came to Another World in 1972 as rich, rich Iris … [Read more...]
