By Patrick ErwinBasketball 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...]
General Hospital: Looking Back on 45 Years
April 1, 2008 by 23 Comments
(A note from Marlena: It's General Hospital's 45th anniversary! Here's a celebration of the event by my good friend and journalistic colleague Ed Martin. Ed and I have been happily debating General Hospital over coffee now for almost ten years -- and believe moi, we're not always happy about the current state of the show. Still, Ed is clearly … [Read more...]
General Hospital’s Stephen Macht: Can Character Actors Save Soaps?
March 26, 2008 by 14 Comments
By Marlena De LacroixEvery week for months, there have been rumors that Stephen Macht's tough mob lawyer character, Trevor Lansing, is about to be whacked on General Hospital. So, while there's still time, I'd like to say that I'm really enjoying Macht's performances in the role this season. Yes, Macht, the 60ish actor with the pock markets, … [Read more...]
A Tribute to General Hospital’s Shell Kepler
February 12, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Marlena De LacroixNurse Amy Vining was a supporting character on General Hospital, but she was omnipresent throughout the fabled Luke and Laura/Gloria Monty years. After all, she was Laura's sister! As Amy, Shell Kepler, who died last week in Oregon, always had a quick quip or a giggle for anyone who hung around the nurse's station. My … [Read more...]
10 Sweet and Soapy Valentine’s Day Questions
February 10, 2008 by 11 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix1. Is it my imagination or did bravura actress Sarah Brown return to General Hospital (as Claudia Zacchara) with a little something extra under the signature slutty red wrap dress? And isn't fierce mob princess Claudia very similar to Maerose Prizzi (Oscar winner Anjelica Huston) the fierce mob princess who wants to take … [Read more...]
General Hospital: Kids with Guns for Sweeps
February 1, 2008 by 44 Comments
By Marlena De LacroixI've never lost sleep over a soap opera before. But when I saw Michael buying a gun on General Hospital, the thought of what most likely will come next so disgusted me I couldn't calm down. Now that Michael -- at approximately age 12 -- is packing heat, either he or his little brother Morgan is going to get shot, or one … [Read more...]
On Soaps, Multiple Suspect Murder Mysteries are So-o-o Done!
January 28, 2008 by 21 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I have grown so tired of the soap opera convention known as the multiple-suspect murder mystery storyline. Of late, they've become meaningless, predictable or, even worse, totally incomprehensible. The multiple-suspect murder plot was only done to perfection on the old full-time soap mystery show Edge of Night. But the … [Read more...]
Rape Stories: Days of Our Lives Shows That “No” Really Means “No” This Time
January 17, 2008 by 6 Comments
By Patrick ErwinFor all its onscreen and offscreen turmoil, Days of Our Lives seems to have a few stories working for it right now. One of them is Chelsea and Stephanie and the sorority girls dealing with the aftermath of the campus rapist, Ford, who raped Stephanie and Cordy and threatened Chelsea. Initially, the story didn't seem too … [Read more...]
Soaps’ Scab Scripts: Seinfelds They Ain’t
January 4, 2008 by 13 Comments
By Marlena De LacroixWe've just passed New Year's, and a certain ennui has set in this week on soaps. This winter of Marlena's discontent is made worse by the arrival of scab-written scripts. Are they here so soon? On General Hospital and The Young and the Restless, this would seem to be the case. Are there more? Perhaps. I'm listening … [Read more...]
