Marlena says: Welcome to Marlena’s Soap Opera Hall of Fame, our new occasional series of profiles and Q&A interviews with celebrated soap opera professionals. Our first honoree is veteran soap reporter/critic John K. Read, a.k.a. John Kelly Genovese. In the glory years of soap opera magazines, his weekly insider reports and thoughtful … [Read more...]
“The View”: Present at the Creation
June 20, 2025 by 2 Comments
The name Barbara Walters is synonymous in public memory with Serious Big Time Television Journalism. She conducted a wealth of probing, thoughtful interviews with presidents and kings, world leaders, scientists, movie stars and their consorts. The Reputable and the Disreputable. It’s not an exaggeration to say she interviewed just about every major … [Read more...]
Meet Organist Lance Jackson, Conservator of Historic Soap Opera Theme Music
June 6, 2025 by 16 Comments
Marlena has always said that soap fans make the best and most fascinating friends. Recently, via my Facebook page “Marlena’s Current and Classic Soaps,” it was a pleasure to meet Lance Jackson, a longtime soap fan and church organist who collects vintage soap opera organ themes the way many of us collect classic magazine covers and other … [Read more...]
Gio and Nurses’ Ball 2025 Refresh “General Hospital”
May 29, 2025 by 4 Comments
I’ve become quite aggravated of late with my old favorite, “General Hospital.” Its writers have been overdoing violence: first with the murder of Sam (played by Kelly Monaco) during an organ transplant, then with the on-screen burning of Michael (played by Chad Duell) and finally with the shooting of murderer Cyrus (played by Jeff Kober) by young … [Read more...]
Return to the Early Days of Soaps in Alina Adams’ New Novel
April 28, 2025 by 3 Comments
Marlena says: I’m pleased to welcome a new guest contributor, my friend and colleague Alina Adams. To soap fans she needs no introduction. She’s written for and about soaps for more than 20 years, always exploring innovative ways to give soaps new life. An interest in historical fiction inspired two New York Times best-sellers, “The Nesting Dolls” … [Read more...]
The Lady Vanishes: An “Edge of Night” Real Life Mystery
April 17, 2025 by 7 Comments
Marlena says: The soap mystery “The Edge of Night” was seen on CBS from its inception in 1956 until 1975, when it moved to ABC, remaining there until 1984. One of its writers was Grace Garment, who turned out scripts for a relatively brief tenure, from 1975 to 1977. But the story of her life, disappearance and death are remembered as poignant as … [Read more...]
Susan Lucci, Live On Stage: “Holy Cow!”
April 9, 2025 by Leave a Comment
NEW YORK – Moose and I went to see Joy Behar’s new play "My First Ex-Husband" in off-Broadway’s new little MMAC Theater mainly to see Susan Lucci. She was performing on stage as a member of a quartet of superb actresses in a darkly comic exploration of the painful failed marriages of eight women, each a vividly drawn character. Ms. Behar’s … [Read more...]
A Warm Welcome to “Beyond the Gates”
March 26, 2025 by 3 Comments
I never thought after 40 years reviewing soap operas that there would come a time when I grew almost fed up with them. Over the last few weeks there has been murder after murder on General Hospital where once crimes of the heart were daily fare. Even otherwise reliably classy Young and the Restless has stooped to staging a tacky kidnapping … [Read more...]
Tom Lisanti’s “Texas”: An Oral History of Daytime TV’s Answer to “Dallas”
March 23, 2025 by 4 Comments
No nook or cranny of America’s rich pop culture is too obscure to escape the enthusiastic attention of award-winning author Tom Lisanti, whose 11 books tempt fellow aficionados with titles like Dueling Harlows, Talking Sixties Drive-in Movies and Hollywood Beach and Surf Movies. Now comes Texas, an exhaustively researched and super detailed … [Read more...]
In Memoriam: Felicia Minei Behr, Consummate Executive Producer
March 10, 2025 by 2 Comments
We’ve received the sad news that much beloved executive producer Felicia Minei Behr, who helmed All My Children and As the World Turns among other soaps, has passed away following a five-year battle with brain cancer. She was 83. She also produced Ryan’s Hope, and, as ABC’s vice president for Daytime from 2000 to 2004, oversaw General Hospital, … [Read more...]
