By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman General Hospital: Soaps or biology -- which do you choose to believe? On General Hospital this week, surrogate mother Maxie had a miscarriage (of the week-old embryo that is Dante and Lulu’s child) and barely noticed it. The same evening, New Year’s Eve, a drunk and apparently rejected … [Read more...]
A “Bah Humbug” Christmas … Plus, The Borg is Back!
December 29, 2012 by 6 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Oh how I miss soap Christmases the way they used to be. Today, all soaps have been scrubbed of religion. This year only two of the four soaps -- Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful -- continued with at least some of the traditions that made the holiday a really special time to … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas, Baby, from Marlena!
December 22, 2012 by 3 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman The Young and the Restless: I’m always looking for improvements under the new regime at The Young and the Restless. One of the show’s former problems was loading heroines with too many problems, and I think the current writers have done a nice job these last few weeks in giving Phyllis … [Read more...]
Marlena’s Best of the Best, 2012
December 15, 2012 by 9 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix, a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman It’s the end of 2012, time for best and worst lists. Because soaps are in such danger and I’ve already recorded most of the worsts in the weekly column I’m choosing only to do the bests here. And Marlena being Marlena sometimes I have multiple choices in each category. Best Actress: … [Read more...]
Sunday Reflections 21: Two Award-worthy Stories on The Bold and the Beautiful … On General Hospital – Maxie, Forget Being a Surrogate Mother!
December 1, 2012 by 3 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman The Bold and the Beautiful: While the rest of us were distracted by the fireworks of General Hospital’s highly entertaining, twist-filled November sweeps (A.J. back from the dead! Duke is Faison!), perhaps the finest dramatic work of the month or even the year was going on over at The Bold … [Read more...]
Sunday Reflections 19: General Hospital’s Faison and the Tale of the Two Dukes — Preposterous, but a Real Soaps Sweeps Thrill Ride
November 17, 2012 by 10 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Wasn't this week’s General Hospital just awesome November sweeps entertainment? I mean, it wasn’t Doug Marland-esque deep meaningful soap opera but it still was drama that was super exciting, full of shock, suspense and surprise, arising deep out of the soap’s history. With the return of … [Read more...]
Sunday Reflections 18: Fiery Doings on The Young and the Restless … General Hospital’s Friday Cliffhanger Was Thrilling, Classic Soap Opera
November 10, 2012 by 4 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman The Young and the Restless: As the weeks go by, Y&R’s plots are changing radically under its new headwriter, Josh Griffith. Here are some thoughts on the latest story twists: As I wrote in Sunday Reflections 15, there are plenty of presto chango plot revisions that a) make your … [Read more...]
Sunday Reflections 17: Hurricane Sandy Made for Spotty Soaps … General Hospital, Don’t Jump the Shark
November 3, 2012 by 9 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman What a week! At the height of Hurricane Sandy, the lights went out in our Manhattan apartent and stayed that way for five days. Pas d’eau! Pas de toilettes! Quelle horreur! Thank goodness that on Day Two, Moose, Nigel and I fled to our country hide-away and by Day Three the lights (and … [Read more...]
