By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman I can barely remember a daytime soap week that had as much breaking news as this one. Here’s a peek into Marlena’s reporting notebook: Monday I am stunned that General Hospital (Frank Valentini, executive producer; Ron Carlivati, headwriter) has fired Ian Buchanan (Duke … [Read more...]
Six Passover Questions
March 6, 2015 by 2 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passlacqua Hayman 1. Isn’t it a shame that CBS Daytime (The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful) is going retro just for ratings? Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and NeIl (Kristoff St. John) running over pregnant Christine (Lauralee Bell) on Y&R? She sadly had a miscarriage. Running over a … [Read more...]
Heavenly November Sweeps Performances on The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital
November 8, 2014 by 2 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman It’s been quite an eventful November sweeps so far. Stories built over the course of a year or more usually reach their apexes if not their conclusions over sweeps months (February, May, November) and writers plot their most dramatic action to stretch over these months. This November’s … [Read more...]
Four More Who Make My Day
October 27, 2013 by 8 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Even when the plots of our soap operas drag or are otherwise unsatisfying, there are always actors who make our day. I named some of my favorites here a while back. Now, here are some more, all on General Hospital: Anders Hove plays Faison, a classic villain who has been in and out … [Read more...]
General Hospital: When the Veterans Come Marching Home
February 16, 2013 by 11 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman The late Jim Reilly used to say that writing a soap was like baking a cake. You mix in various ingredients, maybe a little bit more or less of some, bake it, and then, voila, there’s the show, rich and delicious. The main ingredient mixed into GH this past year has been veterans. With the … [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 14: General Hospital’s Non-Stop Storyline Excitement … Bold and Beautiful — Sobbing for the Forthcoming Death of Stephanie
October 13, 2012 by 8 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman General Hospital: “No one ever dies in this town,” exclaimed Luke and Tracy together as they talked about the wounded and missing Joe Scully Jr. on Friday’s episode. Don’t you just adore when soaps make fun of themselves? Because back from the dead has certainly been endemic lately on GH. … [Read more...]
Sunday Reflections 3: The Young and the Restless, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives
July 28, 2012 by 12 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a Connie Passalacqua Hayman The Young and the Restless: Finally a soap does what I’ve long advocated for this era of desperation: perform a radical life-saving change to save itself. Y&R has sent in then Marines in the form of new executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and new headwriter Josh Griffith. And Marlena … [Read more...]
Two Tone GHers
July 12, 2012 by 5 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix. a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman What's with the dip-dye hair on General Hospital? When I first saw that Finola Hughes' (heroine Anna Devane) usual dark hair was blond in the lowest regions when she first came back to the show, I thought it was unusual as a hairstyle But I chalked it up to the fact that … [Read more...]
More General Hospital: Outrageously the “M” Word
June 19, 2012 by 17 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman When Moose came home from work yesterday, he thought he'd have to dump a bucket of cold water over my head. I couldn't stop yelling, over and over again,"No, they really didn't do this!" General Hospital had a scene where Carly and Todd flirted/talked, and Todd was bare-chested. But … [Read more...]
