By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman For the last year, I have been writing what great showmen executive producer Frank Valentini and headwriter Ron Carlivati are with their crackerjack rescue of General Hospital. As I wrote last week, the Nurses Week was a blast, with the windup this week as wonderful as its beginnings. I … [Read more...]
General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful: The Decisions of Great Showmen
April 13, 2013 by 14 Comments
General Hospital: All Hail the Nurses Ball — and ABC Daytime!
April 7, 2013 by 3 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Aren‘t we just having the greatest time watching General Hospital ’s Nurses Ball, the first part of which aired Friday? I’d like to congratulate all the performers, writers and the crew who participated, especially those two great showmen, executive producer Frank Valentini and headwriter … [Read more...]
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow….Happy 50th Anniversary, General Hospital!
March 30, 2013 by 2 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix. a.k.a.Connie Passalacqua Hayman As General Hospital reaches 50 years on Monday, April 1st, I’d like to wish the show and its huge extended family, past, present and future, the happiest of birthdays. GH is a momentous achievement, not just in the history of soaps or daytime, but in all of television history. Everyone who … [Read more...]
General Hospital: Think of the Real Laura
March 23, 2013 by 15 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Let’s start off with the positive here: The Nurse’s Ball is coming closer and closer (to be aired the week of April 1) and both current and we longtime General Hospital fans sure have a lot to look forward to. After a few mediocre weeks (starting with the end of the vampire story), … [Read more...]
General Hospital: The Misogyny-Ending Magic of Sabrina; A 50th Anniversary Appeal to GH Fans in the Poconos
March 9, 2013 by 21 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Isn't it amazing that we all seem to love General Hospitaldespite the fact that it's scored three strikes within that many weeks? The end of the vampire story was a real disaster, violent and oh so ridiculous. Speaking of ridiculous, isn't Sonny romancing -- and sleeping with -- both … [Read more...]
General Hospital at 50: They’ve Only Just Begun …
March 2, 2013 by 13 Comments
Marlena says: It's a special time at General Hospital. The 50th anniversary is coming up April 1 and it's been just about a year since headwriter Ron Carlivati and executive producer executive producer Frank Valentini took over a dying show and made it must-watch TV. Marlena's dear friend and veteran journalist Ed Martin, who first started … [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...]
General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless: 15 Questions
February 9, 2013 by 12 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman 1. Wasn’t Caleb tasting the dead correction officer’s blood at the end of General Hospital’s Friday episode one of the grossest soap moments ever? So that's Caleb? What’s the big deal, anyway? 2. Am I the only one who thinks that Steve Burton has done fine so far on The Young … [Read more...]
Isn’t Downton Abbey Just Like Daytime Soaps? Consider the Similarities …
January 12, 2013 by 5 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Name me a daytime soap fan who doesn’t watch and probably love Downton Abbey. Even though a lot happened this busy soap week (Genie’s coming back, Prospect Park made a deal with the Writers Guild) what everyone’s talking about is the megahit Masterpiece Theater miniseries. Downton’s third … [Read more...]
Sunday Reflections 5: The Young and the Restless, The Revamp; Reality Shows on Y&R and General Hospital; Gold Medal GH
August 11, 2012 by 11 Comments
By Marlena Delacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman The Young and the Restless: The hardest job in the soap world is being done right now by new executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and headwriter Josh Griffith as they revamp Y&R and are rumored to be paring down its expensive cast. Marlena has always believed it’s not a critic’s job to … [Read more...]
