Thinking Fans Comment Update July 31: How to repeat soap histories? Melanie counts the ways ... James cheers the Reva/Josh movie wedding ... while esther is generally unimpressed by retreads ... and more. See Comments below. ____________ By Patrick Erwin Each of the eight daytime soaps on American network TV these days has a … [Read more...]
Why Today’s One Life To Live Reminds Me of the Glory Days of Guiding Light
July 2, 2008 by 20 Comments
By Patrick Erwin I've been writing about soaps for a while, but I am a relatively new daily fan of One Life To Live. Yes, as Marlena has observed, some of us soap viewers are boarding the OLTL lifeboat, and I, for one, have bought my ticket! I watched OLTL a bit here and there (especially during the first Malone years), but I am really … [Read more...]
On the Soap Shrink’s Couch: Guiding Light’s Joshua Lewis
June 19, 2008 by 4 Comments
By Damon L. Jacobs Look into his eyes. Those deep blue eyes. There you may see a man who has great capacity for warmth, generosity and concern for his family and community. Look a little deeper, however, and you will also see anger, bitterness and an intense fear of being inferior to others. But let's back up a bit. Guiding Light's … [Read more...]
Marlena’s Emmy Picks in 2008’s Humpty Dumpty Soap World
June 18, 2008 by 11 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I'm not overly excited about this week's Daytime Emmys. I could be fluffy and say it's because they moved the ceremony to L.A. several years ago and I don't get to go and to buy a dress, and to me (I attended here in New York 23 years in a row) the Daytime Emmys was always about The Dress. But the truth is, daytime drama, … [Read more...]
Losing “The Natural” — An Appreciation of Beth Ehlers, Guiding Light’s Irreplaceable Harley
May 29, 2008 by 13 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Beth Ehlers is on her way to ABC and All My Children's Pine Valley, and they're all damn lucky to have her. But for the second time in just a few months, P&G and CBS have made the boneheaded move of allowing someone who was woven deeply into the tapestry of a show to walk away. P&G clearly hasn't learned from the loss … [Read more...]
Why Guiding Light is Self-Destructing
May 16, 2008 by 18 Comments
By Patrick Erwin The other day I got so fed up, I turned off Guiding Light and swore I'd never turn it back on. That might have been an overreaction -- of course I've been watching it so long that I'll inevitably tune in again sometime. But in my up-and-down relationship with GL, it's time to give it some tough love. My old friend has changed … [Read more...]
10 Merry Mid-Month of May Questions
May 14, 2008 by 13 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix and Patrick Erwin 1. When you saw John-Paul Lavoisier as Rex in his recent pre-wedding scenes on One Life to Live, wandering around a bar drunk, shirtless, and disheveled with a wild head of hair, didn't he remind you just a little of Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones? 2. Have you been lost in the maze of brunettes on As … [Read more...]
Beverlee McKinsey: Singularly Magnificent
May 5, 2008 by 25 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I feel sorry for younger soap fans who never got to see Beverlee McKinsey on soaps prior to her retirement from major roles in daytime in 1992. McKinsey, who died last week in California at 72 of complications from a kidney transplant, was singularly magnificent! When she came to Another World in 1972 as rich, rich Iris … [Read more...]
Daytime Emmy Noms 2008: The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same
May 1, 2008 by 20 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I first attended and wrote about the Daytime Emmys in 1980 and I should be over them by now. But I continue, year after year, to be exasperated by the fact that two things never change. 1) No matter how many times they have been revised or have been updated over the years, the nomination and award processes are still … [Read more...]
More Emmy Noms 2008: How ‘bout a Little Self-Respect?
April 30, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Basketball 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...]
