Kiboshing Kish: Betrayal and Malfeasance

By Marlena De Lacroix I've had a lot of problems with One Life to Live over the last two years, but Kish (Kyle and Fish) was never one of them. The shocking write-off of these characters is wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels.  Of all the ways this failing soap could be improved, dumping Kish NOW isn't one of them. Goodbye Kish: Scott Evans … [Read more...]

All My Children: Daytime’s Brigadoon (But What Happens Next?) Part 1

  By Marlena De Lacroix When I was a young girl my mother took me to City Center in Manhattan to see a revival of the 1947 Lerner and Loewe musical Brigadoon.  In it, two American men on a trip to Scotland stumble upon a strange town, the Brigadoon of the title, from a Can Agnes Nixon, who brought us this revival of Pine Valley as … [Read more...]

Watching Sadism For Thrills: Soaps Are Not Snuff Films!

By Marlena De Lacroix Recently I was asked by a fan why I am not posting much anymore. Here's why: Today on One Life to Live I watched a woman who had just delivered a baby graphically fall through ice and drown.  Not three months ago I had watched a Does any TPTB on soaps, so desperate for ratings, actually have any moral sense at all, or even … [Read more...]

Happy New Year from Marlena, Moose and Nigel

Connie, Anna and the late real Mr. Moose at the Museum of Natural History (above); The Nige (right) ______________________________  By Marlena De Lacroix Happy New Year 2010, everyone!  Hope you had as joyous a holiday season with your family and friends as Moose and I (a.k.a. Connie and Ed) did. My beloved step-daughter Laura and … [Read more...]

As The World Turns: Love and Family in the Heart of America

My friend Ed Martin weighs in, too,  on the loss of As the World Turns in a new post immediately following this one. ___________________________________________  By Marlena De Lacroix I broke into tears when I heard that As the World Turns was canceled yesterday. I'm sure many of you did, too.  ATWT has been a part of all our lives for so … [Read more...]

As the World Turns Outrage: Another National Treasure Bites the Dust

By Ed Martin The ‘00s may be the new Golden Age of primetime drama, but for fans of daytime serials they have truly been the Dark Ages, right up until the very end. With only 24 days left until the turn of the decade, and just three months after the last episode of Guiding Light, a historic franchise that spanned 15 years on radio  I wonder if … [Read more...]

Happy 20th Anniversary, Soap Opera Weekly!

By Connie Passalacqua Hayman Happy 20th anniversary, Soap Opera Weekly!  Congratulations to the generations of writers, editors, production, art and business people who have worked on the magazine over the years.  I was  lucky to be one of them, from its launch on November 21, 1989 through the magazine's first eleven years. Each week, under the … [Read more...]

A Letter to Marlena De Lacroix (a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman)

Dear Ms. Passalacqua Hayman:  I wanted to write to tell you how much I enjoy reading your columns and your insights into the soaps.  You are the reason I started buying Soap Opera Weekly so many years ago and I was sad when you left.  I bought that magazine every week, at first for your columns, but then cause I just loved it.  I would not get a … [Read more...]

JJ and the Rehabilitation of General Hospital

By Marilyn Henry There already have been big discussions on the internet about Jonathan Jackson returning to his role as Lucky on General Hospital. Newer viewers who don’t know his work are jolted; other long-time viewers are thrilled. I don’t know whose bad    In the last few weeks, the show seems to have turned a corner. Good grief, did … [Read more...]

Ten Happy Halloween Questions

By Marlena De Lacroix 1.  Isn't it most curious that two of the most intelligent women characters in daytime -- Dr. Marty Saybrooke on One Life to Live and fashion mogul Jackie M on The Bold and the Beautiful -- have gone from brunette to blonde in the last few months?  Fashion, or just another attempt by the networks/shows to "dumb down" smart … [Read more...]