By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman When I think about Old Man Soap Opera, I think of someone teetering on a cane off to the inevitable. So who thought today he’d pull one of his oldest tricks out of his pocket: the element of surprise! Did you see today’s General Hospital? We all knew (from a cliffhanger on Friday’s … [Read more...]
General Hospital Update: Is it Still on Life Support?
March 28, 2012 by 11 Comments
By Ed Martin I'm not sure what to make of the big surprise on "General Hospital" this week - but then again, I haven't known what to make of GH in a very long time (years, actually). Robin Scorpio is alive - and looking very tanned and rested, I might add, even if she is being held hostage in something resembling a hospital room. Seeing … [Read more...]
General Hospital Until the Bitter End
March 22, 2012 by 14 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a Connie Passalacqua Hayman Before I start my review of the new General Hospital (Frank Valentini executive producer, Ron Carlivati, headwriter) I have three things to say: 1. I agree with everything my good friend Ed Martin says in the column below ("Can General Hospital Be Saved?") Do a Gloria Monty, gut the show … [Read more...]
General Hospital: Can This Show Be Saved?
March 2, 2012 by 14 Comments
By Ed Martin Watching General Hospital these last two weeks, as the energetic efforts of One Life to Live veterans Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati to save the show from almost certain doom begin to play out, it occurs to me that my time as a fan of this once-formidable serial has come full circle. I began watching GH in 1978, shortly … [Read more...]
When All Soaps Are In Lockstep, Is Improvement Possible?
November 16, 2010 by 20 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix What's a soap critic to do? There are only six soaps. I have a long memory and remember the very early 90s, when Bill Bell originated the homeless storyline with Stephanie, which way proceeded the current one. Ken Corday is an enemy of free speech; he sought to destroy the critical arm of Soap Opera Weekly years ago. But … [Read more...]
Wrong is Right
October 8, 2010 by 9 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I have to say I almost choked when I heard that Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati were re-signed to One Life to Live. Isn't this show dead last in the ratings and going even further south? Aren't they the duo that made Dorian a Valley of the Dolls shrew, had Todd sleep with Marty his prior rape victim, exiled the only gay … [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...]
Is One Life to Live Daytime’s Lifeboat? And a Word About Addie …
June 30, 2008 by 23 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix Have you boarded the One Life to Live lifeboat yet? Judging from the letters I've received in the last three weeks from readers like Esther, Cherry, Marilyn and DSO, even the most discerning and stubborn of Marlena's Thinking Fans seem to be boarding. They're in hope it's the one show that can keep their long-term love of … [Read more...]
Marlena to One Life to Live: “I Hate Todd”
March 11, 2008 by 33 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I never liked the character of Todd Manning on One Life to Live. I never understood him. After he was introduced in 1992 as one of three gang rapists of college coed Marty Saybrooke, the character skyrocketed to become one of most popular characters on OLTL, if not all of soaps, and has stayed that way until … [Read more...]
The “New” Guiding Light: Give It a Chance
February 19, 2008 by 15 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Guiding Light has gotten an awful lot of ink lately -- not over storylines or any actor or actress, but because of some substantial changes in the way the show is made and produced. Many mainstream press outlets have reported on these changes -- giving them another opportunity to poke fun at the soap genre -- or try to … [Read more...]
