By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman With all the cancellations these past few years, this old soap enthusiast is thankful to have at least one soap to look forward to, and yes, cuddle up to in my afternoons. That soap is General Hospital, a doomed show I really want to see live on. I watch The biggest soap opera of all is … [Read more...]
General Hospital Update: Understanding Itself, Misunderstanding Viewers
April 25, 2012 by 10 Comments
By Ed Martin It's been two months since executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati took control of ABC's General Hospital - long enough by any measure for a creative team to make its mark on a soap opera and make clear what they intend to do with it. Now, I don't want to start right in with the complaints, because … [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...]
How Prospect Park Can Save Soaps
August 19, 2011 by 12 Comments
By Connie Passalacqua Hayman aka Marlena De Lacroix In the effort to salve our wounds this summer, the canceled All My Children and One Life to Live sacrificed an essential element of soap opera: believability. All these people back from the dead simultaneously! Dixie! Leo! Zack! How are we supposed to buy any kind of reality behind it? … [Read more...]
Au Revoir, All My Children and One Life to Live
April 18, 2011 by 26 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix Last week I had a nightmare that All My Children and One Life to Live were canceled. And then the bad dream came true. But before we wallow in our own grief, let's take a moment to remember all the jobs that are being lost -- and all the acting careers that are now ending. So many people out of work! They are the … [Read more...]
“General Hospital” Madness: Why Kill Jake? And What Have They Done to Luke?
March 30, 2011 by 11 Comments
By Ed Martin Anyone who is still wondering why broadcast soap operas are disappearing before our eyes need only review recent episodes of ABC's General Hospital. Don't blame shrinking audiences. (Viewers aren't really going away. They're just harder to count.) Don't blame competition from other media. (Overall media consumption is on the The … [Read more...]
Winter Thoughts and a Book Review
February 14, 2011 by 11 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix Bonjour, everyone. Still watching. I've particularly enjoyed One Life to Live's sweeps, with the downfall of Clint, and his acid confrontations with that bitch Aubrey. Pine Valley seems to be emptying out and you have to ask yourself how long Alicia Minshew can carry the show on her boney shoulders. I'm rooting for … [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...]
