By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman The new year starts Wednesday, and I have many questions about what’s going to happen on our favorite shows next year. See if you might speculate on the answers, or pose some questions of your own: 1. How is The Young and the Restless going to fill the terrible holes left by the … [Read more...]
General Hospital: Surprise! A Soap Full of Great Surprises!
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman One of the great strengths of the soap opera form is the element of surprise. Since we have long lived in a world of spoilers, surprises are few and far between today’s soaps. Thus we rejoice that General Hospital of late has managed to steer around the obligatory spoilers and give us … [Read more...]
General Hospital: The Ugly Denouement of the Baby Connie True Parentage Plot
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Wasn’t it ugly? Incredibly, the denouement of General Hospital‘s Maxie admitting she is the biological mother of Connie plot was even worse than could have been predicted. The fact that Maxie – who supposedly mothered the baby as a surrogate for Lulu and Dante -- is the baby’s biological … [Read more...]
Moose Says: General Hospital Can Snare … the Soon-to-be-Prized Old Guy Demographic?
Marlena says: Soap fans everywhere are cautiously optimistic that, against all odds, there’s been a hopeful turn in the heretofore bleak fortunes of soap opera. Ratings are strong and even improving for the four network soaps that survived the death watch of the past few years, and Prospect Park is said to be moving full steam ahead to bring two of … [Read more...]
ABC’s Misguided “Sweeps” Tries to Feed Off of Guiding Light’s Death
By Marlena De Lacroix I usually don't read a lot of previews or spoilers. But what I've seen this week and what I've read for the rest of the month of September alarms me. The ABC soaps seem to think its sweeps month, staging stunts and attention-getting storylines that are de rigueur in crucial ratings-measuring months. September isn't one … [Read more...]
Marlena’s Midsummer Night’s Questions
Thinking Fans' summer thoughts on Destiny et al.: JTG says Shenell Edmonds' Destiny is no stereotype. "It's obvious OLTL's writers are positioning Destiny as Matthew's first girlfriend. Most of the time, the stereotypical 'mammy' character is either sexless or oversexed. That is not the case with Destiny" ... while Mike Goldberg confides Destiny … [Read more...]
On the Soap Shrink’s Couch: General Hospital’s Spinelli
Thinking Fans Comment Update: Karen likes Spinelli just as he is, thank you very much ... antmunoz thinks "different" characters reflect the real viewing audience more than the "ultra-gorgeous" do ... while S. Woods feels Spinelli "is one of the few redeeming characters on bloody bullet-riddled General Hospital" ... and more. See Comments … [Read more...]
10 Sweet and Soapy Valentine’s Day Questions
By Marlena De Lacroix 1. Is it my imagination or did bravura actress Sarah Brown return to General Hospital (as Claudia Zacchara) with a little something extra under the signature slutty red wrap dress? And isn't fierce mob princess Claudia very similar to Maerose Prizzi (Oscar winner Anjelica Huston) the fierce mob princess who wants to take … [Read more...]