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...]
On the Soap Shrink’s Couch: The Young and the Restless’ Kevin Fisher
July 6, 2008 by 1 Comment
By Damon L. Jacobs Kevin Fisher came blazing into The Young and the Restless' Genoa City five years ago with rage in his heart, fire in his eyes, violence in his fists, and chlamydia in his ... well, you know. He spent a significant portion of his time chasing after Lily, lying, manipulating, setting fires, breaking mirrors. As his violence … [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...]
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...]
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...]
When Cliché Stories Go Startlingly … Right!
April 15, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Soap fans and critics alike complain loudly when we encounter the overused soap plotline. We can see most of them coming from a mile away! We know, for example, that one woman, plus two men, multiplied by a short period of time = "Who's the daddy" story. It seems like a good third of all soap characters have discovered … [Read more...]
Patrick’s Postcards from Oakdale, Salem and Springfield
April 10, 2008 by 5 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been around as much lately. I've been dealing with the plot twists and turns of my own storyline, including a move to another city -- not just any city, but the Windy City of Chicago. Chicago is, of course, the cradle of soaps, where Irna Phillips started it all and where Bill Bell began. … [Read more...]
The Young and the Restless: How Latham Tried But Failed to Reinvent the Wheel
March 20, 2008 by 9 Comments
By Patrick Erwin I confess I was glued to my TV last week for the soap opera that was The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. The governor, once praised as a smart, brave man, was stripped of his title in a very public and humiliating way. And the reaction reminded me of "schadenfreude" -- a German word that describes when someone is joyous and … [Read more...]
Soaps’ Scab Scripts: Seinfelds They Ain’t
January 4, 2008 by 13 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix We've just passed New Year's, and a certain ennui has set in this week on soaps. This winter of Marlena's discontent is made worse by the arrival of scab-written scripts. Are they here so soon? On General Hospital and The Young and the Restless, this would seem to be the case. Are there more? Perhaps. I'm listening … [Read more...]
