Serial Drama

Does Ricky Paull Goldin Have Low Self Esteem?

You know how certain people act out or cause physical harm to themselves because they believe they don't deserve to be happy? Does Ricky Paull Goldin have that condition? Is there any other explanation for him joining the cast of All My Children? Is the low self esteem caused by the extraneous l in his name?

I am really trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and not assume that he's out of his mind for doing something so foolish. Maybe it's some sort of community outreach program that he, Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams are a part of where they try to make crappy things less crappy. Or perhaps he lost a cruel bet. I don't know.

I am not ultra familiar with him; I remember when he was a wackadoo stalker on The Young and the Restless, but I never watched Another World or Guiding Light (as if that's even a real show), so I haven't seen his most popular roles. But I think I might sort of love him, a little, because a trip to his IMDB page shows that he has appeared in award-winning movies like Piranha Part Two: The Spawning, Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star and Moment of Truth: Into the Arms of Danger. Someone who shows such commitment to quality programming, not to mention the colon, is completely worthy of my respect. Also, he played someone named Paul Mallory in a TV movie with Yasmine Bleeth about a crazy woman with plastic surgery. Awesome!

RPG's possible craziness aside, it will be interesting to have Jake Martin back in Pine Valley, if only to see exactly how many men Greenlee can have stories with at once. Between Aiden, Ryan, Zach (it's coming, people) and Jake, it will be...a very Greens heavy show. I didn't like Jake and Greenlee together the first time around (LEO&GREENLEE4EVER<33333333), but that could just be that my knee jerk reaction is to be irritated by J. Eddie Peck...

Well-Kept Secret: Sarah Brown Returns to GH Tomorrow

ABC Daytime has approached this event with its usual subtlety, so perhaps you haven't heard, but Sarah Brown is back on General Hospital starting tomorrow! 

With the darker hair, doesn't she look eerily like a slightly smaller-jawed Minnie Driver?

I am excited to see Sarah Brown back, but unsurprisingly GH has already messed up her return.  Yes, before her first airdate.  It's not me being cynical, it's them being stupid.  I promise.

Shelle-Shocked

HOLY CRAP, you guys, Martha Madison (Belle) and Brandon Beemer (Shawn) have been let go from Days of Our Lives.  (Thanks so much to reader and forum poster lascuba for the link.  Although, note to Soap Opera Network:  Use of the term "super couple" for these two characters may very well have broken the internet.)

Who Needs Women In Their 40s Anyway?

I don't think anyone has ever been under the impression that it's easy to age as a daytime actress, but oy vey, what a run we're having of shows letting talented middle-aged actresses go.  I don't know what's going on on other shows, but on the two I watch anyone with boobs over the age of 35* has got to feel a bit uneasy.  (* This phrasing may make it sound as though I believe there are any boobs on daytime that are older than 35, which is of course crazy talk.  There are still a few women who have passed that landmark, however.  A few.)

[A couple of these exits haven't happened onscreen yet, so if you believe that kind of info is spoiler-y, don't check out the rest of this post after the cut.  There is no detailed plot info.]

Blasts From the Past

All My Children has gone totally nutty with casting lately: Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams are slated to return and Rebecca Budig is recasting her own recast and coming back to the show as Greenlee.

!!!

I wasn't an AMC viewer during Angie and Jesse's heyday, what with being born in 1983 and all, but I do know that Jesse is, like...dead. He visited Gillian when she died and was a ghost, so I am assuming that he's going to be a look-alike character--which, according to the ever-trustworthy Wikipedia (I agree with Michael Scott: "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information"), is exactly what happened on Loving/The City. So there's that.

But Oh Em Gee, you guys, Rebecca Budig! I LOVE Rebecca Budig! I think she's one of the most adorable people ever, and I loveloveloved her as Greenlee. I am one of the few people who have gone on record as liking Sabine Singh, and I'm sorry to see her leave, but Rebecca Budig IS Greenlee, so it's going to be nice to have her back. Granted, I have no idea why she's coming back to the clusterfuck that is AMC and, especially, her storyline lately, but still: eeee!

What The What?

I received an email from Becca with the subject line "WHAT?" and immediately assumed the worst: Stila being discontinued! The Office being canceled! Leonardo DiCaprio being spotted canoodling with Britney Spears! What can I say, I'm a pessimist.

Luckily, all of my assumptions were false, but it turns out that it was weirder than all of those put together: Sarah Brown is returning to General Hospital!

My ensuing train of thought was as follows:

• WHAT?
• ...really? I love her! OMG! Eeeee!
• Wait, no, seriously? What?
• Why?
• To direct?
• To act?
• To heckle, just for fun?
• Who will she be playing? They already have someone great playing Carly and they don't need yet another new character
• I'd really miss Laura Wright's pretty, pretty hair if she left the show
• If she is coming back as Carly, I guess Jax and Carly, and Sonny and Kate would be totally over...
• She's an awesome, Emmy-winning actress. Why does she hate herself enough to come back to this hellhole of a show?
• ...wait, what?

And I'm still there.  What?!

Days: Now With 30% Less Cringing

There is very little I can do to improve upon this bit of casting news from Soap Opera Digest.

Buh-Bye

DAYS OF OUR LIVES's Max and Co. won't have to worry about felonious Jeremy (Trevor Donovan) any more. The hell-raising Horton leaves town on Wednesday, October 17.

Trevor Donovan is a hottie, but I think I have made my feelings about this character clear.

Next time, writers, perhaps it might be wise to do some research into the parents of your new character, and make even a small effort to explain where the character is coming from or why he is utterly and completely unlike the two people who brought him into the world who we watched on our screens for some period of time?  It's just a suggestion.  In case you're taking them.

But Where Will Her Tragic Scar Be Now?

Yes, I know I'm more than a month slow on the uptake, but nonetheless . . . Oh, sigh:

Bjorlin's Back!
As reported in Digest's 9/4 issue, Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) is returning to DAYS OF OUR LIVES. She will first air in November. "We're thrilled to have her back," says Executive Producer Ken Corday. "She is an amazingly beautiful and talented woman." Not surprisingly, Chloe will be part of a storyline with Shawn, Belle and Philip. "She comes back with an edge," teases the exec.

I have nothing in particular against Nadia Bjorlin (though I did find the Bruce Willis stuff a bit sleazy), and apparently this is an unpopular opinion since they're bringing her back, but damn, I did not like Chloe.  Admittedly I was only watching intermittently during most of her time on the show, but the character just seemed whiny and boring to me.  Not to mention she was one soap-ingénue cliché after another:  "I am so terribly ugly!  I'll never find love!  On the other hand, if I take off these black clothes and clunky glasses, I am a supermodel!"; near-fatal illness;  disfiguring scar; etc.  Plus I found her parents, Craig and Nancy, totally irritating. 

As for Chloe's return, I am highly suspect that anything associated with Belle and Shawn will have "an edge," and I really don't need yet another round of Shawn and Philip fighting over Belle, unless and until they show me one personality trait worth fighting over in a context other than "Belle makes me want to fight over who has the opportunity to run away from her first."

All that aside, Bjorlin's return caused me to look up Chloe's history on SoapCentral, which led to my re-discovery of how awesomely awful some of the writing and recapping is there, including this gem:

Crimes Committed
Threw a dead rat in Jan's face and caressed her with it.

First of all, I am so, so sorry I missed this.  Second of all, was there a trial for this supposed crime of rat throwing-slash-caressing?!  Because that would be about ten times as interesting as Jason's hundredth murder trial on GH.

Take Your Own Words to Heart

A couple of weeks back, Annie Wersching's Amelia had this fabulous line, in reference to Sam's stupid talk show that nobody would ever watch if it actually existed:

Amelia:  Recasting is a LOT of trouble.  And it usually ends up a disaster.

Don't I know it, sister!  (That Greg Vaughn was in that scene, though…burn.) 

Anyway, now that the news is that Wersching has been cast as a series regular on 24 this season, I must ask that GH take a rare good piece of dialogue to heart, and not recast.  It seems like this is a good opportunity to sunset both the character and the asinine "talk show about Sam's heroic...ish exploits" storyline. 

So long, Fivehead (note: is a term of endearment). We hardly knew ya, Amelia.  Well, we did, and at first we were annoyed by you, then we grew to adore your crazy self, but then you started worshiping Jason (because there just isn't enough of THAT on this show) and we became pretty indifferent to you.  Love the new hair, though!

Another One Bites The Dust

According to her myspace, Adrianne Leon was fired from The Young and the Restless, making her the second awesome younger actress unceremoniously dumped from the show in the last nine months (remember Davetta Sherwood and how Lily and Daniel were an awesome couple? Those were some blissful times). I question the wisdom of firing a charismatic actress while keeping the one-note and horrible haired Adrienne Frantz front and center but, hey, I didn't just win half an Emmy for best show, so what do I know?

I really grew to like Adrianne Leon after not being a fan of hers when she did her stint on General Hospital. I think it was cemented when Colleen gave the awesome toast at Victoria's bridal shower. So I'm really sorry to see her go. Here's her announcement:

And the saga continues.....

Well, I wish I had a positive follow up to that last post but unfortunately- for me at least :)- This one isn't much brighter. You guys have been there for me through thick and through thin (pun intended :) ) and many of you....from show to show and character to character- so I felt that you had the right to know before everyone else. I absolutely love you all and know that this is the least I can do....

I was notified today that I will no longer be part of the cast of Y&R and that the last day I worked (last week) was actually my last day there. I wish I would have known that then... and had taken the opportunity to let everyone know just how much I enjoyed working with them in addition to how greatly they will be missed.

I love and adore the cast/crew and production and I am very thankful to Sony/CBS, Marnie Saitta, Barbara Bloom, Ed and Kathy, Y&R and all others involved in my casting.... for providing me with this amazing opportunity. It has been an honor to work with yet again, an award winning cast and crew (not to mention loving, supportive, professional....a wonderful second family)...and to have been part of not only an amazing show but the number one daytime drama. That's been a blast. I hold only fond memories (well minus this one) and wish the show all the best especially with their future Colleen plans. She's a wonderful character and has so much potential.

Emphasis added.

If that means what I think it means, then my feelings toward the current producers of Y&R are moving from mild irritation to outright anger. And what a way to fire her, huh? "Your last day of work was actually your last day of work ever. Thanksforallofyourhardworkgoodluckinthefuture,pleaseleavetheset". Ice cold.

So, what, in the past year Adrianne Leon, Davetta Sherwood, Eileen Davidson, Jerry Douglas and longtime producer Ed Scott (husband of Melody Thomas Scott) were dumped. Very, very interesting.