Serial Drama

In Which We Give Soapy Thanks

We know what you're thinking: "You two bitter bitches are thankful for soap-related things? I am so sure!"

But maybe we're getting caught up in the sentimentality of the Thanksgiving season. Or maybe our pumpkin baked-goods high is clouding our judgment. Or maybe we are just so giddy at the prospect of a long weekend that we are seeing beauty in the unlikeliest of places (It turns out that squirrels aren't hideous beasts after all! Who knew?). Either way, we are thankful for many soap-related things!

We have not murdered our beloved twin brother while being drugged by the local nefarious doctor.

We have not been incarcerated and then on the run for a murder we did not commit, yet inexplicably confessed to.

We know how to pronounce "manipulate" properly.

We have never been on the receiving end of a patented Ryan Lavery bug-eyed, rage-filled smackdown.

We have never been murdered and then had our heretofore unknown twin sister come to town in order to prey on our emotionally vulnerable family and con them out of money. And then fall in love with our fiance. And then languish on the backburner before being fired.

The cops in our towns are waaaay smarter than 99% of the ones in soapland.

We have not been forced to give birth (after high-risk pregnancies) in a remote cabin with hands-on assistance from the nutbar responsible for putting our son in comas.

Our hair is not judged against Megan Ward's and Allison Sweeney's.

We have not had barware flung at our head in the midst of an argument.

We have not been gaslighted by our stepson, or had a miscarriage because of the machinations of that stepson, or had that stepson fake our pregnancy and then engage in a baby switch. 

We do not have grandmothers that frequently tries to kill or ruin us.  (Well, not recently anyway, and not intentionally...)

We have not had a long-lost son come back from the dead ten years too young and way more Australian than he ought to be and then have it turn out that he's not actually our son at all but an impostor and that our son actually really is alive and was just hiding out for two decades to deal with his secret pain.

Victor Newman is not a real person.

We aren't romantically involved with men who might reply to the innocent query "How was work today?" with a list of violent felonies.

All My Children is taking the writing of the show in a new direction, continues to employ David Canary, and...um, is only an hour long.

Days of Our Lives has at least temporarily forgotten that it sucked and was nearly canceled and is operating as a quite entertaining daily hour of drama.

James Scott got a haircut.  (This may be responsible for the immediately preceding thanks-worthy event.)

General Hospital has a casting department that does what the writing department cannot (awesome things, awesomely), and/or James Franco got really stoned or very broke and agreed to the heretofore unimaginable.

The Young and the Restless still has stellar writing; some ultra-soapy behind-the-scenes drama; some of the best actors in the business; and the smarts to give Doug Davidson increased screentime, resulting in what is, so far, the greatest soap moment in the entire decade, if not the past century.

We're also thankful for the fine folks at Soap Opera Digest, our amazing guest-blogger Louise and the best readers in the blogosphere.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Our Column in the 12/1 Issue of Soap Opera Digest

The December 1st issue of Soap Opera Digest (with James Franco on the cover [Embarrassing squealing redacted]) and in it our our latest My Take/My Take, Too columns. Be sure to pick up a copy to hear our thoughts! This month, Becca is pleasantly surprised by how much Days of Our Lives has improved, thanks to hot men and pacing that isn't terrible, but challenges it to make the show great across the board. She also has some challenges for the General Hospital writers but has had to set the bar really low. Mallory takes on All My Children and, specifically, the way that the writers even manage to ruin the few good things the show has going for it: Zach and Kendall, Jesse and Angie, and Adam Chandler.

Soap Blog Coalition

Carly's back and she isn't messing around. Find out what's in store for her and her fellow Oakdale residents with As the World Turns spoilers. (Daytime Confidential)

If you weren't able to go to the Scrubs event at General Hospital's Fan Club Weekend in July, you can now see the videos of Jason Thompson and Kimberly McCullough entertaining the crowd.  (Scrubs Hub)

Sami and Nicole's confrontation on Days was one of the most over-the-top, soapy, fabulous things to hit daytime in ages. If you need the Serial Drama girls, you'll find them replaying the clip on a constant loop and clapping giddily. (Serial Drama)

The soap goddess reaches out to The Young and the Restless' Billy Abbott in Genoa city. (Soap Opera Examiner) 

You Know How I Love a Good Soapy Fight

I don't smoke, but after yesterday's Days, I think I need a cigarette.  And a martini, to drink while wearing a heavily sequined outfit with shoulder pads and possibly a headpiece of some kind.  And if anyone were to irritate me, I would happily toss them into a fountain.  Basically, the episode infused me with the spirit of Joan Collins circa-1986.  (Which is a very good thing, in case you are INSANE.)  What I mean to say is -- and I realize it is frequently difficult to decipher -- this was some soapy goodness!  Vintage, 80s-style stuff.

Note:  The over-dramatic, sound-effects-enhanced slaps start at 5:42.  There are two, they are glorious, and you are welcome.

I will post more soon, but my reactions to this confrontation are, in no particular order:

1)  FINALLY!

2)  Does this mean we may finally have a Nicole-free episode?  I am a bit worn out.

3)  Putting a mid-30s woman (particularly one with glorious hair) in a silver, bow-tied headband is not okay under any circumstances that don't involve a Halloween costume.  And even then I would need to be convinced of the necessity.

4)  I have really grown to adore Allison Sweeney, in a non-creepy, realize-I-don't-actually-know-her, non-"If I met her I would just hyperventilate and call her by her character's name" kind of way. 

5)  Arianne Zucker kicks ass at playing cluelessly crazy.  (And at carrying impossibly large, tacky, metallic handbags, but that's not from yesterday so it's off-topic.)

6)  The next time I steal a baby, my defense is TOTALLY going to be the amazing one-two punch of 1) "But you had so many already I didn't think you'd miss this one!" and 2) "Plus you've gotten pregnant by accident so many times I just figured you could do it again on purpose if you wanted a replacement!"  I mean, that's just beautiful.

Soap Blog Coalition

Daytime Confidential's Melodie discusses Soap Done Good on ABC's One Life to Live (Daytime Confidential)

First look: "Venice" images and sneak previews at Michael Fairman Soaps. (Michael Fairman Soaps)

Guza may not acknowledge baby Emma's birthday, but he does listen and writes what the audience wants...in his own twisted way. (Scrubs Hub)

It's November in Port Charles, and we all know what that means: kidnapping, murder and liberal use of the word "whore". Oh, GH Sweeps. How we hate you. (Serial Drama)

The soaps goddess reaches out to General Hospital's Claudia Zacchara Corinthos. (Soap Opera Examiner)

Soap Blog Coalition

Guiding Light and One Life to Live star Gina Tognoni dishes about her "exciting" return to One Life to Live with Daytime Confidential. (Daytime Confidential)

This week the Pine Valley Bulletin takes on the "big reveal" of Stuart's killer. *yawn* (Pine Valley Bulletin)

This week at The Scrubs Hub we have one simple question for you: What will happen next for Robin & Patrick? (Scrubs Hub)

The Serial Drama girls are longstanding Jonathan Jackson fans, but think it will take some time to adjust to him as Lucky again. No amount of time, however, will make them adjust to his beard. (Serial Drama)

Claudia's time is clearly running out of time in a big way these days in Port Charles...Sigh, if f I had a TRIGGER button on my remote control, Claudia would have been a done deal month's ago. (Soap Examiner)

Sunday Surgery finds the Wubqueen pondering the blow-ups offering clues to the Franco mystery. Could it really be all about Alkazar--AGAIN? What do you think? (Wubs)

Our Column in the 11/3 Issue of Soap Opera Digest

The newest issue of Soap Opera Digest is on newsstands now, and in it is our latest My Take/ My Take, Too column. This month, Mallory continues to be all atwitter about the crazy casting news hitting the soap world: Thorsten Kaye, Beth Ehlers, Aiden Turner and Greg Vaughan are out, while Jonathan Jackson and James Franco are in, and she is seriously embarrassed to think about how long it must have taken for our editor to get rid of the approximately eight thousand exclamation points she had in her original draft. Meanwhile, Becca tries optimism on for size, and thinks of how great Jonathan Jackson's return to GH could be, especially if it coincides with Greg Vaughan landing a gig on the increasingly good Days of Our Lives.

Soap Blog Coalition

Daytime Confidential's Jamey Giddens interviews The Young and the Restless star Wilson Bethel. They talk about his role as Ryder, working with Sean Kanan and Greg Rikaart and Generation Kill. (Daytime Confidential)

Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson's General Hospital Scrubs Team raised $44,878.10 and walked for AIDS Walk LA last weekend, and are currently in top positions individually and as a team. Check out the great pictures from the event! (Scrubs Hub)

Elizabeth Webber's polka dot cardigan has been the sole highlight of GH this week, which has led the Serial Drama girls to wonder if the show should change its name to "Stupid people doing terrible things in an uninteresting fashion." (Serial Drama)

The extended dragged out "Stu-Murder" mystery is driving me up a wall. On top of all of this, the totally irritating promo ABC continues to run about the real murderer being revealed has been way over done and frankly, it's turning my hair gray.  (Soap Opera Examiner)

Great weekend for Wubs! AIDS Walk LA, scoops, tweets and news are all up in the Sunday surgery. (Wubs)

Soap Blog Coalition

One Life to Live's Ilene Kristen is a Jane of all trades. Check out an interview with the talented actress at Daytime Confidential. (Daytime Confidential)

Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson had personal appearances in New York City last weekend and we've got an exclusive library of photos from the Brokerage event! (Scrubs Hub)

The Serial Drama girls learned the hard way that watching current episodes of All My Children will make you hate your favorite characters, the writing staff, your television set and your immune system. (Serial Drama)

There is something to be said for older characters on the who bring so much wisdom to various storylines on the soaps. As the World Turns does this well and nowhere was it more evident today when Lucinda and Emma tried to reach their daughters regarding their love lives. (Soap Opera Examiner)

Here is something more rare than Monica's screen time on GH: The wubqueen actually really REALLY enjoyed a show. Check it out and get your "Lukealikes" on! (Wubs)

Our Latest Soap Opera Digest Column

My Take
By Becca Thomas

Another Daytime Emmys ceremony has come and gone, and I'm thrilled, confused, and irritated all at once. Thrilled because there was some seriously, seriously bad fashion on display, and it was oodles of fun to mock. And confused or irritated by...well, by virtually everything else.

First, the things that irritated me least. DAYS's Ava was written almost incomprehensibly (still irritating these many months later), but Tamara Braun worked wonders with what she was given, so I was happy for her Supporting Actress win (and she looked absolutely gorgeous--bonus!). Also on the DAYS front, I am always happy to see someone from my two shows win something, particularly if the show is DAYS, which, let's face it, rarely gets nominated, much less wins anything. So congrats to Darin Brooks (Max) on his Younger Actor win, though I remain a bit puzzled by his nomination. (And by his suit at the ceremony, but that is a discussion for a different day.)

GH's Julie Marie Berman should have won the Outstanding Younger Actress award last year, so while I didn't think she had the same level of material or performances this year, I'm happy for her make-up win. Perhaps the same logic will bring Kirsten Storms the award next year. She didn't even get a nomination last year when by all rights she should have won for her performance as Maxie mourning Georgie, but at least we're moving in the right direction.