Friday, August 29, 2008

LABOR DAY

In honor of the upcoming holiday, The PGP Classic Soaps Blog takes a pictorial look back at some of our favorite recent daytime labors....













Although my personal favorite daytime labor was when Tina on OLTL gave birth to her son while going over a waterfall in Argentina (no wonder the poor tyke ended up with the mysterious blood type "G").

My favorite prime-time delivery was Falcon Crest's Maggie giving birth to Kevin on Angela's couch while Dan played Chopin in the background and Angela fretted (not for nothing) about her slipcovers.

What's your favorite soap opera labor and delivery story?
SOAPS IN STRANGE PLACES

When the video cassette recorder became a household item in the 1980s, it was left to Congress and the Supreme Court to determine whether taping “As the World Turns” constituted copyright infringement.

Entire story, here.
SOAPS IN STRANGE PLACES: TAKE #2

I would come home from school and find her standing at the ironing board, watching “As the World Turns” and just finishing up a basket full of cotton shirts and blouses that now hung at starched attention from the kitchen cupboard handles. Three kids in parochial school meant five shirts or blouses each, plus dad’s cotton shirts for work, mom’s blouses, assorted doilies, table cloths, napkins, hankies, aprons and dresser scarves.

I found myself ironing the other day and I had the TV on in the other room, just for company. “As the World Turns” came on, and I

laughed out loud. There was Bob Hughes, played by the same actor, wearing a white lab coat and working in the same hospital he worked in when I was in grammar school.

OK, he’s chief of surgery now, but he was still saying the same lines with the same furrowed brow and the same soap opera pauses....

I can still hum the theme music from “As the World Turns,” “The Edge of Night,” “The Guiding Light,” “Search for Tomorrow” and “The Secret Storm.” Adam Drake, Mike Karr, Alan Dunbar, Judge Lowell, Ed Bauer, Belle Clemens — why in the world do I remember their names but I can’t remember where I put my car keys?

Entire piece, here.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

KUDOS!

Guiding Light, produced by Ellen Wheeler for CBS television, earned its first Golden Icon for Best Soap Opera in the 2007-2008 awards presented by Travolta Family Entertainment.

In acting categories Peter Bergman won Best Actor for his role as Jack Abbott on CBS’s The Young and the Restless, while Guiding Light’s Nicole Forester picked up the win for Best Actress for her role as Cassie Layne Winslow.

Guiding Light also earned awards for Best Writing for the team headed by David Kreizman.

Entire story, here.


WHERE ARE THEY NOW: ZACH ROERIG (EX-CASEY; ATWT)

Friday Night Lights has tapped ex-As the World Turns troublemaker Zach Roerig to join the cast as Cash, a local rodeo star who lassoes Adrianne Palicki's Tyra.

More here.
MOONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND!

Nell Mooney, winner of CBS’s online reality series, InTurn, will begin her role on As The World Turns Monday, October 6 as Spencer McKay, a new anchor at WOAK.



Let us all take a moment now to recall that, once upon a time, Katie was a perky, blonde aspiring WOAK anchorwoman. To achieve her goals she teamed up with Henry, faked being stalked, and poisoned her rival.



And where is Katie now? Married to Brad!



Who'll be working closely on the air with Spencer.

Hmmmm....
COUPLES THERAPY

Michael Sabatino returned to the role of Guiding Light's Vince Russo on August 27, and he will be seen again beginning on September 22.

Sabatino is married to co-star Crystal Chappell (Olivia).



The couple met on Days of Our Lives, where she played poor belegaured, periodically buried alive Carly, and Sabatino was Lawrence, the rapist of Carly's best friend, turned romantic leading man.

Mr. Sabatino is seen below in his previous daytime role, as the often creatively attired tabloid reporter J.T.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

WHERE IS HE NOW: GUIDING LIGHT'S JONATHAN RANDALL

As Lizzie searches for Sarah and Jonathan on the air, Jonathan is busy living his life off the air.

What is he up to these days? Find out when Pocket Books releases the paperback version of Jonathan's Story on September 30 -- featuring a brand-new chapter updating Jonathan and Sarah's whereabouts (with a special guest appearance by Reva)!

GUEST COLUMN: SAM FORD, MIT Convergence Culture Consortium

Studying Soap Operas: What's the Differentiator?

In my ongoing research of the history, cultural relevance, and fan communities surrounding the U.S. soap opera industry, I’ve found one meeting place of kindred spirits who are interested in talking about soap operas from a more analytical perspective: the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association’s annual meeting, which features a pro wrestling area.

The division was formed, in part, by Suzanne Frentz, editor of the 1992 collection of academic essays Staying Tuned and a former writer for The Young and the Restless. Sadly, Frentz passed away last year, so this past spring’s soap opera area was built around a tribute to Suzanne’s interest in finding a meeting place between the industry and academic word.

Today, the PCA/ACA soap opera panels (which consist of the majority of one day of the conference, for those who want to attend each soap opera panel) are organized by Barbara Irwin and Mary Cassata of Project Daytime, a research project housed at the University of Buffalo.

My trip to this year’s panel was to present my own research about how important it is for soap operas to take a “brand management” viewpoint in thinking about how to promote and build their shows. While most television series come and go, what sets shows apart—especially TeleNext Media programs such as As the World Turns and Guiding Light—is their permanence as part of our television (and radio) culture.

Most primetime series are considered successful if they last four or five seasons; a soap opera that has been on the air for four or five years is still considered “new,” by and large, on the U.S. daytime lineup. Further, the full run of almost any primetime series cannot compare to the number of episodes aired in one year for a daytime drama.

My research presentation focused on what soap operas should build around: the points that differentiate daytime from all other fictional drama. And what are these aspects that only daytime soaps can deliver? Deep history. A transgenerational appeal, both in terms of multiple generations of characters and multiple generations of audience members.


As the World Turns is perhaps the best example of what’s possible in this regard. There are actors whose version of their characters debuted on the show in the 1950s and early 1960s (Nancy Hughes, Bob Hughes, Lisa Grimaldi); the late 1960s (Susan Stewart); the 1970s (Kim Hughes, Barbara Ryan); the early 1980s (James Stenbeck); the mid 1980s (Emma Snyder, Holden Snyder, Lucinda Walsh); the late 1980s (Tom and Margo Hughes); the early 1990s (Emily Stewart); the mid 1990s (Carly Tenney); the late 1990s (Jack Snyder, Katie Peretti, Henry Coleman); and the early 2000s (Aaron Snyder, Dusty Donovan).

In other words, there are faces that debuted from every era throughout the show's history and who a whole generation of viewers might identify with the show. That sort of narrative which crosses generations is something that only a soap opera can accomplish, and something ATWT in particular accomplishes like no other. The question is, how do soap operas market this sort of differentiation, especially in a media industry so focused on target demographics? And how can storytellers best take advantage of the rich possibilities of telling stories across multiple generations to an audience that spans multiple generations (and huge numbers of former viewers who stand some chance of tuning back in to see familiar faces).


These are the sorts of questions that we not only tackled in my MIT course on soaps this spring that I’ll continue to write about here at the Classic Soaps site, but likewise the types of issues that communities like the PCA/ACA Soap Opera area meet and discuss on a regular basis. We know that there are many people in the soap opera industry and who are fans of these shows who care about these issues and want to think through why soap operas, at their best, achieve an artistry that no other text can and perhaps best exemplifies what a television series can do.

For more information on the soap opera area at PCA/ACA, look here:

http://www.convergenceculture.org/weblog/2008/04/pcaaca_the_soap_opera_area_and.php

http://www.convergenceculture.org/weblog/2008/04/pcaaca_marsha_ducey_on_fcc_com.php

http://www.convergenceculture.org/weblog/2008/04/pcaaca_other_soap_opera_presen.php

If you have any thoughts, feel free to get in touch directly at samford@mit.edu

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

GORGEOUS GINA GROWS

A flashback to Gina Tognoni as she looked when she first made her daytime debut as the outlandishly outfitted, wild-child Kelly on OLTL in 1995...



And today, as the sleek and sophisticated Dinah on Guiding Light.

NEXT WEEK ON AS THE WORLD TURNS...

Paul seems somewhat displeased to see his father.



No. Make that very, very displeased.



Will the boy never learn? Considering that he, personally, has shot and "killed" James twice now (and that's not counting James falls out of an airplane, James goes down in a helicopter, James goes boom with Cabot, among others), why does he even pretend that his dad is killable (though, to be fair, no one had tried vat spanner yet, maybe Paul is on to something)?

Monday, August 25, 2008

THIS WEEK ON AS THE WORLD TURNS...

Vienna is back.



And she's unhappy.



Putting Henry smack in the middle...



Who'll come out on top?

Find out only this week, only on ATWT!

CAPTION THIS!

What's Guiding Light's Lizzie saying to Bill in this photo?

Tell us below!
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: JENNIFER FERRIN (EX-JENNIFER; ATWT)

With the cast and crew of an independent film having already spent more than $300,000 in the Wisconsin Rapids area, local officials are expecting the film to bring a boost the economy.

Hundreds of people turned out at various south Wood County locations this week, hoping to catch a glimpse of such actors as James Badge Dale from "The Departed," Barry Corbin from "One Tree Hill" and "No Country for Old Men," and Emmy-nominated Jennifer Ferrin from "As the World Turns," just to name a few.

More here.

Friday, August 22, 2008

G'DAY, MATE!

On August 22, 1770, James Cook and his men first landed on the East Coast of Australia.

What we'd have lost if he hadn't:







The mind reels...
ATWT: CAPTION THIS!



Have Brad and Katie taken kissing up to the boss to a new level?

What would you title this photo?

Tell us below!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

ATWT FALL PREVIEW

Coming in September...

Brad's all wet.



And in very, very big trouble.

Dallas is determined to get to the bottom of things.



What did Brad do? And will Carly, Jack, Janet or Katie rat him out?







Find out this Fall, only on As The World Turns!
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: DAVID ANDREW MACDONALD (EX-EDMUND; GUIDING LIGHT)

The first show out of the '08-09 theater gate is "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Hartford Stage. Director Lisa Peterson sets the Shakespearean romantic comedy in 1958 Athens, Ohio — with the concept of the play being "a bride's fevered dream of her wedding day."


The cast includes "Peter & Jerry"'s Johanna Day as Hippolyta/Titania Helena, the Ridiculous Theatre's Everett Quinton as Egeus/Quince and David Andrew MacDonald (Broadway's "Coram Boy" — but others will know him from TV's "Guiding Light") as Theseus/Oberon. (Aug. 28 to Oct. 5.
)

Details here.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Guiding Light's Lizzie and Bill hit The Big Apple!







You're invited to join Lizzie and Bill on their journey. Next week on Guiding Light!
HELLOOOO, FAMILY



Anthony Herrera returns to As The World Turns as James Stenbeck on Wednesday, August 27.

Expect to see James toy with the lives of Paul and Barbara, plus another, very surprising long-running character.

You can't afford to miss a day!
COME ON ALONG AND LISTEN TO...

Cast members from As The World Turns and Guiding Light will participate in the Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids Flea Market on Sunday, September 21 at Shubert Alley in New York City.



Actors scheduled to attend include ATWT's Ewa da Cruz (Vienna), Trent Dawson (Henry), Van Hansis (Luke), Marnie Schulenburg (Alison) and Jake Silbermann (Noah), as well as GL's
John Driscoll (Coop), Marj Dusay (Alexandra), Nicole Forester (Cassie), Robert Newman (Josh) and Marcy Rylan (Lizzie).



For more information, please visit
http://broadwaycares.org .

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

WORLD MATH

Two's company.



Three's a crowd.



Four means Oakdale, we've got a problem.



Find out what's got everyone so concerned, only next week, only on As The World Turns.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: JULIUS LA ROSA (RENALDO, ANOTHER WORLD)

Julius La Rosa, 1950s hitmaker and television star, promises to take his audience down a familiar road when he performs Sunday in Vandergrift.

"There won't be one song you don't recognize," says the headliner of the 2008 Festa Italiana of Vandergrift.

That's because the reliable song stylist, who the great Ella Fitzgerald once called "the most underrated signer in America," will be opening The Great American Songbook of material from Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lorenz Hart and Cole Porter, among others....

La Rosa has had a career full of variety. Drawing on his studies in theater, he worked summer stock, and was nominated for best supporting actor for his 1980 stint as a waiter in the soap opera "Another World."

More here.


WHERE ARE THEY NOW: SUSAN SULLIVAN (LEONORE; ANOTHER WORLD)

Susan Sullivan (Dharma and Greg, Falcon Crest) tells The New York Times of the time she went to Los Angeles after working on the soap Another World to look for a job at 32. She auditioned for a bit part on the television series S.W.A.T. with "five perfect 18-year-old girls." She was amazed to find that the director was interested.

"You have to appear in a bikini," he told her.

But she was from New York, and her thighs probably jiggled too much, she protested, realizing an instant later that she had just talked herself out of the job.

More here.

(For more on Susan's AW co-star Nicolas Coster, click here and here.)

Monday, August 18, 2008

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: HAYDEN PANETTIERE

Despite her youth, Hayden is a very experienced actress who started on the ABC soap "One Life to Live" at just 4 1/2 years old.



After several years, she segued over to the CBS soap "The Guiding Light." Her character, Lizzie Spaulding, did not have an easy life as she battled leukemia, got kidnapped, and also shot and killed her mother's abuser.

But it is "Heroes" that is responsible for her ascent to major stardom and with that has come intense media scrutiny over her reported romance with co-star Milo Ventimiglia and, most recently, an incident involving her parents that resulted in her father's being arrested on suspicion of felony spousal abuse against her mother
.

Complete article, here.
MAKE UP

Glover-McGee, who now lives in Whippany, recently won her fourth Emmy for her work as a makeup artist on the CBS soap opera "As the World Turns." She was one of the show's four makeup artists recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a drama series at the 35th Creative & Arts Entertainment Daytime Emmy Awards at Lincoln Center.

"I sought none of this," Glover-McGee said. "It took a life of its own."

More here.
HOMETOWN GIRL

Holland, MI — When the credits rolled Friday after the daytime drama, “As the World Turns,” you may have seen the name Deirdre Skiles. And if you’ve spent any time in downtown Holland, you may have wondered if the new cast member is related to the Skiles of Skiles Tavern.

Deirdre is the great-granddaughter of Chester Skiles, who opened the tavern in the 1960s. She is the granddaughter of Bill Skiles, who spent some time as a Secret Service agent.

More here.