"And when they ask us what we're doing, you can say, We're remembering...." (Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #99-2: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST... FALL
Donna explained to Marley patiently, "I told John, after I left the hospital, that I was going to focus less on thinking about myself, and more about what I can do for others."
"Spare me. No, really, Donna, that wasn't just a colorful idiom. Please spare me your concern. And your grandstanding."
She went on as if Marley hadn't spoken. Typical. Even when talking to her and allegedly about her, Marley's mother still somehow managed to turn it into a monologue. "I realized then, that the person most important to me in the world — you, Marley — I was letting you down."
"Why stop now? We've been on such a roll for forty years."
"And the reason I was doing it is precisely the reason I vowed to avoid. I'm doing it because I'm afraid."
"Of me?" Marley taunted. "That is a switch."
"I want to help you, Marley. But, I've been holding back due to fear. Fear of losing you completely. Talking to John helped me see how cowardly I was acting. If I truly intend to live up to my pledge, I need to do whatever it takes. Whatever it costs me."
"I can hear Bridget and Michele on the stairs," Marley lied. "Would you please just get to your point already?"
"I know that you were driving the car that hit Lorna and Morgan," Donna said simply.
***
Donna resolves to protect Marley from herself - by any means necessary, Sarah questions Allie's feelings for GQ, Amanda and Matt compare notes on their latest relationships, and Rachel makes a confession.
A chronicle of my many, many, many failures in a variety of fields (soaps, books, skating), all chronicled for your amusement at: Suspense Your Disbelief.
ALL MY SPOOFS
While Susan Lucci makes the talk-show rounds to promote her new book, All My Life: A Memoir (and isn't it convenient that Ms. Lucci was already slated for a host of appearances just in time to deny the rumors of All My Children's imminent cancellation? Yeah, I don't believe in coincidences, either)....
I offer my favorite sketch from her 1990 Saturday Night Live appearance: All My Luggage...
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
THE REVIEWS ARE IN...
Two former soap stars, Guiding Light's Tammy Blanchard (Drew) and As The World Turns' Michael Park (Jack) appeared alongside Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter mega-fame) in the most recent revival of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. (The original starred Robert Morse, father of Robin Morse, who once played Pam on ATWT).
The show officially opened this Sunday, and the reviews are in....
....Tammy Blanchard is devilishly sexy and funny as the battleship-shaped bombshell Hedy La Rue — a role that recalls "Mad Men's" Joan....
.... As Biggley's bit of fluff, Hedy La Rue, Tammy Blanchard also supplies fresh angles on a classic tart with a heart. In smaller roles, Rob Bartlett, Ellen Harvey and Michael Park make sharp impressions....
.... Tammy Blanchard, Mary Faber, Ellen Harvey and Michael Park all add to the fun....
.... Tammy Blanchard–on her way to a Tony nomination as Hedy LaRue....
....Tammy Blanchard's intelligence undercuts Hedy's cheerful brainlessness. Michael Park is a brisk and confident Mr. Bratt, a corporate functionary....
Click on the links above to read what other fans suggested, and make sure you send me yours at: AlinaAdams@gmail.com. (In the past, people have posted their suggestions in the Comments section or on the Message Board. To make sure I don't miss any, please resend them by e-mail. I'd like to compile them all in one place.)
We want to make sure all the shows are represented and showcased at their very best!
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #99-1
"So what do we do now?" Cass wondered.
"I don't know. It does explain why Grant was willing to sacrifice Lila. He does care about her. But, Kirkland trumps everything. I say we tell Lila what we dug up, and let her take it from here."
"Passing the buck, Mary Frances? That's not like you."
"We were hired to find out who hit Lorna and Morgan. The rest isn't up to us."
"It could be," Cass said.
"What do you mean?"
"Do we really want to do this? Ruin a teen-ager's life?"
"He almost took a life, Cass. You know how close Lorna came to dying. And the baby... quite frankly, who knows what might still happen to the baby?"
"Would Kirkland going to jail help any of that?"
"Now you sound like him. Kirk insisted that because Lorna was fine, his taking the blame wouldn't do anybody any good."
Cass covered his face with both hands, taking a deep breath before he reminded Frankie, "I took a life. Yes, it was by accident. But, it was certainly entered into with a great deal more malice than Kirkland's monetary lapse in judgment."
***
Frankie and Cass disagree on tactics, Jamie rebuffs Marley while Sarah turns to Lorna for advice, and Hudson's custody case comes down to the wire.
Intellectually, I understand that Tina Fey does not mean for 30 Rock to be a tear-jerker. (She keeps winning all those Emmys for Comedy... that just encourages her.)
But, for the last year or so, I've been sobbing through the show.
It all started when Jack gave his speech about how: "Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed of being head of GE/NBC. How am I supposed to do that when it won't be there anymore?"
(This would be roughly around the time when Guiding Light went off the air, with As The World Turns soon to follow. Draw your own conclusions.)
Then there was the moment when Jack stood on the street, watching the GE logo fade out for the last time.
And then, on last night's episode (following lines like, "How can you not have a Plan B? We've known the show was going down for two years now!" and Kenneth insisting that he, single-handedly, would think of a way to save it - even if he had to use "the bird Internet") was Liz Lemon's breakdown speech (post her walk with Aaron Sorkin) about the end of creative writing and writers... "I have no other skills!" (Do I need to even ask you to extrapolate that one?)
Leah's testimony in Hudson's custody trial stunned both Rick and Mel (read it, here.)
Later, when Mindy thanked her stepdaughter for doing it (in spite of their recent conflicts over Leah's boyfriend, Kevin Marler), Leah reminded, "Now you owe me one."
As Mindy pondered how Rick wanted to be a better father than Ed had ever been (abandoning his family to run off to Africa was the least of it; there was also the drinking... and the wife-beating. And the hit and run), the Bauers' lawyer said that he needed one of them to testify on Monday.
When One Life to Live's Viki went to Heaven (this most recent time), she was given a tour by the spirit of her (rapidly aged) stillborn granddaughter, Megan.
And when General Hospital's Sonny briefly stopped by (though, seriously, who thinks Sonny could ever end up there for the long term?) he was greeted by not only his dead wife Lily, but the unborn baby who was blown up (Click/Boom) alongside with her and the fetus he lost with Carly. (Apparently Lily's heavenly missive is to be Sonny's babysitter.)
But, all the above begs the question:
Where's GH Lulu and Dillon's baby? Guiding Light's Daisy and Rafe's? Y&R's Ashley and Victor's?
If soap opera miscarried and stillborn babies go to heaven - where do the aborted babies go?
(And please do not point me to All My Children's Josh... That... No... Bad. Very, very bad.)
How come characters never bump into them while wandering around the spiritual realm?
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #98-2
"Is Spencer home?"
"No. Just me and the servants." Seeing that Rachel wasn't about to get to the point any time soon, Alice made idle conversation while she waited. "I must admit, that's taken some getting used to. Always having people around. I remember when I was engaged to Mac, feeling distinctively uncomfortable on the Cory grounds. Then again, perhaps it wasn't a matter of the servants at all. Merely a case of the entire situation being wrong."
Rachel let the digression pass without comment. Though, if pressed, she felt certain she could have come up with a few.
Instead, she continued to stall by looking around and observing, "You left everything the way it was. I'd have assumed you'd want to redecorate, add your own touch."
"I've been too busy, I'm afraid. Besides, it's not really an area of interest for me. I married the man, not the house."
Rachel wondered if Alice were making a tacit reference to the home Steve once bought for his new bride. One that Rachel ended up evicting Alice out of so she could live there with Jamie while Steve was in prison.
Less than eager to find out, Rachel got to the point. "I haven't been honest with you."
"Oh? Which time?"
Another swipe, another disregard. Briefly, Rachel considered that if Alice had exhibited this much spirit forty odd years ago, everyone's life would certainly have turned out very differently. Maybe Steve would still be here with all of them. Then again, maybe Rachel wouldn't have ever had Jamie. In any case, it was a moot — if intriguing — point.
"I've allowed Lila to take the blame for making the call that got you arrested."
"Yes," Alice said. "That never did add up right."
"That's because Lila didn't make it. She only confessed to protect... me."
***
Rachel tells all to Alice - and receives an unexpected reaction, Frankie and Kirkland talk at cross-purposes, Steven helps Jen analyze her relationship with GQ; Carl, Spencer and Lucas finalize their plans for Donna, while Grant reveals Marley's role in triggering the debacle.
THE SOAP OPERA THAT IS FIGURE SKATING By Alina Adams
I have no doubt that I gravitated to, and ended up working in, figure skating due to its obviously soapy elements. The back-stabbing! The partner-swapping! The heavy eye make-up!
But, for anyone who thinks the drama is limited to skaters, coaches and assorted hangers-on, that ain't nothing compared to the behind the scenes politics.
The 2011 World Figure Skating Championships were supposed to kick off in Japan this week. Due to the recent tragedy, it isn't going to happen. But, the International Skating Union (ISU) only came to that conclusion today. (Seriously, people?)
Now the hunt is on for a new site. The US, Russia, and Finland have all volunteered venues.
But, the ISU, according to Phil Hersh's column, posted a list of hoops for the host country to jump through first:
* A main arena with a MINIMUM of 8,000 seats. That would apparently rule out one of the two arenas U.S. Figure Skating proposed (Lake Placid) when it wrote the ISU last week to express interest in the possibility of taking over the event. The other proposed site, Colorado Springs, barely meets the minimum.
* 700 hotel rooms, which would probably rule out either U.S. possibility, although U.S. Figure Skating would have covered some of the housing with dormitory rooms at the U.S. Olympic training centers in Lake Placid and Colorado Springs.
* And, the big ticket ($2 million?) item, putting up the TV production and signal ``free of charge'' to the ISU and its TV rights holders.
Yeah... that last one.
With a change of venue at this late date, ticket sales are probably going to be sluggish anyway, so the size of the arena is negotiable. And hotel rooms? Eh, we'll make people double and triple up. They're skaters, most of them are tiny to begin with.
But, give out a free broadcast signal? Excuse me... the major networks (US, anyway) don't play that.
Stay tuned, folks! This soap will only get juicier!
***
Alina Adams covered the US and World Figure Skating Championships for ABC and ESPN, and the 1998 Olympic Games for TNT. She turned her experiences into a series of Figure Skating Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime... with names and details changed to protect the innocent - and the litigious.
"Oh, please." She made a circle with her thumb and forefinger, and flicked it dismissively on his shoulder. "Are you trying to tell me you're so irresistible that no son-of-a-bitch has ever broken your heart?"
"That's what I'm telling you, alright."
"I call bull."
"Doug and I have been together for going on twenty years now."
"And before that?"
He shook his head. "There was no before that."
It took her a minute to comprehend what he was telling her. "You mean, Doug is the only..."
"Yup." If Chase was embarrassed by his admission, he certainly didn't show it.
Lila couldn't fight the feeling she was being put on. Yet, he seemed so sincere. And quite frankly, what would be the point of lying to her about something like this? "That... It doesn't sound like... you."
"You mean because I'm abrasive and obnoxious?"
"On a good day."
He smirked. "All the more reason to stick with the one person who could stand me."
"Seriously?"
"Uh-ha."
"Doug's the only person you've ever been with?"
"And yet I'm allowed to mingle with regular people on a daily basis. Go figure.""
No! I didn't mean... Sorry... It's very sweet. Romantic. And...."
"Rare?"
"In this day and age? Kind of, yeah."
"Take it as a character reference. Unlike Misters Harrison and Fowler, I know what it means to be loyal. As an employer, and as a friend."
***
Lila sees a different side of Chase, Jasmine shames Rachel into action, a discussion about baby names prompts Lorna and Jamie into separate confessions, Marley confronts Grant over Carl's warning, Donna lays out her latest plan for Matt, and Kevin goes for broke in Hudson's custody case.
Reva and Josh are headed home now that Colin has been found following his kidnapping.
But where does that leave Marah (who helped snatch the boy in order to smoke out Edmund)... and Jeffrey (who fell back into an affair with his wife's daughter)?
St. Patrick's Day in the soap world means Ryan's Hope. And Maeve Ryan (Helen Gallagher) singing Danny Boy.
Please enjoy the two clips below:
St. Paddy's Day 1987 at Ryan's Pub...
And the final scene of the final episode...
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #97-2
"What's going to happen?" Amanda asked Kevin helplessly. "If Rick and Mindy lose Hudson — and it looks that way, doesn't it? GQ can come in here waving whatever the comparable equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan's flag is, and that still won't be enough to prove him an unfit parent — "
"What would happen in this country," Kevin postulated, happier to dwell in law school theoreticals than in his current reality. "If our government began taking away the children of all those people whose opinions they didn't agree with? There goes free speech."
"If Rick and Mindy lose, they're going to be looking for someone to blame. And that's going to be Allie. She admitted she lied. She committed fraud."
"It was for the best. The last thing Allie needs is a perjury charge on top of everything else."
"She could go to jail, couldn't she?"
"One thing at a time," Kevin pleaded. "I still have a trick or two up my sleeve." He looked up at the sound of the rest of the participants filing into the courtroom. "Let's give it a try. See what happens."
Kevin waited until everyone had taken their seats and the judge called the court to order before announcing, "I have a last-minute addition to the witness list, Your Honor."
***
Kevin turns the tables on GQ and Mel, Lucas articulates his greatest grievance against Felicia, Lila gets an out of the blue offer from an even more surprising source, Lorna struggles to make amends to Jamie, Morgan and Amanda reassess their situation, Cass and Frankie pull Charlie into their investigation, Carl puts his plan into motion and Rachel is forced to account for her actions.
Monday through Friday, from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon, the true romantic can flip the dial and lose themselves in ongoing stories ranging from teens stumbling through the pains of first love, to men and women who've suffered repeated and agonizing heartache gingerly taking another chance at happily-ever-after.
"A romance novel is the story of a hero and heroine who are leading separate lives, who find each other and decide to join their lives together," explains Dansby. "A soap opera, on the other hand, is many heroes and heroines engaging in many situations. What I personally prefer on a show is seeing different couples at different stages. You have one couple that's falling in love, you have one couple that's dealing with the challenges of new love, i.e. the: we've declared our love, now what? stage, and then you have a couple that's been in love for a while, but they have challenges like kidnapping or illness that they're dealing with. Because once you've told the story of their love, you've got to do something to keep the story going. You've got to break them up. Would we, as writers, prefer that they live happily ever after? Yes! Is it interesting to watch? No!"
It is, in fact, that stage of what happens after the declaration of love that most differentiates soap operas from a traditional romance novel.
As Robert Newman, who plays Josh Lewis on "Guiding Light," points out, "A romance novel is finite, while we have 16,000 episodes worth of shows that people who have been watching their entire lives are drawing on. A romance novel happens. It comes and it goes. A soap is more complex than that."
So are soaps and romance novels more alike than they are different? What do you think? Read the entire piece, here and tell us your thoughts below in the Comments section.
And while we're on the subject, please enjoy this classic Guiding Light clip of Blake on her honeymoon, imagining herself and Ross as the star players in a bodice-ripper. (At the 2:19 mark. The fact that the heroine's name is Subpeona still gives me the giggles many years later.)
Blake, of course, would go on to her own writing career as Darlena LaCrosse, fictionalizing her battle with Holly over Ross, as well as the tales of Selena and Miguel, and Harley and Mallet.
Check out her author home-page, here, complete with book excerpts and other goodies (thanks to the Internet's Way Back Machine).
As with ATWT Katie Peretti's Oakdale Confidential and Henry Coleman's The Man From Oakdale, I was the author behind Darlena/Blake, as well.
Friday, March 27, at 5 PM in Montclair, New Jersery, I will be on a panel at Watchung Booksellers discussing the topic: Genre Versus Literary Fiction. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello - there'll be food! And drinks! Complete details at this link.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
ST. PATRICK'S DAY SOAP SURREALISM
It's a few days early, but this clip was too good to pass up.
Anthony Geary (Luke; GH) sings Look to theRainbow surrounded by tiny Osmonds dressed as leprechauns.
At the 3:33 mark.
Monday, March 14, 2011
SOAPS' JEWISH PROBLEM: DIVERSITY ON DAYTIME PART #8 By Alina Adams
As previously discussed here, when the rare Jewish character appeared on daytime in the 70s and 80s, their stories most often dealt with the theme of interfaith romance, such as on Ryan's Hope, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives (daytime's verdict: It ain't going to work. Or, as Anita sang in West Side Story: Stay with your own kind. Yes, not only am I soap, skating, and sci-fi geek, but a musical theater one, as well.)
By the 1990s, however, while their numbers hardly increased, that particular narrative was no longer front and center. (If that's a good or a bad thing depends on your personal - equally valid - opinion about whether daytime should address or ignore people's differences. For some of our current readers' thoughts on the matter, check out the Soap Opera 451 Message Board vis-a-vis Another World Today's interracial adoption story.)
When One Life to Live viewers initially met Nora Hanen Gannon, she was already divorced from her non-Jewish first husband, Hank. Nora married Bo the first time in a ceremony presided over by a minister, a rabbi... and Little Richard (no, that is not the beginning of a joke; they don't hit a bar later).
The second time, David, the ordained Scientologist, stepped up to the plate.
Technically, Nora's son, Matthew, is Jewish, too, but it doesn't seem to play any sort of role in his life. Oh, wait! He and Nora did celebrate Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year. Once. Incorrectly.
The Young & Restless' George Kaplan - living as Brad Carlton - because evil art thieves were after his way-too young, World War II surviving mother, also celebrated Rosh HaShana after confessing his Jewish roots.
And then he died. (But, hey, a rabbi was at his funeral! He'd only been open about his heritage for a few years, but I guess he'd already found himself a congregation and put down deep roots in the community.)
And then Brad's daughter, Colleen, who was kind of Jewish (though not by Jewish law) died.
So that's that.
Y&R's sister soap, The Bold & The Beautiful had Saul, the tailor with the perennial tape-measure around his neck (a Jewish tailor in the shmatta industry - how cutting edge!). We never knew much about Saul's personal life, except that he was secretly in love with his boss, Sally Spectra. But, who wouldn't be?
Guiding Light briefly touched upon the interfaith aspect of Drew Jacobs and Jesse Blue. Though, Jesse agreed to convert, so all was well.
More interesting - and never addressed - was that although Drew considered herself Jewish, once she found out she was adopted and her biological mother was Selena, Drew needed to look into whether she herself was formally converted at birth, or else Jesse would end up being the only officially Jewish member of the family.
What's most ironic about the above (admittedly non-comprehensive and somewhat snarky) list is that the most prominent Jewish family appearing on a soap opera in recent years was on Rebelde, a Mexican program.
In an overwhelmingly Catholic country where soap operas are "a thermometer of the country's political, racial and economic temperature," in the words of one observer, and whose tiny Jewish community historically has avoided attention, this is unprecedented. So is the family's popularity. After Joel's heart attack, so many viewers wrote to sympathize with his predicament--his son's beloved, Lupita, is Catholic--and to plead for his health that the show's producer, Pedro Damian, decided not only to revive him but also to center the remaining episodes of the limited-run show on the Hubers.
Alina Adams most recently wrote about her family's mixed heritage in Branch Versus Branch.
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #97-1
"So I decided," Morgan tipped back his head to down the last of his beer, putting the empty bottle back on the bar, next to three he'd already finished. "To hell with that. To hell with love and romance, Roman cherubs with bows and arrows, and all those other fantasies men spin for themselves in order to believe they aren't ultimately on their own in a cold, cruel world. I'm done chasing rainbows and looking for four-leaf clovers. I told myself, the next beautiful woman I see, I'm walking up to her and saying, "How'd you like to come home with me for a night of totally noncommittal, utterly unromantic, thoroughly in the moment, but guaranteed great sex?"
"Sounds good," Amanda slipped off her own barstool, reaching for Morgan's keys, since he was clearly too buzzed to drive. "Let's go."
***
Amanda and Morgan cut to the chase, Jamie and Lorna mark an anniversary, Jen demands answers from GQ, Carl enlightens Marley, and Lucas makes a decision Felicia is determined to talk him out of.
While the court battle for Hudson rages on, with stunning testimony by both his biological father, GQ, and GQ's girlfriend, Mindy faced another dilemma when Mallet came to her about plans for his future with Dinah.
Should Mindy tell Mallet what she knows about Dinah and Shayne?
"It's not supposed to work this way," Felicia lamented. "We aren't supposed to outlive our children. Parents and husbands and lovers and friends, yes. But, not our children."
Sharlene nodded slowly. "I would have traded them all for Gregory. I'd have done anything. Sacrificed anything."
"I think I did," Felicia confessed.
Sharlene cocked her head, curious, waiting for an explanation.
Felicia smiled joylessly. "The entire time Lorna was sick, I vowed that I would sacrifice anything, my own life, if it came to that, to make her well again. I made the universe an offer, and, what do you know, it took me up on it. Lorna is awake. She's going to make a full recovery. And all it cost me was Rachel. Cass. Lucas. And, if she ever finds out, most likely Lorna, too."
"No," Sharlene said harshly. She pointed to Jenna's grave. "You've lost Jenna. I've lost Gregory. Anyone else, as long as they're alive, they're not lost. Not for good. As long as they're alive, there is always the chance to make things right again."
"I hurt so many people. I knew I was doing it, too. I can't claim ignorance. I can't even claim I didn't mean to. There were times, as I was doing it, I knew I was causing pain. And I didn't care."
***
Sharlene offers Felicia the benefit of her own experience, Donna stuns Matt while Marley does the same to Grant, Lorna pushes her limits with Jamie, and expert testimony at Hudson's custody trial threatens to derail several relationships at once.
Even as Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, for the second year in a row, threaten to start production on a Dark Shadows feature film, the daytime series that started it all continues to release original stories as audio dramas, featuring the voice talents of cast-members like Jonathan Frid (Barnabas), David Selby (Quentin) and Lara Parker (Angelique), among others.
Check them out!
Besides inspiring a rapid cult following, Dark Shadows was also infamous for its many bloopers. Enjoy some of their best (did no one think to mention it to the crew members that maybe they shouldn't take walks in the middle of scenes?), below:
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!
In honor of International Women's Day, a tribute to some of our favorite soap men... getting in touch with their feminine side:
ATWT's Henry/Geneva Swift
AW's Cass/Crystal Lake
GH's Mac/Eve and Kevin/Norma
PASSIONS Vincent/Valerie
Monday, March 07, 2011
FREE SOAP BOOK!
Boob Tube, a fictionalized soap-opera tell-all e-book by former Soap Opera Weekly reporter Lesleyann Coker and her husband, Mark, is now free on Amazon.com for a limited time.
Check it out and let us know what you thought! (I haven't read it yet myself, but I intend to; free is my favorite price-point!)
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #96-1
Marley said, "I'm sorry, Grant. I guess I'm not as brave as you. I'm no good at opening myself up like that. You know what I've been through. Jake and Dennis and Jamie...."
"I'm not Jake. Or Dennis. Or Jamie," Grant put particular emphasis on that final one. "I will look out for you in a way they never did. I have looked out for you. And, as long as we're on the subject, don't you think I've been hurt in the past, too? You think Paulina and Vicky didn't do a number on my heart? Or my faith in love? Hell, Amanda, Lorna, Sharlene, even Cindy each managed to leave their marks, for better or for worse."
"I know what they did to you," Marley reached for Grant sympathetically.
He seized her palm in both of his, bringing it gently to his mouth, kissing it, then rubbing the back against his cheek. "I'm not that man anymore.
"I know. Except in the one way that scares me the most." She disentangled herself awkwardly, telling Grant, "You need people too much. I could move in here today, marry you tomorrow, and still you'd wonder, you'd worry, you'd still seek constant reassurance that I really do love you."
***
Marley makes an accusation Grant can't deny, Frankie and Cass zero in on a hit-and-run suspect, Alice makes a persuasive confession to Lucas, GQ and Allie stun the court, Lorna misunderstands Morgan, and Donna promises to give Matt and Jeanne exactly what they deserve.
While court was in recess, Mindy called Billy to check on Hudson, only to have Vanessa give Mindy some very unwelcome advice based on her own experience with Bridget and Peter.
Later, Rick bullied their attorney into playing the race card with GQ, despite Mindy's discomfort.
Sam Ford, editor of The Survival of the Soap Opera, nominates Luke's coming out story on As The World Turns as an example of soaps at the top of their game for our time-capsule project, especially the scene of Lucinda finding out.
What do you think? Is this the best scene to represent the story? What would you suggest?
Write me at AlinaAdams@gmail.com.
And check out Sam's book!
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #95-2
"Your intention then," Kevin tread carefully, inwardly cringing at what he was about to say, all the while knowing that unless he went along with Rick's wishes, he faced a good chance of being disbarred for his role in Allie's fraud. "Is to raise Hudson as Black?"
"I intend to raise him as a boy, too," GQ said. "Cause that's what he is."
"So his mother's racial heritage is irrelevant?"
"I didn't write the one-drop rule. That would've been the Racial Integrity Act of 1924."
"That law was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1967. Loving v. Virginia."
"Guess the press release got delayed. Ask anybody in America what makes a person Black or white. Heck, ask Halle Berry."
Kevin smiled, "While I, as much as any red-blooded male, would love the authority to compel Ms. Berry into making herself available to me on demand, I don't believe crucial judicial policy should rest exclusively on the outdated misconceptions of Catwoman."
"She was also Storm in X-Men," GQ reminded.
"Even worse."
Mel mused, "Is Mr. Fowler done compensating for his lack of victory in an Oscar pool?"
"Just a few more questions," Kevin assured.
"As long as you refrain from invoking The Last Boy Scout," the judge warned.
***
Kevin cross-examines GQ, Felicia tries to keep Lucas from spilling the beans to Lorna - by any means necessary, Jamie turns to Ada for inspiration, and Cory demonstrates what you can pick up when you keep quiet and listen.
Tina says, "It gives where we were in time and place, and that soap opera was also teaching all its viewers about breast cancer so it was helping them, which soaps can do."
Do you have memories about that particular storyline that you would like to share for possible inclusion in our book? Please e-mail me at AlinaAdams@gmail.com. (Complete details about the project, here.)
And keep sending me your suggestions for examples of which moments exemplify daytime drama at the very, very top of its game.
To read about Guiding Light's very first educational women's health story, back in 1962, penned by no less than Agnes Nixon, click here.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
BEFORE THEY WERE OSCAR WINNERS....
Melissa Leo (The Fighter) was Cliff's trouble-making little sister, Linda Warner, on All My Children, happy to taunt Nina about her affairs (complete with spitting, punching, and a serious girl-fight)!
Fun fact: One of the other actresses to audition for the role of Linda was Julia Roberts.
According to EW.com: Joan D'Incecco, then AMC's casting director, says, ''People always ask me, 'You mean you could have hired Julia Roberts! Why didn't you?' All I can say is, I knew she had a special, exotic quality, but she wasn't right for the part. She was just a baby.''
ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #99-2: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST... FALL
