Wednesday, February 28, 2007

GL CLASSIC SCENE #33

In the world of soap opera theatrics, there are good actors, great actors, and then there's Justin Deas who has a category of his own.

A six-time Emmy winner for three different roles on three different soaps (ATWT's Tom, Santa Barbara's Keith and GL's Buzz), Deas can find humor in tragedy, meaning in meaninglessness and true pathos in melodrama.

Such as in this CBS.com featured scene from 1995 where, in the midst of the Fifth Street fire, a trapped Buzz attempts to strike a bargain with God....



THROUGH THE YEARS: ATWT

Daytime television has a lot of things going for it.

Its on five days a week, so you don't have to wait a whole week for your next fix. It features a little bit from every dramatic genre -- romance, mystery, adventure, even science fiction. And it allows viewers to watch their favorite characters or couple grow, change and mature, just like in real life.

Nothing demonstrates the latter better than a photographic look back at ATWT's Lily (Martha Byrne) and Holden (Jon Hensley).

Above, the supercouple in 1987, 2002, 2004 and 2007.

Which version is your favorite? Tell us in the Comments section below!

GL CLASSIC MOMENT #32

When you think about it, no one in Springfield should really have been too surprised when Ed Bauer (Peter Simon; above) cheated on his wife, Maureen (Ellen Parker) with Lillian (Tina Sloan; above).

After all, despite his reputation for being an upstanding pillar of the community Bauer, the fact is, Ed's past includes alcoholism, wife-beating and previous cheating on previous wives. (Not to mention that his dad, Bill, also allegedly an upstanding Bauer, was a philandering drunk who faked his own death and set up house with a whole other family in Canada).

But even though she knew all that, a shell-shocked Maureen still couldn't help feeling that Ed had "broken her heart." And she told him as much before driving off into the night (and her ultimate death).

Was Maureen walking out on Ed over Lillian GL's Greatest Moment ever? View it on CBS.com and vote!
ACTOR APPEARANCE: ELLEN DOLAN (MARGO; ATWT)

Ellen Dolan will host an Afternoon Tea with fellow members of the As The World Turns cast on Sunday, April 22 at the Carriage House Center for the Arts, located at 149 East 38th St in New York City.

For tickets please send a check or money order in the amount of $75.00 to:

Mothers To Mothers
C/O Ellen Dolan
PO Box 515
Nyack, NY 10960

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

TWO EX-OAKDELIANS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

Two of the best lunatics As The World Turns ever feared join forces to conquer Broadway on March 8.

Annie Parisse (ex-Julia) and James Rebhorn (ex-Henry and ex-Bradley, GL -- in Springfield, the man raped his stepdaughter; in Oakdale, it was his daughter. No typecasting here) co-star in a revival of Prelude To a Kiss. More information here.

Fun fact: Larry Bryggman (ex-John) appeared in the original Brodway production. Meg Ryan (ex-Betsy) was in the movie version.
GL CLASSIC MOMENT #31

Guiding Light's Dr. Sara McIntyre was a whiz at the bedside, not so good in the bedroom.

From the time she arrived in Springfield in 1967, her taste in men was, to put it charitably... flawed.

She turned down marriage proposals from good guys Paul Fletcher and Joe Warner only to accept one from Lee Gantry.

Lee was handsome. Lee was charming and educated. Lee was after Sara's money and tried driving her crazy to acquire it.

When Sara remained stubbornly sane, Lee decided to go the straight murder route -- but make it look like a suicide (he was a sociopath, not stupid).

Sara began to get a clue when she learned Lee had killed his first wife but, by then, it was too late. Lee snuck up on Sara in their attic and went ahead with his plan to snuff her out.

Fortunately, Joe arrived and, while Sara lay unconscious, the two men battled it out to the death.

Who came out the victor and was Lee and Joe's battle GL's Greatest Moment? Check it out on CBS.com!
GL CLASSIC MOMENT #30

She may be indestructible now on the hit primetime show, Heroes, but, once upon a time, Hayden Panattiere was GL's little Lizzie. And she was facing a health challenge even all the Spaulding millions couldn't solve.

Was Phillip breaking the news of their little girl's illness to Beth Guiding Light's Greatest Moment? View it and vote on CBS.com!

Monday, February 26, 2007

GL CLASSIC MOMENT #29

As we learned from an earlier classic moment, Buzz Cooper's absence from Springfield caused a great deal of trauma to his kids, Frank and Harley (the fact that their mother, Nadine, skipped town soon after he did didn't help much).

But, as Nadine learned upon Buzz's return, his time in Vietnam hadn't exactly been a barrel of laughs, either.

Is Buzz's confession about how he earned his Silver Star GL's Greatest Moment ever? View and vote at CBS.com!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: LEE SHELDON (EON)

After writing scripts for shows as diverse as Eight is Enough, Charlie’s Angels and Quincy, Lee Sheldon became The Edge of Night’s Headwriter from 1983 until it went off the air in 1984. He went on to produce Star Trek: The Next Generation and write a series of video games based on the works of mystery doyenne Agatha Christie. His first mystery novel, Impossible Bliss, came out in 2004.

We caught up with Lee to reminisce about his days in Monticello… and on the Orient Express.

PGP: How is plotting a mystery story different for soaps, prime-time, video games, and books, all of which you've done?
LS: In soaps, months may pass between the beginning of a mystery story and its final denouement. Many more characters may be involved; more clues must be discovered; and more incidents involved. I remember one murder mystery I plotted on Edge where nearly every character on the show was on the scene in the hotel where it occurred, and may have been the killer. The various plot threads were so complex I remember Executive Producer Nick Nicholson questioning me closely about whether I would be able to tie up all of them at the story's conclusion. I managed to convince him I could. I managed to do it. But no matter how confident I may have sounded to Nick, I wasn't entirely sure I could!

Primetime TV mysteries are like short stories. They need to appear to be complex, but when the solution is presented it should be fairly simply explained. In the end, each of the stories I wrote for TV that were nominated for (The Mystery Writers of America) Edgar awards hinged on a single, very basic twist.

Video games are usually similar. You want your mysteries to appear complicated, but the player doesn't want to sit still for long passages of exposition and explanation. The solutions to two of my earlier video games were again quite simple. But because the Agatha Christie mysteries are structured in a very classical style, their stories remain far more complex than typical video games that contain mysteries.

Mystery stories in books can be plotted much more at the whim of the author. We have stories that are incredibly simple, depending more on action; books with mysteries that are more cerebral and complex; and books where the authors do both. Mystery bestsellers these days like The Da Vinci Code often have much action in addition to complicated plots.

PGP: What process brought you to Headwriting The Edge of Night? Was the fact that it wasn't a traditional soap opera, but a more mystery based one, one of the factors that attracted you to the job?
LS: I began my association with Procter & Gamble writing a pilot for a prime time TV series that they were associated with. That and my reputation as a mystery writer in prime time TV led to interviews with Edge's producers. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave prime time TV or Los Angeles, and my agent advised against the move. But I was attracted to Edge because it was "the mystery soap" and because the challenge of writing for all those characters and creating stories that lasted for months was very compelling.

PGP: Which, among the storylines you created, was your favorite?
LS: Our "1984" story. I wanted to do a conspiracy "big brother" story that was more up to date and utilized new technology. The story dealt with an attempt to manipulate an election by eavesdropping on households and subliminal perception techniques broadcast through a cable TV system. It started with the death of a long-running character Nicole Cavanaugh (the actress wanted to leave the show to try her luck in Hollywood), and ended nine months later with a commando raid by almost all of the male stars of the show, as they were dropped from a helicopter on to the roof of the high-rise office building from which the culprits were broadcasting. The final two weeks of the story were televised in "real time" with each episode beginning with a clock counting down the minutes to the election much the way the TV series 24 is now produced two decades later.

PGP: Were there any stories you wanted to do, that you didn't get a chance to?
LS: I don't remember any stories I wanted to do that weren't produced. We did have one story concerning a Native American burial ground that was going to be re-located for a sub-division. Despite the fact that I took the idea from a real case in Connecticut; and that the story featured some strong acting by the Native-American guest stars and our regular cast; and that there were some powerfully emotional scenes, the audience wasn't much enamored of the Indian-rights storyline. I remember one letter from an irate woman in Iowa complaining that the Indians were "always trying to take our land away from us." It was scheduled to run six months, but to my everlasting regret and shame it was cut short by the network after only a couple of months.

PGP: How do you take a familiar story like Murder on the Orient Express and dramatize it into a video game?
LS: It isn't easy! With both the first game, And Then There Were None, and Murder on the Orient Express I was dealing with two of the most famous mysteries ever written. My goal all along was to follow the plots as closely as possible while still coming up with some surprises. To do that I convinced the owners of the license to Agatha Christie's work (including her grandson) to allow me to change the endings while still remaining true to the spirit of the books. The other challenge was to take stories that worked brilliantly as novels, but that contained very little physical activity and turn them into games where players had things they could do to hopefully solve the mysteries. A mystery story is somewhat easier than other types of stories because there is an obvious correlation between the puzzles a detective must unravel and the puzzles that face the player of a video game. But the difference in the two mediums still presents some extremely engaging challenges.

PGP: Did coming in to write a soap where the characters were already established with a long history help prepare you for this process, or are they totally different?
LS: Adapting a novel is similar to taking over the writing of a show where the characters are equally well-established. While I had more freedom with the stories on Edge I still had to remain true to the characters and how they would behave in the situations where I placed them. In both cases I must take on the role of a forger, much like the artists who paint pictures, then sell them as originals by more famous artists. If the experts can be fooled, both they and I have succeeded. One of the nicest compliments I received from a number of reviewers (even if they didn't realize it was a compliment!) was that they all stated that most of the dialogue was taken directly from the books. In actual fact no more than ten percent was original dialogue. The rest was either rewritten or was entirely new. That they couldn't tell the difference I consider a success.

PGP: What are you working on now?
LS: I'm currently a professor at Indiana University teaching screenwriting and video game design. I'm completing the adaptation of a third Agatha Christie novel as a video game and am contracted to design and write two more after that. I'm also in the early stages of designing an online virtual world called Londontown, and consulting on three other virtual worlds in development. I'll be writing my next mystery novel this summer in Key West (one of my favorite places) where it is set. And soon after that my son and I will be collaborating on a screenplay. Busy, busy, busy!

To check out the mystery that The Edge of Night, check out The AOL/PGP Classic Soap Channel, today!
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: PETER NOONE (EX-THE FUNNY, LITTLE ENGLISH GUY WHO WAS PART OF THAT STORY WHERE BONNIE RAN AROUND A CASTLE; ATWT)

The Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival announces Herman’s Hermits with Peter Noone will be performing at the 2007 Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival on Saturday evening, Aug. 11. More here.

Friday, February 23, 2007

GL'S GREATEST MOMENT #28

Holly Norris was no saint. She was a bored, immature, eighteen year old girl who chased her crush, Roger Thorpe, to New York and lost her virginity to him. Then, when Roger was no longer interested in her, Holly went after the older, more respectable Dr. Ed Bauer. They had a drunken wedding in Las Vegas. When Ed wanted to annul the marriage, Holly lied and claimed they'd already consummated it.

However, Holly soon found being a middle-class doctor's wife and stepmother to little Freddie (who would grow up to be Rick) deadly dull (not to mention challenging; once, Holly took her stepson on a picnic and somehow managed to catch the kid on fire).

Bored once again, Holly seduced old flame Roger. When she became pregnant, Holly passed baby daughter Christina (who would grow up to be Blake; obviously, Ed wasn't very good at picking names his children actually liked) off as her husband's.

Springfield being Springfield, the truth eventually came out. Ed divorced Holly (though he would continue to care for Christina as if she were his own) and Holly married Roger.

Their marriage was doomed from the start. Roger's insane jealousy of Holly and Christina's continuing attachment to Ed (not to mention Holly's refusing to sleep with Roger once she decided that their union had been a mistake) drove him to, one day, rape his own wife!

Holly may have been no saint, but nothing, nothing she had ever done in her life warranted such an attack, and Holly bravely sued her husband for marital rape.

Was Roger's meltdown GL's Greatest Moment ever? Watch it on CBS.com and vote now!

THE YOUNG AND THE ALISON

Did you catch the new Alison Stewart, as played by Marnie Schulenburg, on yesterday's episode of The Young & The Restless?

Did it leave you wondering how Seattle by way of Oakdale's Ali knows Genoa City by way of L.A.'s Amber Moore?

Well, have no fear! All your questions will be answered as part of an unprecedented Y&R/ATWT/Internet crossover entitled L.A. Diaries.

Nine webisodes of this Internet-only
series will feature backstory of the two blondes' friendship.

"We are so excited to have this opportunity to introduce a character from ATWT on Y&R, and to enable the audience to see their history through the webisodes of L.A. Diaries," said Barbara Bloom, Sr. Vice President, Daytime Programs, CBS. "It's a wonderful chance for the fans of both shows to tune in and see some backstory on the characters, which is something we don't often get to do in daytime."

Alison will make her debut on ATWT on Wednesday, March 21.

ACTOR APPEARANCE: RON RAINES (ALAN; GL)

Ron Raines will appear in four separate 8:00 PM performances with the Sunshine Pops in Florida on:

March 12th and 14th at The Eissey Campus Theater in Palm Beach Gardens/Tickets: 561-278-7677

March 11th at Florida Atlantic University/Tickets: 800-564-9539

March 15th at the Broward Center in Ft. Lauderdale/Tickets: 954-462-0222

Come hear Alan sing a different tune!
GL CLASSIC MOMENT #27

Daytime, we are told over and over again, is a women's medium. The stories are driven by women, produced by women and viewed by women. Men are nothing more than pawns in fundamentally female stories (or so Y&R's Eric Braeden whines at every opportunity).

In 1992, Guiding Light decided to put that convention to the test, by penning an all-male episode centered around Hamp Speakes' bachelor party.

As an added bonus, the men in question were all actually men i.e. males over the age of 25, and not the pretty boys that daytime is also often accused of hiring at the expense of talented actors.

Was GL's toe-dip in the pool of pure testosterone their Greatest Moment ever? Take a gander at a clip on CBS.com and let us know!

Thursday, February 22, 2007


GL GREATEST MOMENT #26

Though they both grew up in Springfield, Rick Bauer and Phillip Spaulding didn't become friends until 1982, when rich boy Phillip transferred from Lincoln Prep to Springfield High School. Phillip's dad, Alan, gave Phillip a flashy sportscar and new buddy Rick promptly hopped behind the wheel for a joy-ride. When the cops stopped them for speeding, Phillip quickly switched places with Rick, who wasn't carrying his driver's license, and took the rap.

That summer, Phillip and Rick befriended a couple of new arrivals to Springfield. Spoiled rich girl Mindy Lewis, who instantly set her cap for Phillip, and shy, secretive Beth Raines, whom Rick favored. The happy quartet called themselves "The Four Musketeers," and even went to the Senior Prom together, where, even though they were there with other people, Phillip and Beth were named King & Queen.

Afterward, unable to stay away from each other, Phillip and Beth snuck away during Mindy's eighteenth birthday party, and declared their love. Unfortunately, Beth's vengeful stepfather, Bradley Raines, followed the teens and maliciously spilled the beans about Alan not being Phillip's biological father. Hurt to discover that Rick had known the truth about his parentage all along, Phillip struck back at his friend by telling Rick about his secret tryst with Beth.

But Phillip's Daddy issues soon took a backseat to Beth's. One night, the horrified teen was raped by her stepfather. To protect her, Phillip spirited Beth away to New York City. As Bradley pursued the lovebirds, it was Mindy and Rick to the rescue!

As soon as they found the runaway couple, that is...

Was the Four Musketeers' New York adventure GL's Greatest Moment ever? Watch a clip on CBS.com and vote!
ACTOR APPEARANCE: KIM ZIMMER (REVA; GL)

Guiding Light's #1 Diva, Kim Zimmer will participate in the Dishing With A Diva luncheon at the 2nd Annual Junior League of Monmouth County Spring Market on Saturday, March 3.

The event will take place at The Sheraton, located on Rte. 35 in Eatontown, NJ. For more information, please visit
www.jlmc.org .

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: TERRENCE MANN

Not only is he a Broadway veteran of such productions as Cats, Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables, but Terrence Mann also holds the distinction of having played two seperate roles on As The World Turns.

In 1987, he was Jester. According to Mann, "He was this bad guy who murdered people. I think I ended up being dumped in acid or something. And I got an Emmy nomination for it! It was the first year they did the guest star nominations. I had such a great time with the ATWT folks, I just had a ball and loved everybody and they were nice enough to nominate me. It was pretty amazing. To be voted amongst your peers, to be singled out, it was awfully nice of them to do that."

Then, in 2003, he was Newman, the lawyer who defended Marshall Travers against Jessica's sexual assault charges.

Of his time on soaps, Mann recalled, "Daytime actors are just the hardest working actors. It’s relentless and it’s forever, and I am just so impressed and in awe of these folks that walk in there and turn 40 pages of dialogue, within three hours, into a person. Whether it’s good writing or bad writing, it doesn’t seem to matter, these guys make it really palatable. They’re available and they’re just good. I can’t believe how fast they do it. These are 14-hour days and they live their lives like that four, five times a week. Walking into this running machine, it’s like jumping on a speeding train and you hold on for dear life. You have got to find your little track and learn. Of course, everybody is so nice to you, they take you along and they help you out. Over the years, I’ve learned what the environment is and what you’ve got to do when you get there. First, you find your dressing room, although what you really want to do is go back to sleep because you’re there at five o’clock in the morning. And that’s another thing. When you’re on a nighttime schedule like I am (ed. note: Mann was appearing on Broadway in Les Mis while doing ATWT) -- I’m up till one or two o’clock in the morning -- and then to get up at five AM to go do the show, you start to see things. I see dead people."

In addition to his two jobs, back in 2003, Mann was also getting ready to become a dad -- twice! He and wife Charlotte D'Amboise adopted a baby girl from China in May, then, in June, Charlotte gave birth to their second daughter.

Said Mann, "For the three weeks I was doing both shows, I was in a daze. I just didn’t know what the heck was going on. I almost started to do my (ATWT) summation speech in the middle of Les Mis! But, then, I was thinking, I’m doing this for three weeks and literally working on three hours of sleep, seven days a week, so I’m ready for baby-land. Everybody tells me you’re just tired all the time. Right?"

Fortuntately for theater and daytime fans (not to mention his wife and daughters), Mann survived his hectic schedule.

Where is he now? Check out North Carolina's Smokey Mountain News and find out!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007


WE KNEW HER "WEN"

An article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin recalling two Asian film stars of the 1920s and 30s also makes mention of present day actress Ming Na:

Contemporary films suggest that Asian Americans still have a long way to go in achieving cultural parity in the West. The most prominent "blind" casting of an Asian-American woman went to Ming-Na Wen as Wesley Snipes' wife in 1997's "One Night Stand..."

Of course, soap fans knew Ming-Na long before she appeared in The Joy Luck Club or did the voice of Mulan. From 1988 to 1991, she co-starred on As The World Turns in the role of Tom Hughes' Vietnamese daughter, Lien.

Lien was part of Oakdale's teen scene, becoming friends with Paul Ryan (Andrew Kavovit) and Andy Dixon (Scott DeFreitas).

Lien eventually left town to attend law school, only to return in the form of Mulan's singing voice, Broadway star Lea Salonga.

For more on Ming-Na, visit her official website, here.

GL CLASSIC MOMENT #25

Harley Cooper (Beth Ehlers) grew up believing that her father, Buzz, died in Vietnam shortly after she was born.

Wrong!

Turns out Harley Cooper's father, Buzz, did go to Vietnam before she was born. We even learned later that he returned to Springfield long enough to become embroiled, along with Billy, Josh and Ed, in a young woman's murder.

But rather than coming home to wife Nadine and kids Frank and Harley, Buzz simply went AWOL and disappeared. He married another woman and fathered a daughter named Lucy. Nadine, to spare her kids, told them Daddy was a war hero. A dead war hero.

Which is why, when Harley, along with boyfriend Mallet (then-Mark Derwin), went to Washington D.C. she was crushed not to see her father's name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, alongside the actual war heroes.

Was Harley's tear-jerking discovery GL's Greatest Moment ever? Check it out on CBS.com!
ROBERT ROCKS!

Robert Newman (Josh; GL) will perform in the 6 th Annual Benefit Concert, Broadway Sings for Jenna’s Dream, Saturday, March 10 at 8:00 PM.

The performance will take place at the Yorktown Stage, located at the Yorktown Community Cultural Center, 1940 Commerce Street in Yorktown Heights, New York.

For tickets and information please call (914) 962-0606 or visit
www.yorkstage.org . For more information about the charity, please visit www.jennasdream.org .

Tuesday, February 20, 2007


MISCASTING FOR CHARITY

Want to see 30 Rock star Jane Krakowski in her natural habitat, singing Broadway show tunes?

Then you might want to attend Miscast 2007 on March 12, 2007 in New York City at The Hammerstein Ballroom, Manhattan Center Studios, located at 311 West 34th Street (between 8th and 9th Ave.). Miscast features Broadway performers singing popular Broadway show tunes — but for roles in which they would never be cast.

Tickets range from $350-$2,500. Tables of ten are available for $7,500-$25,000.

A bit out of your price range? Never fear! You can check a fourteen year old Jane out for free as part of the AOL/PGP Classic Soaps Channel's broadcast of vintage Search for Tomorrow episodes!

Jane plays spunky orphan T.R. who is desperate for foster mom Liza to adopt her before the truth comes out -- T.R. is really evil Lloyd's long-lost daughter, Rebecca. The truth coming out hinges on a ring T.R.'s had since childhood, which is currently lost and floating around Henderson....

IN FASHION

According to The Harvard Crimson (don't those students have more important things to worry about?), there are THREE TIPS FOR ENJOYING FASHION WEEK:

2) Don’t let the bouncers deter you. You are a deserving person in your own right, even if you were never on “As the World Turns."

Now, because I tend to overthink things, I wondered if the ATWT reference is in any way connected to Tip #1, which was: Even though people are pressing drinks into your hand like you are Lindsay Lohan during a particularly rough night at Hyde, try not to drink them. They are made for seasoned alcoholics and not for people that throw up after one beer.

If that is the case then, "Psst... Harvard geniuses... Lindsay Lohan appeared on Another World, not As The World Turns..."
EMMY, EMMY, WHO WANTS AN EMMY?

TV Week handicaps potential Emmy nominees, here. Check it out and let us know who you think has a shot, below.

GL CLASSIC MOMENT #24

Who doesn't love a royal wedding? (After all, look how well everything turned out for Charles and Diana?)

Guiding Light's Cassie (Laura Wright) and Richard Winslow (Bradley Cole) went through a royal mess of trials and tribulations (including, at one point, answering to the names Dwayne and Stella) to get to the altar.

Initially, Cassie only agreed to marry Richard to solve her money problems so she could stop stripping, and Richard was simply interested in a womb to produce him an heir. (Apparently, all the acceptable women of San Cristobel had been stricken barren by the same disease that got the girls in Children of Men and The Handmaiden's Tale. What other reason could there be for a Prince to be so hard-up that he'd need to practically blackmail a stripper into marrying him?)

They eventually fell in love for real, of course, and, after standing up to Cassie's kidnapper of an ex-husband and Richard's blackmailing weasel of a brother, the pair, at long last, wed.

Was Richard and Cassie Winslow's royal wedding GL's Greatest Moment ever? Watch it on CBS.com and let us know what you think!

Monday, February 19, 2007




ATWT: SAME TIME, LAST YEAR

And the year before that, and the year before that....

While actress Maura West is on maternity leave following the birth of her fourth child, Carly is off the Oakdale canvas, having run off with sexy con-man Simon.

Naturally, whenever Carly disappears (be it to Hong Kong or a spa that prematurely ages her, i.e. Maura's previous maternity leaves), the fans miss her.

So, to fill the gap, we're going to take a photographic look back at where Carly was exactly one year ago. And the year before that. And the year before that.

PHOTO #1: In February of 2004, Jack (Michael Park) and Carly were temporarily happy. They'd remarried that summer, and were raising Parker and newborn Sage, who, as frosting on the cake, turned out to be Jack's child, after all.

PHOTO #2: In February 2005, however, after a year during which Jack had been presumed dead, developed amnesia, and returned to Oakdale with a "wife" and "son" he'd picked up along the way, Jack and Carly were reunited, but she, Lily (Martha Byrne) and Luke (then-Jake Weary) were too busy wondering who'd killed Jack's ex-"wife," who had since moved on to Holden.

PHOTO #3 February 2006 saw Jack and Carly still together, but him on suspension from the police force thanks to his covering up one of Carly's many, many misdeeds. Carly, hoping to help Jack get his job back, went undercover as cocktail waitress in an attempt to solve a case -- and make Nick (Jordan Wolley), the cop who'd replaced Jack at the Oakdale PD, look bad. Suffice it to say, it did not go well.

Carly and Jack split again over her lies, which led to her eventually hooking up with Simon, which led to her current exit.

Will Carly and Jack reunite once she returns to town this Spring?

There are no guarantees in life, of course. But looking at their track record above, well, who really would bet against them?

GL CLASSIC MOMENT #23

In 1984, Josh Lewis was feeling disheartened by the arduous physical therapy he needed to undergo after a car accident (triggered by learning that Reva, the love of his life, had married his... dad?) left him paralyzed from the waist down.

At the same time, beloved Springfield matriarch Bert was dealing with her own recovery after having her leg amputated.

Seeing the young man's despair, Bert offered Josh one of her trademark pep talks.

Was Bert's encouragement GL's Great Moment ever? Watch it on CBS.com and vote!

In real life, actress Charita Bauer had undergone the same amputation and also faced the crises with an indomitable spirit.

"I have nothing to be bitter about," she proclaimed. "My foot's gone. But I'm still here."

GL CLASSIC MOMENT #22

What better way to celebrate President's Day than by exercising your all-American right to vote?

GL Classic Moment candidate #22 is Reva driving suicidally off a bridge in the Florida Keys while suffering from postpartum depression following the birth of her third child and second son, Shayne.

Was this, the first of several presumed Reva deaths (while gone, she managed to become princess of St. Cristobel, give birth to Jonathan, go Amish and even haunt Josh as a ghost while he prepared to wed Annie), GL at its best?

Watch on CBS. com and vote today! (George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would want you to...)

Friday, February 16, 2007


GL CLASSIC MOMENT #21

Eleni Andros (Melina Kanakaredes) was a gift. Not because of her sweet personality, pretty face and fantastic hair but, literally, a gift.

Frank Cooper's Uncle Stavros brought the young woman from Greece in 1991 as an actual gift for his nephew.

Frank (Frank Dicopoulos), being an ethnocentric American with no respect for the traditions of others (diversity, after all, can have many faces), wasn't thrilled by the idea of an arranged marriage and tried to return Uncle Stavros' present to where it/she came from.

But if Frank didn't want Eleni, Alan-Michael, at least, knew a good thing when he saw it. Of course, once Alan-Michael set his sights on Eleni, Frank wanted her, as well. But Eleni, who in actuality preferred Frank, thought he was dating Blake, and so encouraged Alan-Michael.

And by encouraged, I mean married him. (There was an immigration issue, and meeting a woman who claimed to be sleeping with Frank -- engineered by Alan-Michael, of course).

Frank found out about the set-up that cost him his love, but decided not to tell Eleni. She found out anyway and made love to Frank. Several times. In America and in Greece.

Eleni decided to leave her husband, but then discovered she was pregnant. Believing the baby to be Alan-Michael's and fearing losing it to the Spauldings, Eleni decided to break off with Frank.

However, eventually learning that the baby was Frank's convinced Alan-Michael to let Eleni go and she and Frank prepared to wed.

Frank didn't have the money for the wedding of Eleni's dreams, but a mysterious donor -- actually, Frank's long-lost dad, Buzz, who was hiding out in Springfield under an assumed name and with a new face -- supplied funds for the happy couple to have a wonderful, community nuptials on 5th Street.

Was this marriage of Beauty and the Greek Guiding Light's greatest moment? Watch it on CBS.com and vote today!

P.S. The baby Eleni was carrying -- born soon after she and Frank took their vows -- was none other than Marina, who went on to date Alan-Michael, herself. What can I say, guess the youngest Spaulding son really loves those Andros women....

Thursday, February 15, 2007

THE YOUNG AND THE P AND THE G

According to yesterday's Variety:

It's also not surprising that "General Hospital," a favorite of college women since the heyday of Luke and Laura in the 1980s, would see a ratings spike. But it was something of a nice surprise for CBS that two of the oldest-skewing soaps, "Guiding Light" and "As the World Turns," could also benefit from the Nielsen methodology change.

To read the whole story, click here.

ATWT PHOTO SPOILER: ALL WET

Either Craig (Jeff Meek) is way overdressed or Meg (Marie Wilson) is way underdressed for whatever plans the other has in mind.

Which one will come out on top?

Tune into As The World Turns President's Day week and find out!
GL CLASSIC MOMENT #20

Of all the questions Guiding Light fans have about their show's history, the one that comes up most often is inevitably: So, who are Phillip Spaulding's parents again and how did the poor boy end up so confused?

Alright -- here we go. Pay close attention.

Once upon a time, away from Springfield and off-camera, lived two couples: The very wealthy Alan and Elizabeth Spaulding, and the upper-middle class Justin and Jackie Marler. (Or, as The New York Times would have dubbed them, the Rich and the Super-Rich).

Alan and Elizabeth were not particularly happily married, since he cheated on her quite regularly, but they were expecting a baby, and both were rather happy about that.

Justin and Jackie were no happier, since he'd only married her to kiss up to her father, his medical mentor, and was also cheating on Jackie. On their honeymoon, no less. (Years later, when the Marlers loved taking the moral high-ground over Alan, it would have been nice if Justin had been a bit more regularly reminded of his own marital escapades).

When Jackie discovered Justin's infidelity -- by walking in on it -- she promptly filed for divorce. Only to learn that she was pregnant. She moved to Amsterdam, gave birth to a baby boy and surrendered him for adoption.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Spaulding gave birth to a stillborn child. Alan, afraid of what the news might do to the fragile Elizabeth, paid his wife's doctor to pass Jackie's baby off as her own. The doctor then told Jackie that her son had been adopted by the Spauldings. Jackie didn't object. (Another fact that should have been brought up years later, when the official version of Phillip's adoption was revised by the people of Springfield to suggest that Alan had stolen Phillip from an unwilling Jackie. Alan may have adopted his son illegally, but he is hardly a kidnapper. Well, he wasn't one then. Sarah is a different story).

Years passed. In 1977, Alan, Elizabeth and five year old Phillip moved to Springfield. Justin and Jackie -- still divorced -- were already there, as well.

Elizabeth soon fell in love with the much more upstanding Mike Bauer and divorced Alan. Meanwhile, Justin -- who had become Phillip's doctor -- was falling in love with Elizabeth, as Jackie, to be close to her son, married Alan! (Got all that?)

Unfortunately for Elizabeth, Phillip didn't like Mike -- he preferred Dr. Justin. Because her son had a congenital heart condition that conveniently flared up whenever Mike was around, Elizabeth went ahead and married Justin. (Another point of defense for Alan -- he was hardly the only one who catered to his son's every whim).

So now Phillip's two biological parents were married to his two adoptive parents. But the story wasn't even close to being over yet.

Jackie and Alan divorced and Elizabeth slept with Mike while married to Justin.

Jackie finally told Justin that they were Phillip's birth parents, but the stress of keeping the secret from wife Elizabeth tore apart Justin and Elizabeth's marriage. Then, Jackie and Justin remarried and Elizabeth learned the truth about her relationship to Phillip. Though crushed, she graciously offered to help Jackie and Justin get custody of Phillip away from Alan.

Alan, outnumbered, gave up the fight, leaving Phillip to believe that the father he worshipped had abandoned him.

In 1982, Jackie died in a plane crash and a now high-school age Phillip returned from boarding school, where his two dads, Justin and Alan clashed over how he should be raised.

As more and more people -- including Phillip's best friend, Rick, and Beth's stepfather, Bradley -- learned the truth about Phillip's parentage, Alan and Justin decided to tell "their" son everything.

Unfortunately, Bradley got there first, setting the scene for a dramatic, Phillip Has Two Daddies confrontation at the Springfield Country Club.

Was Phillip's discovery of his parentage GL's Greatest Moment ever? Watch it at CBS.com and vote now!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007


GL CLASSIC MOMENT #19

Before they were stalwart members of the Springfield community lecturing others on how to live their lives, Ross (Jerry ver Dorn) and Vanessa (Maeve Kinkead) were... well... bad people.

Ross romanced a vulnerable Amanda Spaulding hoping to use her money to launch a political career, slung some serious mud while defending Roger Thorpe at his marital rape trial, and cheated on Eve, a woman he actually did love, with his old flame, Vanessa.

Vanessa, meanwhile, blackmailed her illigitimate half-brother, spread false rumors about other people's romantic lives, and schemed to win an uninterested Ross back by any means neccessary -- including faking a suicide attempt, and showing up at his apartment wearing nothing but a fur coat and heels.

Was Vanessa's chilly seduction GL's Greatest Moment Ever? Watch it on CBS.com and vote!

And, as you're watching, keep in mind Ross and Vanessa's respective pasts. It makes sense now, doesn't it, how their long lost daughter, Dinah, was able to come to town a sweet innocent (Jennifer Gatti, pictured above), but eventually morph into hell on wheels. Blood will tell, after all...





LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

Valentine's Day means candy, flowers, jewelry... and weddings.

Please enjoy our look back at some of Oakdale's most recent blessed occasions...

PHOTO #1: Katie (Terri Colombino) and Mike (Mark Collier) wed on May 5, 2006 after overcoming obstacles ranging from her ex-husband, Simon, dying and returning from the dead, several psycho stalkers, and Katie's fundamental inability to make up her mind between the two men in her life.
Status as of Valentine's Day 2007: Mike has left Katie. Due to her fundamental inability to make up her mind between the two men in her life.

PHOTO #2: Dusty (Grayson McCouch) marries Jennifer (Jennifer Ferrin) on her deathbed. (July 5, 2006)
Status as of Valentine's Day 2007: She wasn't kidding. She died.

PHOTO #3: Lily (Martha Byrne) and Holden (Jon Hensley) wed for the third time. (January 13, 2005)
Status as of Valentine's Day 2007: Still together and raising four (getting difficult) kids.

PHOTO #4: Teens Gwen (Jennifer Landon) and Will (Jesse Lee Soffer) ran off to get married and prove their maturity on March 6, 2006. Because nothing screams maturity like going off half-cocked to do something imulsive -- and borderline illegal.
Status as of Valentine's Day 2007: Less than a month short of celebrating their first anniversary, Gwen and Will have already split up due to his cheating on her (and on his finals), and gotten back together. But then her mother and his brother came to town....

PHOTO #5: Rosanna (Cady McClain) and Craig (Hunt Block) wed on April 27, 2003. Craig's daughter, Lucy, got out of her wheelchair to celebrate the occasion.
Status as of Valentine's Day 2007: Rosanna is in a coma courtesy of an accident Craig (partially) caused. It's okay. There were separated by then, anyway.

GL'S ALL-YEAR CELEBRATION CONTINUES!

Newsday, Detroit News, Akron Beacon, The Sun Herald, and Rocky Mountain News honor Guiding Light's 70th Anniversary!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007


GL CLASSIC MOMENT #18

Most couples dealing with infertility merely have to wrestle with commonplace difficulties such as hormone injections, invasive surgical procedures, waffling surrogates and infernal waiting.

Edmund (David Andrew Macdonald)and Cassie Winslow had the unique problem of the woman (Gina Tognoni) who'd killed the father of Cassie's previous child then attempted to take over her life and impersonate her in public, carrying their child.

Cassie and Edmund were initially going to go through in-vitro fertilization in their attempt to have a baby. But, on the night the embryos were ripe for implantation, Cassie left Edmund. At the fertility clinic, Dinah (i.e. the identity-assuming killer above) offered to carry their baby for Edmund and Cassie. She claimed she was doing it in penance for everything she'd taken from Cassie over the years. Edmund, thinking a baby would surely bring his wife running back to him, actually bought her claims and allowed the procedure.

As these things are wont to go, Dinah fell in love with Edmund (I'm sure the fact that he was still obsessed with Cassie had nothing to do with her ardor), and used the unborn baby to manipulate him -- despite having suffered a secret miscarriage earlier.

Was Edmund finding out that Dinah is no longer pregnant GL's Greatest Moment ever? View it at CBS.com and vote!


GL: PHOTO SPOILER

Presenting: Mr. and Mrs. Alan Spaulding!

If that's not the look of love on their faces, then what is? ;)

Meanwhile, check out the look on the previous Mrs. Spaulding's face. Does that frown suggest she's going to let this marriage last past the reception stage?

Tune into Guiding Light this week and find out!

ATWT: PHOTO SPOILER

Does Paul (Roger Howarth) now plan to speak softly and carry a big stick?

(And whom, exactly, does he plan to use it on? Any guesses? Put them in the Comments section below.)

Tune in to As The World Turns President's Day week to find out!
GL CLASSIC MOMENT #17

(We are skipping #16: Jonathan carries Tammy out of the church, due to it being a recent clip and not requiring background).

Now back on the canvas as a drug addled teen with some... questionable... choices in male company, Daisy a.k.a. Susan Lemay was once a cute and cuddly baby that a teen Harley gave up for adoption.

For an-depth history of Daisy's heritage click here and here.

And to vote for Harley giving Daisy up for adoption as GL's Greatest Moment go to CBS.com!

Monday, February 12, 2007


GL CLASSIC MOMENT #15

Alan-Michael Spaulding's parents were Guiding Light's own Beauty and the Beast, Hope and Alan Spaulding.

Such a mixed marriage, predictably, didn't last long, and Hope left town with a toddler Alan-Michael in 1983.

Four years later, in 1987, Alan-Michael's Great-Uncle Ed got quite a surprise during his 4th of July barbecue -- Alan-Michael (Carl T. Evans) dropping in by parachute!

To the viewers, however, the bigger surprise was that, instead of a second grader, this Bauer/Spaulding hybrid was now a handsome teen who, within two years, would be marrying -- and divorcing -- his first wife, Harley Cooper.

Was Alan-Michael's unexpected arrival GL's Greatest Moment? Watch it on CBS.com and vote!

WORLD WINS!

As The World Turns won the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award this weekend for best Daytime Serial.

Here is a recap of which episodes they submitted.

"It's particularly validating to win the WGA Award," said ATWT Headwriter Jean Passanante. "We all know that writers are the toughest judges of each other's work, and so we are very gratified to know we must be doing something right!"
GL'S GREATEST MOMENT #14

In May of 1984, Nola Reardon Chamberlain (Lisa Brown) gave birth to a son -- and didn't know what to name him.

Naming babies had always been a problem for Nola. (Apparently, it was genetic; her mother, Bea, also agonized whether to name her daughter Nora or Nola before going with the less conventional choice).

Nola's first child, a daughter, was initially named Kelly Louise, after Kelly Nelson, the man Nola tried to con into believing he was the father. Once Nola got over her obsession with Kelly, she changed the little girl's name to Anastasia, after a favorite Ingrid Bergman movie, obviously unconcerned about any identity crisis this might cause for the tyke. Anastasia was then shortened to Stacey.

With her son, Nola narrowed the choices down to three names: Quinton Jr. after his father (this time, Nola identified the right man from the start, she was even married to him -- a rarity in the soap world), Thomas Henry (after her father and Quint's; she probably could have reversed the order, but then he'd be the kid from E.T.) and Anthony James (after two of Nola's brothers).

To help settle the matter, Nola spun a Technicolor Wizard of Oz fantasy, with herself as Dorothy, going to the wizard (also Nola) for a name. The final choice, however, was up to GL's viewers, who voted by phone to name the baby. (Late last year, DOOL put out a press release trumpeting a viewer poll to name Bo and Hope's baby as a history making interactive first. Uh-ha).

Guiding Light fans chose to name Nola and Quint's son Anthony James. In another soap staple, the tot was promptly dubbed A.J.

In 1996, when a now teen A.J. returned to Springfield from where he'd been living with his parents off-camera, he'd lost an entire initial and was now simply referred to as J, proving, once again, that consistency in naming was not Nola's forte. (In a fun fact, Lisa Brown's real-life son is named James Anthony, but he's always been called Buddy... life, as they say, does imitate art).

Was Nola's Wizard of Oz fantasy GL's Greatest Moment? Tune into CBS.com and vote!

Friday, February 09, 2007


GL'S GREATEST MOMENT #13

Reva Shayne always knew she had one sister, Roxie. (She may not mention her much or visit her in the mental institution, but Reva knows about her). Then her mother, Sarah's, death led to the discovery of another sister, one Sarah had given birth to in secret and relinquished for adoption.

At first, a twisted Annie conned Reva into thinking she was the long-long sibling (it was part of Annie's plot to hold on to Josh). But then the truth finally came out.

Was Reva and Cassie learning they were sisters GL's Greatest Moment? Watch it at CBS.com!

IS IT HOT IN HERE OR...

As freezing temperatures blanket most of the Midwest (overnight, temperatures dipped as low as 15 below in Freeport, in the northwest part of Illinois, and reached minus 10 at O'Hare International Airport; With the wind, it felt more like minus 30 in Chicago), ATWT's Henry (Trent Dawson) once again proves himself to be the most sensible person in Oakdale, Illinois by wearing a coat.

Even while standing in the Snyder kitchen.

Katie (Terri Colombino) and Vienna (Ewa daCruz) are obviously counting on their natural hotness to stay warm.

Tune in the week of February 19 to As The World Turns and see who Katie tries to leave out in the cold -- only to be rewarded with a taste of her own medicine (it's not quite The Endicott Awards, but Katie does get taken down a peg or two....)

JORDAN'S JOURNEY

Jordan Clarke (Billy) talks about the cast's mission of mercy in Biloxi, and the special Guiding Light episode that came from it, to Yardley News.

GL'S GREATEST MOMENT #12

Holly and Fletcher Reade had both survived difficult parenting experiences prior to conceiving their daughter, Meg.

Though the happy adoptive father of a son, Ben, Fletcher had resisted having another biological child after watching his daughter, Rebecca, die in front of his eyes as a result of a street explosion in Beirut.

Holly, for her part, had tried to raise Blake, the definition of a difficult child and one who Holly, in a burst of anger, once admitted she'd never loved. (They'd reconciled since that incident, but the scars were still there).

So both parents-to-be had high hopes for doing the parenting thing right this time around. But, then, at the midpoint of Holly's pregnancy, came some shattering news...

Was Holly and Fletcher learning their baby had Down's Syndrome GL's Greatest Moment? Watch it at CBS.com and vote now!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

ALI, ALI HOME FREE!

Marnie Schulenberg has joined the cast of As The World Turns as a recast Alison Stewart (formerly played by Jessica Dunphy).

When last ATWT viewers saw Alison, she was headed to Seattle to join boyfriend Aaron (Agim Kaba), who was taking care of his dying mother.

Of course, Alison being Alison, it's doubtful she would have found a bedside vigil entertaining for long (this is the girl who let little Will take the rap for a barn she burned down) -- especially when Aaron's mother went ahead and recovered.
To find out what trouble Alison managed to get herself into since then, tune into The Young and the Restless on Thursday, February 22.

Yup, that's right, The Young and the Restless. Alison will make an appearance in Genoa City prior to coming home to Oakdale,
mom Susan, and sister/mom Emily, on Wednesday, March 21.

GL CLASSIC MOMENT #11

Reva and Josh's first wedding.

Reva and Josh.

What can anyone really say about it -- and them -- that hasn't been said before?

They are destined to be together Always. The only part that's up for debate is whether that means as lovers, spouses, parents, friends or enemies.

Was their Cross Creek wedding GL's Greatest Moment ever? View it on CBS.com and vote!

STILL RICH!

Those mourning the February 18 end of CW's most watched sitcom, Reba, can still catch co-star Christopher Rich (Brock), albeit in a much younger form.

From 1981 to 1985, Rich played Alexander "Sandy" Cory on Another World. Sandy arrived in Bay City looking for his long lost father, Mac. And though he was warmly welcomed into the family, Sandy still chose to keep a secret from his past. Namely how Sandy once supported himself while living the high life in Las Vegas.

Of course, daytime being daytime, Sandy's past didn't stay a secret for long.

To find out precisely what he was so ashamed about, tune into Another World on the AOL/PGP Classic Soap Channel.

(Fun fact, while on AW, Rich married his co-star, Nancy Fragione, who played Sandy's ex-wife. They have since divorced.)