June 3, 2008
So I'm gearing up for summer television viewing. Of course, the soaps have no repeats — it's all new, all the time. So my soap viewing is taken care of. As I cover OLTL, which has been terrific lately, I have the returns of Marty, Tina, Carlo and Cain to look forward to. Plus the 40th anniversary of the show, which I've heard is going to be very special.

I am also waiting patiently for the return of MAD MEN. Expect much blogging from me as the first airdate (sometime in July) grows closer.

Now my close friends (might I consider readers of this blog friends? Hmmm. I think so) know that I am a new baseball fan. I have just recently begun to follow the New York Mets. People who know me well have a hard time when they hear me say "I watched the game last night" or "I read in the sports pages...." Frankly, I was stunned the first time I turned to a sports radio station in my car. But it's all about change, isn't it? As I find my conversion to summer sports amusing, I will take this opportunity to share it with you all. My boyfriend is a diehard Mets fan. I often have to remind him that he doesn't own the team, he doesn't lose money if they don't do well, so he need not become a crabapple if they lose. Often when we watched the games (and it's all about togetherness), I would doze off or half listen. I didn't care about the sport, but I did enjoy the camaraderie of SNY commentators Gary Cohen (Gar), Ron Darling (Ronnie) and Keith Hernandez. You could tell how much they enjoyed working together and how much they love the sport. They charmed me. That said, I would sometimes have the television on while I would play Peggle, a highly addictive computer game. I would sometimes have the Mets on so I could report the score if my boyfriend called in. That was last year. Then I shareed with him/them the horror of the Mets collapse last September. (No further discussion of that needed.) Then Gar, Ronnie and Keith disappeared. I missed them. I missed their chatter. What did they do doing the off-season, I wondered. Did they hang out? Play golf? Do commercials for Hair Club for Men or Sovereign bank? Where were they? WHERE?

Then they returned this spring and for some reason I started to watch the games, and I mean watch. No reading a magazine while watching. Or cleaning out my purse while watching. I was watching. Now I rush home for the pre-game show. I listen to the analysis. I know what they are talking about. I stayed up last night to watch the Giant/Mets game from San Francisco. I can name the players. I watch their averages go up and down. (However, I don't have them memorized.) After every viewing I learn something new about the intricacies of the game. And of course, there is something very soap opera-like about the sport. Will so-and-so get traded? Or, horrors of horrors, be "sent down"? Will Willie keep his job? What, for example, happens in that clubhouse? When a cluster of players meet at the pitcher's mound, what do they talk about? Why must there be so much spitting? When they lose a game, what is said in that clubhouse? I understand there's a chef there. And how do I get a tour of that mysterious clubhouse anyway?

Thanks for reading. Keep watching whatever you want to watch, and stay in touch! And Gar, Ronnie and Keith: Thanks for everything.

May 27, 2008
Just finished watching OLTL, my show, my favorite soap. I'm watching GH out of the corner of my eye, but my concentration is often disturbed by some of these reality shows that are coming up this summer. Okay, I'm not a big reality fan, though I do watch DANCING WITH THE STARS. But I have to ask — who thinks up these ideas? There appears to be one, appropriately called WIPEOUT, that is all about people falling into the water or, worse, mud. There are also some others with such enticing names as WANNA BET and OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS.

I'll just wait for the return of MAD MEN.

May 19, 2008
You know, I've known about what would happen at Rex and Adriana's wedding for weeks. I've seen the pictures. I've spoken to the actors. But as I watched it play out on today's ONE LIFE TO LIVE, it was still great. It was such a fabulous soap wedding on so many levels. And if the wedding wasn't great enough, there were the other two stories — David running around the Buchanan mansion in Clint's robe and Starr and Cole being rushed to the hospital —. that were perfect. PERFECT.

P.S. Todd remains the biggest jerk currently on daytime.

May 12, 2008
Well, hello dear readers. I'm quite tempted to just write about Tuc Watkins' David for the duration of his stint on OLTL — which I hope is FOREVER! How someone can look adorable in a hairnet and a dirty apron is beyond me, but Watkins manages to do it. David spouted off a few choice David-isms, which of course then triggered my resentment that he didn't get an Emmy nomination. But I'm trying to let that go. Let that go.... Deep breathes. Okay. I'm fine now.

Changing the subject now. I don't know how many people who are reading this blog watched AMC's (American Movie Classics not All My Children) MAD MEN last summer, but if you didn't, Season 2 starts in July. AMC has been rebroadcasting episodes after BREAKING BAD on Sunday nights, but I'm sure they will be doing marathons before season 2 starts. Also, the boxed set of DVDs should be out next month. MAD MEN was about 13 hours worth of the best television I've ever seen and I have seen a lot of television. (Not that I'm sharing my age, but MAD MEN is right up there with the British mini-series BRIDESHEAD REVISITED which came out in, gulp, 1981.) I insist you watch MAD MEN right now.

May 5, 2008
Well, as I made clear in my previous posting, I was hoping for lots of OLTL nominations in the acting categories. They got one — a well deserved nod to Brian Kerwin (Charlie). However, in my most humble opinion, Kristen Alderson (Starr), Robert Woods (Bo) and Robin Strasser (Dorian) were robbed. I was thrilled to see that so many behind the scenes people WERE nominated. I talk to costume designer Susan Gammie on a regular basis for style stories in Soap Opera Weekly so I was very happy that she and her team got a nomination. The music team headed by Paul Glass also got some nominations. In fact, three of their original songs for Prom Night: The Musical were nominated, so that also made me glad.

On another note, today being May 5 starts the week where OLTL fans will be treated to the return of Tuc Watkins as David Vickers. I've only met Tuc once at a fan club luncheon but he was totally delightful. I think his ears must burn a lot because whenever I talk to someone at OLTL, they just rave about working with him, about having him back. He's much beloved. When I was at OLTL on Friday, April 25 to see a screening of Snoop Dogg's appearance (that will airs May 8 and 9), I saw him rush by. I overheard various actors saying things like "Well, that made my day, I got a hug from Tuc." Or, it's happy time Tuc is back."

That kind of stuff makes me happy. Okay, I'm a dork. But today, a happy one.

April 29, 2008
It's the day before the Emmy nominations and I am getting nervous. You'd think I was an executive producer, because I care that much. Let me share a little something: when you cover a show, it becomes the home team you are rooting for. You want it to do well, you want it to win and you want it to get many nominations. I cover ONE LIFE TO LIVE, and it's been a joy watching it get better and better. I've covered it for a number of years, so I've had the privilege of getting to know many of the actors and the behind-the-scenes people. So of course, I'm hoping for lots of nominations. Last year was a disappointment; I can't imagine how the cast and crew felt if I felt down.

So once again, it's that time. I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

On another topic, I got my issue of TV Guide last night. The cover story was the sexiest people on television with Patrick Dempsey on the cover. (Good choice.) However, as I flipped through the pages I became more and more frustrated to see not ONE DAYTIME ACTOR OR ACTRESS. Hello!!!! Are the soaps not also on TELEVISION? Are the actors not also gorgeous? I was extremely disappointed — no, make that angry — at TV Guide. I would have ripped it up had Jon Hamm, the most dreamy of dreamy Don Draper on MAD MEN, not made the issue. Fortunately, he did.

More later, folks. Pray for OLTL.

April 22, 2008
I was sick yesterday, so ill I actually stayed home. So ill that I didn't have the strength to watch the soaps as they aired. The remote control was too heavy to lift. Oh poor me.

I caught up on yesterday's OLTL episode this morning, where Cole found Starr at the abortion clinic. OLTL has been handling this whole teen pregnancy story very nicely and sensitively. Of course, I wish Starr wasn't pregnant to begin with but the writers over there don't consult with me. But here's the thing. How far is that distance between Llanview and Atlantic City? On Friday's episode it took Cole at least half the show to get to AC, but it took Starr about 1 minute to make it back to the diner so Langston wouldn't have to pretend to be Starr.

Cole should have been issued a speeding ticket.

April 14, 2008
Sometimes I'm just a mush. I want everyone on my show (OLTL) to be happy. I remind myself of my late father who used to love to yell at the television and tell the characters what to do. (Though I do talk to myself, I have yet to talk to the television. I'm sure it's just a matter of time.) So, I'm wanting ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Michael and Marcie to be able to adopt another baby. And speaking of babies, poor Sam formerly named Tommy. Hopefully he's yet to see any of the showdowns between Todd and Cole because if he has, well, Blair and Todd better start a Sam's therapy fund pronto. And what about Langston? Bet she wishes she still lived alone in her dead parent's house, that in the minefield that is La Boulaie.

Of course as much as I find Todd mean and despicable — and I do — there is that part of me that wonders what he's going to do when he finds out Starr is pregnant. That will be a can't miss day for sure.

Sorry, I'm rambling. And now GH is on. That feel good show where poor Elizabeth is weeping to Jason about their non-future and Jax and Carly are sitting by comatose Michael's bedside. Oh and I thought I saw Sonny holding a gun in the opening scenes.

It's the middle of April, and May sweeps is soon to be upon us. (So is beach season, but that's another blog entirely.) Hopefully, sweeps won't be all doom and gloom.

April 9, 2008
Okay, how many of you ONE LIFE TO LIVE fans are trying to figure out just who is in the upstairs bedroom of Ramsey's penthouse (formerly Todd's)? I haven't a clue, but let's think this through. Just who could that person be?

What we know:
She/he is bedridden and needs some sort of nursing care.
She/he is able to eat real food.
She/he can see. (The nurse/caretaker commented that the room had a nice view.)
She/he appears to be an adult. (This deduction comes from that fact that there are never any toys around.)

What we could venture to guess:

She's Tina: Andrea Evans is returning; perhaps Tina and Ramsey met somewhere and he's caring for her, because she has some soon-to-be revealed mysterious illness.

She's Caitlin: Ramsey has some connection with John's late fiancée. Did I say "late"? Did AMC's Jesse not return from the dead? I rest my case.

She's Marty: Ditto.

He's Asa: A stretch, understandably, but anything is possible.

March 20, 2008
Sometimes things get a little nutty when getting in touch with an actor is involved. Yesterday (March 19) I had to talk to OLTL's John Brotherton for a news story. I was told that he could talk at 8:20 a.m. because he and John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex) would be driving toward a golf course in New Jersey. Okay, I could do that. I get up early. No problem. But when I woke up, it was pouring rain. I checked the local weather reports and (as I expected) it was also pouring in New Jersey. Oh, what to do. Do I still call? What if they canceled their trip? Since John was obviously off, would my call wake him up? But I had to call him. I needed the quotes. So, when I arrived soaking wet to the office, I braced myself and dialed. (While I dialed, I prayed the mantra, please let it go to voice mail, please, I don't want to wake him up.) However, a cheery voice answered the phone. Despite the rain, they were driving in New Jersey hoping to find an open course. John was his usual charming self, gave me some fun quotes — it's always about the fun quotes — and then handed the phone to JP. JP was in desperate need of coffee. His plan if they couldn't go golfing? "We'll find a place to watch ONE LIFE at 2 o'clock."