September 19, 2008
I should have known something was up when Digest Editor Stephanie Sloane spotted Tamara Braun (ex-Carly, GH; ex-Ava, DAYS) in an intense catch-up session with new AMC chief scribe Charles Pratt, Jr. (who wrote for her when she was on GH) at the Daytime Emmys. Whether the idea was planted then or not, the news came today that Braun is joining the AMC ranks as the new gal pal of Eden Riegel's Bianca, who, it was also announced, is returning to the show in October for an undisclosed length of time. Whew! I for one am greatly looking forward to having Binks back on the canvas, and am encouraged by the notion of her having a full-fledged love interest, an all-too-rare occurrence in the history of this beloved character. (I wonder if we'll find out what happened to Zoe/Zarf?) The jury may still be out on the new, Pratt-infused AMC, but I'll always salute a writer who seeks to bring back fan favorites.

September 3, 2008
Okay, I'm sold. I don't know how the rest of you are feeling about the Amanda/Jake/Taylor triangle that's brewing in Pine Valley, but I think it's utterly charming, thanks in no small part to the winning performances of the parties involved: Ricky Paull Goldin (who fits in oh-so-well as Jake), Chrishell Stause (Amanda, who has waited a long time for a moment in the storyline sun) and Beth Ehlers (always a favorite of mine as GL's Harley, whose easy-going, natural style is a great asset to AMC). So far, it's moving quickly but not too quickly (would that the same could be said over on the Erica/Jack/Carmen front) and I look forward to seeing where it goes next.

August 21, 2008
Members of the soap media are always lucky to get special access to the actors at AMC's annual fan club luncheon; this year's was no exception. Before the cast was introduced to the loyal audience that had gathered to meet them, I got to hang out in the green room with stars like Melissa Claire Egan (Annie), Colin Egglesfield (Josh), and Jacob Young (JR, who brought along his color-coordinated, pregnant wife, Christen, and his dad). I think the actor that truly stole the show was Daniel Kennedy (Pete), who ran the Q&A from the audience with the always-show-stealing Cameron Mathison (Ryan) — they were filling in for Walt Willey (Jack), whose plane to NY got cancelled at the last minute. Or perhaps the biggest thief was Colin, who clearly had Olympic fever, tumbling across the stage and "sticking his landing" when he was introduced, then, after an impromptu Tom Cruise-inspired monologue, bellowed, "Someone take this away from me!" (The "this" in question? The microphone.) The ladies were also warmly received, and Alicia Minshew (Kendall) drew cheers when she concurred with a fan who was upset about the lack of air time given to little Ian. "I hate it and it pisses me off," was her succinct assessment of that particular case of baby blues. Michael E. Knight (Tad), who got a standing ovation from the AMC diehards, was also a hit (surprise, surprise), cracking jokes and giving out hugs galore. It was a great day for the extended Pine Valley family.

August 14, 2008
I am giddy over the just-breaking news of Vincent Irizarry's return to AMC as David. Irizarry was a huge (and very popular) asset to the show during his multiyear tenure and I felt that his sudden 2006 exit, a cost-cutting measure, left a serious gap. 2006 was a year that saw many popular vets leave the show, most egregiously, I would argue, Julia Barr's Brooke, but Vincent's David didn't get a send-off much more ceremonial than her awful non-exit, and I'm very pleased that this actor, who was such a team player for the show and generous with the press, will be back to tie up David's loose ends and, of course, get him involved in all sorts of new mischief.

July 25, 2008
Greetings, readers! Last week, I had a blast visiting the set on a day that several cast newbies were slated to have their ABC portraits taken. Alicia Minshew (Kendall) was there, beaming with happiness while sharing details of her upcoming wedding, greatly refreshed from a quick vacation to New Hampshire. Daddy-to-be Jacob Young (JR) was also in great spirits; wife Christen is due in November and they're busy getting the house ready, collaborating on a Winnie the Pooh-themed nursery. He's also got a cabaret act in the works that will pair him with — drumroll, please! — Joan Collins. Stay tuned for further details! Surely the highlight of the trip was being present as Alicia gave Thorsten Kaye (Zach) a gift she'd picked out for him while on a stroll with her fiancé/his pal, Richie: A retro-looking Red Wings T-shirt. He absolutely loved the shirt but it was a bit snug (I got to be there when he took off his shirt to try it on... But he made me look the other way, darn it!) — okay, more than a bit snug. A good-natured debate ensued about whether the shirt made Thorsten look gay (not that there's anything wrong with that). For those keeping score at home: Beth Ehlers (Taylor) thought it did; Cameron Mathison (Ryan) insisted it did not. I got pulled away to do an interview before I found out whether the shirt had been deemed a keeper or not, but it was most definitely the thought that counted, right?

July 15, 2008
I'm a little concerned about the influx of new characters on AMC. Beth Ehlers has yet to make her debut as Taylor, but when she does, she'll surely be the beneficiary of mucho airtime. (I love Beth Ehlers; my hesitation is not about her or her character, it's the principle of the matter, this business of newbies taking away screen time from vets.) And this will be on top of what we're already seeing on-screen, which is a heck of a lot of Frank and Randi (she's brand spanking new, he's not far behind) and a heck of a lot of teens Colby, Dre, Cassandra and now Petey. To me, they'll all pretty darn new, since the affection I'd started to build for Ambyr Childers's Colby went out the window with her sudden recast. (Although that Sterling Sulieman is dreamy....) Obviously the show does have some vets featured prominently, though I'd like to see Michael E. Knight's Tad with a bit more to do than stress about whether Kathy should go to summer camp and I'm far from sold on the whole Ryan/Annie/Kendall/Zach/Greenlee/Aidan morass as it stands. Still, AMC feels imbalanced to me at the moment, and new chief scribe Chuck Pratt definitely has work cut out or him. Speaking of Pratt, I spoke with him at length recently about his plans for Pine Valley — be sure to check out the Digest on stands next week for his take on the show and how to fix it.

June 19, 2008
Because I watch soaps for a living, I don't look forward to my daily dose of daytime in the same way I did pre-employment at Digest. It's part of my workday, a part I feel blessed to have, but it's not the escape that it once was. I am not complaining, mind you — I am simply making the point that when I do find myself really, really looking forward to a certain show, I notice it. (And my colleagues noticed it too, when I got struck big-time by the Nick/Phyllis bug on Y&R a few years back!) These days, the show that has me giddy is OLTL. Not every character, coupling, scene or story does it for me, but there's a lot that stokes my fandom. Tuc Watkins has to be at the top of that list. I loved him during his first go-round as David, and my fanship deepened when he took on the role of GH's subversive Dr. Dorman — does anyone remember the kinky scene where he took off his belt and walked, groin first, into the camera? In college, my friends and I referred to that simply as "The Belt Scene") but I don't think I've ever been more dazzled by him than in his most recent return to Llanview. The episode where he recounted what David had been up to since we saw him last, replete with phony flashbacks and a photo shoot? Hysterical. I knew I couldn't miss a minute of him from that point on, and I haven't. There's an effortlessness to his comic genius that is the sign of a true master at work — meaning, I suspect it takes a lot of work to make it look so effortless! He has chemistry with every single person and thing in Llanview, from Erika Slezak (Viki) to the lamp on the table of a living room set. David's announcement of his marriage to Addie and episode-long rubbing-it-in to Dorian, which aired yesterday, is just the latest priceless performance he's turned in — ask me again tomorrow, and a new highlight will probably have taken its place. This guy is gold! I don't know what it would take OLTL to keep him, but do I ever hope they make him an offer that he can't refuse!

June 12, 2008
As I wrote last week, I have had, on behalf of the Tad/Dixie fans so let down by the show's resurrection and subsequent re-killing of the character last year, mixed feelings about what they've done with Cady McClain's alter ego this time around, at least when it comes to her actual interactions (or lack thereof) with Michael E. Knight's Tad (not to mention the character's son, Jacob Young's JR). But darn it if the show didn't get me when Tad told that precious little girl that he is her father. That Alexa Gerasimovich (Kathy/Kate) is such a painfully cute kid, and Knight such an affecting performer, that I was mush by the time OLTL came on.

Here's something else I can raise my glass to from AMC recently: Rebecca Budig and Ricky Paull Goldin's easy chemistry as Greenlee and Jake. I'm not rooting for a romance, but I really dug their scenes together at ConFusion, and I especially loved Budig's hilarious and believable work playing drunk. Drunk is really hard to play well, and she was terrific. I must also praise Susan Lucci (Erica), who had me in stitches as Erica shared the Zen-like fruits of her jail-acquired wisdom with Kendall, then went bonkers upon learning she'd been replaced as the host of NEW BEGINNINGS. The joke worked so well because her energy was pitched just right in both modes (serene and ballistic).

June 3, 2008
I must admit, I had mixed feelings about the Tad/Dixie reunion in heaven. To me it seemed like a lackluster attempt to appease the couple's fans, who'd been deprived of seeing their romance resume in Pine Valley — and I say it was lackluster because nothing so brief could really undo the damage caused by Dixie's 2007 demise. That said, I have been wowed this week by all the little moments that have accompanied Tad's ordeal at the hospital and Adam's long-overdue reveal that Kathy is Kate. My favorite had to be that adorable little scene between Palmer and Opal when their bickering, which we all know conceals the deep-seated affection between these two, gave way to tender hand-holding. So sweet! The fall-out from the wedding has also given some tremendous performing opportunities to some of the show's true powerhouses, David Canary (Adam/Stuart) being at the top of my list. I also have to give it up to Bobbie Eakes (Krystal), who broke my heart in Julia's last moments. I'm curious to know how you all feel about the execution of these big AMC moments — post below and tell me!

May 23, 2008
Research for an upcoming Digest assignment led me this week to YouTube and a score of clips from SANTA BARBARA (I know, I know, my job is enviable). One of the clips I watched was actually from the very first episode of SB I ever watched, the first wedding of Mason and Julia, played by the incomparable Lane Davies and Nancy Lee Grahn. Does anyone else remember this ceremony, in which Mason accidentally pocketed a grocery list instead of his vows and had to improvise after blurting out the first few items on the list at the altar? That was enough to get me completely hooked on the show back in 1989 (my taste was none too shabby for a 12-year-old, eh?)

In any event, the more I watched, the more impressed I became. There was a scene in which Julia, overwhelmed by pre-wedding jitters, enumerated to future sister-in-law Eden all the reasons she shouldn't get married, including that Mason's company wasn't all that great and there were things she had wanted to accomplish on her own, like have her own game show and succeed Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court — because, she pointed out, they'd never let two women serve on the court simultaneously. Can anyone out there remember the last time they saw dialogue that sharp, pithy, and, yes, political, on a soap? I can't, personally, but I do know that 15 years after SANTA BARBARA's cancellation, the daytime landscape is still less bright and less bold without it.

On the ALL MY CHILDREN front, we've got a lot more wedding still to come — its aftermath is going to be big and it is going to be bloody. But the ceremony itself was perfection, as far as I'm concerned ... though I'd still love for someone to explain to me how, while living in the shadows and ducking his enemies for the last 20 years, Jesse managed to befriend R&B superstar Ne-Yo. I thought Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan did a magical job capturing the joy, spontaneity and romance of their characters' long overdue union, and I know I'm not the only Digest staffer who wept like a baby when they exchanged vows on Wednesday. On a separate note, David Rasche's stint as the villainous Robert Gardner/Papel is coming to an end, but what a fantastic job he did. In addition to being menacing, Rasche managed to work some humor in there; I found him to be an extremely watchable bad guy. And lastly, after feeling ho-hum for a long while about JR and Babe, they kinda got me the other day with their impromptu post-ceremony romp. I'd be curious to know what you all think about their coupling now that Amanda Baker (Babe) has had some time to settle into the role.

Have a great and safe Memorial Day Weekend, all!

May 19, 2008
I read my colleague Lauren Flynn's blog from last week with great interest. Our office went nuts when Snoop did his brilliant cameo on ONE LIFE TO LIVE (I still can't get his cover of the show's theme song out of my head!) and I'm glad to see that although it took some coaxing, her boyfriend (who I love) finally capitulated and treated himself to the fun episodes in which Snoop appeared. (And he even became intrigued by the other stories. Good job, ONE LIFE!) I've been talking up those eps so much that two of the men in my life are coming over to watch them tonight on my DVR!

Last week I hopped over to the ALL MY CHILDREN studio to talk to Bobbie Eakes (Krystal) and her husband, David Steen, about SORDID LIVES, a show he recently filmed for LOGO. Bobbie has a cameo in it (as a soap star), and the star-studded cast includes Rue McClanahan, Caroline Rhea and Olivia Newton-John. David's character is married to Caroline Rhea but having a steamy affair with Rue McClahanan, and it's obvious that he had the time of his life working on the project. Bobbie went to visit David on the set in Shreveport, LA, and when she was out to brunch in the town, who should she run into but Eden Riegel (ex-Bianca), who was there shooting the upcoming movie Day One with Jack Black and Michael Cera. Bobbie and David are one of my favorite real-life soap couples (and not just because they offered to dog-sit for my yorkie while I was away at my 10-year college reunion!) Their affection and affinity for one another practically radiates off of them, and it's heartwarming to see.

Speaking of my college reunion, when I was visiting the campus I'd called home for 4 years, I was awash in memories of wonderful times spent with friends, and it occurred to me that so many of my very best times there were spent in the living room of my dorm, watching GENERAL HOSPITAL with the other diehard fans. We were so wild for Sonny and Brenda in those days that we planned our classes around GH. I feel very blessed that even in my adult, professional life, I get to follow the wonderful world of daytime drama alongside an equally passionate and intelligent group of viewers ... but now they're my co-workers, not my classmates!

May 6, 2008
Count me among the legions of admirers of Beverlee McKinsey who were terribly saddened by the news of her recent passing. To this day, I remain in awe of the performances she gave as Alexandra Spaulding on GUIDING LIGHT (which is not even the role for which she will be best be remembered; that honor goes to her legendary work as Iris on ANOTHER WORLD). Fans of GL will likely join me in remembering her brilliance when, having finally caught on to the true colors of Roger Thorpe, who had married her for her money, Alexandra lured Roger to the country club under false pretenses, made sure all of his enemies (and his mistress) were present, and proceeded to decimate him with her coolly issued words (e.g., her reference to "the stench of [Roger's] presence"). It was perhaps the greatest diatribe in soap opera history. (Didn't see it the first time around, or want to check it out again? Click here.)

But McKinsey's Alex was so much more than an ice queen — another moment I'll never forget was when Alex saw Nick McHenry, who would later be revealed to be her son, for the first time. He was a dead ringer for her beloved, fallen son Lujack, and the look on her face when she believed that a miracle had happened was so poignant and so heartbreaking all at once, it gave me chills. They just don't make 'em like McKinsey anymore — she was an actress of rare power, one of the finest ever to work in our genre, and I consider myself very lucky to have been entertained by her.

April 29, 2008
Hello all! I just got off the phone with the wonderful Laurence Lau. Larry, best known to soap fans for his work as AMC's Greg Nelson, is, as you may have heard, coming back to the show on May 20 for a multi-episode stint that kicks off with Greg's return to Pine Valley on the eve of Angie and Jesse's wedding. I first got acquainted with his work when he played ANOTHER WORLD's Jamie, and by acquainted, I mean obsessed; Jamie and Vicky were my favorite couple when I was in junior high school. Larry just told me some great stories about reuniting with Darnell Williams (Jesse), Debbi Morgan (Angie), Michael E. Knight (Tad) and other old friends when he reported back to the AMC set. On the message boards, I know some of you expressed concern that Lau's comeback was such a quick visit that Greg would be more like set dressing than a fully fleshed-out character, but he really has some lovely things to do while he's around that I think will both please long-term fans and earn him some new ones!

In other news, Friday is the big day! I am so excited to see both Cady McClain (Dixie) and Ricky Paull Goldin (Jake) on my TV screen (especially having seen them both in the flesh at the studio last week, which really whet my appetite). Let me know on the boards what you think!

April 23, 2008
Hello AMC fans! It's not often that you hear soap execs admit that they were wrong, which is why I really appreciated my candid conversation last week with ABC Daytime President Brian Frons. Instead of defending the killing off of Dixie, he openly admitted that it was the wrong decision and that the poisoned pancake method of death was an especially big botch job. Don't miss next week's issue for his juicy remarks.

I was able to take a quick visit to the set last week for a photo shoot and got to gab with Jacob Young (JR), Bobbie Eakes (Krystal), Jill Larson (Opal), and Cady McClain (Dixie). Jacob, who has a new, shorter haircut, reported that the show had recently dropped a bucketload of cash on a new corporate wardrobe for JR, and that he's looking forward to his upcoming story, which pits him against Thorsten Kaye (Zach). Jill and I talked about James Mitchell's (Palmer) response to the new Cortlandt Manor set (he wanted to know what happened to the piano, while Jill couldn't recall the living room having a piano in the first place!). Bobbie and I had a long, long conversation about our respective puppies — hers is a new addition, a Cavalier King Charles with the sweetest face I've ever seen. We're planning a puppy play date! As for Cady McClain, she looked radiant and seemed relaxed and happy — which is precisely the opposite of how Adam will feel when he catches his first glimpse of Dixie's ghost on May 2!

March 20, 2008
So, I don't know about you, but I am really excited about the news that Ricky Paull Goldin is coming to Pine Valley as Dr. Jake Martin. This may have a little something to do with the fact that long before I was a Digest editor, I was a diehard ANOTHER WORLD fan who fell hook, line, and sinker for the love story between his Dean and Alla Korot's Jenna. (Alla Korot, of course, would later join AMC as Allie, an ill-fated love interest for none other than Jake, albeit played by Michael Lowry.) Those of you who watched AW back in the day may remember Goldin rocking out to Dean's hit song "Lady Killer" or bringing tears to Jenna's eyes with the sweet ballad he wrote for her, "Oh Jenna" — but I watched my tapes of these performances so many times that I can actually still sing all the lyrics! ("Lady... Lady killer/with a rose in his hands/and a heart full of liiiieeessss....") When I spoke to the actor, who had just wrapped up his seven-year stretch as Gus on GUIDING LIGHT, about his new home on ABC, he could not have been sweeter — or more excited about getting to play Michael E. Knight's brother. (And wouldn't you be?) Turns out, he's known Knight casually for over a decade because they share a close personal friend: James Patrick Stuart, well known to AMC fans as Will Cortlandt. Let's all set those DVRs for Goldin's debut in April!

Goldin is not the only AMC-er I have had the pleasure of speaking to lately. Without giving away precisely WHY (you'll have to check our future issues for that!), I can tell you that I've had great conversations in the last week or two with a fantastic cross-section of the cast: Susan Lucci (Erica), Billy Miller (Richie), Chrishell Stause (Amanda), Jill Larson (Opal), Aiden Turner (Aidan), Walt Willey (Jack), and, um, who am I forgetting? Oh, these little-known actors named Thorsten Kaye (Zach) and Cameron Mathison (Ryan), with whom I had an encounter from which I am still wiping away tears of laughter.

Until next time, see you on the boards!