I’ve been meaning to post about so much that’s happening – Ron Carlivati’s material starts at DAYS! Sally Sussman Morina/Kay Alden/Mal Young happenings at Y&R! I still have a lot to say, and a long thinkpiece I’ve been working on for a while.
So I decided to pay homage with this post to my friend Marlena Delacroix. She’s known, of course, for her question posts, both from her Critical Condition column in Soap Opera Weekly and also at her eponymous website.
Marlena, her husband Moose and their dog Nigel have been enjoying a summer retreat at their country cottage. So while Marlena’s enjoying the summer sun, here’s my questions to the soap universe….
(1) So did DAYS really, truly let Vincent Irizarry go? And did they let him go without any meaningful scenes with Judi Evans? I know Judi’s Adrienne was already involved with Lucas and Justin. But still…..the magic of Beth and Lujack was right there, a resource for a show struggling to regain its footing. Why did they ignore it?
(2) I’ve always liked Linsey Godfrey. Truly. I’ve enjoyed her as Caroline on B&B, and thought she played both heroine and bitch equally well. But am I imagining that there’s been an INSANE amount of print coverage over her departure and subsequent return? It seemed like she had a few pages in Digest every time I cracked it open.
(3) I know that Morgan Fairchild is a soap veteran, but am I the only one having a hard time accepting her as Anjelica? Her work has been fine, and she’s very funny, but I see her and see Morgan Fairchild, not Anjelica. I know DAYS wanted a “name,” but I wish they’d have gone in a different direction.
(4) Did DAYS bring on one son for Steve (Tripp) only to let another one (Joey) go? Will Joey exit the canvas alive? More specifically, for the departed Dena Higley: Why on earth did you make one of your new, young male characters, especially one tied to a core family, a killer (Joey) and make the son of another (Chase) a rapist?
(5) Who knew a piano recital could be so exciting? I was surprised, but the whole thing turned out to be a very effective mini-umbrella story for Y&R. It was a little gothic, a little suspenseful, and very Bill Bell, if you ask me. The question here is: who was responsible for that idea – the ones who just “retired,” or the new EP-combo-head writer?
(6) Am I an awful human being for clapping when Sam shot Sonny and then kicked him into a pit on General Hospital? And, uh, does anyone have a GIF of that sequence?
(7) I’ve been reading a lot about legendary NYC personality Rollerena lately, and after seeing a series of photos of her, I had to ask: Is it just me, or does she look a bit like Kim Hughes’ long lost sister? Or cousin? (Hey, if it worked for Frannie and Sabrina it could work here, too.) Seriously, the resemblance is probably minor, and mostly in the fact that both have very angular facial features, but Kim was who immediately popped into mind.
Rollerena and Kim Hughes: a family resemblance?
(8) Can it possibly be 8 years this week that Guiding Light filmed its last scenes? That seems so totally impossible. YouTube knows me so well; it keeps kicking up old GL scenes for me to watch.
If you’ve got a question to pose to the greater soap universe, feel free to post it in the comments!
A | THOUSAND | OTHER | WORLDS 
Hi Patrick,
Good to have you back! Thanks for posing some provocative questions.
I agree, Morgan is playing Morgan. I don’t see Angelica when Morgan is on the screen, I see Morgan (a rather plumper Morgan than we knew in her heyday). But it’s been 26 years since we last saw the character, and Angelica wasn’t ever that memorable to me anyway. I am loving the Morgan and Deidre scenes. They do have a nice comic pairing.
Looking forward to seeing more of Bonnie pretending to be Adrianne. How wise of Ron to use the show’s history and have them playing the double roles. I keep wondering if Chris Kositchek is going to pop up in Salem again. Josh Taylor may have been playing Roman for 20 years now, but I still see Chris Kosithek every time he’s on screen.
I am loving Drake’s new all grey look. WOW. Super hot. Much better than the dye job.
James Patrick Stuart is the best thing on GH these days. Great actor. He’s making Valentin must-see TV. And with the amazing chemistry JPS has with Genie Francis, I keep wondering if they are ultimately headed to a Valentin-Laura pairing.
I’m sad they sent Spencer back to boarding school. I have really enjoyed Nicolas Bechtel this summer. He holds his own opposite the adult actors, somehow brings out the best in the adults he is playing opposite. I am surprised to hear myself saying all that since Spencer got on my nerves when they had him that kiddie romance.
Also loving Aunt Stella. Hope she sticks around for a while.
While much of Sally Sussman’s Y&R was yawn-worthy, she did perform a miracle in my eyes — she made Cane and Lily interesting! Have always been super-bored by that pairing, but their recent scenes have been riveting. It took a slow build up in that storyline, but the payoff was worth the wait. Wish I could say the same for many of Sally’s other storylines.
I, too, enjoyed Lindsey Godfrey’s return visit. She suddenly made the Thomas-Sally pairing much more interesting. Hope she comes back to town again soon.
I know many people are turn off by Spectra 2.0, but I’m enjoying a lot of it. Yes, Brad Bell is following the exact same playbook as with Spectra 1.0, but they have good actors in the parts and its adding a nice bit of comic relief.
Always good to hear from you, James! Sounds like great minds think alike.