Diana DeGarmo is Young & Restless!
Diana DeGarmo is back on tv showing off very different sides of her acting and vocal abilities -- as aspiring singer Angelina Veniziano on CBS' top-rated daytime drama The Young and the Restless. THEATERMANIA: How did this job come about?
DD: When I finished the 9 to 5 tour, I came to do Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl, and a few of the writers from Y&R saw me in the show. They had been toying with the idea of creating Angelina, and the next thing I know, I had a job. It was a straight offer.
I think it's a big stepping stone for my career.
TM: Have you enjoyed working with this cast -- even though you've only had scenes with a few of the actors so far?
DD: Absolutely, they're such great actors. I was so excited to meet Mike Starr, who plays my dad, Angelo. I am a big Dumb and Dumber fan and I loved him in that movie. He could not be more squishy or gooey; he's a big teddy bear. Working with Judith Chapman (Gloria) is great since we're both from the South and she does a lot of theater, and I love working with Greg Rikaart (Kevin); we've become our own little team and make each other laugh.
TM: What are the differences you're finding between soaps and theater?
DD: We try to do everything in one take, so that's similar to theater. And I love that it's new every day. I found it hard to do the same show eight times a week. I am a Gemini and we get bored easily. I actually think my acting has grown leaps and bounds since being on the show.
Scheming and manipulation are a rite of passage if you're Days of Our Lives' Will Horton. Grandma Kate makes it an art form. Dad Lucas is no slouch in that department and his mom Sami is a connoisseur. It was only a matter of time before he dipped into the family pastime. So what pushes him to the dark side? AfterElton spoke with Massey about what forces Will to go after EJ.
AE: And now coming up in the new year Will is set to try to blackmail EJ, but then EJ turns the tables and ends up blackmailing him with his knowledge of Will being gay. But my question is how does EJ find out about Will being gay when he’s still figuring it out himself?
CM: It’s just like in real life. The people that you’re really close to probably suspect, and they know before that person is ready to admit it, so it happens along those lines. I love the soapy twist with the blackmail because it shows that they’re not afraid to take risks. Some people might be like, ‘they’re blackmailing him because of his sexuality?’ But that what makes it different! One thing I can tease that I haven’t told anyone else is along the lines of the EJ-blackmailing thing is that Will gets involved in the mayoral campaign.
To find out about Will's kiss and talking to Grandma Marlena go to http://www.afterelton.com/tv/2011/12/chandler-massey-interview-days-of-our-lives?page=0%2C0
Genoa City is losing a sleuth. According to Soap Opera Digest, Jeff Branson (Ronan Malloy) is leaving The Young and the Restless again. No final airdate is mentioned.
Legendary One Life to Live veteran Ellen Holly has posted a startling recollection of her tenure with the soap opera. The biracial actress who played one of the fictional Llanview, PA.'s original denizens, Carla Gray—a light-skinned black woman who passed for white and dated both black and white men when the serial debuted in the turbulent, late 1960's—has provided essentially a website sequel to her memoir One Life: The Autobiography of An African American Actress.
Among the shocking claims Holly makes on the website, is her belief that OLTL creator Agnes Nixon used her character, and that of Carla's mother Sadie Gray (Lillian Hayman), as "gimmicks" to help launch OLTL in 1968, as the country was ripe with racial and political strife. She also alleges that her contract negotiations with Nixon's company Creative Horizons, Inc. were always non-negotiable, and that her pay was at a much lower rate than her white counterparts such as Erika Slezak and Susan Lucci.
Here are a few excerpts:
On being used as a "gimmick" and "freak" to allegedly exploit the politics of the time:
In the book I would later write…ONE LIFE: The Autobiography of an African American Actress… I expressed my ultimate belief that I’d been selected for use as a temporary “gimmick” that, in a unique political time, could rocketboost a payload of white stars into orbit… an exotic “freak” that, stationed outside the circus tent, could attract the folks on the fairway and lure them inside to see the show.
On Nixon:
Although she never dealt with me personally, with her historic legacy ever on her mind, Nixon continued to discuss me to the press as one of her most valued stars. Although I was poorly paid, poorly treated, and, behind the scenes, denied the game… to press and public she bent over backwards to continue extolling the name. As a result, the press continued to treat me as a legitimate Superstar.
While we at Daytime Confidential firmly believe there are three sides to every story—his, hers and the truth—we commend Holly for revealing what her One Life to Live was like, and hope to one day see her story on the big screen.
Go to http://www.blackstarimploding.com/BSI.html to read more!
You can't keep a good soap slayer down. A bit of panic spread late this week, as a certain bubble buster was spotted roaming the halls of a network where he or she used to work. Could the suds slasher in question be sniffing around for a new gig? That's the fear. Hasn't this person killed enough daytime lineups yet?
Could Nathan Parsons be checking out of General Hospital? Screen sib Julie Marie Berman seemingly spilled the bean on Twitter that he is, during a chat with fans:
Bryan R. Dattilo is first to admit he was happily surprised that DAYS wanted him to return to Salem as Lucas. "My managers kept hinting to be ready just in case something happens," he recalls. "When they called and said, "We'd like you to come back for a couple of years,' I was really happy. The real world has knocked me around enough. I was definitely ready to come back to such a familiar and safe place."
The actor has come and gone from Salem many times since first creating the character in 1993. "This time was very different for me," he reflects. "This last time is the time I changed the most when I was away, so to come back and look at the job and the situation through clearer eyes really made me realize just how fortunate I was when I was here and how maybe I didn't appreciate or make the most of all the opportunities I was given. I took a lot for granted, and that's something I'm kind of ashamed of."
continued at http://daytimeroyaltyonline.com/topic/8623309/1/
ShoesTV headed to the Los Angeles home of actress Alicia Minshew, best known for her nine-year stint on "All My Children." Minshew showed us the shoes she scored from the "All My Children" wardrobe department, the shoes she rocked on her wedding day, and even the shoes she was wearing on the night she met her husband. From YSL to Versace and even Guess--she shares it all.
Minshew and her family are bi-coastal, splitting their time between New York City (where her husband owns several bars and restaurants) and Los Angeles (they are currently hunting for a beach house). Minshew told ShoesTV all about how "All My Children" shaped and changed her life and about her acting plans for the future.
Lily forgiving Cane:
"I understand why they did it that way, because there is so much history between Lily and Cane. Y&R wanted to make this story a "love can conquer all" type of deal. But I kind of wish they had Lily go off a little more. I'd like to have seen both Cane and Lily be with different people and play that, even though they were with different people, they really missed each other. They did that a bit when Lily got with Daniel, but it happened so quickly that you really didn't get a chance to sink your teeth into it. I really wish they would've played with that a little more."
Being part of a super-couple:
"I get that our characters are really, really popular, but we never get to do anything else with any other people! Don't get me wrong - Daniel [Goddard] and I love working together. I absolutely love that our characters have this amazing romance and love story. But as an actress, you kind of want your character to have some other stuff to do, to get involved with other people."
Lily snaps?
"I've been saying this for months now - maybe even years - but I wish they would have it where Lily would just snap and go off and do something crazy! It doesn't make sense that somebody would go through this many trials - having your mom die, having cancer, thinking you're seeing a ghost - and be okay. You would have some really deep issues that you would need to go through."
Life imitating art:
(Christel recently went through the breakup of her marriage)
"I've had a really rough year, and at the beginning of the year, I was going out all the time. That's what you do! It's like you're almost detoxing from all the stress. I think that's normal. I think that's natural. To have Lily be this person who never loses it... it's just not realistic. It's funny, because you do feel that art does imitate life, and life imitates art. I think that's the great thing about being an actor - you really can use you art almost like therapy."
Journey from her teens:
(Christel was only 14 when she joined the cast Y&R)
"I'm only 24, but I've been married, I've been divorced, I bought a home, I sold a home, I had a baby... I always say I don't think you've made a mistake if you've learned something. So as long as you learn and don't repeat the same mistake, it's okay. My life is insane - but I love it!"
Peter Bergman
What should your character get for Christmas?
Jack has wanted for oh so long to own Jabot, and he finally got that. An extra little stocking gift would be to own Beauty of Nature.
What do you want for Christmas?
I'd like a stand-up paddle board to use in the ocean. I have a sailboat and a kayak, but a stand-up paddle board is on toy I don't have.
What should your character's New Year's resolution be?
It's been the same one since John Abbott died - protect the family.
What is your New Year's resolution?
Mine for the last four years, and I've stuck with it pretty well, is to read more. My last year's resolution was to read more fiction, and I did.
Joshua Morrow
What should your character get for Christmas?
I think my character should be given an NFL football team. I think that Nick's secret desire in life is to own a football team. And I think his dad should buy him one and give it to him for Christmas.
What do you want for Christmas?
An adult scooter. I like skateboarding and scootering with my boys. They have all these little kids' scooters, but there are adult ones too. My passions in life are flat-trimmed hates and tennis shoes too. So maybe some of those.
What should your character's New Year's resolution be?
It should be to stay away from Avery. That's only going to be gigantic problems for everyone if he doesn't.
What is your New Year's resolution?
To be a better actor.
Stephen Nichols
What should your character get for Christmas?
A new sofa. One that doesn't squeak when you move on it.
What do you want for Christmas?
The best gift would be that the unemployment situation that is devastating Americans turns around.
What should your character's New Year's resolution be?
To always listen closely to that voice within.
Bryton James
What should your character get for Christmas?
His hearing back completely so he doesn't have to wear the implant.
What do you want for Christmas?
For this boost in working to continue. To stay on set as much as possible!
What should your character's New Year's resolution be?
To make things right between him and Tucker, because I think Devon truly does want Tucker to be a part of his life. Neil has expressed to Devon how these people are in his life now, and you can't ignore them. They're not going to go away. Not only Tucker, but Mrs. Chancellor.
Judith Chapman
What should your character get for Christmas?
A big corner office at Jabot! Gloria has always had a soft spot for Jabot, and it just kills her that she's been banned from Jabot. So she'd like a corner office at Jabot - and a cover of Restless Style. Woman of the Year - with her sons!
What do you want for Christmas?
We're in a new home, and I have beautiful organic vegetable garden going and planted all-new citrus trees, so I'm hoping for a bumper crop of citrus and winter veggies.
What should your character's New Year's resolution be?
To stop falling for the wrong men - again!
What is your New Year's resolution?
Judith has given up on resolutions years ago! I'm like, Oh, please! I'm very happy with my vices and my demons. We coexist very nicely. I've given up trying to get rid of them!
Jess Walton
What should your character get for Christmas?
Colin! I had so much fun working with Tristan [Rogers, ex-Colin]. It was a great story. It started out innocuously. Colin just sat down at a table where Jill was sitting at Gloworm.
We had a lot of fun working together, especially in the beginning. I remember Jill's love for him deepened when he was very, very kind to her when she thought Cane had died.
What is your New Year's resolution?
I've never made a New Year's resolution. I feel it's better to make them when you think of them throughout the year.
Christel Khalil
What should your character get for Christmas?
I stripper pole! I'm trying to get Lily to have a more exciting storyline rather than just be so lovey-dovey with Cane. She should become this wild person who went through all this crap and lashes out in weird ways like stripping.
What do you want for Christmas?
I want a trip somewhere. I'd like a trip to Argentina. Somebody needs to buy it for me.
What should your character's New Year's resolution be?
To be more aware of what's going on around her.
What is your New Year's resolution?
I have no idea!
Michelle Stafford
What should your character get for Christmas?
Love, love love! She gets sex, but that's not love!
What do you want for Christmas?
Love... and diamonds!
What is your New Year's resolution?
I make resolutions all the time... not just for the new year. But there are none that I'm going to share!
It's a sad time for many GENERAL HOSPITAL fans. Those long time viewers who have watched Lucky Spencer grow up before their eyes, loving and losing and loving and losing Elizabeth again had become a sort of something to count on, as it was always assumed they'd eventually end up together forever. Not so. At least not this time: This week, Jonathan Jackson leaves the role he created when he was just a young lad of eleven.
The Challenges
Although Jackson believes it's people's "natural instinct to look for a bad guy" as to why it's playing out this way, he says, "The reality is that I had certain things that needed to be adjusted. I think [GH writers and producers] genuinely wanted to be able to do that. But from their perspective -- with the demands that they have on them -- they weren't able to provide that to the degree that would have been necessary for me to stay. At that point, I understand."
What, exactly, does that mean? The amount of material he was shooting each week got to be a bit overwhelming and when asked for a lighter work load, the people in charge at the time didn't believe that was possible for a character as vital as Lucky. "It's a different time than it used to be," Jackson confesses. "I remember in the 90s when I was on the show, it was not even comparable in terms of the amount of work, and it was already an incredible amount of work for everybody. I mean, if you had 20 pages in a day, that was really a lot. Now, it's 20 to 35, sometimes 40, multiple times in a week. It's been quite the challenge.
"I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity to be able to do a lot of those insane stories. It would have been nice if there weren't quite as many," he adds with a grin. "But the stuff that I got to do with Tony Geary (Luke) around Jake's death, the intervention show... within the two-year span, we packed probably packed in four years of really great material. I'm grateful for that."
continued at http://abc.soapsindepth.com/2011/12/interview-jackson-says-goodbye.html#more
There are few couples that come to define an era for a soap opera. When you think of Days of Our Lives in the 60’s and 70’s you think of Doug and Julie, Bill and Laura and Mickey and Maggie. When you consider the early 80’s it was all about Roman and Marlena and Bo and Hope. The late 80’s gave us Shane and Kim and Patch and Kayla, but also marked Deidre Hall’s Marlena discovering an irresistible connection with a new “Roman” played by Wayne Northrop’s replacement Drake Hogestyn.
From the second Doc ran her hands through that hairy maze on The Pawn’s chest, fans were desperate for it to be revealed that John Black was in reality back-from-the-dead supercop Roman Brady. So yeah, that happened, then six or so years later they retconned the entire thing and revealed the “Roman” who had raised Carrie (Christie Clarke), Eric (Jensen Ackles) and Sami (Alison Sweeney) was really John Black (then Forrest Alamain, then a demon-battling priest, then a cosmetics mogul, then a DiMera/Brady hybrid, then a robot, then a partridge in a pear tree…), but by then it was too late for fans of the original Roman and Marlena, because John and Marlena, or “Jarlena” as they would come to be lovingly known, was DAYS’ it couple during the 90’s and 00’s; which is why it was so shocking when Dee and Drake were told to get to stepping in 2008 due to budgetary constraints, along with several of their supercouple peers.
Flash-forward to 2011 and DAYS executive producer Ken Corday managed to find enough change under the cushions to finally bring the ultimate Salemite lovers home where they belong, and he also hired a new pair of head writers and co-executive producers will the skillset to afford them a meaty, topical, white collar crimes story arc. Sometimes dreams really do come true!
Young love is a wonderful thing to behold, and for much of 2011 we found ourselves basking in the post-adolescent affections of Liam (Scott Clifton) and Hope (Kim Matula) on CBS Daytime’s The Bold and the Beautiful. We rooted for the illegitimate Spencer publishing scion and the Logan offspring from scandalous origins as they faced countless obstacles.
First there was Amber Moore (Adrienne Frantz), still trying to pass off possibly biracial babies on unsuspecting boys a decade or so after she initially pulled that stunt on Hope’s older brother. Then there was all the interference from Liam’s poorly dressed father Bill (Don Diamont), and dear ol’ dad’s nubile, just-out-of-her teens almost mistress Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood). We hoped against Hope that Hope (Whew! That’s a lotta Hope!) would beat Steffy to the top of that mountain in Aspen (Which Jamey now realizes is in fact in the United States), but alas Liam and Hope’s young love was torn apart forever when he married Steffy— at least until next Sweeps.
Who didn’t cheer for One Life to Live’s dynamic duo of David Vickers Buchanan (Tuc Watkins) and Dorian Lord (Robin Strasser) during the soap’s final season? Whether it was the desperation David felt while being trapped inside a foreign cell, away from his beloved—and his film career—or Dorian’s outrage over her paramour’s presumed affair with a tacky costar, this May/December pairing never failed to entertain and enrapture.
It’s too bad the legendary Strasser’s early exit prevented David and Dorian from being there at the end of Life, but one thing is for sure, David and Dorian lived their one life to the fullest whenever they were on our screens.
Remember the old Salt-n-Pepa song “Let’s Talk About Sex”? In 2011, General Hospital fans could have produced a remix entitled: “Let’s Talk About Steven Lars Webber (Scott Reeves) and Olivia Falconeri (Lisa Locicero).” Okay, so that would have been a mouthful of a title, and a bee youch to scroll for during an iTunes search, but you get where we’re going!
Scott Reeves and Lisa LoCicero brought scorching heat back to GH this past year with their characters’ funny, smart and oh-so-sexy romance. What a refreshing respite “Stevia” was from all the stories about babies being killed by their grandpas, relapses into drug addiction and/or HIV as a weapon. Who knew Reeves and LoCicero could hold up the mantle of “Love In The Afternoon” on GH practically all by themselves? Those sure are some strong, sexy shoulders.
Love the second time around (or third, or fourth, or fifth…) is always sweeter, and dutiful, hot-headed Cordero "Cord" Roberts (John Loprieno) and scheming Tina Lord (Andrea Evans) proved true love only gets more satisfying to the palate with age this past season on One Life to Live. Even though it had been many years since Loprieno and Evans shared screen time, when they briefly came back together to reunite two of daytime’s most legendary lovers, it looked effortless. The chemistry that made this couple so very super—long before there was squish name to mark such an occasion—was still as palpable as ever.
They say not even death, time, nor space can truly separate lovers destined to be together. All My Children’s Tad Martin (Michael E. Knight) and Dixie Cooney (Cady McClain) definitely proved that theory to be true, considering she’s come back from the dead twice, to his once!
In 2011, Dixie returned from the dead one last time, amid a borderline sci-fi plot that revealed her one-time lover, David Hayward (Vincent Irizarry) had essentially started his own necromancy side hustle via the mysterious Project Orpheus. It may have been dastardly Dr. David who raised Dixie from the grave, but it was the eternal love she shared with Tad that raised millions of fans’ spirits as AMC headed for its final chapter, with Tad and Dixie right where they belonged—together forever. That is of course, unless their drunken son Adam Chandler, Jr. (Jacob Young) shot one of them in the head. Good thing David was at that party…
We give The Young and the Restless showrunner/red carpet staple Maria Arena Bell quite a lot of heck here at Daytime Confidential, but one of the things The-Woman-We-Once-Called-Auntie-Ri-Ri got right in 2011 was the continuing lust affair of bad boy Billy Abbott (Billy Miller) and ice princess Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle). “Villy” is quite possibly the only example of a classic, old school soap romance we have left on daytime TV. Now if she would just run a brush through that hair!
This past year, the offspring of the warring Abbott and Newman clans endured losing custody of their his/hers/ours assortment of children, her meddling, diabolical father and Billy’s character-defining penchant for self-destruction. In the end, not even Billy’s stint in prison in some odd, foreign land we’re not even going to attempt to spell, a farmer in the dell, nor Baby Delia’s medical crisis could keep these lovers apart, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Just when it looked like Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) were about to get back together for the millionth time on The Young and the Restless, Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) swooped in with a bottle of vodka and stole Nikki right out from under Victor’s nose. As Deacon, along with that comic book character Meggie (Sean Young), were spiking Nikki’s drinks, sparks started flying between "Dikki."
There was something surprisingly special and just plain hot about watching Deacon and Nikki fall for one another. Even though we knew Deacon was basically poisoning Nikki with booze, the chemistry between them made that a non-issue. In fact, let's be real — if loving Dikki is wrong, we don’t want to be right!
In a year that saw the twin deities of Doom and Gloom (the Romans call them Guza and Wolf) rule General Hospital with iron, ratings-killing, clenched fists, the budding relationship between reformed mercenary Shawn Butler (Sean Blakemore) and resident bitch goddess Carly Corinthos Jacks (Laura Wright) proved to be one of the few rays of sunlight peeking through the darkness over Port Chuck.
Shawn began his stay in Port Charles as a hired thug working for the latest in a long line of ridiculous, movie rip-off villains for GH, The Balkan. But while fans screamed for everyone and everything associated with The Balkan storyline to scram from their screens, there was something about Shawn that made it okay with viewers if he stuck around. We’re sure the fact that he’s a big, steaming cup of liquid-hot, mocha sex didn’t hurt!
From the moment Carly patched up Shawn’s gunshot wounds, we were itching to see her tend to other body parts he may have in urgent need of care. The longing, passionate looks and that stolen kiss in Hawaii, only made us ache for Shawn to break Carly’s back even more. Here’s hoping we get our wish in 2012.
Trevor St. John and Florencia Lozano have been giving us hot flashes for the past two years on One Life to Live, but in 2011 their patented brand of smoldering hotness threatened to melt our DVRs. Yeah, that’s a lot of clichés, but dammit they were really hot last year! It didn’t matter if his name was Victor, Todd or Rod, but oh-our-GAWD the heat St. John’s character generated with Flo-Lo’s Tea was off the chain!
While the real Todd always seemed to have intimacy issues where Tea was concerned, his twin had no problem sexing and satisfying the muy caliente abogada (That’s Spanish for: “very hot lawyer”). Maybe that should have been our first clue that he wasn’t Todd? That or the height thing. Bygones.
This past year, our Best Daytime Couple for 2011 faced obstacles that would have ripped apart lesser couples forever, as everyone in Llanview learned the Todd they had known, loved and loathed for the past eight years wasn’t who they thought he was. Despite a few episodes of wavering, Tea ultimately came to realize what we already know, a Todd and Tea pairing by any other name is just as erotically charged. All of this serves to explain why we cried foul when a bullet ripped Todd’s, er Victor’s chest open and we lost this pairing forever. Or did we???
Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering) has been Sami Brady’s (Alison Sweeney) constant, sturdy rock from the moment he began keeping her “Safe” on Days of Our Lives. While the road to happily ever after has always been paved with drama for these two—thanks in large part to the machinations of Sami’s dangerously-seductive ex EJ DiMera (James Scott)—in 2011 things got downright ridiculous, doppelganger style.
This past year, EJ’s dad Stefano (Joe Mascolo) convinced Junior to take a page from the old DiMera playbook, which reads: When you want to get rid of an enemy, replace them with a lookalike! While many a DiMera-sanctioned doppelganger has provided fun story for DAYS (Andre DiMera, Susan Banks, Hattie), the father and son duo having a common thug receive plastic surgery to look like Rafe, then replacing him in Sami’s life (and bed) was just plain gross.
We collectively threw up a little in our mouths at the thought of red-hot, thirtysomething Maura West having to simulate the bedroom boot, scoot and boogie with Eric Braeden asThe Young and the Restless reunited angry exes Diane and Victor in 2011. While May/December romances have always been a staple of soaps, the phenomenal West being obviously much too young to play Diane—a woman who was busy busting up Jack (then Terry Lester) and Patty’s (then Andrea Evans) marriage back when West was no doubt learning her ABC’s—made the pairing downright gruesome to witness.
Why on Earth would a sultry, venomous, capable architect like Diane be so desperate as to drop to her drawers for every senior citizen in town; especially one who had already kicked her to the curb once for Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott)? Sure, the housing market had hit a slump, but this was ridiculous! The fact that Diane shared several sizzling romps with Victor’s much-more-age-appropriate-for-West son Nicholas (Joshua Morrow) only made the Victor and Diane mesh up all the more unbearable. Instead of tossing Diane out of the back of that ambulance like a bale of hay, Braeden should have done that to whoever wrote this stinkbomb of a storyline.
We don’t know what Jane Elliot did to piss off the Soap Gods, but can we offer up a sacrifice for her penance? Saddling Tracy Quartermaine with Anthony “Za-Crazy” Zacchara (Bruce Weitz) was a much worse punishment than anything we remember reading about in the old Greek myths; including the one where that chick was turned into a spider.
We mean no offense to Weitz, who is an amazing actor, but the resident rich bitch of Port Charles, New York deserved better than a wacky courtship with an orchid snipping nut job. Kudos to General Hospital for drawing from Tracy’s history as a mafia wife on the short-lived, Loving spinoff The City, but if Tracy was going to be blackmailed into a relationship with a Zacchara, we’re sure she would have preferred it have been Johnny (Brandon Barash). But then again, who wouldn’t?
If there’s any character other than Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) whose credibility has been damaged more by the current regime at The Young and the Restless, it’s Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman). Okay, so Jess Walton (Jill) and Kristoff St. John (Neil) might beg to disagree, but we digress. Since Maria Arena Bell took control of Y&R’s writers’ room, the once crafty character of Ol’ Smilin’ Jack has morphed into Ol’ Stupid Fool, cluelessly falling for one deranged damsel after another.
In 2011, Jack added bat poop crazy Genevieve (played by a shockingly hammy Genie Francis) to his collection of oddball lady friends. We’re assuming Jack must not have paid up his subscription to Restless Style, which would explain how he didn’t read all about Genny’s recent history as an Aussie cow mobster’s wife, who conspired with her son for him to pretend to be her dead son, who was pretending to be the son his father thought was dead. Or, who knows, maybe it turns Jack on that his new constant lunch companion likes to bite off more lip than she can chew, before tossing people off parapets?
When General Hospital’s Siobhan (Erin Chambers) was first introduced in 2010, the character was like a breath of fresh, Irish spring air. Her fiery chemistry with Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson) was immediately obvious, and we looked forward to seeing how their relationship would develop. They say hindsight is 20/20 and this was especially true of this couple.
We spent 2011 desperately clinging to those few early memories, as Siobhan transformed from an appealing character into a shrill, insecure harpy, riveling even uber nag Shrew-Lu (Julie Marie Berman) in annoyance. Try as Jackson and Chambers might, the actors were unable to salvage an ounce of their prior appeal as a couple. Is it any wonder no one at Daytime Confidential shed a tear when this particular lass died at the hands of a Za-Crazy?
What do you get when you pair one of daytime’s most beloved veterans with a drunk baby who doesn’t know where he is —one hot mess of a couple on One Life to Live in 2011. The character of Charlie Banks (Brian Kerwin) started out with so much promise a few years back, but by the time the scenery chewer was paired with Echo DiSavoy (Guiding Light superstar Kim Zimmer) there was absolutely nothing to “chuckle” about.
Don’t get us wrong, it was mad fun to see La Zimmer square off against Erika Slezak’s snooty Viki Lord, as raunchy, rowdy girl Echo basically acted out the lyrics to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” but we never understood what these two superdivas were fighting over to begin with. Ladies, a drunkard who races off into the night at the sign of any emotional distress like a blithering, histrionic idiot isn’t exactly what we’d call a catch.
We get that Charlie never got over the death of his son, and that Echo’s lies about Rex (John-Paul Lavoisier) being a replacement offspring was enough to drive a ham to drink, but by the end of Charlie and Echo's run as a couple, we were ready for a scene at Ultra Violet where both Viki and Echo laughed about how utterly pathetic it was for either of them to be tussling over Ned the Wino’s brother from another mother.
If you look at the pages of most glossy, women’s magazines, you’ll quickly see that for many ladies the idea of staying a teenager forever is the ultimate fantasy. The Bold and the Beautiful’s Adrienne Frantz gets to live out said fantasy five-days-a-week as Amber Moore, daytime’s answer to a female Peter Pan (Sorry, Sandy Duncan).
In 2011, Amber was once again involved in an ABC Family-ready game of adolescent hijinks, as she schemed and plotted to bust up SoCal’s resident YA lovers Liam and Hope. The fact that Amber, who is now in her 30’s, was involved in similar shenanigans with Hope’s half-brother, pop star Usher and at some point along the way, Hope’s bio dad Deacon Sharpe all before the ingénue was even born—wasn’t enough to prevent Amber from giving the old “trick the dopey, rich kid with another man’s baby” shtick another whirl. We love us some Amber Moore, but it’s time girlfriend started playing DNA pranks on kids her own age.
Suave, criminal empire heir apparent EJ DiMera isn’t the easiest man to love, but that didn’t stop two of Days of Our Lives favorite bad girls, Samantha Brady and Nicole Walker, from falling under his spell. In 2011, another woman succumbed to EJ’s lethal charms, Nicole’s own baby sister Taylor, as portrayed by a pair of General Hospital starlets (Natalia Livingston and Tamara Braun).
While some fans seemed to enjoy the Cinderella factor that was present when EJ was with Taylor 2.0 (Livingston), by the time he shared scenes with the 3.0 version (Braun) viewers were itching to see Driver’s Ed valedictorian Chelsea Brady (Rachel Melvin) careen back into town, through the streets of Salem proper, mowing Taylor down like a stray blade of grass. It certainly wasn’t anything against Braun, but an already asinine story arc (It was love at first sight!), followed by a jarring recast was just too much for EJ and Taylor to survive. Speaking of surviving, that’s exactly what Nicole and Tay-Tay’s mom Fay (Valerie Wildman) didn’t do after EJ’s minion Faux Rafe (Galen Gering) iced her. Not even the late Walt Disney himself—armed with an array of singing forest creatures and little people—could have made this “Grimm” fairytale less vulgar.
“Shadam” was a tough sell from the jump on The Young and the Restless. There was the whole issue of Adam stealing Sharon’s baby and giving her to his stepmom, but they managed to get past all that pesky business way before 2011.
We knew exactly what helped Sharon get on the road to forgiveness with Victor’s not-so-blind baby boy. It was the very same factor that made we the fans whitewash Adam’s sins — the insatiable, electric, chemistry Muhney shared with the object of his character’s obsession. If it was one thing Shadam fans knew, it was our antihero may destroy the rest of Genoa City, but he would never hurt Sharon that way again. Right? Wrong.
In 2011, as she fought for her life behind bars, we saw just how deep Adam’s feelings for Share Bear ran when he tossed evidence that could have set her free into a pond. Then again, Sharon was no shining example of fidelity. She had faked her own death, allowing Adam, his fellow brother-husband Nick and her young uns to believe she was worm food, all the while having a big ol’ time, down on the farm, playing hide the corn stalk with yet another man (But didn’t she look fetching with her brunette ‘do?). While we still see major potential with Shadam, it is gonna take quite the head writer to make fans ever root for this couple again. Does anyone know where Y&R can find one of those?
For years we hoped Susan Lucci and Vincent Irizarry would be paired together again on All My Children. Be careful what you wish for! While our desire to see these two dark, sensual love beasts tearing up the sheets again, came from our fond memories of Erica Kane’s initial, torrid affair with Dr. David Hayward, we never dreamed once La Lucci and Irizarry were together again she’d be playing Erica’s lookalike Jane. A virgin daiquiri we'll allow, but a sixtysomething, virgin doppelganger? Yuck.
We get that David would have done anything to protect Project Necromancy, er Orpheus, but it was all shades of icky for him to be breaking creepy Jane’s ancient hymen while the real Erica Kane—a woman he once loved—was being kept hostage in that fabulous replica of Erica's Barbie Dream Penthouse bedroom suite. Why in Center City did AMC waste so much time during its last season on this funky farce?
Week of December 26:
Madison and Brady are shocked by an act of treason.
John confronts Stefano.
Jack and Jennifer kiss in the most unlikely of places.
Will spends New Years with Sonny and his friends.
Monday December 26:
A night at the Horton square brings Hope and Bo another clue in Alice's mystery.
John and Marlena's romantic celebration is crashed by family members in need.
Sami's guilt grows despite her vow renewal with Rafe.
Tuesday December 27:
Quinn helps keep Daniel busy as he awaits test results.
Jack's busy using his time to get Jenn alone.
EJ berates Stefano for John being set free, but an unlikely press opportunity has him singing a different tune.
Wednesday December 28:
A business opportunity arises that would make Carrie and Rafe unlikely bed mates.
Brady and Madison's time in bed is interrupted by an announcement from Sami.
As Kate's plans begin to come together, Stefano's plot for John unravels.
Thursday December 29:
Stefano gives John the chance to end their feud for good.
Melanie avoids arguing with Abigail at all cost by denying her feelings for Chad.
Daniel stumbles upon support in the most unlikely of places.
Will looks for support in the most obvious of places.
Friday December 30:
Sami fears Will is on to her but it's actually EJ who is on to Will.
New Year's Eve brings financial troubles for John, heartache for Abigail, and hope for Nicole.
12/26 Repeat
12/27
Shane takes pleasure in his achievements; Todd and Blair's bond deepens
12/28
Todd vows to make Neela pay for her actions; Starr pays a visit to Rick in the hospital.
12/29
An encounter with Gigi has John and Natalie floored; John and Téa fight about Jack's part in Stacy's death.
12/26 REPEAT
Jason and Sam reach an important decision
Carly is not thrilled when Michael backs Sonny.
12/27 Carly gives Shawn a dog.
Lulu takes a shot at cooking for Dante.
Maggie and Liz have a frank discussion.
Tracy pays Lulu a visit while Lulu tries to cook up something special for Dante.
Steffy and Liam and Hope and Thomas all end up at the same vacation destination
Steffy is displeased to find her rival on her doorstep, again
Bill pulls strings to solidify Thomas’s relationship with Hope
Hope disappoints Thomas when she tells him how she really feels
Taylor asks Brooke to get behind Hope and Thomas’s relationship
Brooke takes exception to Taylor’s interference
Ridge is taken aback by Donna’s relationship with Nick
Nick receives a sexy surprise on New Year’s Eve
Pam is willing to sacrifice everything in order to get what she wants
Amber stakes a claim on Rick when she catches him getting to know Beverly
Mon, 12/26
Billy and Victoria's Last-Minute Wedding Is Filled With Surprises
Angelina and Kevin are forced to run for their lives;
Cane gives Lily something special.
Tue, 12/27
Nick Forces Sharon to Take Legal Action Against Adam
Michael becomes suspicious of Angelo;
memories of Myanmar haunt Billy.
Wed, 12/28
Sharon and Adam Make Love
Angelina takes a risk;
Nikki hopes to trick Deacon into making a confession.
Thu,12/29
Harmony Encourages Devon to Make Amends
Victoria is upset by a chance encounter;
Sharon and Adam are torn apart.
Fri, 12/30
Victor Makes a Shocking Proposal
Myrna's plot backfires;
sparks fly at a New Year's bash.
sources:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
