Thanksgiving Soap Opera Round-Up, 11/21 through 11/23

Bitchiest Thanksgiving, BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL:
I don't know who was dreading the Forrester Thanksgving feast more: Steffie, Liam, Hope or me (who would have to endure watching the whole darned thing!) Over all, the bloodshed was kept at a minimum. Sweet innocent Hope had the bitchiest line of the week.
Hope (to Thomas): I would like to rip your sister a new one.
Thomas: Hope, it's Thanksgiving!
Hope: Well, maybe that would be something to be thankful for.

Happiest Thanksgiving, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS:
Delia and Billy are my favorite father/daughter relationship in soaps right now. Billy secretly saving his daughter's life, Delia always asking for her daddy, moustache-twirling Victor Newman melting in sympathy and letting Billy free. Schmaltz...but good schmaltz!
Other great moments of the week:
-- Adam and Patty's cat-and-mouse games. Get two actors like Muhney and Haiduk together...and WATCH OUT!
-- Phyllis and Avery's conversation where we all find out just how messed up Phyllis' childhood really was. Kudos to Michelle Stafford and Jessica Collins.
-- Return of Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott). Something the Y&R fans are grateful for this holiday!

Angstiest Thanksgiving, GENERAL HOSPITAL:
If the Quartermaine Thanksgivings make you flinch, you can be thankful your holidays aren't as bad. If you can totally identify with all of the relative animosity, you can be thankful for the funny zingers of Edward, Tracy and Monica. Tracy tried her best to make the recently victimized Sam uncomfortable. Luke was a no-show. Ultimately, Jason freaked out and knocked over a holiday table. Score!
-- Kristen Storms, please come back!
-- When the Quartermaines are offscreen, Anthony Zacchara and Diane at least make this show watchable.
-- Most of this week was pretty boring!

Tearjerking-est Thanksgiving, ONE LIFE TO LIVE:
On screen, fans were crying at the death of Matthew Buchanan. Off screen, fans are crying because of the failure for Prospect Park to follow through with bringing this soap online. Add to that all of the comments from the signed-up OLTL actors who found out right before Thanksgiving that their future job prospects have fallen through. Who did not tear up at Viki's speech at the Thanksgiving table, now knowing this is the last Llanville Thanksgiving?
-- Good zinger by the mayor: "Nora The DA who couldn't secure a guilty verdict against Osama bin Laden."
-- Blair/Tea: Best Frenemies Forever.

Most Sentimental Thanksgiving, DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Maggie cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner, Jack and Jennifer back in Salem, John once again imprisoned with a tearful Marlena (memories of Aremid, anyone?), Sami self-destructing and taking down her loved ones with her...it's beginning to look a lot like DAYS OF OUR LIVES.
-- I will be thankful if Sami is not knocked up from her recent slam-bam with EJ. Chandler Massey (Will) is showing his acting chops. I even kind of feel sorry for poor Rafe, the schmuck.
-- I don't know whether I like this Jack/Jennifer storyline or hate it. The upside is Matthew Ashford has a strong story to work with regarding the post-traumatic stress disorder. So much emotion when he just says the word "Afganistan" and all the horror that means. That being said, I hate hate hate that Jennifer wants Jack to settle down and teach journalism and be just as boring as she is. Intrepid reporting was what brought this couple together in the first place...and is a major force in what made Jack/Jennifer a supercouple. You don't see Bo and Hope pulling this crap! Watch some J/J YouTube clips, people in charge!

Craziest Thanksgiving, THE HOLIBAY: The Curious Case of the Missing Turkey - THE BAY takes a break from the drama and performs a comedic improv show. Plot line: Sara Garrett (Mary Beth Evans) is missing her turkey. Wackiness, laughs and catfights as a result!
http://blip.tv/thebaytheseries/the-holibay-the-curious-case-of-the-missing-turkey-5762403

Thanksgiving Season Premiere, VENICE:
-- Otalia fans have something to be thankful for with Gina's dream sequence at the beginning.
-- Galen Gering's "Rafe" on DAYS may not be getting any, but his "Owen" seems to be.
-- Thank God I can still get my Hillary B. Smith fix here!
-- Liking what I see with the pairing of Michael Sabatino and Tina Sloane.
http://www.venicetheseries.com/

Dirty Soap -- Review of Season One

DIRTY SOAP has seemed to be a paradox from the word go. While many of us have panned reality television shows, blaming the form for the loss of scripted television series...this is a reality show that has actually brought more attention to daytime actors. The jury's still up in the air, however, when one episode featured Kelly Monaco looking for something to fall back on in the event that GENERAL HOSPITAL is canceled.

Like most reality shows, I question the "reality" of it. Do you really mean to tell me that Jenna Gering is bothered by Galen's love scenes when he's been in the soap biz for how long now? Jean Paul Lavoisier and Farrah Fath are really going to make a serious life decision like marriage in front of the cameras? Perhaps the most realistic event of the whole season was Kirsten Storms' illness that apparently was so serious that it took her out of the game completely. However, there's no denying that the real life actors are a heck of a lot more interesting than their soap opera role counterparts. I'll take witchy Farah Fath anytime over "Gigi Morasco"; same goes for the eccentric Jean Paul Lavoisier over "Rex".

Definitely fun guilty pleasure TV. Will I be heartbroken if there's not another season? No. Will I watch if there is a Season Two? Definitely.

Highlights of the season: Farah Fath going toe to toe with Kirsten Storms; Nadia Bjorlin's mom setting her daughter up with a date in an effort to break up her relationship with Brandon Beemer

Soap Opera Round-up 11/14 to 11/18

BEST SHOW: DAYS OF OUR LIVES

BEST ACTOR: James Scott (EJ, DAYS)

BEST ACTRESS: Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS)

Don't get me wrong. I don't think that yet another unoriginal "child in peril" storyline is worthy of any awards. We've been through the Sydney/Grace switch/kidnapping, Ciara's kidnapping, Johnny's retinoblastoma and now Johnny's disappearance. However, for some reason, the DAYS acting and the writing kicks into high gear during these stories when they falter at other times. If only as much passion and energy could go on without a kid being tortured!

The reboot (whether a success or a failure, ratings-wise) has really given Alison Sweeney a lot to work with. Now Sami can have her angst against John and Marlena, her rivalry with Carrie and her juggling of Austin, Rafe and EJ all at the same time! We are really seeing this come into play this week with Johnny's disappearance. Alison Sweeney often blows hot and cold with me. If Sami is in good girl/victim mode, I admit I get bored out of my skull. But when Sami goes postal, Ali Sweeney brings it like nobody's business!

And who does Sami go postal with better than EJ (James Scott)? Why can't these two quit each other? Because they are both intense passionate imperfect personalities that are FIRE on screen! Yes, Hogan Sheffer really messed up with the rape back in 2007...and that's always going to be the elephant in the room. But really? Who wants SAFE? Soap opera is not supposed to be safe. It is supposed to be high drama and angst and sex and romance.

BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Interesting storylines threaten to happen...but it keeps going back to the Steffie/Liam/Hope triangle over and over again. I am enjoying the Pam and Nick storyline, even if it is just going to be comic filler. Soap line of the week: (Jackie when she pimps Nick out to Pam to save the company) "Don't be so judgemental. Pam hasn't tried to kill anyone in ages!"

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Am I the only one who can't tell the Kate recast and the Maxie recast apart? Sam always resents when Carly talks to Jason...but it is okay with Spinelli to live with them? Nice to see Monica get some scenes again. Still with GH these days, it seems just like all talk and talk and talk with nothing really happening. Even the Franco rape of Sam was anticlimatic. Nobody can even remember it!

YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: I am getting soap opera schizophrenia, watching Ashley/Kristen/Kelly (Eileen Davidson) marry Tucker/Steve/Stefan/Skyler (Stephen Nichols); add to that an interesting exchange between the groom and Genevieve/Diane/Laura (Genie Francis). Whew! Billy and Victoria unite. Tucker/Genevieve -- Stefan/Laura -- Steve/Diane; I give the Neil/Sofia marriage about as long a lifespan as your average Kardashian marriage. Okay, I'll say it. I like Amelia Heinlie as Victoria; and I think she has great chemistry with Billy Miller. Loved seeing them reunite this week. So sue me!

ONE LIFE TO LIVE: I am also sad and depressed about the last OLTL taping of the week...and how the actors have been told to move out of their dressing rooms. That being said, I thought the soap was pretty lackluster. I could care less about John and Natalie, about Brody kidnapping Lian, about Stacy/Gigi Morasco. But it was fun seeing Tonja Walker again.

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL Interview Rescheduled

Due to Crystal being under the weather with the flu, our interview is being rescheduled to air on Friday, 11/18/11, 1 PM ET.

RIVER RIDGE Premiere in NYC

Beautiful scenery, country/rock soundtracks, high production values and powerhouse performances abound in the much-anticipated webseries, River Ridge. The new show will focus on realistic issues such as poverty, interracial relationships and family conflict. Familiar to soap fans are veteran soap opera actresses Signy Coleman (ex-Hope, The Young and the Restless), Julie Pinson (ex-Janet, As The World Turns) and Beth Ehlers (ex-Harley, Guiding Light) who deliver strong performances in the first episode -- very different from their soap opera counterparts. Add to that some sexiness from primetime actors Mark Doherty and Shannon Sturges for good measure! This show will be something to look forward to.



Tyler Ford -- the creator, executive producer, writer and director -- makes it clear that his goal is both "to educate and to entertain", hoping that this gritty series based in truth will touch people everywhere.



Signy Coleman (producer who plays "Sharon Reeves") hopes that viewers will empathize with the very real struggles and issues of the various storylines -- "that we are not alone...and that there are solutions..."



At the NYC premiere on November 11th (hosted by Roger Newcomb of We Love Soaps), several cast members appeared to attend the event, including Beth Ehlers, Jon Prescott, Danielle DiLorenzo, Mark Doherty, Seth Ford, Christina Jackson, Matthew Daniell, Carrie Watt and Isabella Nolan.

To keep up with the latest about River Ridge, check out the website at http://riverridgeseries.com/

SCHEDULE CHANGE: OUTTAKES INTERVIEW with CRYSTAL CHAPPELL

Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress CRYSTAL CHAPPELL -- producer and star of the webseries, Venice -- joins OutTakes to talk about the upcoming third season premiering on November 23rd. A daytime veteran for over 20 years, Crystal's portrayals include Olivia Spencer from Guiding Light, Carly Manning from Days of Our Lives, Maggie Carpenter from One Life To Live and Gina from Venice. For more information about purchasing a subscription for the new Venice season, go to www.venicetheseries.com

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Crystal's interview will air on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH, 1:00 PM ET and can be found at the following link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/outtakes/2011/11/17/crystal-chappell The show is also available for on-demand playback, download and iTunes. Pre-recorded.

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