Errol

I appreciate everyone's kind words. It means a lot to me, and is the reason this place remains online despite so many other places either closing their doors or turning their backs on the genre because "it's dead."

We all know that's not true.

Like everything else, we transition with the times and I'm happy that no matter if it's the good times, the bad times, or the in-between times, you all have stuck around and helped keep SON thriving. There may be imitators. There may be haters. But they'll never take away what makes this place special. You.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

www.soapoperanetwork.com

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday, April 13, 2019

Dear Readers,

Anyone who has frequently visited or has become a registered member of this website/message board at any point in its nearly 20-year existence will know that I hate the dreaded "offline" situations that have plagued this place. What you may not have known is that unlike some of the other websites/message boards out there covering soaps for as long as we've been online, or even recently...I have singlehandedly been this site's primary writer, editor, technician, coder, graphics designer, publicist, organizer, interviewer, and a whole list of other job titles that would generally make up the entire workforce of a Fortune 500 company.

While you could rightfully ask why I haven't hired people to take control of any of the aforementioned areas to better grow this site to become what I've always dreamed it to become, there's just no easy answer to that question. So I can't provide you with one, at least not right now. Not at this moment. That's not what this post is about.

Over the last 48 hours, the Soap Opera Network website and SON Community message boards were abruptly taken offline and remained offline for the entire duration in order to address an issue that had impacted an estimated 160,000 other websites on the world wide web. We just happened to be one of those lucky thousands.

Due to a security breach in a third-party provider's plugin, which was used on the SON website for a long time without issue,  our site was re-directing visitors to phishing sites that could have posed harm should someone click on any of the links it was providing. This matter began just before midnight eastern time on Thursday, April 11, 2019. Almost as soon as the issue began impacting the site, I was working diligently with our hosting provider to figure out what was causing this problem and quickly remove the issue. Unfortunately, while our host was very generous with some of the assistance they could provide, considering their policy on certain matters, I was left to fix the issue on my own.

While it took nearly two days to correct, a time frame that I wish was a lot smaller...I am happy to report that the problem has been fixed and all traces of it have been cleaned out of our systems. I have also passed on evidence of what occurred to the appropriate authorities to hopefully help prevent other website owners and developers from going through what we went through. Additionally, I have implemented additional security precautions that will work in tandem with our previous security monitors to help address any future matters and tackle them immediately.

Although the SON Community is on its own subdomain and should not have been impacted by the above issue, there was an issue of 404 error notifications which indicated pages not being found when clicking on any active links. This issue is no longer occurring after fixing the core problem.

I can not tell you enough how sorry I am that this happened. I only ask that you understand the issue, know that it was resolved and that further precautions have been put in place to prevent a future occurrence.

Thank you for listening and happy posting on the SON Community!

Sincerely,

Errol Lewis

Editor-in-Chief, Soap Opera Network

Cynthia Watros ("Guiding Light," "Lost") is joining the cast of "General Hospital" as a recast Nina Reeves. She replaces the departing Michelle Stafford, who is set to reprise her iconic role as Phyllis Summers on "The Young and the Restless." More

The post Cynthia Watros Replacing Michelle Stafford as ‘GH’s’ Nina Reeves appeared first on Soap Opera Network.

Read More

31 minutes ago, rlj said:

just listening to the DC podcast, and Jillian, who broke the story, reiterates, CBS approached MS, not the other way around, specifically saying, it's not like MS sought her old job back, CBS saw a chance to get her back, and went after her, very informative podcast

I don't think anyone doubts this. This probably did happen. The issue is how this impacted Gina Tognoni. If my old job found out I was free and swooped in to take me back (and I was interested), I'd do the same, even if it caused someone else their job. I'm just not happy with how it was handled, particularly from what's been said throughout the five years in which said person has been gone from the show.

5 minutes ago, cattykittens said:

 

Why would Angelica be casting characters Y&R? Does she cast all the workers and characters in the rest of CBS Daytime? 

As head of the daytime division, she can make decisions that impact all of the shows she oversees. Casting is just another one.

3 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

Trust me, I'm not one of those people laughing that GT was fired. I'm laughing at the fact that some people are gullible enough to believe that GH/Y&R would make this an April Fool's joke - especially when it was first announced on Saturday!!

Oh, I didn't mean to make it sound like I was directly talking to you. My apologies. I was talking about people even thinking this was an April Fool's Day joke, to begin with. I saw several comments on our story on Facebook where people claimed this was an April Fool's Day joke, despite seeing evidence proving the opposite, and they still continue believing what they want in whatever world they are living in.

32 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

People around the web are speculating that this is an April Fool's joke.  If this is still being reported tomorrow, I think folks can assume that the story is true. 

If this is a joke, I'd like to know who thought it was funny or thought I'd be in on a joke for free just to ruin a brand that I've spent nearly 20 years of my life building up. If this is a joke, I'll be lawyering up tomorrow during GH's anniversary episode suing someone at CBS, Sony, other outlets, etc and claim emotional distress, not to mention pain and suffering and wasted resources.

Yeah, this isn't a joke. Facts are facts. Gina Tognoni was unceremoniously fired to make room for someone who claimed they'd never return to a show they are in fact returning to after leaving a show they claimed they were in fact not joining during a time when rumors ran rampant. I'm not happy with this outcome, but at least one fictional town will be free of a wasted character that has had no development for the entire five years they (only speaking of the character) infested said town.

Rant over.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if Sony woke up recently and realized their deal with CBS is up next season and they need all the negotiating power they can get in order to attain a good contract with the network. Remember, CBS renewed the show for three seasons (though 2019-2020) and they'll need as much of a push as they can get the ratings up so that whatever marks they agreed to hit won't hinder any future deals since the show was shedding viewers for most of 2018.

Well at least this means Michelle won't be at the GH convention in June, nor GHFCW.

Just thought I'd point something out, as noted in my story on this (see bold part): 

In the third recasting to hit Genoa City in just a week, CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” has released the granddaddy of casting shockers! Daytime Emmy Award winner Michelle Stafford is back in as Phyllis Summers after nearly a six-year absence. As a result, Gina Tognoni, who won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her portrayal of the character in 2017, was let go.

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2019/03/michelle-stafford-gina-tognoni-yr-phyllis

33 minutes ago, Bright Eyes said:

Nic Robuck (James Ford, OLTL) is out as well.

Yup. He is.

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

His husband is adorable. Peter has good taste. I had seen the first pic before but not the second one. 

 

I thought you were on here to close the thread...phew......LOLOLOL

LOL. As long as no one is outing an actor who is not out in real-life, I don't see a problem with this thread.

Peter Porte (ex-Ricky Williams, "The Young and the Restless") is also out. He got married in October in New Orleans to Jacob Villere (pictured below to his immediate right, our left):

Note: The above photo is not from their wedding and was captured months prior to the wedding.

Another photo:

1 minute ago, YRBB said:

 

You're welcome. I was hoping you'd enjoy the info. It's my holiday gift to you

 

It's new-ish, but pretty great. It's how I catch up with the Brit soaps when I tune back in, and a great source for classic UK shows.

 

I was thinking of that, definitely a good plan.

 

Love me some BritBox. That's how I watch "Emmerdale," "EastEnders" and "Coronation Street." Too bad there's no equivalent (that I'm aware of) for "Home and Away," "Hollyoaks" and "Neighbours." Sure, "Hollyoaks" is available on Hulu, but the delay is too great.

Warnings have been submitted and the issue should be resolving itself.

As for the ignore button issue, I've been investigating and it appears the ignore feature not working is a widespread issue among other Invision Power Board. So far there has been no updates from Invision on a resolution. I'll keep everyone posted when I have more, or a resolution.

17 hours ago, Vee said:

Thank God the Ignore feature no longer works! Right, @Errol?

 

Also, speak for yourself, Jarrod. In case you haven't noticed in the last six to nine months it's you vs. the entire board.

Vee,

This is the second time you've called me out over a feature not working on the boards. Just to clarify, the feature is on and has been on for years. However,  as far as I am aware, there is a bug in the system that is showing "ignored" member posts. I am working on trying to fix this problem. There is yet to be a solution. This was already stated before on other areas of the board. I do not see why, with whatever animosity you have against me, you continue posting about this topic and calling me out.

Just a reminder: @Toups is in charge of the MB and I am in charge of the entertainment website/news. That's been the protocol for years. Generally speaking, I handle the tech for the boards but not much else. 

Outside of the title and the link, nowhere in the written story,  nor the video, does it say she's "banned for life." BET.com is clearly click-baiting. 

17 hours ago, OLTL #1 fan said:

now that you mention it, Harry & Ryan would be hot but surely they are bringing back Kyle

Is that the guy who walks differently? Is that the actor or the character? Either way, don't see what Ryan saw in him. Harry or even Ste, okay. Kyle? No thanks. I even thought Kyle looked like D.S. Armstrong, who I'd also take with Ryan. 

Even though Ryan is a douche, I'd actually root for him with anyone at this point. Just prefer him with Harry.

1 minute ago, DRW50 said:

 

Ste is just a void - he has no chemistry with his love interests. I include rib-breaker Brendan, the sexiest domestic violence expert of all time, in that. 

 

I wish they'd do Harry/James but Harry/Ryan wouldn't bother me either. We're likely to have nothing instead. 

I don't know about James. Just something about him that I just don't like. That doesn't mean that I can't see him paired with someone, whether it be Harry or Ryan, but I'm not much of a fan. But I'd take him over Ste and anyone at this point. Ugh. He's so boring.

15 minutes ago, Bright Eyes said:

 

It's unfortunate that anyone has to be with succubus Ste.

Oh, I agree. I loved John Paul and I was secretly rooting for John Paul and Harry. Now I want Harry and Ryan. Sadly, only one of them with Ste would generate a story based on how the current writers think. Take out the kids from Ryan/Ste orbit and they have no story. But with the kids and Amy's death, there is oodles of story to tell for Ryan/Ste. Not so much Harry/Ryan even though I personally think think they'd have lots of stories to play.

12 minutes ago, OLTL #1 fan said:

I'm starting to get on board w/ Harry & James, but really Harry needs a guy his own age

I'd rather Harry and Ryan, but it looks like Ryan and Ste might be the couple despite Ryan kissing Ste's sister.

I'm five episodes in and I'm amazed at how much I like Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Surprised they show

I never paid much attention to her anointment to the throne, particularly when it happened or why, but I was emotionally driven by the death of the King. I guess because it is based on a true story, we won't get a lot of modern twists and turns we expect in a scripted series, but I definitely have love everything I've seen so far. Definitely plan on watching the remaining five and looking forward to where the series goes from here.

As for "Chewing Gum," I can't stop talking about that show with my friends and colleagues. Such a funny show. Came up on my Netflix last week and I binged all six episodes. Want more. When is more??? LOL

Just remembered, Wayward Pines is from M. Night Shyamalan. Yeah, I'm gonna pass. He had me cackling at The Last Airbender, which included the entire theater pissed at the pronunciations of the lead character names. Sorry Terrence. Not even you and your perm can get me to watch a single project from M. Night. PASS!!!

No way would Fox be dumb enough to premiere this show in September or even October!

Exactly. Baseball would be the worst thing for Fox to program Empire around. If not November, it'll definitely go January. I expect a 15-18 episode order for next season.

At least we know why Lucious had a perm in the first episode. I presume that it had to do with that Wayward Pines TV show Howard produced and stars in whose trailer was shown at the end of Empire. Debuts on FOX in May.

Wow, Patti LaBelle singing a Timbaland song. Who would've thunk?

They must only be doing that on the New York one because they're not promoting black shows on the Philly affiliate.

Well affiliates do have the option of airing local ads over national ads. Looks to be the case here. What the NY feed airs commercial wise is supposed to be what the national audience gets, unless it's specifically catered to the NY market itself.