Matt

I have no knowledge of Colleen Smart at all. I only came in to the series right when Romeo found out that Ruby had lied about the baby. In fact, my 1st episode was the Monday aftermath of what I presume was the Friday cliffhanger revelation. Also, to be fair to Marilyn, all I've really seen her do is flit around all over the place, utterly cluelss about anything that has nothing to do with her, and fawn over & throw herself at slimey Danny who seems to be way too old for her despite her being made up like a character on Mama's Family. I'm not sure how you mean "creepy" in regards to John & Gina where Jett is concerned. I know that they're his foster parents & I also know that the theme of non-convential families and foster children has been a part of the series since the beginning. You're also not the 1st person I've come across who doesn't seem to like Harvey & Roo which I don't understand because I actually like them. I do wish they had something to do other than fret over Lottie and her shrew of a mother because I think Lottie's is annoying (except when she shares scenes with Alf because I think the characters & actors really play well off one another & I'm always a sucker for older person, young person friendships). I love the Braxton boys (except for that creepy father). I love that they're essentially good, yet misguided, and still douchey enough to not be 100% sickeningly noble. I do know that Natalie kinda annoys me because she just seems so intent to stick her nose in everywhere & meddle and I don't think her character has much chemistry with ANYONE (especially Brax, which is why I don't understand why they seem to be pushing them together). I've watched pretty much all of the US soaps at one time or another. I've watched DAYS pretty much my whole life (but I'd say I've only really been paying attention to it for about 30 years). Right now I'm only actively watching DAYS and Bold & Beautiful and passively watching (i.e. it's on, but I'm only really paying attention to it about 1/2 the time) General Hospital. Unfortunately for DAYS, it's seemed like it's always a soap in transition for the last decade or so (even more, really). I don't think the stories have been good for quite a while despite good moments and brief periods and even when all the ingredients are there, it seems to have difficulty putting everything together in a satisfying way. The show has recently gotten new writers, but their material doesn't really start airing until next month. They're off for 2 weeks due to the Olympics and ended last Friday with a big cliffhanger explosion. While that episode (barring the explosion itself) was kinda dull and lackluster (IMO), the episodes leading up to it were actually surprisingly good. IMO, if you were really wanting to start watching the show, I'd say that now would be as good of a time as any. In regards to Will's story, it's been hit or miss because the story itself has been written rather unevenly. That said, I believe his story is about to shift dramatically with the new writers and it's been hinted that they'll finally launch a romantic storyline for the character with Sonny, but we'll see when it happens. TPTB are really playing things quite close to the vest lately.

To be honest, Marilyn annoys the crap out of me. I get that she's a veteran character, but she just seems so... silly & over the top. IMO, she looks almost like a cartoon and I'm sure she's probably not that old, but she looks so damn matronly. Every time she starts prattling on about something, I want to yell "SHUT UP!" at the screen. I know that while H&A is on hiatus in the UK that they're playing the show from the beginning. I'm hoping at some point those episodes show up in the places I like to download from. I tired Neighbours, but I found it dreadfully boring and very much like something I would expect to find in the afternoons here on ABC Family or the like. However, a cyber friend of mine insists that it's good (and the promo for the upcoming car accident does intrigue me) so I'm planning on marathoning a big long stretch of episodes once I get the time to do it and give it another shot.

Well, I was able to figure out who was connected to whom enough to follow the stories. Being as OCD about things as I am, I did go look everything up (and still do because I get curious), but I could easily understand that Ruby was with Romeo because she'd lied about being pregnant (and then lied about a miscarraige) and that Romeo and Indi were once married, etc. etc. I only just now found out that Ruby is the daughter of Brax's dead ex-love Charlie. I'm not too sure how I feel about Romeo/Indi because I haven't seen much of them. I do think that the actress who plays Indi reminds me a LOT of Bree Williamson from OLTL (almost like she could be her younger sister). I was a tad confused about certain ages because I thought Romeo & Indi were quite a bit younger than they are. And I'm never quite certain how old the teen-aged characters are because they all seem to have much more mature storylines than characters of corresponding ages here in the US. I do have to admit, though, that getting into non-US soaps has been one of the greatest things I've ever done. In fact, I enjoy all of them a lot more than I currently enjoy most of the US soaps. I can honestly say that I make sure to watch Home & Away every day.

I just started watching for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised by how easy it is to get into. With very little research (when watching most of the Britsoaps, I have to have the official show page open as well as the current cast list on wikipedia just to figure out who's who sometimes) I managed to understand who was related to who and what was going on. I really like the Jett story right now and I can honestly say that I've quickly become a Heath/Bianca shipper. That Dan Ewing is FIIIIIIINE.

I actually just started watching just a few weeks ago (heck, I'm watching so many non-US soaps right now it's not even funny) and while I am enjoying it (I think I'm in love with Jean as a character), I not feeling nearly the emotional connection to it as I already do to Corrie or Emmerdale (although I can see where Emmerdale has it's own issues). Although I'm not familiar with the Sharon character, this promo has done enough to make me interested & eager for her return.

It was a pic from the "Billy's Olympic Nightmare" red button special. Billy's been selected to be an official Olympic torch bearer and he's stressing over it and has a nightmare about it, hence the pants around the ankles. From what I've read, the actor who plays Billy actually IS a torch bearer and his portion of the torch relay will be run IN CHARACTER and broadcast as part of a live episode of EastEnders (during which his granddaughter Lola, who annoys the crap out of me, is supposed to give birth). I forget which day next week it's supposed to happen, though.

Woohoo! I have this issue and I specifically buying off of the newstand (I was all of 12 at the time) just for this article because I was determined to watch the premiere of a new soap opera (which I'd never gotten to do before).

Just started watching Home & Away here in the US (thanks to the internet) and I'm absolutely loving it. Those Braxton boys are hawt!

Oh, this makes me so giddy that I can hardly see straight. I'm currently doing my happy dance!

I've always wondered how Fawne Harriman was on Somerset because the only thing I've ever seen her in was that 1 episode of "Charlie's Angels" she did and I've never read one good thing about her performance in it. Every comment I've read typically states that she the 1 single client the Angels had where everyone was unanimously rooting for the killer to get her just to shut her up. I can't recall the title of the episode off the top of my head, but it was Fawne played "Angela" who was a college roommate of Sabrina's who's a stewardess being stalked and left black roses and the Angels have to go undercover at the stewardess school which turns into a take-off on Airport '75 where Kelly has to land a passenger plane. I do love watching old episodes of episodic 1970s television, though, because you never know what classic soap star of the period you'll end up running into.

I remember reading an interview with Carol Roux (in fact, it might be here in one of my old Daytime TV magazines) where she talks about how similar to Missy she really was. If I remember correctly, she was adopted and never knew her real parents and she was rather shy (or stuttered or something social awkward) and was put into speech & theater to counteract it. I do remember that when I read the article, she came across as REALLY spacey (of course, it was the late 70s and a lot of the actors/actresses of the period had a tendancy to be "far out, man" and rather hippy-ish). I do know that several years ago on the old WoST site, Brian actually did a podcast interview with Carol (I never knew that her last name was actually pronounced "Rue") and I was somewhat taken aback by how delicate and little girl like her voice sounded. Kinda like how Jennifer Tilly sounds as Bonnie on Family Guy. And she did come across as a rather excentric space cadet, IMO.

::scoots up next to Tom:: You'd be my new best friend.

Tom, I just managed to work my way through all of those synopses and I can't thank you enough for them because I thoroughly enjoyed every word.

While I have no solid frame of personal reference between the 2 Rachel's beyond what I've read and the scant bit of early Wyndham that I've seen, I think the most striking difference is that Strasser's Rachel could be rather passive-agressive. She was the type of character who would guilt you into doing something for her (poor Rachel. she's had it so rough.) or would wrap her malicious digs in the trappings of a compliment (It's so sad how Alice can't have a child of her own. Being barren is so tragic. My heart goes out to her. I feel so fortunate to have Jamie.). Wyndham's Rachel was just down right mean with none of those trappings. Strasser's Rachel would smile to get close enough to you and then stab you in the back. Wyndham's Rachel would knock someone out of the way to get to you and then full on gut you like a fish.

I think I love you. I will read anything and everything you post about Somerset.

I remember "For Love & Honor". I didn't watch it, though. It wasn't on very long at all (September 23, 1983 - December 27, 1983). The networks had prime time soaps out the wazoo in '83. The same season, CBS premiered the short-lived "Emerald Point, N.A.S." (which lasted just about as long) and NBC also premiered "The Yellow Rose" (which also didn't make it past that season, but did warrant a weird repeat run during the summer of 1990. Also on the air during the 1983-1984 season were the standard bearers "Dallas", "Dynasty", "Knots Landing", & "Falcon Crest". "For Love & Honor" aired at 10pm on Fridays and was up against "Falcon Crest" on CBS and "Matt Houston" on ABC. It's lead-in was "Manimal". NBC has never had much success with their Friday schedule. lol

I am SO TOALLY stealing that gif where Dominique slaps Alexis.

I'm in mourning. FortuneCity ditched all their free webpages and switched to being a paid dotster. Lost in the wipe out is the legendary Edge of Night Homepage as well as Daytime Soap Opera Theme Song & Main Titles site. Although neither one had been updated in YEARS, I still found them to be a deep treasure trove of information and both are a GREAT loss to soap opera history.

This biography of Claire Lawrence surprises me because it states that she and husband Jonathan McNeal moved to Selby Flats in CA from Five Points in 1946 -- BEFORE the show left the air in November 1946 (thanks to General Mills dropping the show because of that pesky lawsuit between Irna & Emmons Carlson over creator credit). Considering the biography states that Claire & Jonathan married in October 1946, the move had to have occured right before the cancellation. I had always presumed that the shift in locale coincided with the show's return (under P&G sponsorship/ownership) in June 1947 on CBS (it had previously aired on NBC). Dr. Matthews was still a part of the show's cast, but nothing is mentioned of Claire & Jonathan after the November 1946 cancellation. Interestingly, the 1990s GL Family Album cast list only lists Charles Matthews as being part of the show from 1947-1949. I do know that part of the original 1946 plan for GL was to move produciton of the series from Chicago to California along with the productions of the other block of NBC serials it was a part of, but it was cancelled before it happened. I've heard that when it returned in 1947, it was broadcast out of California for a brief time but then moved to NYC, but I've also heard that the P&G version of GL always broadcast from NYC.

We Love Soaps is reporting that Linda Cook (Laurie Ann Karr) has died. http://www.welovesoaps.net/2012/04/lindacook.html

We Love Soaps is reporting that Linda Cook (Egypt Masters) has died. http://www.welovesoaps.net/2012/04/lindacook.html

I LOVED the Capwell Zone episode. That reminds me of a little running thing the show did with replacing its theme song over the opening from time to time with a different song. Quite often, they'd use a Christmas song at Christmas. They used the "Twilight Zone" theme over the Capwell Zone. And the one that I'll always remember (because it always makes me tear up) is that the opening for the episode that began Cruz & Eden's actual wedding ceremony had the bridal march. In other news: I just discovered that the late Joe Harnell (who wrote the Santa Barbara theme song along with numerous OTHER TV themes including "The Bionic Woman" & "The Incredible Hulk") has quite a bit of his stuff available for puchase on itunes -- including his version of the full SB theme song as well as a piano version!

Dr. Abel Marsh & Leo Mars

Brigette Wilson's Lisa Fenimore was, quite possibly, my FAVORITE part of this era of "Santa Barbara". I still believe that if the show had continued, she could've been the breakout star & character and I'm always surprised that she never turned up on another soap.

Now how did I never know that Julie Mannix was Danielle Von Zerneck's (ex-Lou Swenson, GH) mother?