Contessa Donatella

On Christmas Day we had the Endiversary of one of my favorite short-lived primetime soaps. On ABC, 14 episodes, of Paper Dolls! Fashion industry, two young women introduced - Nicolette Sheridan & Terry Farrell. Morgan Fairchild played the lead Racine who was seeing a character played by Roscoe Born. Brenda Vaccaro was a fabulous addition as Nicolette's character's mother. And, I loved the opening theme.

The point was to give other players some time on the front burner. Typically the front burner was used up by Reva & by Phillip. Personally I thought it was great that Grant did it & also that it was temp & not perm. And probably as an actor he worked on something else while he was gone. Actors like that. And, jobs on soaps used to afford that kind of variety to the hired help.

I just wanted to drop in & say Happy Endiversary to all who celebrate! In the 1952-53 season SFT had a Nielsen rating of 16.1 which is the highest rating on record. (Wikipedia) This past year we learned something new about SFT. In 1970 or 1971 Kathy Phillips had what might have been the first legal abortion on a soap. At that time abortions were legal in 3 states - New York, Florida & Hawaii. Only New York did NOT have a residency requirement. So anyone who could afford to get there could get a legal medically achieved abortion. And, that is how Kathy Phillips may have gotten the first legal one, as opposed to Erica on AMC. Lance Jackson told us his memory of it. Got some info in a soap magazine. Also corresponded with Courtney Sherman Simon who played Kathy. Confirmed it! Posted about it.

I confess I continue to like these scab-written days, DAYS, etc. You are so right about Chad being wrong. Doug & Julie are too old to have to mind your children 24 hours a day! There was no Leo! Hip hip hooray! I hope something ill befalls Constantin. Saying he's going back to Greece but then telling Theresa no he's not really. Right in the middle of my episode, the video stopped & just sat there & buffered for about 20 minutes. I suspect it must be a time when Infinity goes on the blink in my whole neighborhood. I was trying to think: How long has it been since Brady has seen Rachel? IOW, what month did he lose custody? Also, has Abe now had amnesia since June?!!! Pretty long times for some things to be dragging on.

I had to look it up. I was going crazy. His name is Michael Dempsey. I do swear & declare that I do not remember his name or looking at a picture of him, his face, either. I believe you & the IMDb.com are in cahoots to make up this recast! OMG, what a shame to be so forgettable.

https://soaphub.com/general-hospital/commentary-gh/a-critics-review-of-gh-a-roundup-of-the-best-and-worst-of-2023/ First what do I agree with? Worst SL Swerve - boss a she becomes a he, A tie for Return both Lois & Tracy, Tease as Esme begins to remember, Austin should've been Alan's son so agree, accepting Aidan as gay, Drop FIZ it fazzled & FREE LIZ, Breakup Vanna, Visit on the Fly Emma, Nina, money woes, Sasha & that's a LOT. But here's disagree: Laura talking to Charlotte NO! Cody Bell? What? It took them 3 tries & a long dang time! Best Gift? WHAT?! RH's Roger & Delia, who cares?

https://soaphub.com/days-of-our-lives/commentary/a-critics-review-of-days-a-roundup-of-the-best-and-worst-of-2023/ First, let me see if there's any I agree with. Flashback Usage, Megan Best Villain, Chad & Steph Break-up, Hoofing, Worst Death Victor's, Susan Banks BFTD, Ruined Bope Reunion, Shirtless Xander, Holly Jonas, okay, that's a LOT! But, disagree, uh-oh! Leo & Dimitri WORST ROMANCE, Sloan "ends up with" Nicole's baby? Try steals!!!! Xander is the true heir is a story they haven't told yet! Alex? Lack of Personal Growth!!! Sloan is Worst Parent!

Sam & Amanda leaves.mp4 Sam & Amanda, playing in leaves I know. I had the exact same thought. It doesn't seem to make any sense at all. But, about your query regarding blind Rachel & Mac pretending to be someone else. I never found Mac to be lacking in genuine intent but I also thought it was a kind of wacky reaction to blindness. Essentially he set out to fool her & that makes you think about taking advantage of someone!

Bear with me briefly as this is not about Another World ... The next blog I am going to be working on is "Interesting Credits" but that will not be its name. I don't know what it's name will be. But, it is for preferential treatment in credits that do not rise to the level of "star billing." Right now all it is, is some scattered notes. I know there were some people who were interested in this. If you are, PM me. Won't be posting about it here. Thank you. Turns out that I just had to do a revision to the star billing blog. A new instance has been located, 1951, MISS SUSAN. If you were interested in the past, PM me for a new copy. And, now, for the continuing story of Another World ... Sam & Amanda, NYC, Jan. 26, 1988 Sam & Amanda-Taxi (Another World-January 26, 1988).mp4

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! @Errol & @Toups !!

In honor of today's Endiversary of the great but short-lived primetime soap PAPER DOLLS have a listen to this dynamite show opening theme.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Greetings of the Season! 🎅🌟🍪🎁🎄❄️ Well, I can't think of anything to find fault with today. Okay, maybe I can. I think Eric & Sloan's purchases for their stolen baby boy are just plain weird! Like today, one more thing that he won't be able to use till his mother is in prison sharing a cell with Melinda Trask. I mean really folks who buys a hobby horse for an infant?!! I like Nicole & Holly as mother/daughter. I also like that I don't get to whine about Nicole's hairstyle any more. No idea what went right but it seems to be lasting.

OMG! Oh, no, what will Sherri Saum & their two twin boys do?! This is awful.

I happen to agree that more often than not "OJ" is a scapegoat. It is true that effectively having soap fans is an item of habituation so that heavy pre-empting can teach people to get out of the daily habit. The shows were slow to come up with any plans to try to ameliorate that effect. They should have been doing 5 minute recaps at the top of every hour from the first week. Is this hollow? Anyway, you say finale to me & I just knee-jerk claim AW's as one of the worst ever. If I look at the last 3 days of GL, it seems pretty good to me. AW was the last 2 days & I automatically think of what CCulliton said when I asked her what she thought of being memorialized forever as Carolyn the gorilla, ... she effin hates it! Well, me, too. Thanks so much Gary Tomlin & Sam Ratcliff (RIP).

Looks like you picked the perfect spot to me!!!! One & all, Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎁🍪🌟🎅

In 1970-71 Kathy Phillips had a legal abortion on SFT. As far as I can tell a handful of people know this. In speaking to Courtney Sherman Simon about it, she opined that P&G just didn't make a big deal of it. Of course, either ABC or Agnes did make a big deal out of it, so the whole world thinks Erica had the first legal abortion. And, at some point P&G began selling less dishwashing liquid & powder & they didn't need their soap operas to advertise so much soap, as they had previously needed them. Has anyone ever done an analysis of where JFP did the most damage, the least damage, etc.? I know it seems off the top of my head like she did the most damage at AW & the least damage either at SB or at GH.

I am looking for a GH episode. If you by any wild chance know of anyone who has the GH episode of 9-4-2001, holler at me.

Was that just one year apart?! I don't think I realized that. If I recall correctly people were bothered because the actress had only been in the role a very short period of time. If I'm right, that doesn't seem like a very significant issue to me. She was the first Sharlene. Later, Anna Kathryn Holbrook won an Emmy for Sharlene, too. (She was the #2.) I have always wished I knew what scenes were on her winning reel. Of course, her story was incredible & she was so good. Very early on there was a move to boycott P&G & for one year they received no Emmys, presumably because the boycott was successful. It seems very strange now, the things in the distant past that really got Emmy voters riled up.

Is it real if that is not the way you experienced it? And, how can it be said that they were "effectively over" if they continued to make a profit? Plus, how can we deem them as over when they continued to be on the air? Sure, they weren't as successful as they had been. And, we know now that they were not ever going to reclaim any positions of former glory. But they had fans & they employed hundreds of people. I'm sorry but I just don't see it the way you do & I do not think that's being "unreal'.

I think I have just finished with Season 1 of Sarah Lancashire in JULIA. Obviously, she is fantastic. But, you know who else is great? Bebe Neuwirth.

I am beyond accustomed to people who do not agree with me about the final days of GL. I respect the difference of opinion. Neither of us stands alone in our perspectives. But, you might be surprised at how many people discover GL on YouTube & become huge aficionados of both Otalia & Jami. Me, I dearly love the additional days we got. You & others, do not. That's just the way it stands. If you bring up what was brutal, it was the way the show was treated by CBS. And, the incalculable hardships the cast & crew & staff & leadership had to endure. Here is another way that I differ. To me what was done to ATWT was worse. Because they destroyed the narrative tradition & the show, left with a kind of lame pod storytelling, couldn't honor its vets or tell meaningful umbrella stories & just jammed specific characters down the throats of all us who hung in there & watched even though it was shite.

Well, on the good side, we had Gina Tognoni playing an excellent Dinah & Tom Pelphrey's Jonathan Randall was superb, whats-his-face great playing Shane when he had been forgettable on AMC. But, then, we had that awful actor playing Grady. Besides Grady I'm not sure who you're accusing. If nothing else people should remember that GL at the end added to the body of knowledge on how to produce a show in the modern era. People from all over came to GL to see the new techniques they were experimenting with. Nothing was going to save them, but there was a nobility in the way they faced the end. And, dammit, if Nancy Curlee hadn't gotten pregnant another time immediately she'd have come right back to GL! That was her intention. We can blame Stephen Demorest's mighty sperm.

And it is a prime example of something execs should never do, which is to leave the actor n the dark about their character. What is funny is that Angela Shapiro decided to blackball him. She put the word out that he should never work in this town again. After she did, Born was hired onto ATWT, GL, DAYS & I think one more!

When MCE played AMC's Crazy Annie was she in Support then? (How weird is it we have 2 Crazy Annies?)