http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=071310_01

IN CELEBRATION OF VANESSA MARCIL'S RETURN TO "GENERAL HOSPITAL"

AS BRENDA BARRETT ON AUGUST 11, SPECIAL BRENDA PROGRAMMING

TAKES OVER ABC DAYTIME AND SOAPNET THE WEEK OF AUGUST 9

"General Hospital" Will Own the ABC Daytime Drama Block from 1:00-3:00 PM, ET

On August 10 With Classic Episodes Featuring the Men in Brenda Barrett's Life

Additional Programming and Digital Events Include Special Retrospectives,

A SOAPnet Marathon of Classic Brenda Episodes, Hosted Wraps, a Countdown

Of the 25 Key Brenda Moments, Timelines, Photo Galleries and Trivia Quizzes

In celebration of Vanessa Marcil's return to "General Hospital" as Brenda Barrett on Wednesday, August 11, special Brenda programming takes over on ABC Daytime and SOAPnet the week of August 9. "General Hospital" will own the ABC Daytime drama block from 1:00-3:00 PM, ET on Tuesday, August 10, with classic episodes featuring the men in Brenda's life (Sonny, Jax and Jason). Additional programming and digital events include special retrospectives, a SOAPnet marathon of classic Brenda episodes, hosted wraps, a countdown of the 25 key Brenda moments, timelines, photo galleries and trivia quizzes.

When we last saw Brenda, Jax had left her at the altar and, as a result, she left town. Now Brenda's return to Port Charles comes at a time when the three most important men in her life - Sonny, Jax and Jason - are all in crisis. Brenda's in trouble herself - when is she not? - possessing an explosive secret. She has no idea of the havoc this indiscretion will wreak or that she'll send the lives of loved ones hurtling into chaos.

The Brenda Barrett ABC Daytime and SOAPnet programming event includes:

July 17: SOAPnet's 25-day countdown to the return of Brenda Barrett begins: Each day leading up to her arrival, a key Brenda moment will be revealed:

Every day, starting on Saturday, July 17 and leading up to her return on August 11, fans will see key Brenda moments on SOAPnet. Some of the moments will include Sonny learning Brenda is wearing a wire; Sonny and Brenda's famous kiss on the beach; and Sonny leaving Brenda in the rain. The complete list of 25 Brenda video moments will be available on ABC.com and SOAPnet.com starting August 10.

August 6 & 9: Original "General Hospital" episodes feature Sonny remembering special moments with Brenda Barrett:

3:00 PM ET ABC / 10:00 PM ET SN: Facing estrangement from all his major relationships, especially from his children, Sonny finds himself reminiscing about Brenda and longing for a past, simpler life that allowed him to love as completely as he did once with her. On Friday, August 6, we leave Sonny on the docks thinking about Brenda -- and he flashes back to the time he helped her lug a heavy suitcase.

Mistaking Claire Walsh for Brenda on August 9, Sonny tries to distract himself from his memories of her by pursuing Claire. However Sonny still cannot get her out of his mind - and he remembers the first time he told Brenda he loved her.

August 10: "General Hospital" takeover event with all three hours of the ABC Daytime drama block dedicated to "Brenda Barrett's Men: A Special 'General Hospital' Marathon," hosted by Vanessa Marcil on ABC and SOAPnet:

1:00 PM ET ABC / 8:00 PM ET SN - "General Hospital" Episode #8602 (OAD November 5, 1996) -- As Brenda prepares to marry Jax at the Quartermaine mansion, Sonny interrupts with Miranda, who's still married to Jax.

2:00 PM ET ABC / 9:00 PM ET SN - "General Hospital" Episode #8831 (OAD September 24, 1997) -- After being left at the altar by Sonny, Brenda reminisces about the key moments of their relationship.

3:00 PM ET ABC / 10:00 PM ET SN - "General Hospital" Episode #10138 (OAD October 29, 2002) -- Brenda and Jason's Las Vegas wedding.

August 11: Brenda Barrett Returns to "General Hospital":

3:00 PM ET ABC/ 10:00 PM ET:

Brenda appears on the "General Hospital" landscape as the face of fashion house Cartullo, only to be attacked by a dangerous stalker.

August 15: SOAPnet marathon: "The Best of Brenda and Sonny," with special appearances by Vanessa Marcil and Maurice Benard:

3:00 PM - "General Hospital" Episode #8105 (OAD December 2, 1994) - In Puerto Rico, Sonny and Brenda escape on a boat and end up washed ashore on a beach, where their relief turns to passion. The two then hurry back to Miguel's (Ricky Martin) concert to warn him that he and Lois are in danger.

4:00 PM - "General Hospital" Episode #8688 (OAD March 7, 1997) -- Trapped in a cave and thinking they're going to die, Sonny and Brenda admit their feelings for each other and make love as Jax and Jason search for them.

5:00 PM - "General Hospital" Episode #8829 (OAD September 22, 1997) -- Brenda is stunned at her wedding when Sonny leaves her waiting alone at the altar.

6:00 PM - "General Hospital" Episode #9002 (OAD May 26, 1998) -- Brenda pays a surprise visit to Sonny and finally gets him to admit why he didn't show up for their wedding.

Additionally, beginning the week of July 12, ABC.com and SOAPnet.com will start rolling out content that will allow fans to reminisce and catch up on all things Brenda. The site will include photo galleries, story histories and trivia questions. The complete list of the key 25 Brenda video moments will be available starting August 10. Fans can log onto www.abc.com/generalhospital and www.soapnet.com for more info.

Vanessa Marcil created the role of Brenda Barrett in 1992 and won a Daytime Emmy® for her portrayal in 2003 for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Named one of People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People," Marcil has been seen in many successful TV series, including "Las Vegas," "Without a Trace," "Lipstick Jungle" and "Beverly Hills 90210."

"General Hospital" airs at 3:00 p.m., ET, 2:00 p.m., PT on the ABC Television Network, and on SOAPnet at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Winner of a record-setting 10 Emmys for Outstanding Daytime Drama, the program celebrated 47 years of broadcasting on April 1, 2010, and is the longest-running dramatic serial on ABC, having aired over 12,000 episodes. "General Hospital" consistently rates as one of the top-rated Daytime programs in the key demographic of Women 18-49.

"General Hospital" was created by Frank and Doris Hursley. Jill Farren Phelps is the executive producer. Mary O'Leary, Mercer Barrows and Michelle Henry are producers. Robert Guza, Jr. is the head writer. Full episodes of "General Hospital" are available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.

SOAPnet owns the world of character-driven soapy drama, from daytime and primetime dramas to reality shows and movies. The network features same-day episodes of popular daytime dramas including "All My Children," "Days of our Lives," "One Life to Live," "General Hospital" and "The Young and the Restless"; favorite primetime series "Gilmore Girls," "The O.C.," "One Tree Hill" and "Beverly Hills 90210"; and original programs including "Being Erica." Wrapped in a 24-hour environment, SOAPnet is the one destination for stories focused on real emotions and revealing truths about intriguing yet flawed characters.

Pfffttt with Frons in charge? Never gonna happen. We're lucky we ever got an Erica marathon on Soapnet a few years back.

ADGH that character returns the day before. ABCD probably had the pre-emption scheduled before they released the other soap return days.

All the current females on GH look like Brenda, which is another problem. How will we tell them all apart? If you're paying attention they do look different, but still it's a problem. I saw Lisa LoC screaming during an Emmy clip and I thought "Brenda was on GH last year? Why are they showing a 8-15 year old clip?"

La Lucci will still be on vacation then right? Otherwise they wouldn't dare.

Hee. More time to watch TV and see the spectacle. She's been through that before, to a smaller extent (shocked that I can say that) with finger tapping Budig, lol.

This Brenda Marathon is a test run for future marathons that are going to fill those extra 20 days per the other thread.

I can just picture it now. November Sweeps will have Brenda appear on ALL the shows. A triple crossover revolving her character as she goes to Pine Valley and Llanview. Triple the Brenda for triple the fun.

This Brenda Marathon is a test run for future marathons that are going to fill those extra 20 days per the other thread.

You are probably right. The plan must be to show three episodes of a couple to promote them on that given day.

Cheap don't give them any ideas, I'm sure if Guza had his way he'd make that happen

I know it is overkill, but I sorta like it. I love the eps they are airing and I am not digging AMC or OLTL at the moment.

ADGH that character returns the day before. ABCD probably had the pre-emption scheduled before they released the other soap return days.

All the current females on GH look like Brenda, which is another problem. How will we tell them all apart? If you're paying attention they do look different, but still it's a problem. I saw Lisa LoC screaming during an Emmy clip and I thought "Brenda was on GH last year? Why are they showing a 8-15 year old clip?"

That's what i thought when I tuned it to GH a few weeks ago. There's too many Brendas on now.

Edited July 13, 201015 yr by Ruxton Hills

ADGH that character returns the day before. ABCD probably had the pre-emption scheduled before they released the other soap return days.

Haha yeah I knew they were returning the day before, but it's the fact that Brenda's taking over the day AFTER (and pre-empting AMC & OLTL while she's at it) that annoys me LOL. I'm going to hate that!

I can just picture it now. November Sweeps will have Brenda appear on ALL the shows. A triple crossover revolving her character as she goes to Pine Valley and Llanview. Triple the Brenda for triple the fun.

She's the new Linda Dano.

I can just picture it now. November Sweeps will have Brenda appear on ALL the shows. A triple crossover revolving her character as she goes to Pine Valley and Llanview. Triple the Brenda for triple the fun.

It would be funny if they just had her walk through scenes like some kind of random mindfuck. On AMC, Liza shows up at Krystal's for lunch and waves to Brenda who's sitting at another table. Or on OLTL, have her sitting on a chaise at the country club reading a magazine.

I'm betting Vanesaa will only be DWTS in the new season, too. She'll also host The View for a week. Cheap, 1 week crossovers but spread out over 3 sweeps

I'm not down with the overkill but I actually hope her return is good creatively despite the obstacles that are there which are long-term bad story-telling and long-term bad characterizations. That would be good for GH, GH fans and possibly ABC Daytime.

It would be funny if they just had her walk through scenes like some kind of random mindfuck. On AMC, Liza shows up at Krystal's for lunch and waves to Brenda who's sitting at another table. Or on OLTL, have her sitting on a chaise at the country club reading a magazine.

What would be better is if the day before the EPIC TAKEOVER, the Agnes shows would take jabs at Brenda.

Jesse meets Angie at the hospital.

ANGIE: Oh, honey, we should really spend some time together. Let's go to the Valley Inn tomorrow for a nice dinner.

JESSE: Nope. That bitch Brenda.

ANGIE: Oh yeah, I forgot.

Cheap don't give them any ideas, I'm sure if Guza had his way he'd make that happen

Kendall launches a new add campaign and lands former model to become the new Face of Fusion. While across town, she is confronted by Ford from OLTL, who is revealed to be her younger half brother. Brenda crosses over to help him with his troubles

Apparantly ABC learned NOTHING from the "Real Greenlee" overexposure promotion

Way to turn people off her before she even returns GH

This is 1000x worse. At least Frons didn't hold the entire line up hostage for Budig's return.