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.

Laura Wright is a shitty actress. She was awful on GL and is even worse as Carly on GH. I have never accepted her as Carly.

I agree. Valley Girl Carly is soooooo cheap.

They're rerunning an episode with Sarah Joy's Carly, though, that's what gets me. That's not like ABC at all, especially with a character like Carly.

While I agree that a lot of this is overkill, I for one am thrilled that they are doing the marathons. Aren't late 90s repeats better than repeats from earlier this year? If we have to have 20 episodes cut (as is rumored), I certainly hope we get more of these types of marathons than current repeats.

They're rerunning an episode with Sarah Joy's Carly, though, that's what gets me. That's not like ABC at all, especially with a character like Carly.

That's just solidifying my point. LW takes a backseat to Vanity.

While I agree that a lot of this is overkill, I for one am thrilled that they are doing the marathons. Aren't late 90s repeats better than repeats from earlier this year? If we have to have 20 episodes cut (as is rumored), I certainly hope we get more of these types of marathons than current repeats.

Yes, but the majority of those marathons would be likely be for GH.

I thank SON for taking ABC to task for this. I am curious if the soap magazines and press will do the same? If not, they are saying this is OK, and OLTL and AMC don't matter, which lately have been getting better ratings than GH. I know I won't ever watch one second of GH and Brenda that's for sure.

I thank SON for taking ABC to task for this. I am curious if the soap magazines and press will do the same? If not, they are saying this is OK, and OLTL and AMC don't matter, which lately have been getting better ratings than GH. I know I won't ever watch one second of GH and Brenda that's for sure.

Thanks.

And what irks me is that OLTL would never get this kind of treatment, and (while it could happen), I highly doubt that AMC would get the GH treatment either. This is just yet another reason why I hate GH.

Thanks.

And what irks me is that OLTL would never get this kind of treatment, and (while it could happen), I highly doubt that AMC would get the GH treatment either. This is just yet another reason why I hate GH.

I am a OLTL fan, and it makes me mad, I don't care about Brenda never watched her. But it is all ABC cares about, ABC SID never puts any other soaps on the cover and I read the ratings and for weeks GH was rated lower than AMC and OLTL. Why can't they do this during GH and on Soapnet. I can't believe they thought this was a good idea and that also means that on Friday we will be getting Thurs show for months until they get caught up.

I am a OLTL fan, and it makes me mad, I don't care about Brenda never watched her. But it is all ABC cares about, ABC SID never puts any other soaps on the cover and I read the ratings and for weeks GH was rated lower than AMC and OLTL. Why can't they do this during GH and on Soapnet. I can't believe they thought this was a good idea and that also means that on Friday we will be getting Thurs show for months until they get caught up.

Exactly...I'm with you on this. I watch only OLTL. I know next to nothing about the character of Brenda, and couldn't care less if she comes back. This is a stupid idea even for ABC...and that is saying something.

Exactly...I'm with you on this. I watch only OLTL. I know next to nothing about the character of Brenda, and couldn't care less if she comes back. This is a stupid idea even for ABC...and that is saying something.

Sure is, real Greenlee, thought they learned their lesson after that one. BTW, I love your spoilers, the only ones I read.

It could be worse OLTL fanbois...the show would always be canceled or the budget could be further slashed to supplement GH's fantastic production values.

Just enjoy the ride.

Sure is, real Greenlee, thought they learned their lesson after that one. BTW, I love your spoilers, the only ones I read.

Thanks for the kind words about the previews.

As for ABC, no I'm afraid they'll never learn their lesson.

It could be worse OLTL fanbois...the show would always be canceled or the budget could be further slashed to supplement GH's fantastic production values.

Just enjoy the ride.

Well, aside from perhaps cancellation (which might actually be a blessing right now), I don't see how things could get much worse for OLTL at the moment.

But, on the bright side, it will free up an extra hour of free time that afternoon to catch up on some chores, since I will not be watching the GH lovefest that day.

Well, aside from perhaps cancellation (which might actually be a blessing right now), I don't see how things could get much worse for OLTL at the moment.

But, on the bright side, it will free up an extra hour of free time that afternoon to catch up on some chores, since I will not be watching the GH lovefest that day.

I would happily settle for AMC at 2EST and a David Muir hosted noon news hour. No need to put GH reruns on in OLTL's timeslot.

I would happily settle for AMC at 2EST and a David Muir hosted noon news hour. No need to put GH reruns on in OLTL's timeslot.

David Muir loves u too bellcurve But you must share:P