Another SOAPnet Update

In my last post, I mentioned that SOAPnet was going to continue airing same-day episodes of Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and General Hospital. At the time, I didn't know the status of the next-day repeats and weekend marathons since they weren't specifically mentioned in what I'd read.

As of today, I haven't noticed any change in the lineup. There was a Make It or Break It marathon on Sunday, but there are often marathons of other shows anyway. I'm sure this one was because ABC Family is now in charge, since that's one of their shows. The same-day and next-day airings of the soaps are still being done, as are the weekend marathons of Y&R and GH.

SOAPnet's Status

SOAPnet viewers may be wondering what's going on with the network. I know I've been wondering. I've read plenty of different versions of when SOAPnet's last day would be. Things are still pretty much up in the air, although there is some news.

According to ABC Soaps in Depth, SOAPnet's transition to Disney Junior will begin on March 24, with ABC Family running things for a while. This means that ABC Family shows will become part of the lineup. I hope it will include airing Pretty Little Liars from the beginning, but so far, I haven't seen anything to indicate that will happen.

The rebroadcasts of General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless will continue. Technically, the article says that the same-day rebroadcasts will continue, with no mention of the following morning or weekend marathons. I'll be monitoring the situation to see what happens.

Special One Life to Live Marathon New Year's Day

With One Life to Live ending on January 13, SOAPnet has scheduled a 14-hour OLTL marathon for New Year's Day. It begins at 10am Eastern and runs until midnight.

Here's the schedule:

10:00 am - Karen takes the stand and admits she was a prostitute. (March 6, 1979)

11:00 am - Tina goes over the falls in Argentina, which leaves Cord taking out his anger on Max. (March 9, 1987)

12:00 pm - The Buchanan clan goes back in time to the Old West. (May 13, 1988)

1:00 pm - Megan dies in Jake's arms. (February 7, 1992)

2:00 pm - 25th Anniversary show where Luna believes Max is alive, Viki and Dorian are trapped together, and Tina sits by Cord's hospital bedside. (July 15, 1993)

3:00 pm - Viki walks in on Joey and Dorian. David asks Tina to secretly marry him, and Powell holds Todd at gunpoint. (November 28, 1994)

4:00 pm - Blair and Todd get married, Patrick sleeps with Marty, and Kelly asks Joey to help take her virginity away. (November 14, 1995)

5:00 pm - Viki realizes she killed her father. Dorian is arrested for Victor's murder. (December 8, 1995)

6:00 pm - Asa's wives return for his funeral. Natalie crashes the service, adjusting to the news that she's a Buchanan. (November 16, 2001)

7:00 pm - Niki wants out of Viki's marriage to Ben. Todd is confronted by Blair over her baby dying. Natalie gives Jen a warning about Al. (May 14, 2002)

8:00 pm - Natalie confesses her feelings to John. Tess takes over while Jessica warns Nash that she isn't Tess. Evangeline receives thanks for saving Natalie. (August 22, 2005)

9:00 pm - Todd says an emotional goodbye while awaiting execution. Antonio tries to bring Jess back by pleading with Tess. (May 29, 2006)

10:00 pm - Starr bonds with Blair and Marcie after the birth of Hope. Bess steals Hope. Natalie and Jared are saved from the bomb in the basement. John tells Marty Todd raped her. (November 10, 2008)

11:00 pm - David marries Bo and Nora. (June 7, 2010)

Special All My Children Marathons This Weekend on SOAPnet

SOAPnet is airing two special All My Children marathons this weekend. These marathons consist of classic episodes from the show and are a terrific way for more recent fans to see episodes from before they began watching.

"I Love Lucci" is a five-episode marathon starting today (Saturday) at 7pm EDT.

"Last Chance for Romance" is longer, with seven episodes beginning Sunday at 5pm EDT.

Each marathon runs until midnight. After Sunday's special, the regular weekly AMC marathon will air.

AMC wraps up next week, with its final episode airing Friday, September 23.

Shows I've Been Watching This Summer

I was thinking about how much TV I watch, and I realized I probably watch more this summer than any other summer. Some of this is due to how many soap operas I watch, since each one airs five hours a week.

Alphas is my only Monday-night show, although I don't watch it until a day or two later. In fact, at this point, I've only seen the first episode. Fortunately, there have only been two so far, with the third episode airing tonight, which means I'm not really very far behind.

On Tuesdays, Pretty Little Liars is a must, followed by The Nine Lives of Chloe King. That reminds me; any Chloe King fans who want The Rogue to be resurrected should check Kiko Ellsworth's Twitter or Facebook account for info about a campaign to get him back on the show.

Also, I watch The Young and the Restless on SOAPnet, either the evening repeat or the next morning. The same goes for One Life to Live; the story about the two Todds is too good to miss.

I do still watch All My Children, but not as often or as closely. I'm tired of the endless resurrections--especially Dixie. I've never been a Dixie fan. I do, however, want to see where Zach has been since his plane exploded. He's supposed to be back on August 5.

I still haven't had a chance to see Legend Quest, but it's on my list of things to do. I'm also planning to give The Lying Game a try when it premieres next month.

I tried to watch the premiere of Falling Skies, but I was very sleepy, and it was too action-oriented for me, so I gave up. If anyone thinks I should give it another chance, please let me know.

Bittersweet News for Fans of AMC and OLTL

There was a big announcement from ABC today, when a press release revealed that both All My Children and One Life to Live will continue after all. The catch? They won't actually be on TV anymore.

Instead of continuing on ABC or any other network, both shows will be moving to an online venue. This is big news for everyone involved, and while it makes a lot of people happy to know that their shows will continue in some form, it isn't exactly the news we'd hoped for. You can read more about it here.

CW Fall Schedule

The CW announced its fall schedule today. In addition to some returning favorites, a few new dramas and reality shows will be on the lineup.

The CW picked up Sarah Michelle Gellar's new show, Ringer, after CBS passed on it. I'd already seen indications that this was the case, but now we have the official word. The network also picked up Hart of Dixie, which stars Rachel Bilson.

Supernatural is staying in its Friday night timeslot. I really wish it had been paired with The Vampire Diaries and put back on Thursdays. Instead, Nikita is moving to Fridays, and The Secret Circle will be paired with The Vampire Diaries. This pairing makes sense, considering the fact that both shows are based on books written by L. J. Smith. Days of Our Lives fans will recognize Shelly Hennig, who played Stephanie until recently, as one of the stars.

In addition to Supernatural's undesirable timeslot, I was disappointed not to see Awakening on the schedule. I was looking forward to the zombie show.

The full story is here.

Is General Hospital the Next to Go?

General Hospital is likely on its way out, or at least that's the rumor. Would you like to know what would go on the air in its place? A talk show headed by Katie Couric.

Although GH spin-off Port Charles was my favorite soap opera, I've never been a GH fan. Nevertheless, I'm angry about this development. It seems that all the soaps are being systematically taken away. Many are already gone, and All My Children and One Life to Live won't be around much longer.

Even people who don't get into the soaps have reason to be concerned. Soaps have a huge fan base that is being ignored. Certain demographics are considered important, and if you're not included, the TV execs don't give a hoot about your opinions. For now, soaps are the target. When they're all gone, what type of show will be next?

Spin-Off Ideas

Some of my all-time favorite shows were spin-offs of other shows. Angel was a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is another one of my favorites. Even Port Charles was a spin-off, although I didn't (and don't) watch General Hospital.

A while back, I wanted to come up with a few spin-off ideas for some of my favorite shows. Which shows had the best potential? I thought about what they would be like and who would star in them.

I came up with three shows that I felt had terrific spin-off potential, based on a character in each one. I planned them out carefully and came up with my dream casts. If you're interested, you can read all about them here.

Granted, this isn't something I would expect to happen. Most of my shows don't get spectacular ratings; they're usually hanging by a thread, hoping not to be canceled. In fact, since I came up with these fantasy spin-offs, one of these shows was canceled, but my ideas for its spin-off are still valid.

It probably seems like a silly waste of time to a lot of people, but I enjoyed it. After all, people are always thinking about their favorite shows and actors. They also like to come up with dream casts for movies or shows made from books. This isn't much different, and it was a lot of fun.

One-Hit Wonders

A one-hit wonder is a recording artist that has one major hit and then never achieves that level of success again. The exact criteria vary from one definition to another, from placing the song anywhere on Billboard's Hot 100 to maintaining that only #1 songs qualify.

While looking at a lot of lists of one-hit wonders and the songs that made them famous, I came up with a list of my favorites. I had doubts that some of the ones I saw really only had one hit, but I wrote them down anyway. Then I chose ten to mention here.

Here are some of my favorite hit songs by one-hit wonders, in no particular order:

1. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (The Verve) - A phenomenal song, and a great video to go with it.

2. "Under the Milky Way" (The Church) - It's hard to get better than this song, which was later included in the Donnie Darko soundtrack.

3. "I'll See You in My Dreams" (Giant) - One of only two power ballads included on this list, although there are probably others I could have mentioned.

4. "Bad Day" (Daniel Powter) - A catchy song with a good video.

5. "Don't Close Your Eyes" (Kix) - The second power ballad I decided to include here.

6. "Tainted Love" (Soft Cell) - This one will always remind me of Port Charles, which made good use of the song during its "Tainted Love" arc.

7. "The Promise" (When In Rome) - This is a nice, catchy song.

8. "Cry Little Sister" (Gerard McMann) - This theme from The Lost Boys has been covered by several bands and re-recorded by the original artist, but the original version is my favorite.

9. "Cry" (Godley & Creme) - Somehow, I completely missed this one until seeing the video a few years ago. Priceless.

10. "Major Tom (Coming Home)" (Peter Schilling) - This follow-up to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" tells what happened to Major Tom.

Nolan North

Who is Nolan North? Many people recognize his name. In fact, if you're a gamer, you're probably quite familiar with his work; for the past few years, he's been concentrating on voiceover roles.

That's not the only place you'll come across Nolan North, though. His acting career started when he landed a major role on a new soap opera. He's also been on primetime television and in movies, and he currently has a recurring role on Pretty Little Liars, as Spencer's dad.

Michael Easton

Michael Easton has been one of my favorite actors for many years. His portrayal of Caleb Morley on ABC's Port Charles made Caleb my favorite TV vampire.

He's a fan favorite as one of daytime's leading men. He was on Days of Our Lives years before resurfacing on Port Charles. He also had a memorable guest role on Ally McBeal. However, his talent isn't limited to acting. In fact, Michael Easton is a man of many talents.

In his latest role on One Life to Live, his character is in transition. The woman he loved betrayed him, and he left her at the altar. Will he go back to her?

With OLTL on its way out, many fans will probably want the two characters to reunite and live happily ever after. I would have preferred to pair him with any of the other actresses I mentioned in my article about his leading ladies, but at this point, with the show ending in a few months, that's not likely to happen.

Loss of Two More Daytime Soaps

If you're a soap fan and haven't heard the news yet, make sure you're sitting down. This is a doozy.

ABC has announced the cancellation of both All My Children and One Life to Live. Fans were expecting it to be one or the other, but certainly not both.

If this trend continues, there won't be any daytime soaps left.

Exciting News for One Life to Live Fans!

For quite some time, fans of One Life to Live have been hoping for the return of Roger Howarth to the show. Well, now it's finally happening. Roger Howarth, the original Todd Manning, is coming back!

What does this exciting news mean for the the show, for Todd, and for the two actors who have played the role? There's a lot of speculation out there, and as someone who has watched the show for many years, I can speculate with the best of them. I pay attention to little details and always ask questions about what I see--and what I don't see. If you're interested in my thoughts, check out my article.

I'm looking forward to seeing Roger Howarth back on my TV screen. That doesn't mean I want Trevor St. John to go anywhere, though. Both are good actors who have brought something unique to their portrayals of Todd Manning.

Love in an Elevator

When SOAPnet first started advertising its What If web series, I really didn't plan to check them out, other than the snippets that would be shown on TV. Some of the crossovers looked interesting, but not enough for me to try to watch them online.

Then one day I found out about the one with OLTL's John McBain and GH's Sam McCall. These characters are portrayed by Michael Easton and Kelly Monaco, whose onscreen pairing as Caleb and Livvie on Port Charles made them one of my all-time favorite couples. I had to see their What If. I just had to.

Wow!!! Their chemistry is still there, as I knew it would be. This 5-minute webisode, titled Love in an Elevator, shows exactly why these two were a supercouple. Port Charles fans will love the inside jokes and should pay special attention to the poster on the elevator wall. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to click on the link above; it won't be available forever.

There are several other webisodes, involving characters from all three ABC soap operas. If you're a fan of ABC daytime, there's a good chance at least one of your favorites is featured.

Thoughts about last week's Y&R, AMC, and OLTL

I usually watch The Young and the Restless, All My Children, and One Life to Live on weekday mornings, when SOAPnet airs them in a three-hour block. I don't actually sit there the whole time and watch them with the same intense concentration I do my primetime shows, but I do like to keep up. With that in mind, I have a few thoughts about last week's shows.

Y&R: Victoria shouldn't have shown up at the dinner at all. After having been ordered to attend, that's the last thing she should have done. It doesn't matter that she intended to take Billy with her to annoy her father; the fact that she showed up at all means that she's still unwilling to completely defy him. That doesn't mean she should act like Abby, because there's something seriously wrong with that one.

I do have to give the writers credit for not dragging out the "Chance cheats on Chloe" secret. I didn't even know they'd done it; I knew about the kiss but thought that was as far as it had gone until I saw the flashback.

AMC: I really, really, really want Caleb to mop the floor with Junior. Really. Speaking of Caleb, the way he kept referring to Jackson's "perfect hair" was priceless. It's annoying that Bianca has no intention of keeping her kids out of Caleb's wing of the house. It's going to be even more annoying when he tries to shoo them away and they end up chipping away at his gruffness, and you know that's what will happen. And, to risk overusing the word, Bianca is even more annoying than ever.

I can't forget to mention Angie. That woman is a menace. I don't even like Ryan, but the guy doesn't deserve what would have happened to him if Jake hadn't taken over in the E.R. Angie is supposed to help people--first do no harm--but she's too stubborn to admit that she shouldn't be practicing medicine right now.

OLTL: I actually saw less of this than the other shows last week. One thing that stood out was Charlie and Viki's plan to get David and Dorian back together. It was silly but still fun and hilarious.

I keep waiting for Starr to dump Cole. It looks like that's the direction they're heading, but she's being stubborn about it.

I'm also waiting for an explanation about Elijah/Bennett. What did he have against Kelly's mother and Marty?

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll think of a few things I neglected to mention, but they'll just have to wait.