TVSquad

There's reason to be hopeful about All My Children's move to Hollywood. Oh, yes, Thorsten Kaye has decided not to go -- bye, bye Zach -- but there's a list of stars lining up for the anniversary that's pretty spectacular.

In honor of All My Children's 40th Anniversary, Julia Barr is coming back as Brooke English. Also slated to appear are a bunch of other former AMC stars, including Eva LaRue, Taylor Miller, Laurence Lau, Eden Riegel, Leven Rambin and the previously announced Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

Julia's return is a big get because she was such big part of the soap for so long. The two-time Emmy winner was on AMC from 1976 to her exit in 2006. This anniversary show will be a chance for fans to hear what Brooke -- Erica's rival for all those years -- has been up to.

Next in line is Eva LaRue. She's become a prime time star with CSI: Miami. She did two stints with AMC as Dr. Maria Santos Grey.

Last month, Mad Men was celebrating winning a slew of Emmys. One of them was for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, the episode entitled "Meditations In An Emergency." When creator Matthew Weiner went onto the stage to grab the Emmy, with him was Kater Gordon, the co-writer of that episode. Today, Kater Gordon was let go from Mad Men.

Are you shocked? Apparently, the industry press is. Gordon had risen from personal assistant to writer's assistant to member of the writing staff. After the Emmy, you would think that she was in like Flynn.

However, something must have gone awry or why has she been given her walking papers? And if you think it's not a dismissal, listen to this announcement from the show:

You may think the soap world has thrown in the the towel because 72-year-old Guiding Light has been canceled, but think again. Daytime TV is buzzing along as usual, and that includes The Bold & the Beautiful snagging three-time Emmy winner Rick Hearst from General Hospital.

Hearst, who was facing the prospect of a demotion to recurring status (as opposed to a contract player), will return to B&B as Whip Jones, a character he introduced and played for a brief stint in 2002.

I can't say I've been thrilled with some of the announced pick ups for the remainder of the season. NBC's faith in Knight Rider, for instance, has me scratching my head. Here's one that I can get behind: ABC has given Samantha Who a full season pick up.

The Christina Applegate single camera comedy -- which includes Jean Smart's Emmy-winning supporting performance as Sam's alternately attentive and annoying mother -- has had a terrific sophomore season thus far.

I'm not talking about the ratings, although ABC is pleased that the show has been doing a good job holding onto the strong lead-in from Dancing With the Stars (although this is not a scintillating edition of Dancing). For me, Samantha Who is just as funny as last year, but now things are getting more complicated and interesting.

Just last week, for instance, Sam was given an experimental drug to -- hopefully -- help her reclaim lost memories. Through flashback flashes we learned a lot more about Todd and Sam's relationship and how they've gotten to where they are. The episode was packed with emotion and funny bits of business, and yet in the end we were still on that precipice, waiting for Sam to remember that she loves Todd.

(S13E01) "The bees are much calmer than all of this!" - Anita to Arthur

Well, The Amazing Race has won yet another Emmy and tonight we were treated to the premiere of the new season. I've decided this is never a show to watch just before retiring for the night. The pace on the viewers might not be as frantic as for the racing teams. But as the music builds and things get frantic, it's better than a caffeine rush! Read on past the jump for the skinny on the show.

Jeremy Piven was unavailable this time around, busy as he is playing Ari in Entourage, so writer/producer Rob Thomas went in another direction. Taller, by four inches. Thomas has chosen Bobby Cannavale for the title role in Cupid for ABC.

Cannavale, an Emmy-award winner for his guest turn on Will & Grace as Vince, will be Trevor Hale in Cupid. He's described as manic and charming and firmly believing in the fact that he is the real Roman god of love, Cupid. His mission is to make 100 love matches so he can earn the right to leave Earth and return to Mount Olympus. ABC is behind this new pilot, an updated version of Thomas' 1998 Cupid that didn't make it past season one.