General Hospital-related stories
Posted Nov 4th 2009 9:28AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Casting, Reality-Free
Wouldn't you love to know who's giving actor
James Franco career advice these days? I'm not knocking him or her, but I'd love to figure out the strategy. Or maybe this is just Franco being Franco (like Manny being Manny, for you baseball fans out there)?
James has just started filming his two-month arc on
General Hospital -- check out the first pic (right) -- and now Michael Ausiello reports that
James Franco will do a guest spot on 30 Rock.
How's that for a career trajectory -- from box office bonanza (
Spider-Man) to Oscar feature (
Milk) to daytime soap (
General Hospital) to Emmy-winning sitcom (
30 Rock). He's like a human pinball machine looking for a perfect score!
Continue reading James Franco goes from movies to soap to 30 Rock
Posted Oct 28th 2009 1:02PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free
I used to be a devoted fan of
General Hospital, and some of my favorite episodes involved Luke and Laura, and later, their son, Lucky. In fact, now that I think about it, I started to stray from the show about the time that Jonathan Jackson, who played the first Lucky, left the show in 1999.
The other actors who played Lucky -- Jacob Young and Greg Vaughan -- did a fine job, but I so associated the role with Jackson that it was impossible for me to accept anyone else as Lucky.
As luck would have it, I just happened to flip on
One Life to Live yesterday and saw a promo for Jonathan Jackson coming back to
General Hospital as Lucky. What a stroke of "luck" for me!
Continue reading What's Hot on SlashControl: Jonathan Jackson's return to General Hospital
Posted Oct 28th 2009 8:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Casting, Emmys, Reality-Free
Tuesday was
Jonathan Jackson's first day back on General Hospital in the role of Lucky Spencer. It's a role he originated (as a youngster), coming onto the show in 1993 when Luke and Laura -- Anthony Geary and Genie Francis -- made their much-heralded return. Jonathan stayed on
General Hospital till 1999, winning three Daytime Emmys in his tenure, and basically stamped the character as his own. That's why when he decided to return now, it's been a big deal.
Continue reading Lucky's back ... Jonathan Jackson's terrific return to General Hospital
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 11:10AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Daytime, Video, Casting, Reality-Free
When you want to up the ante on a drama, create a great villain. To this day, the best James Bond movies have always been the ones with great villains. Fox's sci-fi drama
Fringe is buying into that theory, because they've gone out and hired an actor who excels at playing evil.
Fringe has cast Sebastian Roche in a recurring role as a new nemesis.If you saw Roche on
General Hospital, you know he's brilliant.
His
Fringe character doesn't have a name yet -- and least not one that they've released -- but the storyline is that he's from another dimension, not entirely human or android, and he's on a mission. He's a soldier who's supposed to collect data to open a "stable door to the other side."
Could it be an alternate universe? A parallel dimension? Some kind of time warp? The possibilities are wide open when it comes to
Fringe.
Continue reading Fringe casts General Hospital villain Sebastian Roche
Posted Oct 8th 2009 3:15PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free
While a lot of ABC soap fans are flipping out about
Thorsten Kaye's exit from All My Children, and others are giddy about
James Franco bringing his movie star luster to
General Hospital, there's more big news coming about those soaps. First, the original Lucky,
Jonathan Jackson, is returning to General Hospital after 10 years off the show. And the original Greenlee,
Rebecca Budig, is coming back to All My Children after leaving the show in March 2009.
Both these returns are exciting... and fraught with drama. While Jonathan is a three-time Emmy-winner and a superb Lucky -- he originated the role -- his choosing to resume the part means that Greg Vaughan has been dumped.
To be really, really honest, Greg was a great looking Lucky, but he never had a good grasp on the character of Lucky.
Continue reading Big star returns for All My Children and General Hospital
Posted Oct 1st 2009 8:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
You know, a few weeks ago when
Sarah Brown blithely tweeted that she was leaving General Hospital, acting all la-di-da about losing a job, it should have been a tip-off that she had something cooking somewhere else. Today we learned what that something else is.
Sarah Brown is joining The Bold and the Beautiful on November 6. Talk about a cushy landing! Oh, and her last day on
GH is November 5, so there's no time for daytime fans to miss her.
The latter situation is quite unusual for daytime. But ABC agreed to release Brown from her contract early so she could make the swift transition.
B&B executive producer Bradley Bell was thrilled and surprised. "I was stunned. It was something really very human and very big of them," he said.
Continue reading Sarah Brown bounces back, from General Hospital to Bold and Beautiful
Posted Oct 1st 2009 2:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
In the biggest casting shocker since Elizabeth Taylor appeared on
General Hospital as Helena Cassadine, movie star
James Franco is joining General Hospital for a couple of months as a mystery man who comes to Port Charles. Although not confirmed by the show, it's likely that Franco will be playing Vlad Cassadine, another member of that evil family that vexes the citizens of Port Chuck. His first airdate is November 20.
Why would Franco, who's busy with movies and has appeared in
Spider-Man,
The Pineapple Express,
Milk and other hits, take a role on a daytime soap? There's no word from the actor yet, but it could be that they threw a lot of money at him. There's also the possibility that he's a soap opera fan and thought it would be a lark. Ummm, I'm thinking it's more likely the former.
Continue reading Movie star James Franco checking into General Hospital...for two months
Posted Sep 18th 2009 3:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
It's a tough day for Daytime Emmy-winning divas. It's the
last episode of Guiding Light, which means
Kim Zimmer and her four Emmys are available for a new gig. And now the news comes out that
Sarah Brown is leaving General Hospital. Sarah Tweeted her exit yesterday, saying, "It's been nice being back at
GH, but it's time for the character to come to an end, at least for me."
Actually, Sarah -- a three-time Emmy winner -- had a tough go-round this time on
General Hospital. She returned to a familiar setting, but instead of resuming the role she originated, Carly Corinthos, she was playing Mafia princess Claudia Zacchara. (Laura Wright is the current Carly.)
Continue reading Sarah Brown's out: will Claudia be killed off General Hospital?
Posted Aug 31st 2009 9:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
History was made at the
Daytime Emmys last night... twice.
The Bold and the Beautiful won as the top Daytime Drama and the hosts of
The View finally were winners. Good for
B&B, the last of the half-hour soaps, coming off a terrific year. And it was great for the ladies of
The View, who were probably starting to feel like getting the gold was an impossible dream. Unfortunately, they weren't there -- not one of them -- to accept.
However, amid the joyful wins and a jolly 40th anniversary salute to
Sesame Street, there was a sad quality to the Daytime Emmys. Perhaps it was the over-arching reality that daytime TV is struggling, a point made clear when Betty White hosted a farewell to
Guiding Light. No offense to the delightful Ms. White, but the salute was lackluster and hardly worthy of a show that has been broadcasting for 72 years! The cast appeared to receive a final ovation, but nobody spoke for the show.
Continue reading The sweet and bittersweet Daytime Emmys
Posted May 13th 2009 8:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading Three-time Emmy winner Rick Hearst jumps to Bold & the Beautiful
Posted Mar 17th 2009 12:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
There are many things the soaps do well. You know, things like lavish weddings, fancy dress balls, murder trials, even corporate boardroom shenanigans. On the other hand, there are more action-oriented story lines that just bring out the worst in soaps.
In the last few weeks, for instance,
All My Children staged the worst looking motorcycle/car crash I've ever seen on TV. It was riotously funny, and that was not the desired effect. When a wedding gown-wearing Greenlee (sans helmet) careened off the road into a frozen river, the sight of her veil flying in the wind as the tires screeched, with the headlights blinking and the actors pretending to be tossed around, was a hoot. All I was thinking while watching the accident was: "Could this be executed any worse?" (Also, what a waste of Rebecca Budig's return.)
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: Do what you do best... drama!
Posted Mar 4th 2009 10:55AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
It's been a little over a year since
Guiding Light bolted from the confines of a New York studio to create a reality based production, a sort of cinema-verite style that brought to life a real New Jersey town to "play" Springfield. The results have been middling at best, but recently
GL has lurched forward in a positive way and that can all be explained in two words/one name --
Grant Aleksander. The actor is back as Phillip Spaulding, one of the most important characters in the history of the show.
The last year of
GL hasn't only been about the new production. Coinciding with all that physical change which has set more and more scenes outdoors and in "wild" set, the cast has been undergoing massive change. Top line veterans Ricky Paull Goldin, Nicole Forester and Beth Ehlers have all departed, and recently John Driscoll was tragically killed off.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: Aleksander the Grant
Posted Mar 2nd 2009 2:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
Did you know that double Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro acted in soap operas? It's true. Many of today's biggest stars honed their craft by doing New York soaps like
As the World Turns and
Another World. Before she was
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,
Sarah Michelle Gellar was Susan Lucci's daughter on
All My Children.
Hollywood soaps like
Days of Our Lives,
General Hospital, and
The Young and the Restless also produced stars.
Tom Selleck, for instance, was a
Y&R hunk before becoming
Magnum, P.I. There are a lot of current stars right now on hit shows who were daytime characters just a few years ago. After the jump, we count down the top ten primetime stars who started in soaps.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Primetime stars who started in soaps
Posted Feb 4th 2009 5:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Cancellations, Reality-Free
NBC seems determined to destroy
Days of Our Lives, the last soap left on the network. After receiving a truck load of negative press for
firing/letting go/dumping Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, the producers are now dropping the axe on perhaps the most popular romantic couple ever on the show, Patch and Kayla. According to
Soap Opera Digest,
Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols have been let go.
This may seem like an economic necessity for
Days of Our Lives, especially since the soap only has a year-and-a-half to prove to NBC that it's still viable -- that was the length of the pick up it received when it was renewed in 2008 -- but to fans this is just another slap in the face.
Continue reading Days of Our Lives dumps another supercouple
Posted Dec 6th 2008 1:37PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, Daytime, Reality-Free
You would think that with higher unemployment and more people spending more time at home during business hours that networks would be throwing money at their daytime TV divisions. (insert ominous organ music that implies trouble is ahead here)
You would be wrong. Networks are starting to scale back on their daytime soaps including some stars' salaries, according to
USA Today.
ABC has been doing the most axe-chopping to their daytime lineup. Long running favorites like
General Hospital and
One Life to Live have been ordered to make some serious cutbacks and
All My Children stars Susan Lucci, Michael E. Knight and Ray MacDonnell are seeing paychecks with George Costanza-like shrinkage.
Continue reading Could the networks drop the soaps?
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