TVSquad

Just a couple of weeks ago, all was fine and dandy in Days of Our Lives-world. Or so it seemed. The big fan shindig at Universal in Hollywood seemed to signal that the status quo was holding that the lone NBC soap still in production would be able to use the 18-month renewal granted by NBC to climb in the ratings and return to past glory. Now comes the shocking news that NBC has fired Days of Our Lives' two biggest stars, Deidre Hall (Marlena) and Drake Hogestyn (John). By the way, Deidre and Drake were at the fanfest. You think they knew the pink slips were on the way? Um, no.

This is all about money, folks, and instead of seeking other ways to trim costs, Executive Producer Ken Corday and company have used a hatchet and chopped off the top salaries. Don't be shocked to hear that more is coming. That could be Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso -- Bo and Hope -- the other iconic romantic couple on the show, right after Marlena and John.

Perhaps the strangest soap opera of all time has come to an end now that Passions has been canceled by DirecTV. The gothic, modern psycho-drama set in a small Maine town replete with witches, elves, zombies and even some regular people, lasted nine years on the air. In primetime terms, that would be a hell of a run. For soaps, it characterizes Passions as a noble -- to some -- failure.

I never cared for Passions. It turned me off in the first season, 1999, but it wasn't because of the outre elements. I was actually interested in the gothic stuff because I'd grown up enjoying Dark Shadows with Barnabus and Quentin and Angelique and all those horror classic reinterpretations on a next-to-nothing budget -- furniture provided by Stern's Department Store, as I recall -- including werewolves, Frankenstein's monster and The Innocents, and parallel universes. Dark Shadows remains a vivid, happy memory.

It was big news in the world of daytime when Joseph Mascolo exited Days of Our Lives a few months ago. After all, Mascolo's Stefano Dimera was hailed as the number one villain of all time in daytime by Soap Opera Digest.

His return to Days was supposed to be long-term, but it didn't work out that way. In a surprising, some would say typical, soap way, the phoenix will rise again. Stefano Dimera, in the form of Joseph Mascolo, is coming back to Days of Our Lives. His reign of terror will commence once more -- in early August. Meanwhile, the other big time evil-doer on the show, Victor Kiriakis, will become more moderate and good by comparison.

Evil on the soaps is, well, a necessary evil. You can't have characters who are happy and blissful all the time. You need the selfish, the greedy, the vengeful, all those evil types to keep the stories interesting.

On July 15, 2008, One Life to Live will celebrate its fourth decade on the air. As part of the festivities, a long-time fan favorite is returning to the fold. Actress Andrea Evans is coming back to One Life to Live as Tina Lord Roberts, a role she's played in two stints on the show, 1978 to 1981, and again from 1985 to 1990. Other actresses have played this part at other times, but for die-hard fans, Andrea Evans is the real Tina. She's the one who survived a plunge down the Iguaza Falls in Argentina, the one who romanced Max and Cord, the one who drove Viki crazy. In short, this is a very welcomed return. She'll begin appearing in early June.

Usually when you talk about death on soap operas, you have to know that like science fiction, death doesn't mean the end of the story. After all, many characters have come back from the dead thanks to mistaken identity, bizarre abductions, switched coffins, et. al. But when I tell you now that the NBC soap opera Passions is dead, I really mean it. Really.

There is no chance that Passions is coming back to NBC. The soap was yanked from the daytime lineup last year, but in a deal with DirecTV, Passions has remained in production. The satellite provider has been showing episodes of the bizarrely-plotted show for months. However, in a recent development, DirecTV has decided to pull the plug. Universal Media Studios, which produces the one-hours, has been trying to find a new place on the dial for Passions without any luck.

Oh yeah, here's a great idea: allow obsessive soap opera fans to be on stage about ten feet from actors and actresses.

That's the plan for the Daytime Emmy Awards this Friday (9pm on CBS, right after Bob Barker's final episode on The Price Is Right). They're going to have a special red carpet bleacher section on stage, where selected fans will be able to scream and yell and take pictures. And if you think my headline isn't true, here's a quote from Young and the Restless veteran Peter Bergman:

"Just presenting, you could be accosted. Lucky me...it ends up being almost silliness. It's not how I want to celebrate a career achievement."

That's not all. They're also asking fans to send in comments via the web site, and some of these comments will be inserted into award introductions.

Fans of the NBC soap Passions who felt sad and neglected when the network announced that the show was ending after eight years take note: the show is going to live on!

The show is going to return this fall in a new home: DirecTV. NBC and the satellite system are about to finalize a deal that will keep the quirky soap opera (which includes, I believe, a character who is a witch, and used to have a character that was a doll brought to life) on the air for four days a week. They'll have to cut the budget, too, but at least the show will live on in some form.

This is the another move in DirecTV's plan to increase the amount of original programming they have.

It's that time of year again, where everything around you suddenly takes a heart shape. The stores around you are filled with waves of reds and pinks.

But darn it! Not everything is roses and overpriced candies. (Especially for the fellas who rush to the stores because you're told to.)

We've all been single and we've all been there with breakups... the question is how well do you know your TV Breakups?

Perhaps you're in a tumultuous love triangle and not sure whose valentine is yours? Well some of our favorite characters don't get that right either.

Remember that even if you're with or without a valentine this year, that you can always find your remote control in your arms. (Because you can't snuggle and watch your TV at the same time. Duh.)

Besides announcing the renewal of four shows, NBC Entertainment Kevin Reilly spent his executive session talking about "tent posts" and spewing sports analogies. But all of it said that he was pretty optimistic about the future of his network.

He definitely thinks being patient with shows is imperative, especially when you're working from behind as his network is. "Vision is a word that gets thrown around a lot but is in short supply," he spoke of shows like The Office, that started out slow and built audience. "When you got it, grab it." Among his new "vision" shows are 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, and Studio 60.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. The first soap opera to be offered for download on iTunes is now, well, available for download on iTunes. The daytime drama you can now watch on your computer or iPod? That's right, reruns of Ryan's Hope. Wait, sorry, it's actually Passions, that kooky soap on NBC with all the crazy fantastical plotlines. Episodes will be available for $1.99 the day after they air, so if you like this soap, and I know a lot of people do, you can always catch up if you miss an episode. If any soap fans read this blog, which soap do you think iTunes should offer next? I'm pretty sure both my mom and sister would vote for General Hospital, a long-running series that most people don't know was actually a spin-off of a series called Specific Clinic*.

*I sincerely apologize for that lame joke.

NBC is adding a dozen shows to Comcasts's On Demand service, starting in May. That means you can buy the show for $.99 after it airs, in case you missed it. Unfortunately, it's not for everybody. In fact, it's not for many of us. The deal is only valid in markets (aka 'cities') where your local NBC affiliate is actually owned and operated by NBC. For instance, here in Portland, our NBC affiliate is owned and operated by BELO Corp., so no luck here. Eh. TiVo is better, anyway.

The shows hitting VOD are: