This and That

Hi All:


Just a few tidbits as an excuse for a post. I'm finding it hard to maintain this blog for a few reasons--time being only one of them. Another reason for not writing is that I can't bring myself to write about the major story of this year, the cancellation of Guiding Light. I remember watching GL with my grandmother in the late 1970s and continuing to watch long after she passed away. Can't lie though: I hated the show it had become long before the new production model. There wasn't really a last straw moment, but I found that the show was no longer interesting, especially as the Bauers disappeared and gangsters were featured as viable love interests.

There are several great posts about the demise of GL at the blog A Thousand Other Worlds, with this one coming closest to how I feel. I remember hearing about the possibility that GL would be canceled way back in the 1990s and thinking, "What? No way!" The talk died down for a time, so I pretty much forgot about it until more rumors surfaced in the last couple of years that both As the World Turns and GL were likely to be canceled whenever the contracts with CBS ended. While I am still stunned about the cancellation, GL died for me a long, long time before September 18, 2009.



Martha Byrne (formerly Lily on ATWT) is one of the main movers behind the new internet soap Gotham the Series. The first episode debuted November 23rd. So far, so good. I can't find it now of course, but I vaguely remember that Martha said on Facebook that new episodes would be posted every other Monday, which means that the next episode should be available on December 7th. Lisa Brown is the director, and the series' stars include Martha, Michael Park, Anne Sayre, and Maeve Kinkead.



Soap Opera Digest reports in its December 8th issue that General Hospital's cast and crew have been asked not to seek autographs from or pictures with movie star James Franco, who is currently playing a new mysterious character on the show. I don't know if the edict is from the actor himself or some well-meaning but misguided person at GH. Either way, it shows disrespect for the cast and crew.

I've been taking lunch at 1:00 p.m. or later most days and sometimes catching parts of The Bold and the Beautiful. Although I've followed B&B in the magazines, I've never really been a fan of the show. From what little I've seen of the show lately, it appears that a potentially good story could be brewing with newlyweds Katie and Bill, Katie's sister Brooke, and perpetually unlucky in love Steffy.

Seems that Bill and Steffy shared a kiss or two (or more?) not long before his wedding to Katie. Brooke found out. Bill tried to brush off the meaning of the kiss. Brooke is not satisfied with his responses and continues to grill Bill. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Sure, Brooke is the last person on the show who has any right to take the moral high ground, but there are the bones of a good story here: devoted sister struggles with whether she should keep mum or tell what she knows. Bill and Steffy could be headed for a forbidden romance, which could be good with a slow build. And Katie, who doesn't deserve it, is probably headed for heartbreak. If the story is allowed to build, with credible reasons given for Bill straying and Brooke keeping mum, and a real, heartstoppingly good romance for Steffy and Bill, I'm all for it.

Soap Blog Spotlight: Serial Drama by Mallory Harlen and Becca Thomas, who also write the "My Take" and "My Take Too" columns in Soap Opera Digest.