Paula's Soapbox

When I first heard that Erin Hershey Presley was coming to General Hospital, I was so excited. Alison was one of my favorite characters on Port Charles; and unlike the other new characters on GH, Alison actually has significant familial ties to Port Charles (the city, not the show).  I had hoped that GH would add her to the cast right after Port Charles was canceled, like they did with Kelly Monaco, but that never happened. When she was finally added this week I naturally had high hopes that she would be around for awhile. I also had high hopes that with the current murder mystery storyline we might be getting rid of some of the more unnecessary characters - sorry if that sounds harsh. I did not, however, anticipate that Alison would be the first victim, and I cannot tell you how disappointed I am.  This is not just because I like the character or dislike other characters on this show, but because GH has single-handedly destroyed the legacy of Port Charles with one, poorly exec

In a video posted to his facebook page, co-head writer of the new OLTL, Thom Racina, dishes on the direction of the show. Watch the video below and visit Racina's fb page  for further updates! Are you excited about the new OLTL?

Soap Opera Digest   is reporting casting news for both GH and the new AMC. AMC is looking to recast the part of Cassandra, previously played by YaYa DaCosta. GH is looking to cast for an entirely new role (big surprise), a male hospital intern. Both of this roles will be contract, so we will most likely be seeing a lot of them. Stay tuned to soap opera digest and this blog for more updates! 

Caption this photo from yesterday's General Hospital and post it in the comment section below. Remember to keep it clean! :) 

If you follow my blog regularly, or have followed it in the past, you know I'm not much on couple shipping, as people are calling it these days. I don't get caught up in the drama of the fan wars and I don't dare take sides. I've had something on my mind for a while now though, and I can't stay silent any longer. It's about the sad state of GH's pairings.  Love triangles are a soap staple, but I cannot for the life of me understand why the writers of this particular show think a triangle between Britt, Patrick, and Sabrina is at all interesting, much less something that needs to be played out front and center. If there were anything remotely complex about Britt and Sabrina, that would be one thing. It would also help if everyone didn't know Robin was alive, because really why would we root for anyone other than Patrick's wife and Emma's mother? I will say this though, I was happy to see Sabrina finally put Britt in her place today. Sure

Today was the day! Former General Hospital star Steve Burton (ex-Jason) premiered on Y&R as war vet Dylan McAvoy. Of course today's episode was mostly a teaser of this new character, but I have a feeling many of Steve's fans will be tuning in daily to get a glimpse of their favorite soap star! Check out Steve's first Y&R performance below:

  Soap Opera Digest   is reporting that soap vet Ricky Paull Goldin (Jake, AMC; Gus, GL; Dean, AW) has a new show coming to HGTV. It's called Spontaneous Construction and will begin airing on February 15th-and you can help him celebrate! Goldin's fans will have the chance to attend his premiere party on February 10th, alongside several of his former co-stars. For details go to  www.rpgeventsonline.com   .

Today  AccessHollywood.com  posted photos of Jack Wagner back on set at General Hospital. (Click the previous link to see them.) In addition Access is reporting that we may see more familiar faces, including Dancing with the Stars'  Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Kelly Monaco's (Sam) partner in the most recent installment of the competition.  So what do you think? Would you like to see Kelly and Val cha cha at the Nurses' Ball? Who else would you like to see return to General Hospital? 

The promo for this week's General Hospital touts a murder mystery, but that's not the big story here. According to  We Love Soaps  this promo features our first look at Caleb and Alison's son Rafe, played by actor Jimmy Deshler. As I posted  last night, several sources are reporting that Erin Hershey Presley is reprising her Port Charles role as Alison. There was some confusion, as Alison married a Rafe on Port Charles, played by Brian Gaskill. Deshler will be playing Rafe Jr. Check out the promo below:

Here's the promo of Steve Burton (ex-Jason, GH) on Y&R this week. Steve will play war veteran Dylan McAvoy. So what do you think? Will you watch Steve on Y&R? Sound off in the comments below!

According to   ABC Soaps in Depth , former soap star Cameron Mathison (Ryan, AMC) will appear on TV Land's Hot in Cleveland this Wednesday, January 30th. Could he be Joy's (Jane Leeves) new beau? Tune in to find out!

In a tweet to his fans actor J.R. Martinez confirms that he will not be joining the online version of All My Children: He will, however, be hosting his own radio show , so be sure to check that out! 

  According to   Soap Opera Network  and various other sources, Port Charles Alum Erin Hershey Presley (Alison) is bringing her character to General Hospital, along with her son Rafe, believed to be the product of her encounter with Caleb (Michael Easton). As you might recall, Erin met her real life husband Brian on the set of Port Charles. Brian recently starred in the film  Touchback   alongside Kurt Russell.  Below is a link to a clip of the last episode of Port Charles where they make mention of Alison being pregnant with Caleb's child.  Port Charles: The Gift Finale

Soap Opera Digest  is reporting that Another World Alum Kale Brown (Michael) will be playing the part of a radio DJ on Y&R February 12th and 13th. This appears to be a voice only role, so it is doubtful Kale's fans will get to see him onscreen. 

In addition to Prospect Park moving forward with the online productions of All My Children and One Life to Live,  deadline.com is reporting that CBS will likely renew The Bold and the Beautiful, while General Hospital will most certainly stay put! This is certainly good news for fans of this genre who have said goodbye to several beloved sudsers the past few years. Let's hope this momentum continues! 

Well, I was hoping GH wouldn't go there, but unfortunately they did. Of course I'm talking about Maxie being pregnant with Spinelli's baby. It's not that I'm against the idea of a Spixie baby, I just wish it had been a more plausible conception. The idea that Maxie would even sleep with anyone a few hours after miscarrying is unbelievable enough, but her getting pregnant as a result is just ludicrous! This almost makes Lucy's vampire story seem believable! I can't wait to see how Dr. Britt explains this. Speaking of Britt, is she some sort of jack-of-all-trades type physician? She's like in her 30's and not only specializes as a pediatrician, but an OBGYN, and a fertility expert - quite an overachiever! Obviously now that Spinelli has broken Maxie's heart she will use this opportunity to try to pass off her own baby as Lulu and Dante's, which is not something Maxie would do. The old Maxie probably would have just to save her own skin, but

Perhaps no one has complained about the Scullys more than me. I believe I said on more than a few occasions that I rued the day they arrived in Port Charles and I meant it. I still think Joe was one of the worst written soap villains ever. He was virtually irredeemable and that's saying a lot for a soap opera character. Needless to say I wholeheartedly welcomed his exit. Trey, however, was a different story. I wasn't particularly fond of this character in the beginning...okay I hated Trey too. He grated on my nerves almost as much as Joe did; but when I found out he was Kate's son, suddenly he had storyline potential. Moreover he had the potential to be likable. I had hoped with Joe out of the way, it would make room for a moving mother/son relationship between Kate and Trey. Obviously that never happened. Kate found out Trey was her son and promptly switched back to being Connie. I've put up with Connie all these months in much the same way I did Trey for a long time.

With the recent announcement that AMC and OLTL are once again attempting to move their production online, the viability of the Internet has never seemed more evident. There are numerous cyber soaps and web serials, some good, some not so good. If you've never seen one it is important to note that you cannot expect the same production quality that we are used to seeing on television. The money just isn't there yet, but I believe at some point in the future it will be. Look how far television has come since we switched from radio programming. Like the rest of you I have no idea what the future holds for AMC and OLTL. If they do succeed in moving online, they may not be exactly the shows you remember. Like all cyber soaps, the production quality will undoubtedly be different than when it was on tv, but I hope that people will give them a chance despite that. I also hope you will give other online shows a chance because many of them show great potential and take very little time to