Paula's Soapbox

According to  soapoperadigest.com  soap faves Galen Gering (Rafe, DOOL), Greg Vaughan (Eric, DOOL), and Jason Thompson (Billy, Y&R) have launched apps to better connect with their fans. Each star has their own app through escapex. The idea is that these apps will provide a more personal connection with fans than what social media can offer. Like a modern day fan club of sorts, there will even be opportunities to meet the stars in person.    The apps are available through Google Play and the Apple App Store. They are free to download, but like most apps they include in-app purchase options.  Click on the actors' names above to find their individual apps. 

Were you one of the viewers wondering why Lucy, Rafe's cousin wasn't present at his deathbed? According to  Soap Opera Digest , head writer Ron Carlivati said "there was so much story going on at the hospital, with Molly and Rafe, with Alice [that it] just became too big and too complicated." Ed. note: I understand, far more important that we have TJ and Nina in there instead of Lucy. To read the rest of Carlivati's statement go to  soapoperadigest.com Here's what's coming up on General Hospital:

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, po...

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:

  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

For those of you who were undoubtedly worried about my sanity after reading my first blog post about Rafe 2.0, worry no more, because after this week's episodes I am officially disenchanted with him. Just as I predicted DOOL has gone too far with the evil twin thing, although much sooner than I expected. Rafe 2.0 was pretty good at providing some comic relief the first few days he was on, but this storyline keeps getting progressively worse and Rafe 2.0 keeps getting more evil. In short...I hate him. I never liked the fact that Stefano and EJ were threatening to take Ally away from Sami, but I thought, or perhaps hoped these were just empty threats designed to make Rafe cooperate. I never really expected them to risk raising suspicion by following through. Granted EJ had a change of heart, but he didn't put forth much of an effort to ensure Ally's safety. I'm sure Stefano would never be able to reach her in Hong Kong if he wanted to. At this point I'm not ...

If you are like me and grew up watching Stefano manipulate and otherwise destroy the Bradys in various science fiction inspired plots, it wasn't too difficult to see the Rafe double coming. Once I realized that Stefano and EJ were planning to bring in a Rafe replacement I thought "great, here we go again, the evil twin plot." While this plot device is another soap staple it is also often used by critics of this genre to point out the absurdity of it. And since DOOL has a tendency to go overboard with this sort of thing that opinion becomes difficult to refute. I can still recall each of Eileen Davidson's 5 simultaneous roles on the show and I was not looking forward to the prospect of Galen Gering repeating that history. I have to admit though that after seeing this "evil twin" in action I am cautiously optimistic about this additional Rafe. I'm not thrilled with the fact that Stefano and EJ are using Ally as a pawn, in fact I hate it. I'm tire...

I hate to say this about one of the best soaps on tv, but I think Days has "jumped the shark" in the EJ/Sami/Sydney/Johnny/Rafe/Nicole/Brady saga. I know that Sami and EJ have this inherent need to constantly one-up each other but their latest competition has gotten a bit ridiculous. I thought it couldn't possibly get any worse than Sami shooting EJ in the head and him taking her kids away; but that just proves you should never assume things can't get any worse. I meant to comment a few weeks ago on EJ's ludicrous idea that Sami somehow caused Johnny to get cancer. It was one thing for him to blurt that out while he was so upset, but he actually tried to make a case for it, saying that Sami caused Johnny's cancer by stressing him out when he moved in with him. First of all no one person can just give somebody cancer. Moreover Johnny had the cancer before he moved into the Dimera mansion it just wasn't detected. The pictures that Gaby took at Rafe and Sa...