Okay, so I’m really behind on blogging…I know. I know!

But now, in one fell swoop, I will catch you up on some soap opera buzz….Let’s begin, shall we?

First of all, the return of Rebecca Herbst and her beloved character, Elizabeth Webber to General Hospital is HUGE!

Rebecca Herbst

And all of Herbst’s fans out there should be patting themselves on the back for the incredible outcry that I think helped put her back in Port Charles.

Below is a portion of the ABC network’s statement:
“The show is thrilled she will remain on the canvas to portray the beloved character in many more poignant and emotional stories. Fans will be pleased to see Rebecca continue the role she created.”

I don’t know if you’ve seen Paula’s blog – over at Paula’s Soapbox - about the power of the fans in bringing Herbst back onto the canvas. But it’s a good read.

Click here to read Paula’s Soapbox blog “Just When You Thought She Was Out.”

Speaking of Paula, she’s been quite prolific in her blogging recently (certainly putting me to shame).

And if you didn’t know it, Paula was the one who predicted that it was Suzanne who chopped up Brenda’s wedding dress AND that she was somehow connected to The Balkan – BOTH of which came true!

Kudos Paula!

Now, she takes it a step further in discussing the possibilities of what may or may not have happened to Brenda’s baby .

Click here to read “A Dish Best Served Cold: GH”

And while you’re on Paula’s site, she has two Days Of Our Lives blogs that you’ll want to read.

Taylor Made: DOOL discusses the switcheroo Days made with the role of Taylor, which was played by Natalia Livingston (Emily/GH) for about five minutes before the show announced recasting Tamara Braun (Carly/GH, Ava/DOOL, Reese/AMC) in the role.

Paula’s latest Days blog is Who Does #2 Work For? Not Me! : DOOL which describes her updated feelings about Rafe #2.

So there’s a new “evil” twin in town on Days Of Our Lives….

Or at least he’s supposed to be evil.

Paula, over at Paula’s Soapbox, says the Rafe double is really not so evil in the evilest sense of evil….Okay those were my words.

But in Paula’s words he’s kind of like Rafe 2.0 and she likens him to a cross between #2 and #4 in the movie Multiplicity, which, by the way, I’ve never seen. But I guess I will rent it now that Paula highly recommends it.

E.J., Rafe, Stefano

Back to Rafe 2.0, Paula offers some theories about what she’d like to see happen.

And, frankly, I like her ideas.

So, without further adieu…

Click here to read what Paula has to say in “Rafe 2.0 Attack of the Clone: DOOL.

And while you’re on Paula’s Soapbox, check out her interview with BlogTalkRadio’s Daytime After Dark host Carly.

Click here to read Soap Talk: A Behind the Scenes Look at Daytime After Dark

With all of the fan base wars going on at some soaps, it’s refreshing to see devoted Days of Our Lives fans uniting for a great cause.

Inspired by Days’ supercouple Daniel (Shawn Christian) and Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin), soap fan Alycia formed a charitable group to help those in need.

Daniel and Chloe

Other fan bases have joined in to help the cause.

For more details about Alycia and how fans have united to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer treatments and cures, click here to go to Paula’s Soapbox.

Paula has all the 411 on how Alycia founded Shawn Christian Angels and how other fans have joined in to help Project Freshly Squeezed, which raises money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

WHAT has been going on with all of the actor exits on our favorite soap operas recently?????

It seems we need a scorecard these days just to keep up with who’s leaving which soap.

Earlier this month, Mark Hapka, Nathan on Days of Our Lives, got the axe after being involved in a front-burner storyline.

Now we find out that two more Days actors are leaving: Shelley Hennig (Stephanie) and Jay Kenneth Johnson (Philip).

Paula, over at Paula’s Soapbox, discusses the recent DOOL exits and the possible impact on current storylines.

Click here to read her Days blog titled “On the Outs: DOOL.”

Meanwhile in the past few days, there’s been a plethora of exits on the ABC soaps.

Melissa Claire Egan (Annie Lavery/AMC) is leaving. She opted not to renew her contract.

Melissa Claire Egan (Annie/AMC)

THAT is definitely a BIG loss to AMC. Annie added so much to life to the show and Egan was so much fun to watch…particularly when she turned into Crazy Annie!

Egan posted a letter to her fans on her official website.

It says, in part: “After 4 and a half incredible years as a member of the All My Children cast, I have made the extremely difficult decision to leave the Pine Valley family that I have come to love and respect so much.

“It has been an amazing 4 and a half years for me! I have had the privilege and honor of working with the most talented and fun cast, crew, producers and directors imaginable. I have learned so much from them and am forever indebted. To wake up each morning and love going to work is a true blessing for which I am unbelievably grateful!”

And over at One Life To Live, Brittany Underwood (Langston/OLTL) has been fired.

Another BIG loss….I so enjoyed watching Langston grow from the “freak” in high school into a Cramer woman.

Perhaps the biggest shocker of all….

Rebecca Herbst, who has played Elizabeth Webber FOR-ever on General Hospital, was let go.

Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth)

Whhhhhaaaaatttt?????

Although, I have to say, the writers have totally ruined the character over the past several years….they turned Elizabeth…who survived a brutal rape all those years ago…who used to be a strong, kind, giving person…into a jealous, insecure – and I might add annoying – character.

Be that as it may, I still loved to watch Herbst onscreen because of her talent.

Not to mention that the character is steeped in so much GH history!

Paula, over at Paula’s Soapbox, has written a blog about her take on Herbst’s firing and speculates on how Elizabeth will be written out.

Paula also discusses how Elizabeth’s exit will impact the characters in her universe – like Lucky, Nikolas, Jason and her children.

Click here to read Paula’s blog about Herbst’s exit: “Farewell to Possibilities: GH.”

I’m still working on my interview with Aiden Turner from All My Children and will have that for you tomorrow.

IN THE MEANTIME…..

I want to alert my Days of Our Lives followers that there are two recent blog posts up on my buddy Paula’s site – Paula’s Soapbox – that I think you’ll want to check out.

Although Paula thinks that Days is one of the best soaps on TV, she says that some of the storylines have “jumped the shark.”

Click here to read the full post called “The Dance: DOOL.”

In another recent post, Paula discusses the big reveal about Chloe’s fling and Parker’s paternity.

Paula says it took too waaaay too long for the truth to come out.

Paula writes: “This is my main complaint with Days, they tease their audience too much so that by the time the event that they have been teasing us with finally happens it’s anti-climactic. I think this particular reveal should have happened shortly after Melanie and Nathan left quarantine because I never really understood how they could come so close to death, say their “I love you’s” then go back to their respective mates as if nothing ever happened.”

Click here to read Paula’s entire post titled: My Baby’s Got a Secret: DOOL

Buckle your seatbelts Salem, Kinsey’s back in town!

Or at least she will be in the not too distant future.

I sat down with Shelby Young, the actress who plays the scheming Kinsey on Days of Our Lives, earlier this week, when she was in South Florida visiting her family.

Now 18, Shelby started modeling at age 5, then moved on to commercials and acting. She has done extensive voice work, which include commercials and films.

Shelby Young (Kinsey)

Shelby, who’s on recurring status, said she will begin shooting with DOOL again in January. When we spoke, she hadn’t yet seen the script, since she was still in Florida when the script arrived at her L. A. apartment.

But whatever happens, Shelby hopes that Kinsey will be sticking around for awhile.

Shelby originally read for the role of Mia. Although casting director Marnie Saitta didn’t think Shelby was the right fit for that role, she called her back in for the role of Kinsey.

“I got the call later that day that I booked the role,” Shelby said. “It was one episode, possibly recurring. And I’ve been doing it for 1 1/2 years…I love the soap and it would be great to be a contract role. But for the time being, I’m alright with being recurring, because I can do other projects as well.”

One of those “other projects” included a part in this year’s box office hit The Social Network.
“I was so nervous the night before [filming],” she said.

It was her second major feature film. Her first was the 2008 film Wild Child.

“With the soap, you film an episode a day, so you get one take,” she said. “And then I go on set for The Social Network and [director] David Fincher’s known for taking numerous takes. So for my one little scene, it took 60 takes.”

Shelby knew Aaron Sorkin was the screenwriter, but she didn’t know what he looked like.

“So we’re doing the scene and this man comes over to me and said, ‘We’re going to change this line,’” she recalled. “And I said, ‘Won’t Aaron Sorkin mind?’ And [reaching out his hand] he said, ‘Hi. I’m Aaron Sorkin.’ I was a little embarassed, but at least he knew I was looking out for him.”

Even if the movie receives Academy Award nominations (and judging from various other awards and nominations it’s already received, it most likely will), Shelby doesn’t think she’ll be able to go to the ceremony. But she’s hoping to attend some Oscar parties and the gifting suite. She’s been to gifting suites for the Emmy and Grammy Awards.

As far as her role on Days, Shelby’s hoping the new script contains a good storyline for Kinsey.

“One of the things that I dislike about being recurring is that it’s not steady and I never know if I’m filming this month or next month,” she said.

Hanging out behind the scenes: Dylan Patton (formerly Will), Taylor Spreitler (Mia), Casey Deidrick (Chad) and Shelby.

Overall, it’s been a good year for Shelby.

“I’ve had a lot of fun this year,” she said. “I have a new boyfriend and he’s fantastic and I have all my friends and I got my own apartment.”

Shelby said she is also thankful to have an extremely nice roommate in actress Kay Panabaker, who is on the sitcom No Ordinary Family.

In the romance department: after a breakup with actor Charlie McDermott, Shelby is now dating P J Boudousque.

“Pilot season is coming up and I would love to land a pilot and end up getting that picked up and have a great TV series,” she said.

As far as Kinsey goes….

“Kinsey has no filter, first of all, which is why everyone says she’s so mean, but I think she just says it like it is,” Shelby said. “Sometimes she is mean, but she has her reasons. When Kinsey first came on the show, I think a lot of the meanness came from jealousy towards Mia. But now Mia’s gone. And Kinsey’s become funnier lately and I’m happy about that…She’s a misunderstood girl. She has a nice heart somewhere, but she just says what she thinks and that gets her into trouble. She still needs to soften up a bit.”

Kinsey (Shelby Young) and Nicole (Arianne Zucker) in Days.

Shelby started out having all of her scenes with the other teens on the show. This year she has moved on to interactions with some of the adults, including Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) and Arianne Zucker (Nicole). And Shelby is happy that her character is broadening her interactions.

One thing Shelby is hoping for on the show is that Kinsey gets a boyfriend and a family.

“I’m interested to see where they take Kinsey, because I feel like it could go either way,” Shelby said. “She could end up being a huge schemer and creating havoc in the town or it could go the other way where she does realize she has a heart of gold. Who knows? I love working and I love working on this show. I’m enjoying the time I have here and if they write more for me, I would be thrilled. It’s been a blessing.”

[Screencap provided by Sheryl's Days of Our Lives board.]

By Michele Dargan

NBC’s Days of Our Lives celebrated the show’s 45th anniversary with an exclusive red carpet party, reception, and panel discussion hosted by the the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences last week.

Past and present cast members were on hand to commemorate this historic television landmark.

Detroit’s Local 4 WDIV-TV NBC Affiliate anchor, Jon Jordan, was the master-of-ceremonies for a panel that spoke of the show’s legacy as they shared clips of the show’s greatest moments.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent congratulatory letters, which were read aloud.

In addition, there was a live webcast and interactive messaging via Twitter and Facebook.

The swarm of fans who braved record heat and gathered outside to see the stars were given a surprise when the Academy opened its doors to them so they could watch the show from the audience and share in the excitement.

Panelists included Suzanne Rogers, Drake Hogestyn, Maree Cheatham, Melissa Reeves, Bill Hayes, Susan Seaforth Hayes, Kristian Alfonso, Josh Taylor, Charles Shaughnessy, James Galen Gering, Louise Sorel, Joseph Mascolo, James Scott, Arianne Zucker, Alison Sweeney, Nadia Bjorlin, Jay Johnson, Peter Reckell, Bryan Dattilo, Lauren Koslow, and Mary Beth Evans.

Fan favorite host and actor Ty Treadway conducted exclusive backstage interviews with cast members.

Greg Meng, Days of Our Lives Executive in Charge of Production, and Eddie Campbell, television and film art director, were on hand to talk about their coffee table book, Days of our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration in Photos.

The book is being released to coincide with the groundbreaking anniversary on November 8. This book features never-before-seen images of cast, crew, sets, and styling.

Hey Days of Our Lives Fans!

An event tailor-made for you.

Days of Our Lives fans will have a chance to take part in a 45-year annivesary celebration of the popular soap opera Tuesday.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Days of our Lives will present “Celebrating 45 Years of Days of our Lives” 7:30 p.m. at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre, 5230 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA. Arrivals will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Moderated by Detroit’s Local 4 WDIV-TV NBC Affiliate, Jon Jordan, the evening will highlight the show with six panels featuring talent, producers, and executives who have been a part of the drama for the past 45 years.

These panels will touch upon subjects such as character discussions, growing up in Salem/on set, and the business side of the show.

“Celebrating 45 Years of Days of our Lives” will stream LIVE on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences website: http://www.emmys.com.

Fans will have the opportunity to watch the panels as they happen.

The first 200 guests to arrive will be given the opportunity to stand alongside the red carpet as current and past cast members enter the theatre. The first 100 will be given a gift bag and one fan chosen at random will be given access inside to the panel discussion and celebration.

Scheduled panelists include: Suzanne Rogers (Maggie Horton), Drake Hogesten (John Black), Maree Cheatham (Marie Horton), Melissa Reeves (Jennifer Deveraux), Bill Hayes (Doug Williams), Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie Williams), Kristian Alfonso (Hope Brady), Josh Taylor (Roman Brady), Charles Shaughnessey (Shane Donovan), James Reynolds (Abe Carver), Galen Gering (Rafe Hernandez), Louise Sorel (Vivian Alamain), Joseph Mascolo (Stefano DiMera), James Scott (EJ DiMera), Arianne Zucker (Nicole Walker), Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady), Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe Lane), Jay Johnson (Philip Kiriakis) Peter Reckell (Bo Brady), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton), Lauren Koslow (Kate Horton), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla Brady) and more!

Also making its first public appearance will be behind-the-scenes photos from the brand new archive book Days of our Lives 45 Years A Celebration In Photos. The book and photos will be featured in an exhibit in the main lobby of the Leonard H. Goldenson Theater as guests enter for the evening. The book itself will début in the beginning of November followed shortly by a fiction series of books called Salem’s Secrets, Scandals, and Lies.

“Celebrating 45 Years of Days of our Lives” offers complimentary attendance for Television Academy members and one guest. Limited seating is available on a first come, first served basis. There is no ticketing for this event. A Television Academy membership card and photo ID must be presented for admission.

To RSVP, members need to go to emmys.tv and for more information or questions for panelists, please contact activities@emmys.org

NBC’s Days of our Lives will celebrate its 45th year on the air in November and has already garnered numerous Emmy® Awards and nominations. Days of our Lives is produced by Corday Productions, Inc., in association with Sony Pictures Television.

My soaps are a big part of my life.

I watch in good times and in bad.

But for two soaps, these are really good times.

Yes, folks. I’m talking about Days of Our Lives and General Hospital.

Both of these soaps are doing interesting stories and doing something that many soaps fail to do: incorporate their whole cast.

If you have been on any internet blogs in the last two weeks, you would know a lot of stuff went down on General Hospital.

Michele has already written a post about the Dominic/Dante story. So I will give a quick summary: Dante is Sonny’s son from a teenage fling with Olivia. Now, Dante came to town under the alias Dominic to bring down Sonny’s mob organization. No one knows that Dante is Sonny’s son. Then, Sonny found out Dominic was an undercover cop and he shot him. Olivia revealed their connection and news of Sonny’s latest spawn has reached all corners of Port Charles.

Since no one gave any piece about this Days’ story, I’ll go a bit more in depth.

Back in the early 90′s, Carly married Vivian’s nephew, Lawrence and the three left town: Carly and Lawrence to one place and Vivian to another. Then, in 2009, Carly stabbed Lawrence and returned to Salem after her hubby died. She immediately started to gravitate towards ex, Bo, whose wife Hope had moved out. Then, Vivian returned to town to exact revenge on Carly for Lawrence’s death.

Carly revealed to Bo that she killed Lawrence because of a secret: Lawrence found out he couldn’t have kids. Carly had an affair and got pregnant with a girl. When she gave birth, Lawrence threatened to kill the little girl, so Carly gave her up for adoption.

Then, 20 + years later, Lawrence threatened to find the child and kill her, so Carly stabbed Lawrence. Vivian now found out that Carly’s daughter is Melanie, the fiancee of the child she carried for nine months, Philip. Now, Vivian is going against ally Victor’s orders and is planning to kill Melanie on her Valentine’s Day wedding.

So now, with this fall out, it will affect Carly, Vivian and Melanie. And Philip, Melanie’s fiance. And Bo, Carly’s lover. And Victor, Vivian’s ally and Philip’s father. And Kate, Philip’s mother and Vivian’s rival. And Hope, Bo’s ex. And Nathan, the man who Melanie is really in love with. And Maggie, Melanie’s mother figure.

So now we have ten characters all connected in a big reveal and murder plot. This is something that not many soaps do. Often times, stories never overlap, but we have Carly/Bo/Hope’s triangle, Nathan/Melanie/Phillip’s triangle, and Carly/Vivian’s rivalry all coming together for one big super story.

Then we have General Hospital. GH’s fallout has affected, is affecting and will affect Dante, Sonny and Olivia. And Johnny, Olivia’s boyfriend. And Michael, Morgan and Kristina, Dante’s half-siblings. And Carly, Sonny’s ex-wife. And Jason, Sonny and Carly’s friend. And Lulu, Dante’s…well, we don’t quite know yet. And Maxie, Lulu’s best friend. And Jax, Mac, Patrick and Lucky, who knew Dante’s secret. And Robin, Patrick’s wife. And Lisa, Patrick’s ex flame. That’s 17 characters. Phew! This is how good stories are told.

I love this method of storytelling: bringing the majority of the cast together to make a major storyline bigger.

I hope other soaps take the hint.