More Days of Our Lives on Deck, All My Children's New Addition
By Lynda Hirsch
Nov 16, 2008
NBC announced that it has renewed "Days of Our Lives" for another 18 months. That will give the soap that celebrated its 43 anniversary recently an on-air presence through 2010. "Days" is the only soap aired by NBC. The network's last two attempts at talk-show fair such as "Living It Up! With Ali & Jack" were dropped after a year. NBC couldn't put a fifth hour of the "Today" show on the air. Well, it could. Thankfully it won't.
All My Children's New Addition
So staying with “Days,” a show with history and fairly decent ratings, was the best choice. The show has over a year and a half to make viewers want to watch. That means better story lines. The latest game of "Life" redux with everyone changing jobs isn't doing it: Bo is police chief; Tony is running a PR firm; Abe is the new mayor. I am afraid that Marlena will suddenly become Joe the Plumber since he is busy trying to extend his 15 minutes of fame.
***
McKenzie Westmore, who played the beleaguered Sheridan on "Passions," is headed to "All My Children." Beginning Dec. 12, she'll play Annie's (Melissa Claire Egan) psychiatrist, Dr. Sinclair, who will also interact with Ryan (Cameron Mathison) and Aidan (Aiden Turner). Westmore, who lives in L.A., will be trekking across the country to New York, where AMC is filmed. Westmore is a member of the famed Westmore makeup clan. Known as Max Factor, the company was the first to use pancake makeup, which covered up a star's imperfections.
The heavy makeup actually caused more imperfections. I had the teenage zits to prove it -- using the old pancake tube hid them and created them. While the Max Factor brand is still around, the company is also responsible for the hipper Smashbox line of makeup.
***
CBS has opted to not televise the Daytime Emmys this year. NBC is not in the rotation, which leaves ABC/SOAPnet. The network says in a press release: "As 2009 was scheduled to be CBS's year to host the Daytime Emmys, ABC had not anticipated or planned on doing the award show. At this time neither ABC nor SOAPnet has plans to broadcast the event." Any one of the thousand cable networks could air the show. USA could give up one night running back-to-back crime show reruns, which I love to watch. As long as I am confessing, I love courtroom shows.
They are like watching Jerry Springer without watching Jerry Springer. From watching court programs I have learned to never sign up a friend for cell phone service. The E! channel could also be a good fit for the Daytime Emmys. As soon as I hear when the Daytime Emmys will air I'll let you know. It make take an hour to file the report if "People's Court," "Judge Mathis" or "Judge David Young" are on when the news breaks.
***
Grant Aleksander (Phillip Spaulding) of "Guiding Light" is set to return to the show in 2009. Before leaving in 2004, the actor had played the role of Phillip for nearly 15 years. Phillip was murdered in November 2004. Two years later it was revealed that Phillip wasn't really dead; his best friend, Rick Bauer (Michael O'Leary), had kept the emotionally ill Phillip in a sanatorium. Aleksander and O'Leary are best friends in real life. After exiting the show Aleksander directed a few episodes of "As the World Turns" and did a turn on "All My Children."
"I love the show very much. I always have, and when I left I tried to make it clear that there were no hard feelings," Aleksander said in an interview with Soap Opera Weekly. Look for the character to return in January.
***
"Young and Restless'" Eden has to be the most petulant, in-your-face, ungrateful character on daytime. That says a lot. It was never explained why brother Michael Baldwin did not give her a permanent time out. Sadly, Erin Sanders, who created the role in August, has been give one. The writing of the character was not the actress’s fault. She read what was on the script, she was directed to do the scenes a particular way and for following orders she gets the ax.
Eden will still be a major character on the show. Starting Dec. 3, Vanessa Marano takes over. Of course, the character will still be a teenage brat. However, if they do not soften her a bit she will wind up being sent to attic for the next 20 years -- or put on fast-forward quicker than a viewer skips the ads for male performance enhancement drugs.
FEEDS: News | Pop Culture | Ledger Pop | Ledger DC
