IN THE SPOTLIGHT — Emmerdale
This week we bid a
fond farewell to Emmerdale’s
Paul Lambert (out actor Matthew Bose) and Jonny Foster (Richard
Grieve), by taking a look back at their relationship as they exit the
series for a new life in Australia – oh, yeah, and to give their troubled
marriage a second (or is it third?) chance. It’s been a long hard road for this
couple that found their love tested time and again.
Matthew Bose (left) and Richard Grieve
During Paul’s years
living in Emmerdale, he endured a series of unsuccessful relationships and
tumultuous events including the night he rescued his neighbor Grayson Sinclair
(Christopher Villiers) during an assault (and somehow managing to learn of
Grayson’s bisexuality in the process). Grayson’s wife, Perdy (who is aware of
her husband’s bisexuality) instantly concluded Paul and Grayson were secretly lovers,
but once Paul convinced her that wasn’t the case, the two went on to become
close friends. Perdy later introduced Paul to future fiancé Jonny, in part
because she assumed that Jonny and Grayson were lovers and was none too happy
about it.
Perdy’s matchmaking
took, as Jonny and Paul fell in love and planned to marry. At least that was
how it was supposed to go. Despite accepting Jonny’s proposal, Paul felt
ambivalent about marrying him, in part because of his own troubled history with
men who cheat – and because he was actually attracted to Grayson. Still, the
engagement went forward and as we see in this clip, things got complicated.
There are so many
things wrong with this scenario that I don’t know where to begin. Paul’s
attraction to Gray made no sense. They had nothing in common, had no chemistry,
not to mention Gray treated Paul horribly and had derogatory things to say
about gays. Exactly what did Paul find attractive about this man? Furthermore,
Paul would never do this to Perdy, his best friend.
And what about Jonny?
Paul’s cheating on his fiancé was completely out of character and made no sense
(for the actor’s thoughts on this plot twist, check out the GOOL Newsbeat). But
as you can see in the clip below, Jonny inexplicably forgave Paul for his infidelity and they
were married in what was the first primetime gay wedding in the U.K.
While it’s nice that
Paul and Jonny reunited for their happy ending, the entire storyline was
sloppily handled. To make matters worse, this plot arc was more about how
everybody else felt about Paul leaving Emmerdale than it was about Paul working
things out with his husband. The couple never really discussed why they broke
up in the first place or dealt with the problems that ended their marriage. And
then, after months of not speaking to each other, they suddenly realized they couldn’t
live apart and ran off together to another country.
This utter lack of
plausibility across the board takes away any joy one might have felt at their
reunion. To add insult to injury, the two men never even kissed, instead barely hugging before being ushered out the door. Indeed, the
whole storyline played out as if most of it was actually lying around on a
cutting room floor somewhere.
Both the characters and the fans deserved better.
Paul and Jonny got their happy ending … and the bum’s rush.
IN MY HUMBLE OPINION
Forbidden
Love – I’m sorry, but that wasn’t enough. And no, that’s not what
Christian (Thore Schölermann) said to Olli (Jo Weil) when they finally got some
alone time after Olli returned from his two-month absence. That’s what I said when I watched Olli’s return.
Yes, the boys were very sweet and they were very romantic. It was clear they
missed each other, especially in the way Christian couldn’t take his eyes off
Olli, and their chemistry was as sparkling as ever. But how about seeing them
share some romantic moments instead of rushing them right back into listening to
everybody else’s silly, boring problems?
Christian: That’s not the only thing I have for you that’s
edible.
As The World
Turns – So when Luke (Van Hansis) isn’t tied up (or
is it tied down?) in Noah’s (Jake Silbermann) dorm room, he’s lazing around
reading books on metaphysics? Is that what expelled rich kids do? Sadly, that
was the most interesting thing about this week’s episode in which Noah was MIA.
Watching Luke try matchmaking for the chemistry-free couple Ali and Casey
wasn’t exactly enthralling, although watching Jade spar with uber-bitch Emily
was a good time. While the plot twists now developing here will eventually come
back to bite Luke and Noah in the butt, couldn’t they make getting there a
little more interesting?
Oh, and by the way,
Luke, get a job.
Luke (Van Hansis) is living the life … of a deadbeat.
United
States of Tara – In this
week’s pair of episodes, we first met one of Tara’s (Toni Collette) alters,
Alice, a prissy housewife who aims to take over and become Tara’s dominant
persona. And in the second ep, gay Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) develops what
seems to be a hopeless crush on a school hunk. Both storylines are promising,
but what’s not working in the series thus far is the story of Katie (Brie
Larson), the typically annoying and somewhat dull teen daughter, who isn’t
nearly as interesting as the rest of the cast. Despite the utter implausibility
of this series, it nevertheless continues to engage.
Is Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) headed for love …
or
heartbreak from Jason (Andrew Lawrence)?
Shameless – Ian (Gerard Kearns) is attacked,
suffers amnesia and when his memory returns, he doesn’t like what he sees on
this week’s episode. The show had to find a way to write Kearns
out of the series (temporarily, thankfully) and this was a clever, interesting
and plausible way to do it (Ian leaves town to find himself). Given
Ian is somewhat the heart of the series, he’ll be missed, though the show
itself seems to be softening. There’s a little more warmth and genuine feeling
among the darkness and outlandishness than in past seasons. And that’s to the
show’s credit.
Ian loses his memory, but gains something more.
SCOOPS AND SPOILERS YOU CAN USE
The
triangle on Hollyoaks faces exposure, Waterloo Road’s Matt deals with a life changing situation, Christian’s life gets downright filthy on EastEnders – and more!
Stop reading if you don’t want the scoop on all your
favorite soaps and dramas!
So many jokes about getting laid … so little time …
Forbidden Love – Olli is back and Christian wore the poor boy out. He’s so
tired that he can’t get out of the sack, which is why he’s not in this week’s
episodes – at least that’s the explanation in my fantasies.
On the show, however, Olli is simply MIA for no good reason, leaving Christian to listen as Gregor
(Andreas Jancke) goes on and on about rebuilding his helicopter. I’d come up with some
pithy line about losing altitude or going down in flames, but the plot line is
silly enough on its own.
Mickey goes back to school and goes for a ride … in more
ways than one in this week’s Shameless.
Shameless – With Ian gone from his life (for now), Mickey (Ciaran Griffiths)
is feeling lost and out of sorts. So he decides to go to film school, where he
bonds with his tutor, Linda, and her husband Ady. They introduce him to a
strange new world and he discovers a skill he didn’t know he had. Shockingly
enough, it actually has to do with reading and writing!
Is Matt about to discover losing his boyfriend is the least
of his problems?
Waterloo Road – Matt (Chris Geere) hasn’t done much this season except
mourn the loss of his broken relationship; however, his personal life is about
to take a back seat to the problems at school when the troubled Kelly family
suffers a terrible tragedy, one that will change Matt’s life forever.
You’d think Ravi and Nancy
would be wondering what
they see in Kris, but sadly … no.
Hollyoaks – Kris (Gerard McCarthy) continues his affairs with both Ravi (Stephen Uppal) and Nancy (Jessica Fox), at one
point having sex with both of them in the same day. Ewww! Hope he showers
first! But Nancy, who is convinced that Ravi
is deeply in love with her, feels increasingly guilty about her infidelity.
Meanwhile, the jig may be
up for Ravi and Kris when the wrong person comes very close to discovering their secret liaison.
Desperate Housewives – Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) reaps the benefits when Bree’s (Marcia Cross) career takes off. Meanwhile, Lee (Kevin Rahm) could find himself in danger when he stumbles upon some disturbing information about the murderous Dave. Will he take the risk in telling Tom (Doug Savant) and Lynette (Felicity Huffman) what he’s discovered? And in a few weeks, there is going to be a tragic death on Wisteria Lane. We can’t tell you who it’s going to be, but we can say that it’s a male.
Brothers & Sisters – After a three week absence, America’s most dysfunctional family is back and there’s a few new people we get to meet. Kitty (Calista Flockhart) has a baby shower and the gay wing of the family show up in force when Kevin (Matthew Rhys), Scotty (Luke Macfarlane) and Saul (Ron Rifkin) attend. And who should Saul bring but his new boyfriend Andrew (John Glover)! Doesn’t Saul know that Walker family parties are not the best way to introduce someone to the family? Well, at least there’ll be plenty of booze!
Elsewhere, Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) keeps herself busy by making first contact with Ryan Lafferty (Luke Grimes), the newest Walker and then stumbling upon Tommy’s (Balthazar Getty) scheme to boot Holly out of the family business. Both developments will threaten her relationship with Justin (Dave Annable).
As The World
Turns – With his own love life the best its ever been
(meaning he’s getting some regularly), Luke continues to get caught up in the
romantic lives of his friends. Despite
his asking Jade for her help in getting Casey and Ali together, Jade’s
developed her own agenda and she’s getting paid by Emily to keep them apart.
How will Luke react when he finds out about Jade’s latest act of duplicity? Will he
expose her scheme … or keep Jade’s secret?
And coming the week
of Feb. 9th, it’s a rather awkward situation when Luke and Noah walk
in on Casey and Jade in flagrante, but they’ll soon learn that is the least of
their problems (would seeing Casey naked even be a problem?). The boys throw Casey a birthday party at Yo’s, but the fun doesn’t last long when
disaster strikes and Reg (Mark Sullivan) winds up in the hospital. Was he
attacked? If so, by whom? Naturally, Luke is very upset over his friend’s plight; fortunately he’s got Noah to lean on as they await word on Reg’s fate. But
Noah just might not be there when Luke finds himself at risk.
EastEnders – In the show’s continuing quest to do everything but give
gay hottie Christian (John Partridge) a love interest, his family problems and
his business ventures get messier – literally. In their attempt to get their
catering business off the ground, Christian and his sister Jane have wound up at odds with the Masoods, who have their own rival company. When
Christian and Jane learn the Masoods are preparing food for a client, they
sneak into their kitchen to replace the Masoods’ delicacies with their own.
However, their competitors are onto them and the ensuing argument erupts into a
food fight.
Christian asks his homophobic mother to move in with him.
Well,
there goes his sex life … if he actually had one, that is.
It turns out that Ian
is sick and tired of Christian and Jane’s mother Linda living with him and
wants her out. When his schemes to get rid of her fail, he calls her cheating
husband (who is also Christian and Jane’s father) from whom she is currently
estranged, to come and take her home. Dismayed by his father’s cheating,
Christian asks his mother to move in with him. Yes, the same mother who
constantly tells him how ‘disgusting’ his lifestyle is.
GOOL NEWSBEAT
The nominees for the GLAAD awards, things
look ‘Ugly’ for ‘Betty’, fantasies take over on As The World Turns, General Hospital: Night Shift might still have a pulse, casting
news at Brothers & Sisters and
more!
The nominees for the
GLAAD awards were announced last week and the results for soaps and dramatic
series are as follows:
OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC SERIES
OUTSTANDING DAYTIME DRAMA
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL EPISODE (for a television show
without a regular LGBT character):
"Ghostfacers" Supernatural
"My
Maharishi is Bigger than Your Maharishi" Life on Mars
"Slam" Ghost Whisperer
"Tandem
Repeats" ER
"Unidentified
Funk" The
New Adventures of Old Christine
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Congrats to
all the nominees! The winners will be announced at award ceremonies in New York on March 28th, Los
Angeles on April 18th and San Francisco on May 9th.
Balthazar Getty
Say goodbye to one
thorn in Brothers & Sisters’
Kevin Walker’s side. Balthazar Getty (Tommy) will exit the series in April
when Tommy goes on the lam to avoid felony embezzlement charges. We previously
reported that Getty had been fired for what ABC execs said was ‘creative
decisions.’ But TV Guide now reports that Getty alienated much of
the cast with his off screen and on set behavior. B&S offered Getty the chance to appear in a handful of episodes
next season, but the actor has yet to decide if he’ll accept. Sarah Jane
Morris, who plays Tommy’s wife Julia, will remain with the show for the rest of
the season, but says she is looking for new television and film roles after
this season ends.
Matthew Rhys, who
plays Kevin, confirms in TVG that
Getty was offered the chance to return part time, adding, “It’s going to be a
choice for him whether he wants that or not. I hope we will weather this.”
Jason Lewis
In other B&S news, executive producer Monica Breen teases that Jason Lewis’ Chad,
scheduled to return to the show on April 1st, will have an ‘unexpected’ effect on Scotty and Kevin’s relationship. Breen promises that ”it’s
not what viewers are expecting.”
I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can
tell you that Scotty, Chad
and Kevin will break bread and have dinner together.
ABC has made a
puzzling schedule change that has many fans concerned and many in the industry
scratching their heads. The Alphabet network snatched critical darling and fan
favorite Ugly Betty from the lineup
starting March 26th, replacing the series with sitcoms Samantha Who? starring Christina
Applegate and In the Motherhood
starring Will and Grace alum Megan
Mullally. As we reported last week, Ugly
Betty placed third in its time slot up against Bones and a rerun of NCIS and
overall, ratings have been down this season.
UB began the season
with 8 million viewers, but has lost a million viewers each week, at one point
dipping as low as 3.6 million. This past month the show jumped back up to 7
million viewers, but it’s still down from last year’s viewership of 9 million,
performing well below ABC’s expectations, especially given that it’s a lead in
for ratings powerhouse Grey’s Anatomy.
Even more concerning is that ABC hasn’t given a return date for the series,
though they insist they haven’t lost faith in the comedy/drama.
"We are going to be premiering In the Motherhood paired with
new episodes of Samantha Who? starting March 26th, but Ugly Betty will
be back in that timeslot,” an ABC spokesperson told AfterElton.com.
“ABC has complete confidence in Ugly Betty and the hiatus is no way
meant to reflect a loss in faith for the show which remains large part of ABC’s
identity."
Will we ever get to see Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) humiliate
and denigrate
Marc (Michael Urie) again?
If the show returns
after the run of the two sitcoms, a reported 13 episodes, it wouldn’t be back
until mid-summer and might have trouble grabbing an audience at a time when few
are watching television. In fact, shows that burn off episodes during the summer
months are usually cancelled ones, such as what ABC already plans for Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money. UB is an expensive show to produce and with its
ratings noticeably down in this era of network belt tightening, many
are speculating this might be the end of the colorful, quirky series.
Sources have told AfterElton.com the show will be back before the end of the current
television season. And Michael Ausiello of Entertainment
Weekly reports ABC insiders are also telling him it’s highly unlikely the show
will have to wait until summer to return and
that things look good for UB snagging
a fourth season pick-up. Perhaps this isn’t as grim as it sounds. Still, taking
a series off the air in the middle of its run is never a good idea, especially
a serial drama like Ugly Betty.
Adam Grimes (left) and Chad Allen
We thought we’d seen
the last of General Hospital: Night Shift’s
gay lovers Dr. Kyle Julian (Adam Grimes) and Eric Whitlow (out actor Chad Allen)
after hearing that there were no plans to renew the series for a third season.
But just maybe we spoke too soon. SoapNet, which aired GH:NS last year, says that despite published reports, plans to
continue the series are not dead. They give no details, nor say when the show
may be revived, but given the critical acclaim and ratings success of the
weekly series, let’s hope it’s soon.
Chad Allen
Meanwhile, actor Chad
Allen has been keeping very busy with films such as Save Me, theatrical work including The Little Dog Laughed,
as well as playing the lead role in the Donald Strachey mysteries that air
on here! TV.
Allen is currently appearing on stage in West Palm Beach, Florida
in the play Looped,
which tells the story of Tallulah Bankhead toward the twilight of her
career. Looped also stars Rhoda’s Valerie Harper as
Bankhead and Allen as Danny Miller, a closeted sound editor with whom she clashes.
Allen first played the role when the production opened in Pasadena, California
last summer. Its current run ends February 15th and then heads for
a stint in Washington, D.C. this May. For pics of Allen on stage,
check out "Snapshots" later in the column.
Will we have to wait until fall to see romance blossom
between Calvin and Grant?
Greek update! We’ve
got some good news and some bad news. We previously reported that Gregory
Michael, formerly of Dante’s Cove,
was joining the cast as Grant, Calvin’s (Paul James) new love interest. That’s
the good news. The bad news is that their first episode together, airing on
June 1st, is the second season finale, meaning Calvin and Grant’s story won’t begin in earnest
until season three begins later this year. Bummer!
As with past holidays, Luke and Noah will play dress up for
this year’s
Valentine’s Day episode of As
The World Turns.
Surrender Dorothy? In
what has become a holiday tradition, As
The World Turns is yet again stepping out of canon to do a special
Valentine’s Day-themed episode set to air on February 13th. This
year they’re doing spoofs of classic fairy tales such as The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella,
complete with elaborate costumes and location shoots.
No word on what Luke
and Noah will be doing in the special, but no doubt fans will remember that for
last year’s Valentine’s episode, the show did their own version of classic
romances in which every couple but Luke and Noah kissed. The "no Nuke" kiss was
seen as part of what was believed to be a kissing ban. This mobilized fans,
who started a media blitz garnering coverage worldwide. Will the show make up
for that with something special for the couple this year? Stay tuned!
Is a romantic triangle ahead for this gay supercouple?
Let’s hope so!
Now that Luke and
Noah have had sex, is a good, old-fashioned love triangle in
the works for the couple? A few weeks ago there were Internet rumors that the
show was casting the roles of Zac and his twin sister Zoe. Word was that the
duo would be troublemakers who would stir up things among the younger set,
specifically Luke, Noah and Casey. Now an audition script for the twins has
surfaced, inching these rumors closer to being true.
From the script, we
learn that Zac and Zoe are friends of Luke’s and that Zac is, in fact, gay.
This may go no further than the script stage, but the show might be looking to
bring on some faces and storylines for Oakdale’s twenty-somethings, especially
as summer approaches and the young characters tend to come to the forefront of
the show. We’ll keep an eye on it and let you know how things progress.
Van Hansis and Martha Byrne (ex-Lily, ATWT)
In other ATWT news, Martha Byrne (ex-Lily, Luke’s
mom) is back in soaps, but not on screen. She’s got a tryout gig as a writer
for The Bold and the Beautiful, which
airs immediately before As The World
Turns. We wish her well in her new endeavor.
Meanwhile, Maura
West (Carly, aka "Quaker Oats Lady" in these parts) announced she is pregnant
with her fifth child last week. She is married to Scott DeFreitas, who played
Andy Dixon, one of this columnist’s favorite (and hottest) ATWT characters ever. The show has announced they do not plan to
write the pregnancy into the script.
Laurence Lau
Finally, Soap Opera Digest, Soap Opera Weekly and
Soaps In Depth each took notice
of Laurence Lau’s (Brian Wheatley) his
skillful acting the week of Jan. 12th when Brian finally admitted he
was gay. SOD said:
When Laurence Lau
joined the cast of ATWT as
conservative businessman Brian Wheatley, there was no doubt that he would do a
phenomenal job. But he far exceeded our expectations as he took Brian down a
path of self-discovery. Lau’s skill as
an actor allowed us to feel sorry for a character who appeared out of nowhere
and was, at times, borderline predatory. Making moves on your drunken step-grandson
is not the most righteous thing to do.
And SID noted:
We applaud Lau for
his sensitive portrayal of a complex character and wish ATWT had kept him around longer because there’s so much of Brian’s
story left to be told.
And as reported
last week, Lau will return to the show for a brief stint in mid-March.
Ian leaves, though he’ll be back. But just what will he bring
back with him?
We saw Ian leaving
Chatsworth Estates this week, which means sadly, that Gerard Kearns also exited
Shameless as well. The question is, “Will he be back?” Thankfully, the actor will return later in the season,
appearing in eight of this show’s 16 episodes. This is good news, especially
since he wasn’t supposed to be on the show at all this year due in part to an
increasingly busy film schedule. But after discussing it with the producers,
the actor decided to return to the series, and was given time off to work on
other projects such as Looking for Eric (2009), a film about the life of soccer legend Eric Cantona, and The Mark of Cain, a war drama about two 18-year-old boys serving in Iraq.
Producers say when Kearns comes back to Shameless, his character Ian
will bring a big surprise with him. Guesses anyone?
Matthew Bose
Emmerdale’s
Matthew Bose left that series this week,
but the actor had considered leaving the series earlier than he did, thanks to
his unhappiness with a plot twist on the show. Fans were outraged when Paul
slept with bisexual lawyer Grayson Sinclair, betraying both his husband as well
as his best friend, who was married to Grayson.
Many believed it was out of
character for Paul, especially since
his previous lovers had cheated on him. Bose agrees:
I had
people coming up to me in the street and saying I just can’t believe that Paul
would do that. Which was my argument. I don’t think he’d have a one-night stand
with Grayson,” Bose, who is openly gay, told the Scottish newspaper The Daily Record. "It makes out
that all gay men are promiscuous and I don’t think they are any more
promiscuous than anyone else. Paul is a highly moral person and a one-night
stand isn’t something he’d have done. The audience then distrusts why shows are
doing things, then starts not to like the character’s story and it is hard to
win them back.
Bose nearly quit over his character’s one-night
stand
with his best friend’s husband.
Bose was close to quitting the show at that point, but when new series
producer Anita Turner took over the show and quickly dropped the storyline,
Bose decided to stay. Unfortunately, Turner didn’t stop by just dropping that
distasteful plot thread; she proceeded to fire both Christopher Villiers
(Grayson) and Richard Grieve (Jonny), leaving Bose without a story. As reports
of backstage discontent grew, Bose announced that he intended to leave the show,
as many other actors had already done since Turner took over.
Bose told Digital Spy, "I’ve had a brilliant time
playing Paul but after four years, I have taken the decision to explore new
projects. I have a huge amount of respect and affection for Emmerdale
and my colleagues, all of whom I will greatly miss.”
Bose denied that there were any backstage conflicts between the cast and Ms.
Turner, saying she had the full backing of the actors. Oddly enough, just as
Bose makes his exit from the show, so does Turner, who stepped down as series
producer of Emmerdale last week. She gave
no reason for the exit, saying that she felt it was best for the show.
RATINGS AND RANKINGS
Prayers For Bobby, the Lifetime
film starring Sigourney Weaver in the true story of a woman whose gay son
commits suicide, drew 3.8 million viewers and was one of the network’s most
watched television movies ever. The Sunday repeat of the movie also did well, grabbing
another 2.3 million viewers. Online traffic for the Lifetime website, where the
film can also be watched, was up by some 169% … The second episode
of Waterloo Road was second in its time slot, with an 18.5% rating and about 4.42
million viewers, down 200,000 from the previous week … Figures recently
released show that Coronation Street
was the fifth most popular show last year in the UK. EastEnders was eighth and Emmerdale
was 20th … As The World Turns held
steady the week of Jan. 19th remaining in fifth place while the rest
of the CBS daytime lineup each lost over 100,000 viewers.
In the weekly
ratings for the UK
dramas, Coronation Street
was first with an average of 10.6 million viewers, while EastEnders was second with 9.2 million. Emmerdale, with the reintroduction of Richard Grieves’ Jonny Foster
to the series, was third at 7.7 million … Even though Desperate Housewives was in repeats last week, it was still enough
to amass the most viewers in the coveted 18 – 49 demographic with a 2.8 rating
and a 6% share … Forbidden Love’s
ratings continue to decline as
the new writers’ stories have yet to take hold and bring back lost viewers.
Notably, the month of January began with an 11% share of the audience and
continued to fall each week. The day of Olli’s return (Jan 27th) was
one of the low points of the month at 8.2%. To be fair, the episode was pitted
against a handball game (Germany vs. Norway) in a match that had 30% of the
audience watching.
BITS AND PIECES
The casts of Hollyoaks,
Shameless, Coronation Street,
Emmerdale and Casualty will participate in a charity
football game at the Chester City Football Club (located in Chester, England)
on May 24th. Funds raised at the event will be donated to The Imagine
Appeal at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and to Clare House Children’s Hospice,
both of which treat sick children … Pop
superstar George Michael is scheduled to make a cameo appearance in EastEnders next month. The singer is
reportedly a huge fan of the long running soap. …. Soaps In Depth named As The World Turns’ Luke Snyder (Van
Hansis) 42nd in their Top 100 Hottest Hunks. Casey Hughes (Billy Magnussen) was
44th. Noah Mayer (Jake Silbermann) was
80th.
Torchwood star
John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) is co-writing a comic strip based on the
series that will appear in Torchwood
Magazine. It can be found on US stands March 17th. Additionally,
three new original novels (Consequences,
Risk Assessment and Undertaker’s Gift) featuring Capt. Jack, Ianto
and the crew will be released in October … A pilot for cult comedy Absolutely Fabulous has been ordered by
FOX. Creator and co-star of the classic series, Jennifer Saunders will act as
executive producer … UK broadcaster Channel 4, which airs Hollyoaks, has bought the rights to air HBO’s True Blood. Hollyoaks series
producer Lucy Allan says the show plans to bring back six of its most popular
characters over the next year. She declined to say which ones … Coronation Street celebrated the airing
of its 7000th episode last week.
SNAPSHOTS – The
Play’s The Thing
As The World Turns’ Van Hansis (Luke) attends the opening night
of Hedda Gabler on Broadway at
the American Airlines Theatre.
Van with
out Broadway actor Matt Risch.
on stage in West Palm Beach, Florida
SOAP STUD OF THE WEEK – Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin, The Young and The Restless)
Michael Baldwin is
without a doubt one of the most intriguing characters to ever land in Genoa
City. Good looking, smart, and a tenacious and skilled lawyer, he has the
respect and friendship of the town’s finest citizens. But it wasn’t always that
way as he’s done some unspeakably horrible things in the past: stalking,
assault, attempted rape and then there was that murder that he was suspected of
(but for which his guilt was never proven). Unlike many guilty folks, however,
he’s paid for his crimes and even actually did time, which rarely happens with
soap bad guys. Once out of jail, he vowed to make a fresh start. For the most part,
he’s managed to do just that.
But he’s not above
breaking the rules or dipping into his old bag of tricks if it’s means helping
a family member (and boy to do they need help) or a good friend. Which isn’t to say he doesn’t have plenty of
demons still haunting him. Indeed, it’s that ongoing battle between those
demons and his desire to be a good guy that make him the fascinating man that
he is. The good looks and the nice bod are just gravy for this character –
albeit very good gravy. For all those
reasons and more he is our SOAP STUD OF THE WEEK.
POLL QUESTION #1
POLL QUESTION #2
POLL QUESTION #3
We’ll keep track of
the results and compare them to the actual winners when they are announced!
RESULTS FROM LAST
WEEK…
