A Secret In Salem -- DAYS Novel Preview and Thoughts

Coming this November to a book store near you A Secret In Salem plans to take viewers back to a simpler time with a secret that will shock the residents of Salem down to their core, as one 80's Super Couple finds out that they have a child that they didn't know about.

In typical Days fashion A Secret In Salem will shake the canvas up and make viewers wonder if anything they read is actually true. Well written by Days Of Our Lives former headwritter Sheri Anderson the goal is to create a fictional world that adhears to the cannonisity of the main series, while exploring stories that the television show is unable to do because of budget cuts, contract status, and other factors.

While it has been revealed which supercouple will be granted a new child, and the adventures that will surround this revelation (Murder? Seduction? Lies and Betrayal? Wait this sounds better then what is currently on my screen!) I am really looking forward to the novels and seeing which characters will make an appearance and how much Dena and co write these novels into the series.

Are you looking forward to A Secret in Salem?

Why EastEnders Droped The Ball With Danny Mitchell Storyline

Recently the character of Danny Mitchell (played by Liam Bergin) had left the canvas after the revelation of his true paternity was revealed, which took away his Mitchell status by making him not the son of super villain Archie, but Nick Winterton.

EastEnders in my opinion completely dropped the ball on this storyline, Danny Mitchell could have easily been groomed into a redeemable super villain that the soap desperately needs, while making up for the over-the-top storylines that were given to Archie in his final months.

Liam Bergin was a capable actor, and could have easily driven storylines for years to come, but with a regime change comes storyline changes and thus the character of Danny Mitchell was simply tossed by the wayside for the upcoming transition into the Kirkwood era of EastEnders.

Are you upset that Danny is gone? Or are you happy to see the bloke leave the square? Sound off in the comments below.

Why EastEnders Fans Still Want Danielle Mitchell to Rise From the Dead

On April 3rd 2009 EastEnders aired a controversial episode in which Danielle Mitchell (the long lost and secret daughter of Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack)) was killed off just mere moments before being reunited with her onscreen mother.

Since then fans have rallied on various Facebook groups and signed pettitons to attempt to persuade executive producers to bring this character back from the dead.

EastEnders has only ever brought back one character from the dead, and that is the dastardly evil Dirty Den. Considered to be one of the biggest mistakes in EastEnders history, Dirty Den rose from the ashes to reclaim the Vic before being killed off once again.

So why then would fans want the realistic soap to break all of the rules to bring back a character that was only on for less then a year? I believe the reason is the vast amount of potential that the character of Danielle had. With actress Lauren Crace in the role, we were able to see the character overcome many struggles within the short period that she was on the series, but the fact that fans truly wanted a HAPPY ending for the 'Secret Mitchel' storyline and were instead treated to months of tears and sadness, many viewers feel the only way to move forward is to resurrect this character.

However my stance is this: What is done is done. The character of Danielle while having years of storyline potential is dead, and there is nothing that can be done about it. EastEnders made the choice to kill the character off, and unfortunately that is all that there is to it. If the character was to return it would be a horrendous slap in the face to the millions of fans that watched Ronnie grieve and eventually move past the death of her daughter. It would also negate the 'lasting' effects that the denouement of the 'Secret Mitchell' storyline had.

But that is only my point, what are your thoughts? Would you want Danielle back on EastEnders, or do you think that she should just stay dead and buried? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

TEN Is Not Happy With Neighbours Underwhelming Performance

Television Network TEN which currently airs the Australian soap opera Neighbours is disapointed in the shows recent viewing figures. With the 6,000th episode just weeks away, many are worried that Neighbours will not be sticking around on TEN for the foreseeable future.

One rumor going around is that Neighbours will be making the jump to TEN's upcoming all digital channel when it launches next year, a move that no one will really be happy with.

"Neighbours does need some work, and we're hoping we can get there on that. I can say that Neighbours will be part of the Ten family going forward, and there's a deal we're talking to [production company] Fremantle about at the moment."

Speaking about the possibility of Neighbours moving to Ten's digital channel, a source said: "They need to do something with it, and this is on the table, although it's certainly not something FremantleMedia would be happy with."

So with that in mind what do you think can be done to save Neighbours from a possible cancellation? I have a few idea's myself that will be coming in a post sometime soon.

Barbara Windsor Films Her Final Scene On EastEnders

It's official, Barbara Windsor has filmed her final scene as the legendary matriarch of Albert Square, as Peggy said goodbye to her family and friends.

But the real question is whether or not Peggy will survive the Queen Victoria burning down as executive producer Byran Kirkwood has officially announced that Peggy's scenes have been shot out of order, and the surrounding events around her exit are being kept secret until they air.

So do you think Peggy will survive and have a happy send off? Or will they really kill off one of EastEnders greatest characters? Let me know what you think in the comments bellow.

Sam Clark's Ringo Sings To Donna On Neighbours

Neighbours recently promoted Sam Clark's upcoming studio album by having his on screen character Ringo Brown declare his love to Donna by singing "Devastated By You" to her on episode 5948.

Are you ready for Sam's album to be released?

Sam Clark - Send Me A Sign

Neighbours star Sam Clark has released a music video to his brand new single "Send Me A Sign". In the music video fans of Neighbours might notice a few familiar faces, but otherwise it is just a good song.

Are you looking forward to Sam's upcoming CD?

Erin Mullally Thinks His Declan Is More "mature and savvy"

Talking to Holy Soap the Neighbours star revealed that he believes his Declan is more mature.

"The new Declan is more grown up, quite mature and savvy. He thinks with his head and knows what he wants and doesn't have to use brute force to get it."

*takes a deep breath* SERIOUSLY? I am sorry but the more that this guy is interviewed the more I dislike him, and to be honest it's not really his fault, but its like the Molly Burnett effect, I don't blame her for not knowing how to act and looking lost in a lot of her scenes, and I cannot blame Mullally for his ....'acting' but I DO blame the executive producers for not recasting the role correctly or writing the character out.

I firmly believe that they could have easily tied up the remaining storylines and fixed things so that they could have played out without Declan on canvas, because so far the recast has not worked, and he has not come into his own, all he has done is infuriate fans and that is not a good thing.

Okay so that is my take on this story, what do you guys think? Are you enjoying Erin's portrayal of Declan? Or are you with me and believe that the role should never have been recast?

EastEnders Queen Vic to Burn Down!

News has come out that EastEnders iconic Queen Victoria pub will in fact burn down later this year to coincide with the exit of Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor).

It has also been confirmed that the burning of the Vic will result in the loss of a few beloved characters lives, but just who will make it out of the Vic alive to see another day?

What I find amusing about this story is that it is a blatant rip-off of Kirkwood's first big storyline on Hollyoaks in which the local pub (The Dog) got set on fire, killing off, most notably, the Burton Twins.

Are you looking forward to the end of an era as the Queen Vic burns to the ground?

What Are Coronation Street's 50th Anniversery Plans?

The pieces are slowly coming together for Coronations Streets big 50th birthday celebration. In a recent interview with digital spy executive producer Phil Collinson revealed that there is still a lot of discussion surrounding what will take place during the 50th b-day event.

One hot subject is whether or not the soap will go LIVE for this special day, the answer "maybe"

Have you ruled out a live episode?

"Nope. We've not ruled it in either, though. Something like that takes an enormous amount of planning. We're still talking about it but I'm not particularly an advocate of doing it. We did it ten years ago and obviously EastEnders did it this year… if we were to do one, we'd need to find a way of making it radically different from any that have gone before."

Now news has come out that several characters will in fact be killed off as Coronation Street deals with its biggest event yet, a Tram Disaster.

"We'll be losing some well-known, well-loved characters," he said.

Mr Collinson said the "big, big story" and its fallout would be played out over a week in December.

"Hopefully we'll be keeping under wraps who exactly will be going. We'll be doing everything we can to make sure we keep that secret until it transmits."

So are you looking forward to what Corrie has in store for the big 5-0?

Holly Barton's Drug Storyline

In an exclusive interview with soap site digital spy Emmerdale executive producer Gavin Blyth commented on Holly Barton's (Sophie Powles) upcoming drug addiction storyline.

Apparently Holly's drug storyline starts spiralling out of control towards the end of the year…
"It does. This is a serious, true story about cocaine and heroin. What I didn't want to do was to run a three-week storyline which sees an addition, discovery and cure in such a short space of time - that's not what happens in real life. Holly's a young girl living a teenage life and her addiction becomes severe. Social use turns to addiction and the real story behind this is how parents in 2010 cope - or not - with this sort of situation and then how they deal with it. It's a trying journey for John and Moira – and all the family. We're working very, very closely with drugs counsellors and ex-drug users to ensure that everything's right."

My FAVORITE line from that statement was "we didn't want to do a 3 week storyline" Hummm I wonder if any USA soaps heard that and maybe might listen for a change? Nah that will never happen.

With all of this news about Emmerdale it sure seems like this once struggling iTV soap might be getting back into the groove of things. Are you looking forward to Holly's drug storyline?

James Sutton's Emmerdale Storylines Have Barely Begun!

In an exclusive interview with soap site digitalspy Gavin Blyth revealed that James Sutton's role has really just begun.

At the same time, both James and Ryan have been here for about a year and they have to settle in as an everyday character of the village. It can't all be full-on Ryan episode after episode. There's a long way to go with Ryan still anyway. James is with us for a long time - his journey's barely begun."

So those of us who have been wondering when Ryan will actually get around to being used, well it sounds like things are coming down the pipe and we just have to wait and see if they are any good.

Are you looking forward to more Ryan? Or are you glad he hasn't eaten the show alive like John Paul McQueen did on Hollyoaks ? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below

Danny Miller Sticking Around Emmerdale!

Emmerdale fans can breath of sigh of relief as word has came out that Danny Miller (who plays the gay self-loathing Aaron) will be sticking with iTV's Emmerdale for the foreseeable future!

Series Producer Gavin Blyth in an interview with soap site digitalspy revealed that he is already working on storylines for Aaron well into 2011, so there are no plans for the actor or the character to leave the soap anytime soon.

Are you happy about this news?

Rating Paul Marquess's First Week At Hollyoaks

The moment I have been waiting for a year for is finally here, as Paul Marquess officially took over the reigns of the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks. But was his first week any good? Was it all that I ever wanted and dreamed it would be? Or was it a major let down, with convoluted plot twist and more stupid storylines then you could shake a stick at? Well I guess you will have to keep reading as I grade Paul Marquess first five episodes!

Monday -

In Marquess's inaugural episode we see that Gaz has been arrested and charged with the murder of Calvin Valentine (who was actually murdered by Theresa Mcqueen the cousin of Calvin's wife Carmel).

The other side story dealt with Stephanie Dean overcoming her battle with cancer and starting to have a positive outlook on life and realizing that it is time once again to go after stardom, but what will be different this time is the fact that she has a SOB STORY! Yes the freshly widowed woman adopted and orphan and wins her battle with cervical cancer is not off to conquer the world! OR at least attempt to.
Overall -

Monday was not a bad episode, it was decent and the fact that Paul has already axed the characters that I would obviously be ranting about here (*cough* THE ENTIRE Valentine clan *cough*), I was able to sit back and relax as I slowly came back 'home' to the lovely village of Hollyoaks.
Tuesday -

Tuesday's episode was alllllll about poor little Theresa...........she finally told Myra that she was knocked up, but refused to tell just who the father was (because Myra would probably beat the living daylights out of her....and rightfully so!).
The whole Gaz mess continued today with the Valentine clan yelling and fighting over it... Lauren went to visit Gaz, Sasha flipped out, and Carmel calmed them all down.....Is it time to say goodbye yet?

Stephanie decided to go try out for the X-factor, she and Gilly guilt trip Rhys into helping her out by using her cancer.... it was such a low blow, and they knew it, but it was kinda hilarious to see Rhys crumble and start helping her.
Cindy who still wants Darren is "SHOCKED" when she finds Darren in bed with Suzanne Ashworth!

Overall-

Yay EastEnders style cliffhangers! While this wasn't the best 'duff-duff' copycat, it wasn't the worst! Yea I am trying to find the good in this episode dang it. The episode really kinda bored me.. I don't care about Gaz and the Valentines, and I could care less that Theresa is carrying Calvin's baby, just let everyone find out that she's the murder and she can pop out the child in prison like Becca and then die as well....ugh. So I guess my optimism is slowly fading away hu?

I just wish there was a bit more of a focus on Steph/Rhys/ the older generation. I don't really care to much to see these people who cannot act on my screen muttering through their scenes. I want to be gripped and enjoying my soap opera and I am not really enjoying it when that 'mess' is on. The good news is that they will be gone soon so hopefully that will come sooner rather then later.

Wednesday -

So Suzanne leaves Neviel and shacks up with Darren for a "few days". Meanwhile Darren and Cindy are still having this flirting back and forth thing. Rhys eventually catches up with Darren and to Darren's surprise Rhys is actually okay with their relationship, but he understands that it is temporary, and it is just the way things have to be. Later on Darren returns to his flat, and is completely stunned to see Cindy and Suzanne chatting and laughing on the sofa as they watch the telly.

We have some stuff going on at the Valentines (the girls want their dad to start acting like their dad again).


And the episode ends once again with a shocker as Jake comes home and finds Loretta in his bed in yet another fake-Duff-duff moment!

Overall-

To dang much crap went on in this episode, and to many characters I simply do not care about! But hey I did enjoy the Darren / Cindy / Suzanne dynamic, and i am interested to see where things go. But with casting the way it is I am guessing that Cindy is going to go away on maternity leave as Suzanne exits the show so Darren will be left all by himself for a little bit....HA! That will be the day.

Now I just have to say that the 'BEST' part of the episode came after the fake-duff-duff when Suzanne and Cindy were discussing which Sex and the City girl they were and then told Darren he was sleeping on the sofa! It was just amazing.

Thursday-

YAY! The collage gang is on today!

Ashworths --

Josh comes home and flat out tells his dad to get his act together and go fight for his marriage!

Nancy is dating Elliot, and the two of them have a discussion about her sexuality.... *sigh* more on then in my "overall" thoughts.....

Stephanie performs at the dog and does a killer job and showed everyone up!


Today's duff-duff knock off came in the form of Cheryl winning the lottery!

Overall-

Today's episode was a vast improvement over the other episodes, but that may simply be the fact that I love the charcter of Nancy and really the whole collage gang, so this episode was a lot more towards my liking then say an episode full of the craptastic Valentines. But with that said Nancy could do SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better then Elliot, she deserves so much better, so I really hope that this relationship doesn't last that much longer, and with casting news the way it is I think my wish might happen soon so YAY!

Friday-

Oy, okay so Friday's episode is a mish-mash..

Cheryl lost her winning ticket in her bra....yay...

Elliot tries to rig the competition so that Nancy will win, only Cheryl won.

Amy tried to win, but didn't.....

and the fake-duff-duff goes to Kyle threatening Lauren......

Overall -

Okay I am going to be honest and say that I really didn't care for this episode, it was meh, but Nancy was in it and the focus was on the college crew so i didn't hate it as much as some of the episodes earlier in the week.


Paul M's Hollyoaks was interesting, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. It was a decent week of a soap that I once loved and I was actually able to sit through without having to claw my eyes out and shout "WHY GOD WHY ME?" With that said I really cannot advise anyone pick up the show just yet, the best time will be when Stunt weeks appear, and from the sounds of things to come you shouldn't have to wait too long for that to happen.

So my grade for Paul's first week is a solid C+ also known as average...here is hoping that an A+ is in store for Hollyoaks future!

What did you think of this week's episodes? were they better then Lucy Allens? Did you hate them? Let me know in the comments below