Yes it's true folks! Television Icon and Soap Superstar Genie Francis is back on daytime, but not to the show or network that made her a Pop Culture Phenom. According to Entertainment Weekly, Ms. Francis will be joining daytime's #1 soap The Young and the Restless. According to EW, she'll play Cane's mother (guess Cane isn't so dead afterall?) They also report that she'll begin taping "at the end of the month" - I'm assuming they mean April.
While I'm disappointed that Francis won't be coming back to General Hospital anytime soon, I can't say I'm surprised. In her piece for EW, Lynette Rice characterized Francis' move to Y&R as "abandoning" ABC, but I'd argue it's the other way around: ABC seemed to have abondoned Francis long ago. They've made it clear in their passive aggressive way that they had no interest in bringing Francis back in any meaningful, long-term capacity. I bet they're regretting their decision now! Good for Francis for knowing her worth and giving ABC the finger (figuratively speaking, of course)! Perhaps they'll learn to treat their actresses (especially a Soap Legend) with more respect and consideration.
Pros:Genie is back on the air where she belongs. Y&R has scored big time! Not only are they getting a fantastic actress with a large fanbase, they're also getting mainstream media attention, which doesn't hurt. Genie is being reunited with former costarts Tristian Rogers and Stephen Nichols, which could be a great thing. You just know TPTB at ABC are fuming!
Cons: High expectations usually lead to disappointment. All this talk (already!) about a ratings increase for Y&R because of Genie places unfair burden on the actress and the show. There is such a thing as too much hype (ex: Brenda/GH). Genie has had limited success in other daytime roles (Diana on DAYS, Ceara on AMC). Genie will be yet another new face on Y&R which is already filled with talented actors from other shows, is this too much for loyal Y&R viewers who want to see more of the vets they know and love? Genie is being reunited with former costars Tristan Rogers and Stephen Nichols, which could be a not so great thing (we know how badly 'recapturing' magic can go.)
I haven't seen Monday's ep of GH yet, but all day I was reading positive tweets about Mabby (Michael and Abby) making love for the first time. In fact, there were so many Mabby tweets that it became a Trending Topic! Congrats to Chad Duell and Andrea Bogart for making this unlikely coupling into a runaway hit! And take note GH: the trending topic was not #JakeIsDead or #CarBomb or #JossHasCancer or #BrendaBrendaBrenda
David Hiltbrand, Agnes Nixon's son-in-law and former AMC writer, addressed the rumors of the show's seemingly imminent cancellation. While his piece for philly.com (read it here) asks "All My Children facing cancellation?" the tone of it leaves little doubt that the show's fate is sealed. Hiltbrand ends his article with:
Farewell, Brooke, Myrtle and Tad. Goodbye, Opal, Dixie and Palmer. Fare thee well Trevor, Bianca and Greenlee. We will not see your like again.
Doesn't sound good Soapies :( Let Hiltbrand (who was also a writer for Guiding Light) know your thoughts by either leaving a comment on the article or by tweeting him at DaveOnDemand_TV
On a side note, there is something he wrote that I disagree with:
Maybe Susan Lucci, who plays the show’s scheming cynosure, Erica Kane, is jinxed. Remember the long string of years she was nominated for, but did not win, a Daytime Emmy? Now her show may be cancelled the week before her memoir comes out.
Ironically, I thinks this benefits her book. Her 19 year Emmy losing streak brought her national mainstream attention and made her a household name, even to people who never watched soaps. Likewise, the rumors of cancellation may very well bring Lucci and her memoir some mainstream media coverage that it might not have gotten otherwise. At least that's one positive thing to come from all this...
Hey guys (if anyone is still out there??) We haven't been doing much on the blog lately - school, work, moving and traveling have been keeping Brooke, SoapWikiJohn and me busy. But we've got some good stuff coming. Brooke's going to post about her awesome experiences on Soap Cruise 2011 (last one ever!) And SWJ is going to be posting about the fate of AMC, GH's Death of Jake story and he'll continue his coverage of International Soaps. I've been watching my shows here and there, and this week I'm going to tape all the shows and hopefully will be posting a Round Up blog at the end of the week. I'm also planning posts about Soaps on DVD, Soap Books and maybe a Rate the Recast column...we'll see.
Hope everyone is doing well! I've missed my soaps and talking with my fellow soapies! -Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover
I'm not much for conspiracy theories, but I have to admit, when it comes to soaps I've got a few. Here are 4 daytime firings that I think we never got the real story about - along with my theories on what really happened. This is a completely irrelevant and silly post, but what the heck. It's a lazy Sunday, I don't feel like doing anything productive, and I haven't posted in forever. So feel free to laugh at me and disagree (I don't think anyone has agreed with me on any of these, lol).
Rebecca Herbst is Fired! Rebecca Herbst is Fired?
When ABC announced that Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth, GH) was being let go, something seemed hinky from the start. Yes, she was the odd woman out in a Love Pentagon (Lucky/Siobhan & Nik/Brook Lyn seemed to be the go-couples) and the character had been written into a corner - alternating between snarky slut, town breeder and professional clipboard holder for years. But from what I've heard from a friend in the know, ReH is also cheap as h*ll, willing to be on the backburner, and has a fanbase. Plus, she's the mother of Saint Jason's baby and Luke and Laura's first grandchild (two paternity secrets that have yet to be fully revealed). Why bother getting rid of her now? And most importantly, Jake's death was coming up. Were they really going to tell a story about a child's death and have the mother leave when the story is just getting started?? So she wouldn't be there for any of the fallout? Does that make any sense? I don't think so... Not to mention the amount of rewriting & reshooting that would have had to be done in such short notice after they 'changed their minds' (it would be a logistical nightmare).
After this news broke, I told some friends that if she didn't have another soap job in a month, then she wasn't really leaving. And sure enough, one month later, she didn't accept another job offer and it was announced she's not leaving (this, despite reports in soap mags/blogs that ReH had been approached by other shows.) The conspiracy theories I usually hear about this 'firing' is of the "Brian Frons hates Becky and wants to destroy Liason!" variety. I don't think so. If TPTB hated ReH, her *ss would have been gone a long time ago. And if Frons really did want to fire her now, he would have done it and no amount of mail would have changed his mind. Believe me, Anne Sweeney doesn't give two sh*ts about a character/actress on a soap. My theory? Becky wasn't going anywhere, at least not now. I suspect they knew the reaction to Jake's death would be hugely negative, perhaps this was a bait and switch type situation. Fire her, then give the fans 'what they want' by rehiring her and when they're feeling happy and empowered, kill little Jake. And the attitude of TPTB? "Yeah, we killed Jake, but at least Elizabeth is still on the show!"
John is Dead! Oh wait, no he's not!
When Drake Hogestyn was 'fired' and John Black was killed on Days of Our Lives in 2007, there was a part of me that was devastated. "How could they kill off such a beloved character!? How could they fire an actor who had been the show's leading man for 20+ years!?" I cried. Then there was the other part of me that though TPTB were just f*cking with their viewers. It had a Salem Stalker/Melaswen stink to it, is what I'm sayin'... And what do you know? 3 or 4 months later, John's Alive and Drake is back! Wow, what a shocker - NOT. Listen, I loved that John was alive and that Drake was back on the show (at least for another year), but I would bet my Marlena barbie doll (if I had one) that TPTB never intended for John to really be dead. Call it a gut feeling, Soap Viewer's Intuition - it seemed like a lot of bull to me. In their defense, I get that TPTB wanted to surprise their viewers (something that's getting harder and harder to do these days), but I have to say that this nonsense and the Melaswen stunt made me feel cheated as a viewer and DAYS was just never the same for me.
3rd Carly's Not the Charm: Jennifer B we hardly knew ye...
Poor Jennifer Bransford - in 2005 she was hired to replace Tamara Braun in the high profile role as Carly Corinthos on General Hospital. Six months later, Bransford was fired and Laura Wright, who just happened to be at the end of her Guiding Light contract (as Cassie "Eating the Show Alive" Layne), was announced as her replacement. Funny how that worked out, huh? Such a coincidence that they let Bransford go at the exact same time Laura Wright was available, huh? I don't think so!!! My Theory: TPTB never intended for Bransford to stay on as Carly - I think they always intended for Wright to take that role. Firstly, casting Bransford was a head scratcher to begin with - it was a classic example of miscasting. But to go even further than that: Carly C is a very high profile role. You do two things when casting a high profile role: you either go with an unknown (like Tamara as Carly, or say...Dominic Z as Dante as a more recent example) or you get a soap star to play the role. You do not hire a D-list soap actress (her turn as OLTL's Georgie didn't exactly set the soap world on fire) who is clearly all wrong for the part. What I'm thinking is that TPTB knew there was going to be backlash over a recast no matter who was hired. They decided to cast Bransford, knowing fans would not accept her in the role, and let her take the brunt of the Recast Backlash, while at the same time keeping the seat warm (so to speak) for Laura Wright, whom TPTB really wanted to hire but who had 6 months left on her contract at GL. Fast Forward 6 months later: Jennifer B is fired (much to many fans' delight) and Laura W is hired. TPTB get who they really wanted and Laura W does not have to deal with Recast Backlash because viewers saw her as an improvement over Bransford. Think I'm crazy? Don't think TPTB at a show would hire someone wrong for the part just to make a recast transition easier? Well get ready for my 4th and final Conspiracy Theory...
Sweet Charity! Charity Rahmer taking over the role of Belle Black from Kirsten Storms on Days of Our Lives in 2004 may go down in Soap History as the Worst Recast Ever. If you never saw Charity in action, believe me, it's as bad as you've heard. We're not exaggerating. My theory? TPTB purposely hired someone they knew would Bomb in the role. Think I'm crazy? Watch these clips and tell me how it's possible they didn't know how horrible she was. (Just to clarify, there's a whole lot of bad acting going on in these clips: Charity is the blonde girl):
My goodness, Charity even makes that guy from The Real World look good! You cannot tell me that anyone in their right mind would watch Charity in action and think "Yes! That's who I want in the role of fan favorite heroine Belle! She'll put Kirsten Storms to shame!" Uhm...no. What really happened? I think TPTB wanted Martha Madison, but knew she'd have trouble replacing Kirsten. To avoid the dreaded Recast Backlash and to give Martha a fighting chance, they hired Charity (for 3 weeks) knowing fans would hate her. Fans would unleash their fury on poor, lovely Charity and then happily embrace Martha when she replaced her. And it worked!
So those are my theories! Think I'm wrong? Possibly. Think I'm crazy? Definitely. Have any conspiracy theories of your own? Please share!
Long time no blog, I know, I'm sorry. I've been given a serious talking to by my fellow Denial Islanders Mel (@soapoperababble) and J (@soapwikijohn) about blogging my recent trip to the US for the 4th and final Soap Cruise back in January... yeah... I'm slack!
Nevertheless, a few of their other requests I have acquiesced to, namely, the creation of Denial Island Blog on Facebook! Why be on Facebook I hear you ask? I dunno, because we can? The other request I'm still working on; but why we need our own YouTube page I'm not sure. Stay tuned for that one! Anyhoo, visit the Facebook page here, and don't forget to 'Like' us by clicking the link to the right of this blog.
Ooh, I nearly forgot - I have added some sharing options under each blog post, so feel free to share any of these blogs that take your fancy on any of the mediums displayed! Shameless plug I know!
