Will General Hospital Be Cancelled? ABC Exec: "I Don't Know"

So here's the latest in the Will GH Be Cancelled or Not? news - ABC is claiming they don't know yet. SOD has just reported that when ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee was asked about the possible cancellation of GH to make room for Katie Couric's new snoozefest...oops, I mean talk show, he responded "We'll have to make a decision at some point but I don't know when. We have not made a decision and we do not have a time frame for that."

To read the full story, including Nancy Lee Grahn's twitter response: Click Here

To read our previous coverage on GH's possible cancellation, check these stories out:
Will General Hospital Be Cancelled Too?

Will General Hospital Be Cancelled To Make Room For Katie Couric on ABC?

What do you guys think?? I'm getting more and more nervous...

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble

Roundup: Corrie Sex Abuse Scandal! Sons of Anarchy! JaSam Wedding! Bye-Bye AMC & OLTL!

Hey All, it's been awhile! Because of personal, professional and school commitments I haven't had much time for blogging, tweeting or even soap watching. But I'm Baaaaaack!!

So what's been going on?

The Happy:

JaSam Wedding

Finally! Jason and Sam are one of my all-time favorite Soap SuperCouples, so this marriage has been a dream come true for me (even if it was marred by more Franco Bullsh*t). But if JaSam has taught us one thing, it's that Love Always Triumphs. To me, JaSam is all about unconditional love *sigh*

Sons of Anarchy

Damn! This is the best soap I've seen in a long time! After hearing great things about the show, I decided to finally check it out. I was hesitant. Male dominated anti-hero shows can be popular but their a tough sell for me: most of the characters are unlikeable and a sexist perspective is sometimes present (Hello Sopranos!). But as it turns out this wild, testosterone-driven, violent biker show has a lot going for it. It's what Guza-era General Hospital so desperately tried to be. The action is intense, performances are terrific and it's got the soapy elements that I love: hyper-dramatic situations, crazy plot twists, cliffhangers, brilliant at it's best, contrived at it's worst. The thing I like the most? When you take away the Plot Points and the MacGuffins (those damn LETTERS) it's really all about the characters and their relationships with each other. It's their desires, needs, greed, narcissism, fears, betrayals, lovin' and hatin' that really drives the stories forward. Plus, I love the HOLY SH*T! OMG! ICan'tBelieveTheyJustDidThat! moments. I'm going to write more about SOA later, but for now I'll just say this show is Must Watch TV for me. Oh and...they better not kill Clay off!

The Sad:

Good-bye to AMC and the soon-to-be departed OLTL

I'm still kind of in denial about this. I've yet to watch the final few eps of AMC. They're just sitting on my DVR waiting to be watched. And I can't quite bring myself to watch what's left of OLTL. It's just too damn depressing. It's sad to see these beloved shows go and even sadder to know that this is signaling the end of the daytime soap genre as we know it. Saying good-bye to characters we've watched for years, sometimes decades, is like no other feeling. Only other daytime soap watchers really understand how heartbreaking it is for us.

The Shocking:

Coronation Street's Michael Le Vell Arrested For Sexual Assault

This has got to be the most shocking and upsetting soap-related story of the year. On Sept 30, Michael Le Vell (Kevin, Coronation Street) was arrested for rape of a 6-year-old girl (her age at the time of the alleged attack). The Corrie vet (he's been on the show for 28 years) denies the charges. He's currently out on bail until January while the charges are being investigated.

Boy, what do you even say about this? It's absolutely horrific. I'm just hoping that this is some terrible mistake, because the alternative is just too horrible to contemplate.

Ok all. Thanks for reading this rambling mess of a post, lol. I'm glad to be back and can't wait to dive right into the soap world again!

Melanie/daisyclover/SoapOperaBabble

Helena Cassadine is Back! Constance Towers Returns to General Hospital!

The B*tch Is Back!! One of General Hospital's most popular villains (or heroines depending on your POV lol) is back. In an exclusive, TV Guide's Michael Logan is reporting that Helena Cassadine (played by the wonderful Constance Towers) is returning to GH the week of June 27th.

To read the full story, click here.

Of course, she'll be central in the Aiden paternity story, but I'm really hoping we see her mixing it up with everyone in Port Charles. And boy would I love to see her interact with the Davis-Cassadine women! Scenes with Helena, Alexis, Sam, Kristina and Molly? I'd be in heaven!

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

Martha Madison To Temporarily Replace Rebecca Herbst On General Hospital!

According to various sources, Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth, General Hospital) has fallen ill with viral meningitis. Martha Madison (ex-Belle, Days of Our Lives) will temporarily replace Herbst in the role. Madison's first airdate will be June 8th.

To read more, check out SID's post Here

Hope Becky gets well soon! And good luck to Martha! Wonder if we'll be seeing any Belle (Kirsten Storms), nuBelle (Martha) and Shawn (Jason Cook) interactions??

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

Will General Hospital Be Cancelled Too?

Ever since ABC announced they were cancelling All My Children and One Life to Live soap fans have been writing, calling, emailing, tweeting, blogging and facebook-ing in protest. Though it's now a cliche to paraphrase Network's Howard Beale, it's still fitting: soap fans are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore! The results have been astounding: Hoover is dropping their ads on ABC in protest (will Hershey soon follow?), the mainstream media has taken notice of our little revolution and even ABC has been forced to acknowledge the uproar (in a condescending and patronizing way, of course.) But amidst all the campaigning, many of us have been asking repeatedly, what about the other soaps? And specifically, what about the last ABC soap standing: General Hospital? I think most will agree, it doesn't look good. Many have theorized (and I agree) that the only reason GH hasn't been cancelled yet is because completely changing that 3 hour block would have been too drastic. The compromise was to cancel AMC and OLTL in two stages, with GH to go later.

Word On The Street:
We don't do much spoiling/rumors/gossip here. We've got some great friends in the know, but for the most part we keep things to ourselves (we don't want to get our friends in trouble!) But I will say this, a friend who is usually right on the money has told us: General Hospital: Sept 2012 - possibly earlier. The decision is not final, some of it depends on how well the replacement shows do. But we can expect a decision/announcement early 2012.

I'm not telling you this to discourage you or to offer a 'scoop' or whatever (like I said, that's not our thing here at Denial Island.) I'm saying it because 1. I believe it to be true and 2. Because we should use this information as Motivation. It really is do or die time and as hard as we've fought so far, we need to fight even harder. My friend says to keep going after the sponsors and to target advertisers that run ads "across the Disney spectrum" - she specifically names Novartis as a good target because they advertise on all Disney networks.

Spoiler Diva Ravenbeauty recently wrote in her column:
Disney needs to feel it the most or it means very little. This means addressing Disney's sponsors as well as ABC's. This means focusing a little more on Disney themselves, and their products. We need to contact the heads at Disney, and tell them that we will no longer take our families to Disneyland or Disneyworld, and will not buy their products or services any longer and why (which is our right). We have been doing some very good work here (and have made progress), but we are only giving them flesh wounds when we need to be aiming for the heart. From what I was told, Disney finds this all very amusing, even though ABC does not. If we get to Disney, it will trickle down to ABC with some real force.

Let's Keep Fighting!
So I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to keep fighting! I will continue to make calls, write letters and emails to the networks, their sponsors and also to soap and mainstream media. If you notice, towards the top of the page on our blog, we've got links for each soap. Click on those links to get their contact info (if you see any incorrect info or have contact info to add, please let us know!) I will also continue to boycott all ABC shows (except for the daytime soaps.)

ABC hurt us by cancelling our shows, so let's hurt them back! Maybe now they'll think twice about messing with soaps and their fans! This may truly be General Hospital's last chance.

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

Memorable Soap Deaths 4: BJ on General Hospital

Hey guys, I'm back with another edition of Memorable Soap Deaths! Is this a little morbid? Sure. But what can I say, I love a good cry and nothing makes me blubber like the death of a beloved character - when it's done right. Normally I pick 3 deaths, but I think I'll change things up a bit and pick 1 for each edition from now on. So...let's get ready to cry!

When It's Done Right: BJ Jones, General Hospital
I thought it was appropriate to feature BJ's death & the BJ/Maxie heart transplant story (from 1994), since Guza desperately tried to copy it for the Jake's death & Jake/Josslyn heart transplant story. While the Jake story is a failure (read my reasons why Here), the BJ story was soap opera at its best. The acting was excellent, the writing was perfect and each beat of the story was played perfectly.

After BJ is in a school bus accident, she's declared brain dead with no chance of recovery. Meanwhile, her cousin Maxie is in need of a heart transplant. BJ's parents, Tony and Bobbie, make the decision to donate BJ's heart to Maxie. This is a very abbreviated version of the story, showing only some of the high points of selected scenes. But we get some fantastic stuff here, including Frisco and Felicia (Maxie's parents) finding out their daughter will live because their niece died. *sniff* *sniff*

Click here for more:
Memorable Soap Deaths 1 - soapwikijohn's picks (EastEnders, Hollyoaks)
Memorable Soap Deaths 2 (Santa Barbara, General Hospital, One Life to Live)
Memorable Soap Deaths 3 (Loving, Young and the Restless, Guiding Light)

So what soap deaths are most memorable for you? Let us know!

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

Random Thoughts 04/11: General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live

GENERAL HOSPITAL
Lucky (inexplicably baring his soul to Jason):
"I can't escape the irony that Jake was conceived because of my addiction and he died because of my father's."
-Also Ironic: Elizabeth and Jason were drunk when Jake was conceived!
-Irony thy name is Jake: Jake was named after a bar!

Today Nik dumped the hottest chick in town so that he can have more time to brood over the misery that is his family's life. I have to say that I am really sad to see Brook Lynn (the talented and lovely Adrianne Leon) leave. I think she was a great addition to the cast and she was a good contrast to Maxie and Lulu. Plus, I would have loved a Brook Lynn/Matt hook up!

While I love it when Sam and Carly get along, the conversation between them today creeped me out. I get that Carly thinks a JaSam baby will heal Jason's wounds, but offering to carry the baby for Sam?? And did you see the little twinkle in Carly's eyes when she made that suggestion? I'm tired of Carly's obsession with Jason! Carly clearly wants to give Jason a child and all I have to say is: Back off B*tch - he's Sam's!!!

ALL MY CHILDREN
I have to admit, I thought this was pretty cute:
"We're just friends. We're friends...sometimes" - Colby explaining her relationship with Asher

Was it me, or did Jesse look like he had a massive headache when everyone was yammering away at the police station? I know the feeling.

I want a Ham-Off between Darnell Williams, Lindsay Hartley and Michael E. Knight! Whoever can chew the most scenery in an hour wins!

What's with Erica acting all coy and not wanting to jinx the wedding?? Honey, you are gorgeous, but you are also 65 years old and have been married 500 times. Cut the cutesy crap.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Natalie to John: "Our baby! Your son! Our baby! Your son!"
Me to Natalie: "Shut up"

Uhm...lots of square jawed guys fighting each other over that skank Tessica. Am I the only one that doesn't find Tess's antics funny or amusing? It's all rather pathetic and sleazy now. I honestly thought for a second she was gonna bang both those shirtless guys in the steam room.

Cuteness: Dorian/David (Chelsea Handler be damned!), Langston/Markko, Rama.

Here's the thing guys, I'm not a huge fan of Carlivati's OLTL. I think he's a talented writer, but I find the show uneven and difficult to watch at times. However, since Roger Howarth is coming back I've decided to start watching OLTL regularly again.

Did you guys like what you saw today? What did you love, what did you hate?

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

Mabby Make Love and Trend on Twitter!

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

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover