TV Icon Genie Francis to Y&R!

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.)

Good Luck Genie!!! We'll be watching!

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

PS: Thanks Jorpa59 for the tip! :) And thanks to all the tweeters that let me know that the news first broke at EW :)

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

Agnes Nixon's Son-In-Law Bids Farewell to AMC

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...

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

Back to Denial Island and Back to My Soaps!

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

Conspiracy Theories

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!

-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover

Denial Island Blog has a Facebook Page!

Hi Guys!

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!

Until next time,
Brooke*Denial Island

SoapOperaBabble's 2011 Soap Predictions

Okay, SoapWikiJohn made his 2011 Soap Predictions, now it's MY turn! (btw J, I will never forgive you for jinxing JaSam into being the most tortured couple!! lol)

Soap Cancellation of 2011: I'm gonna say that this year NO soap is going to be cancelled. That's probably more wishful thinking than an actual prediction but whatever...lol

Casting Shocker of 2011: Roger Howarth back to OLTL! Oh yeah...I went there!!

Best Soap of 2011: Hmm....how could we even judge this? lol. I'll go with Y&R

Most Unwatchable Soap of 2011: AMC

Most Tortured Couple of 2011: Brooke and Ridge, B&B

Cutest Couple of 2011: Matt and Georgie, GH (yeah, I know Georgie is dead ((no she's not!!!)) but a girl can dream, can't she????) These two would have been so damn cute together! I predict Fruza will come to their senses, resurrect Georgie from the dead and give us a sweet, cute love story between Matt and Georgie!

Happy Belated New Year's Everyone!!!
-Melanie/SoapOperaBabble/daisyclover1938
(*one more prediction: In 2011, I'll come up with ONE alias and stick to it, lol)

SoapWikiJohn's 2011 Soap Predictions!

Hey everyone,

So with 2011 upon us I thought I would take a moment and make some soap predictions and see how close I actually come to being right as 2011 plays out, so without further delay here are my 2011 soap predictions-

Will A Soap Be Canceled, if so which one?- I think 2011 will be the end for All My Children. Its the bottom of the ratings, the show is over budget, and unless something dramatic happens the quality is not the best, so while it pains me to say it, I think AMC is toast.

Will there be another 'kish-o-trophic' casting shocker in 2011? I think so, I have a feeling that one MAJOR actor will be fired/let go/ not resign in 2011, I am not sure on which soap, but I have a feeling that it will shock the soapworld to its core.

Which Soap will be the 'best' in 2011 -

Oh lord this one is hard, the soaps fluctuate so rapidly that it is really hard to tell which will be the "BEST".

If you are watching U.K. soaps I am going to go out on a limb and say EastEnders will reclaim its thrown with the whole Baby Swap storyline that has just kicked off. While I haven't seen those scenes yet, I just have a feeling that this storyline could be game changing and could help it be the 'BEST'. Coronation Street has issues and I think its to unpredictable to say it will be the best, and Hollyoaks and Doctors while both having a big year, and I will personally be loving them I don't know that they can overtake a baby swap. That leaves Emmerdale. Had Executive Producer Gavin Blyth not died I would have said Emmerdale would easily take best soap, but because of his unfortunate passing I am just going to give it to EastEnders and pray that I am right.

If Australian soaps are your favorite I am going to say Home and Away will reclaim its former glory and beat out Neighbours in quality come 2011. The soap had a lot of problems in 2010, but with a new writer involved I have a feeling that we will get much better storytelling in this coming year.

Now for what you all really care about the U.S. soaps..... This one is really a toss in the bucket. I don't think All My Children or The Bold and the Beautiful will get this title. The ONLY way Days of Our Lives will be the BEST is if Dena Higgly is fired, and I highly doubt that will happen. The Young and the Restless is way to sporadic. So that really just leaves One Life To Live or General Hospital. Between those two I am going to say General Hospital will pull the year off as best show. Now I think they will also be the most talked about and controversial show, but that might be just the thing the soap needs to regain its footing as best soap.

What Soap Will Be Unwatchable in 2011-

I am going to go out and just say All My Children will be the worst soap of 2011. There really is no foundation for this assumption, only that I don't think it will be able to compete with any of the others. I feel that Days might wise up and fix a few things, but AMC... I just don't feel that they can gain the ground needed to fix things to even compete so that's why it is the most unwatchable in my opinion.

Who will be the most tortured couple of 2011?

Well this one is going to be fun, and get me into a LOT of hot water. I am going to say JaSam will be the most tortured couple of the year. I don't know anything, or have any hard proof, but I just feel that things could go down a bad road and the way that General Hospital has been with its couples I think its about time to cause havoc and wreck the thing that is JaSam all up.

Cutest Couple of 2011?

I am going to say for the US- Kevin and Chloe from The Young and the Restless, and for Australia - Romeo and Ruby from Home and Away.

So those are my predictions for 2011! Do you agree or disagree? What are your predictions? Let me hear them in the comments below!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Years everyone! And Welcome to 2011! Yes this year is going to be bigger and better for Denial Island and the whole Soap Opera industry! So get ready for some fun because we are getting ready for a very exciting year.

Like I said in the Christmas post we have come a far way since Denial Island was started, and on behalf of myself and Melanie/ really long screen name, I would just like to thank Brooke for allowing us this opportunity to blog and be a part of this wonderful site!

Anyways have a Happy New Year!

If you have a moment then share your favorite New Years soap memory!

My personal favorite comes from 2009, when EastEnders Sean Slater exited the soap after kidnapping Roxie and Jacks daughter! It was a perfect way to start the year out and it made this EastEnders fan very happy.

'Emmerdale: Dingles for Richer, for Poorer' DVD Review

iTV recently released an exclusive dvd spinoff tale entitled Emmerdale: The Dingles - for Richer, for Poorer.
This spinoff is a nice 'what if' the Dingles would have won the lottery. The movie by its own merits was a cute flick, but when it comes down to it, the movie was rather confusing. The editing and continuity were off, or done in a weird way that it didn't really seem to fit.

I would have really liked it had the dvd been tied closer into the real show, and maybe show the Dingles go on yet another family vacation, or something to that extent, because this movie really let me down.

If you are already an Emmerdale fan you should check the dvd out and form your own thoughts, but whereas I would recommend Coronation Street: Out of Africa to everyone, I think this movie is really only for the 'hardcore' Emmerdale viewers.
Have you seen the movie? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know your take in the comments below.

My Coronation Street History

The worlds longest running scripted television show is itv's Coronation street. This landmark show hit the big 5-0 on December 9th 2010, and to commemorate this historic event I wanted to take a moment and look back on the few Corrie filled years I have been watching and discuss what I have liked, what I have disliked, what shocked me and what let me down. So without further ado let's get on with it shall we?

I started watching Coronation Street in 2008 when news came out that the series would be embarking on a new type of story using the '24' real-time storytelling model. That was to be focused on Tony Gordons stagdo and would end in the death of Liam Connor. I slowly got hooked into the street as the characters started to slowly feel like family.

The year progressed and I saw Tony Gordon become the evil mastermind that would have given ol Stefano Dimera a run for his money back in his hayday.

Meanwhile Peter Barlow returned to the street, son in hand, and made the statement every alcoholic makes "I am not a drunk, I know when to stop" *rolls eyes and ques alcoholism storyline*

But than something happened. The writers saw a spark between Kevin Webster and Molly Dobbs. An Affair was to begin, and the character assassination of one of my favorite characters would be taken place right before my eyes. I couldn't stand it, so I tuned out of the soap for the whole affair!

Then the sad news came out that Maggie Jones (Blanche) had died, so I tuned back in to see how the character would be written out of the program. It was touching, and poignant and I saw the Coronation Street I once loved once again. So I continued to watch.

I have seen the entire 'Sophie and Sian' storyline play out, and that is why in September I made the post discussing my negative take on the way Coronation Street outed the couple. I still stand by those comments, I understand that others see the connection between Hayley and Roy, and that it was a good time to out them and provided a lot of stories, but I still feel that it was a crummy way and it was very plot pointed and not realistic, but that's just me, so let's agree to disagree on that point shall we?

Siege week took place over the summer as well, and with it the end of Tony Gordon. I am glad that I got to see the Tony Gordon storyline, while it was over the top at times and not 'realistic', it was a fun soap villians final stand, and i was glued to my screen waiting to find out who would survive.

This leads me to the 50th anniversary tram crash-

I LOVE the event, I think it was brilliantly done and made perfect sense to have happened the way that it did. The Live episode was FLAWLESS and kicked the pants off of EastEnders 25th. But with that said, the promotional material for the series ran with the tagline "four funerals and a wedding" and I think it was a MASSIVE cop out to have the 4th death be the bus driver. It was lame, and pointless. Yes it kept people discussing to the bitter end who the final death would be, but really, was lying to your viewers really worth it?

In closing, I just want to say that I am a BIG Coronation Street fan. I may not always enjoy the stories, sometimes I may even tune out, but at the end of the day I do love the street, and I am looking forward to seeing what the series has in stall for me for the next 50 years, because I will be watching, and I hope that it is as fun as the first 50 years have been.

What are some of your favorite Coronation Street memories? Feel free to share them and discuss in the comments below.

Why do past relationships matter?

This week on the iTV series Emmerdale, David found out that shockingly his girlfriend Leyla had a previous relationship that fathered her son (Jacob). Immediately David started tearing into her about all of the lies and deceit. While sleeping with your sisters husband is not the best thing in the world to do, I really do bit see how this is any of his business. This problem is not exclusive to Emmerdale, soaps are notorious for having men look down their noses at their female counterparts as if they were walking STDs, when in fact all they did is have sex before getting involved with their current partner.

But is this something that happens in real life? Do men badger their significant others when their past bedroom deeds are right before their eyes? I have to think so. The difference is however, that soaps air constantly and there is a number of different shows airing around the world. So when these types of stories appear it feels that we have seen it already, and what seems like a countless amount of times.

So here is a question for you readers, do a persons previous relationships matter? Would it change everything for you to find out that your partner had been with their siblings partner? How would you react to that situation? Would the past really stay in the past, or would you blow up like most soap characters and start to question everything about the relationship? Let me know your take and more importantly what you thought of this type of story because this might be the start or a few relationship centered post in the coming weeks.

Soap kids that have ran away

This week on the iTV series Emmerdale we saw young Jacob run away from home after his father did not show up to see him perform in the school play. This made me start think about all the soap runaway stories I have seen over the years, so sit back and relax as I recount a few of the runaways that I can remember.

Home and Away- 1988 Lynn runs away from the Fletchers

One of the inaugural storylines for the Australian series Home and Away saw young Lynn once again run away from the Fletchers. After sometime it was revealed that Lynn was at the Pappas farm, where she quickly gained the friendship of Nico 'dummy' Pappas. Nico had mental problems, and was on medication to help him with his anger, only Lynn wasn't aware of this. So when she sees Nico on medication she assumes he is taking them for the 'wrong' reasons, just like her mother used to. As the story progressed the Fletchers eventually did find Lynn and she returned home to the caravan park, where she would stay for a little bit longer and than go home to live with her parents, only to make one final visit to the caravan park to meet little Christopher.

Coronation Street - 2010 - Sophie Webster

After being tossed out of the lesbian closet by Clair Peacock, Sophie and her partner Sian grab there gear and leave Wetherfield. Afraid that their parents would not accept them they attempted to make it on there own, after a few weeks however, they found out that it's tough out there for a couple of teenage lesbians on the run from there parents. So the pair made their way back and returned to the street, to find comfort in the Webster household. It was not so smooth sailing at Sians house however, because he father disowned her, because of his homophobia. The love story between S&S continues to play out on the street and is sure to have a lot more twist and turns before it is over.

Days of Our Lives - 2006 - Runaway Will

It feels like yesterday that ol Shaggymop Will Horton had taken his stuff and left Salem. Sami and Lucas took to the airwaves in hope to get their sons attention. At which time continuity was not a part of Hogan Sheffiers itinerary because the whole speech was full of errors and to this day still irks me. I mean really ol Shaggymop was the star player on the basketball team????? Ugh his nerd storylines with E.J. fit him so much better ( can we say Spinelli of Days?) anyways in typical Days fashion the storyline dragged out but Will eventually returned home and was able to make up with his parents for a little while and than was shipped off to Switzerland to be with his aunt and uncle ( Carrie and Austin). Only to show up a year later with a new face, but a year younger.. odd.

So those are some of the Soap Runaway storylines that spring to my mind, what are some other memorable soap runaways that you enjoyed?

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone,

It has been an amazing year here at Denial Island, we have grown a whole lot since the blog originally launched. I mean heck it was just Brooke doing the thing all by herself! But thanks to a bit of Aussie kindness, Brooke took me and my cohort, Melanie/daisyclover/a million other names, on and we have enjoyed every minute of it.

So we would just like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas! Stay safe, and may all your soaps be merry!

If you are home and with nothing to do (ha!) and looking for a little soapy cheer, head over to YouTube and check out one of the UK soaps special christmas episodes by typing in EastEnders (which is going to be HUGE), Emmerdale (SOAPTASTIC WEDDING SHOCKER!), or Coronation Street, and Christmas 2010 and you should see a few soapy specials to watch.

If not than how about sharing some of your favorite soap Christmas memories in the comments below.

The UnSpoken Soap Rules

We all know that soaps have their cliches, so I thought I would just take a moment to write them out and spark a conversation about these overused rules.

Ready? okay here we go-

If you are in a U.K. soap and you have a secret its going to come out on Christmas Day

If you have an affair it will almost always end with a baby by your piece on the side.

If you have a sibling than you will share at minimum one partner between you. ---Side note-- (and if you are on The Bold and the Beautiful than you share the entire cast!)

If you utter the words "this is the best ____ ever" something bad will happen and ruin everything.

If you are a female and your last name is Michelle you will end up sleeping with Jack Branning and than wind up having his baby.

Have a child? No problem, you will remain doing the same thing you have always been doing and will only acknowledge your childes existents when forced to.

Not even the characters in soapland watch soaps (unless you are in EastEnders)

When a fire breaks out someone will be trapped and unable to get free.

Every affair will be exposed.

You will get a job within the first week of arriving on screen.

If you are getting married something horrific will happen on both the wedding week and on the day itself.

It is perfectly acceptable to send your kids off someplace and when/if they come back they will be a lot older and have a different face then when you last saw them.

You always have a ton of enemy's pop out of the wood work right before you die so to make a dramatic who dun it storyline.

Someone is always watching your every move and talking to themselves about what they just saw you do.

So those are just the ones that I had out of the top of my head, what unspoken rules do you have? Post them in the comments below and we will include them in the unspoken rules 2 post coming soon!

The Young and The Restless 2011 Promo

CBS Daytime has released a promo for The Young and The Restless in which not a whole lot happens. With that said the one thing I did like however, was that it looks like Chloe and Kevin are going to be paired together? That could be a really cool coupling, though I was kinda thinking Chloe and Daniel would be good, oh well.

What are you guys looking forward to from Y&R in 2011?

Neighbours 2011 Promo

Neighbours is making the move to 11 in 2011, will you be following it? If so what storyline are you looking forward to most? Let me know in the comments below.

Recap and Thoughts on Neighbours in 2010

Neighbours had a very bumpy year in 2010, but it was by far the BEST Australian soap opera on the air. So what did I like? What did I hate? And what am I looking forward to in 2011 and beyond? Let's stop wasting time and just dive into it shall we?

The soap kicked off the year with Andrew Robinson making his way through the street, he slept with Donna and almost wrecked 'Dingo', but they made it through and were able to find their way back together.

In the midst of their reunion however there was a brief appearce by everyone's FAV actress Kate Bell in a short fatal attraction storyline that really wasn't all bad...

Meanwhile the years biggest story kicked off. Steph's pregnancy cover up and scandal! Yes this train wreck lasted a majority of the year as Steph tried to hide the truth from Libby and everyone else on the street. How did she do this? Well she used Toadie of course. Thus Toadie jeopardized his relationship with Sonya for the best friend he was once in love with.

Meanwhile over at the Robinson household Declan got a new face as Erin Mullay took over the role. Was the move worth it? Well those in charge believe that it was all for the 6,000th episode...

As the weeks passed and the 6,000th episode inched closer and everything was revealed! Libby found out that Steph was knocked up with Dan's baby, and fireworks exploded! But that was not the focus of the 6,000th week.

It was a landmark week and what better way to celebrate than a redux of the soaps most popular couple (Scott and Charlene) with Donna and Ringo! The two walked down the aisle and said their vows. Off to Lasaters they went and a month of happiness the two shared.

But the 6,000th episode was what everyone cared about, as the big story was WHO PUSHED PAUL!

The storyline played out over weeks and it was eventually revealed that Rebekah (the woman scorned) was the one that got her revenge on Paul! Only he remembered and began blackmailing her into staying with him or he would tell the police it was Declan.

Summer Hoyland made her triumphant return to the town and spiced up the Andrew Robinson storyline, this was followed by Harry Ramsey exiting and Chris Pappas 'Coming out'!

A new family made their way to the street with Tasha and her father Micheal.

After having the baby Steph gave it up to Dan, only she was suffering PND, thus she was not in her right mind. Steph spiraled out of control and got on her bike while under the influence of alcohol. This spelled disaster as she killed Ringo Brown on his one month anniversary to Donna.

Steph was charged with drink driving, and at her court case Sam made her return and made sure that Steph went down for her wrongdoings. She was given six years with no parole for two years. So will we see the character return in 2012? I guess we have to wait and see.

The final month dealt with Toadie getting over Steph's sentencing and Summer and Andrew getting closer.

The season finale ended with a cliffhanger with Summer, Micheal, Andrew, and Tasha all in the Scully's house as a fire rages within.

Who will make it out alive? Find out in 2011.

Overall I really enjoyed Neighbours this year, I was not a fan of the Scott / Charlene redux with the actors not sticking around, and I hated that the Steph story ate the show alive and she spent the whole year crying, but even with that said I still watched every single episode and I never found myself hating the series and wanting it put out of its misery like i did Home and Away.

What were your thoughts on Neighbours this year? Yes I know I left out a few things (Zeke's whole going to jail for love bit) but I think I covered the major elements, if I let out something big you think should be included let me know in the comments below.

A Hollyoaks To Root For

Since executive producer Paul Marquess took over Hollyoaks at the start of 2010, I have been giving him a hard time because on paper his desicions have been questionable to say the least on paper. But once I saw the stories play out I started to see things in a different light.

The biggest screw up on paper appeared to be the apperance of Kevin the Alien. yes non-hollyoaks viewers I said alien, my guess is that Kevin is Casey's British cousin or something. But after watching the story play out I found myself enjoying the story for the message it was trying to share with viewers. It was a message that those in collage are very acustomed, that is always to keep your mind open! Don't be scared to ask quesions and form your own beliefs because it is worth it in the end and if you do not do these things than we saw the consequences play out. At the end of the story the show made a smart choice in leaving the truth shout kevin's heritage under wraps and up to the viewers to decide.

The second controversial story choice was the end of Steph's storyline. When I first read how they were going to write out the character of Steph I was less than amused but as Steph found out she has cancer and slowly started getting worse I found myself accepting
The story and I was ready for a tearful cancer caused death akin to Belle on Home and Away. Only Marquess had other plans, thus we got Inferno week. the character of Steph was finally going to make her mark as she jumped into the flames and saved the lives of Amy Barnes and her two childeren. Only when it came time for Steph to save herself she decide she had enough and told Gilly to let her go. Ar that point tears were flowing down my eyes, "No, Steph Don't!!!" I shouted, praying that Gilly would find a way to save her, but it was too late, Steph was gone.

These scenes were brilliant, by far my favorite soap death that I have seen, and it made me proud to be a hollyoaks fan, and that is something I have not been able to say in a very long time.

Then we have the amazing Jasmine/Jason storyline. This is a brilliant start to a transgender story that has the potential to go either way. Rhys and Jaquie's slow building romance has been cute and Ste and Brendan heartbreaking.

I have generally loved this show and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Are you enjoying Hollyoaks? What about the marquess era are you loving?

Pod 4 The Cause - Interviews

Yesterday @destini41 held the Pod 4 The Cause event - for American Cancer Society. The interviews include Liz Keifer, Jerry verDorn, Jessica Leccia, Kim Zimmer, Beth Chamberlin, Jordan Clark, Bradley Cole, and so many more. You can listen to the event here, or head over to the youtube page here.