Soaps

Dear Soaps, Dear Reiner, A while...

Dear Soaps,
Dear Reiner, A while back on GH I watched Lila talking to a ghost, which at the time I thought was Edward. Much to my surprise, I tune in a few months ago to see Lila with a husband named Edward. Who was the ghost, and what happened to him?
— Lisa

Dear Lisa,
Ah, don't you love retroactive changes in soap continuity? Everyone (including viewers and the Quartermaines) thought Edward had died when his plane went down, and Lila even started communicating with his spirit (via a large portrait in the Qs' living room). Enter Gloria Monty, who lured David Lewis (Edward) out of retirement. What do you know? Edward is alive! (Raise your hand if you remember the day Anna found Edward!) Anyway, Lewis eventually retired again and was replaced by John Ingle, the current Edward.

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Dear Soaps, Dear Reiner, What...

Dear Soaps,
Dear Reiner,
What actors have been on Y&R the longest?
— Lisa

Dear Lisa,
Jeanne Cooper (Katherine) joined the show shortly after its 1973 premiere, while Doug Davidson and Melody Thomas Scott (Paul and Nikki) have both been on the soap since 1979.

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Dear Soaps, Dear Reiner, What...

Dear Soaps,
Dear Reiner,
What do you consider to be the most original stories of the '90s? My top five are Marty's gang rape on One Life to Live, Marlena and the Devil on Days, Robin's battle with AIDS on GH, the Loving serial-killer story, and the revelation that Azure C. was a man on The City.
— Glamkatte

Dear Glamkatte,
You're off to a good start, but how could you forget about Casey's battle against Guillain-Barre syndrome and his right to die with dignity on As the World Turns? Or Brent/Marian, Guiding Light's cross-dressing rapist/murderer? Or B.J., Santa Barbara's cross-dressing molestation victim? Or yucky Martin's Syndrome on Sunset Beach? Or Janet's redemption on All My Children? Or....

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Dear Soaps, Dear Reiner, Why...

Dear Soaps,
Dear Reiner,
Why don't you want Brandon and Sami to get together on Days of Our Lives? They have so much more chemistry than Sami and Austin, and he accepts Sami for who she is — unlike Austin. Do you just not like Brandon?
— Kate

Dear Kate,
Actually, I don't like Brandon, and I don't like this watered-down version of Sami, either. She's neither heroine nor vixen, but she's certainly boring and wishy-washy. Sami is at her best when she's suffering, scheming or squirming, and, for the most part, Alison Sweeney (Sami) is being done a terrible disservice by the lame writing.

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Dear Soaps, Dear Reiner, In response...

Dear Soaps,
Dear Reiner,
In response to this week's poll about the Gwen/Ethan/Theresa triangle on Passions, I have to take some exception to the wording in the "Gwen" answer. You give the rationale for choosing Gwen as "Gwen! Theresa is a peasant girl who can't compete with Gwen's social standing and beauty!" The rich/poor thing is a nonsensical smokescreen (and how poor can you call a family when the 16-year-old has his own motorcycle and cell phone, anyway?). My own reason for choosing Gwen is "Gwen! Theresa is an immature, lying, manipulative, gold-digging stalker who behaves as though the world revolves around her and who doesn't have a care in the world that she's trampling on someone else's feelings!" Then again, Ethan's recent pleas that Gwen quit her job and live off his wealth, with the attendant treatment of her career as an unimportant hobby, have pretty much ruined him in the "decent potential husband" department.

Maybe Ethan does d read more

Dear Soaps, Please tell me where...

Dear Soaps,
Please tell me where the real "Cassie" has been the past few weeks on Guiding Light. The few times the Cassie character was on, another woman played her. Will the old Cassie come back? I miss her. — Jean

Dear Jean,
You'll be happy to know that Laura Wright, who plays Cassie, is in the throes of new motherhood. The actress gave birth to her second child, a son named John Michael, on Dec. 21, 2000. Laura Stepp stepped into the role when Wright needed to leave the show earlier than expected. Wright will return to the role once she finishes her maternity leave. (DD)

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Dear Soaps, I am a little confused....

Dear Soaps,
I am a little confused. Is Brock Reynolds, Kay Chancellor's son on The Young and the Restless, Philip Chancellor's son or was he from a previous marriage? Please help me solve this mystery!! — Totally Confused

Dear Confused,
No, Phillip Chancellor II, Kay's late husband, is not Brock's biological father. Brock is Katherine's son from a first marriage. When Brock first appeared in Genoa City in 1974, he was a grown man who practiced law and had found religion while traveling abroad. (DD)

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Dear Soaps, This isn't the first...

Dear Soaps,
This isn't the first time that Asa has thought Max was his son on One Life to Live, is it? I seem to recall him thinking Max was his son once before. Am I right? — Rachel

Dear Rachel,
Give yourself a pat on the back: This isn't the first time Asa believed Max is his son. Back in 1990, Max learned that Asa had swindled Max's father, Wingate Holden, out of oil-rich land. Max wanted revenge. Gabrielle, Max's then wife, learned that Max's mother had had an affair with Asa around the time Max was conceived. Even though Max was not a Buchanan, Gabrielle got Du Ann Demerest, a mid-wife, to claim she had delivered Asa's son, Max! Over time, Max and Asa grew close; Max even took the Buchanan name. Renee would soon learn that Du Ann's claim was a hoax, but allowed herself to be blackmailed to protect Asa. Du Ann turned up dead at the Buchanan Enterprises 25th anniversary party. Renee was initially charged with the crime, bu read more

Dear Soaps, I've been trying to...

Dear Soaps,
I've been trying to figure out how Marcus Taggert and Gia Campbell are brother and sister on General Hospital, since they have different last names. Do they have different fathers? — Janjan493

Dear Janjan493,
You are right on target (or is that Taggert?); Marcus and Gia do have different fathers. Marcus Taggert's father died when he was only 12. When Marcus and Gia's mother, Florence, remarried, she took the surname of her new husband, Campbell. Gia was born two years later. (DD)

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