Drake Hogestyn by Chris Haston/NBC
I knew we were in for a bumpy ride when All My Children started the year by murdering Dixie — the show's heart and soul — with a plate of poisoned pancakes. But hey, that meant more airtime for Zarf, a rude, suffocatingly hammy, penis-flashing transgender rock star who fell in love with Pine Valley's saintly lesbian Bianca. Appropriately, fans on the Internet named the couple "Barf." In a pathetic attempt to boost ratings, Days of our Lives pretended to kill its most popular male character, John, played by Drake Hogestyn. Even the cast was fooled. But with the Nielsens staying flat, Hogestyn is now back at work and we're left to wonder: How the hell can we ever invest in Days again?General Hospital viewers had a fit and threatened to stop watching when heartthrob Jax was held hostage and forced into sex by a loony Russian chick. Meanwhile, they didn't seem to mind when a Port Charles strangler killed three women.Things that made me cringe: Constantine Maroulis on The Bold ...
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Cameron Mathison by Rick Diamond/WireImage.com
Dancing with the Stars semifinalist Cameron Mathison (of All My Children) is offering some lucky lady private dance lessons, and then the opportunity to tango with his six-foot-something self at a soap star-studded Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraiser to be held March 2 in NYC. The winner of the auction, opening Jan. 10 at (and benefitting) BroadwayCares.org, will be flown to New York "for a few days' rehearsals," Mathison tells the AP, "and I will teach them how to do a dance with myself" — or something along those lines. As Cam adds with a wink, "My [Dancing] partner, Edyta Sliwinska, is going to be coming in and really be the one to teach us." A-ha! A clever variation on the evil twin switcheroo. — Matt Webb Mitovich
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SOAPnet on Friday announced a slate of programming pegged to the three big returns coming up on ABC's All My Children.For starters, AMC: Back in Pine Valley: Greenlee, Angie and Jesse — a half-hour (and colon-heavy) special featuring fresh interviews, classic clips and a behind-the-scenes look at the first days back on set for Rebecca Budig, Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams — debuts Saturday, January 12, at 2 pm/ET. That leads into Why We Love Greenlee!, a petite marathon of three Budig-centric AMC episodes. (Sabine, I am guessing/hoping, will use that opportunity to go catch a movie.)On Sunday the 13th, starting at 2 pm, AMC: Angie & Jesse are Back! offers a trio of classic Hubbard hours, followed by an encore of the Back in Pine Valley special. — Matt Webb Mitovich
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Mrs. Bachelor Bob is back in the Fusion business. Rebecca Budig will reclaim the role of All My Children's Greenlee starting January 16. (What do you think about it? Vote here.) Also, Daytime Emmy winners Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams are returning as Angie and Jesse Hubbard on Jan. 18 and 25, respectively — this despite the fact that Jesse famously died in his wife's arms a bazillion years ago and has since made several ethereal visits as a ghost. "We are giving the fans what they’ve been asking for — Rebecca returns as Greenlee and a beloved super-couple have a second chance," says ABC Daytime boss Brian Scott Frons. "Fans can look forward to Greenlee’s storyline developing around her business, her friendships and her love life. Angie and Jesse made an eternal imprint on... viewers, and many fans will not believe he's alive." Seriously — his ghost even gave Pine Valley that "magic box" one Christmas!When Budig returns to the role she created, Greens is...
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ABC Daytime and SOAPnet have partnered on a first-ever "Hot Guys" calendar, featuring some of the (ahem) biggest stars from All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital. The 14-month 2008 calendars will first be made available at ABC's Super Soap Weekend (taking place Nov. 10 and 11 at Disney MGM Studios), then later at ABCTVStore.com."Who's the beef?" you ask? The calendar features AMC's Thorsten Kaye, Cameron Mathison, Aiden Turner and Jacob Young, OLTL's Kamar de los Reyes, Michael Easton, David Fumero, John-Paul Lavoisier and Trevor St. John, and GH's Maurice Benard, Steve Burton, Tyler Christopher, Jason Thompson and Greg Vaughan.OK, now where's my female soap stars calendar, featuring Bree, Kelly, Cady and Marie?! I'm envisioning a playful pillow fight theme.... — Reporting by Matt Mitovich
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Justin Bruening by LRRB and Co./WireImage.com
Stick with me here. Former The Young and the Restless heartthrob David Hasselhoff played Michael Knight in the original Knight Rider series. Now, former All My Children heartthrob Justin Bruening — who on his ABC sudser played son to Emmy-winner Michael E. Knight — has been tapped to play the son of Michael Knight in a TV-movie that will serve as a backdoor pilot to a possible Knight Rider reboot.Let me throw you one more nugget: Another onetime AMC cast mate of Bruening's is Las Vegas' Josh Duhamel, who this summer starred in Transformers — and the new Knight Rider will feature a Transformers-like, shapeshifting K.I.T.T.
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Celine Dion by Michael Caulfield/WireImage.com
And you thought the 1994 tornado was bad. This just in from ABC:"Grammy Award-winning superstar Celine Dion will be a guest star on All My Children on Wednesday, Nov. 21. The announcement was made today by Brian Frons, president, Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group. 'Celine Dion represents another of today's top recording artists who are tapping into ABC's prime ratings position and garnering a presence with our daytime audience. This is the perfect blend of the power of music coupled with dramatic storytelling and enhancing the visibility of our brand across multi-platforms,' said Mr. Frons. "Ms. Dion will appear as a featured guest on Erica Kane’s (Susan Lucci) talk show, 'New Beginnings,' and in addition will sing the title track from her new CD, Taking Chances."
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Natalia Livingston and Tyler Christopher by Ron Tom/ABC
As the World Turns: And Baby Makes Five Paul (Roger Howarth) and Rosanna (Cady McClain) get hitched, but Paul may have impregnated Craig's gal Meg. Naturally, somebody will mess with the paternity test. Holden and Lily head for divorce court. Nutty moms Barbara and Iris team up for villainy. General Hospital: Murder at the Ball Nikolas (Tyler Christopher) throws a black-and-white ball climaxing in the death of a top character. The story rewinds 11 hours, then each episode moves forward one hour — à la 24 — to reveal what really happened. Who's going bye-bye? There's much buzz that it's Nik's ex-wife Emily (Emmy winner Natalia Livingston), but ABC is strictly mum. One Life to Live: What a Drag Baby snatcher Marcie (Kathy Brier) evades the law via an offbeat underground railroad that finds her performing with drag queens in Georgia and getting help from a Katrina family in New Orleans. Plus, Tuc Watkins, briefly sprung from his gay-neighbor gig on Desperate Housewives, ...
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Nazanin Boniadi and Jason Thompson in GH: Night Shift by Adam Larkey/SOAPnet
New View cohost Sherri Shepherd has joined the lineup for the 12th-annual ABC Super Soap Weekend, to be held Nov. 10-11 at Disney-MGM Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The complete list of talent includes these stars from your fave ABC shows: All My ChildrenSusan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, David Canary, Bobbie Eakes, Melissa Claire Egan, Thorsten Kaye, Michael E. Knight, Alicia Minshew, Aiden Turner and Jacob YoungGeneral HospitalBradford Anderson, Julie Berman, Tyler Christopher, Josh Duhon, Sonya Eddy, Rebecca Herbst, Kimberly McCullough, Kelly Monaco and Laura WrightGeneral Hospital: Night ShiftNazanin Boniadi, Dominic Rains, and Kent King will join GH regulars Thompson, McCullough, Anderson, and EddyOne Life to LiveKristen Alderson, Kathy Brier, Brandon Buddy, Kamar de los Reyes, Kassie DePaiva, Michael Easton, Forbes March, Erika Slezak, Trevor St. John, Tika Sumpter and Bree Williamson
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Cameron Mathison
Here's something you don't know about Cameron Mathison: The Canadian-born soap star was diagnosed with a degenerative hip condition (called Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease) at the age of 2. He spent six months in the hospital and the next three and a half years in steel-framed leg braces and crutches. And now, at age 38, he's on Dancing with the Stars.
"I think I'm ready," says Mathison, who has played Ryan Lavery on ABC's All My Children since 1998. "I think I'm in decent shape. But my hips are very tight. And my hamstrings. Between the traveling and juggling two jobs, I know that this is really going to kick my rear end."
It's certainly going to be a challenging schedule: Mathison will be spending three days every week in New York taping the soap (and rehearsing
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