Question: If retail sales were down over the Thanksgiving weekend, it's your fault! I read your blog post about the things you're thankful for and then spent the entire holiday weekend looking at YouTube clips from the best soap ever, Santa Barbara. Any chance we'll get to see the reruns on SoapNet anytime soon?
Answer: I think you stand a better chance of seeing Nancy Grahn and Pam Long riding a tandem bike together through Central Park. As the suits at SoapNet remind me every time I harass them at press tour, Santa Barbara's unprecedented use of popular music makes rerunning old episodes cost-prohibitive. And because music was such a vital part of the show's DNA, stripping the songs out and replacing them with cheaper tunes is simply not an option. Bottom line: Until SoapNet feels that t
read more
Could the writers' strike be good for The Young and the Restless? Word is, executive producer/head writer Lynn Marie Latham — who has nearly ruined the once-glorious soap — will not return, no matter when and how the walkout ends. When contacted, a rep for the CBS-Sony show hemmed and hawed but did not deny Latham's ousting or reports that Sony programming VP Steve Kent has now taken command. He's not just some suit. Kent was supervising producer of Santa Barbara, arguably the best daytime soap ever. — Reporting by Michael Logan
read more
Question: Your obsession with Santa Barbara's Roberta Weiss is quite bizarre.
Answer: Um, do I have to remind you that Ask Ausiello is a judgment-free zone? Do I?
read more
Question: What do you think about this for the three new characters they are looking for on Lost: Famke Janssen as the "leader," Elisha Cuthbert as the girl in her "early twenties" and Matt Cedeno (Days of Our Lives) as the "Latino hunk."
Answer: I've got three better ideas: Roberta Weiss (Santa Barbara), Emily VanCamp and Y Tu Mama Tambien's Diego Luna.
read more
Are you as psyched as I am for Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar, which airs May 2 on CBS? Just like the Dallas and Knots Landing reunions, this one gathers cast members from Aaron Spelling's nighttime soap to reminisce about their sudsy adventures in the '80s. In search of scoopage, TVGuide.com rang up Gordon Thomson, who played Dynasty devil Adam Carrington, in addition to his daytime gigs on Ryan's Hope, Santa Barbara and Sunset Beach. This cheeky, candid Canadian did not disappoint!
TVGuide.com: How's your TV mother, Joan Collins?
Gordon Thomson: I've known Joan on and off for 24 years and I've never seen her happier. She's in great form. [Collins' fifth husband] Percy Gibson is the best thing that ever happened to her. It's a great match. They're frisky and lovely together. They're mutually nuts about each other.
TVGuide.com: I love h
read more
