Marlena says: “Santa Barbara” debuted in 1984, a smartly written – some would say wacky --and engagingly cast product of its time, that flourishing era when soap operas were awash in money and brave ideas. Compared to established soap fare, it had a different sense of itself. Proudly sophisticated and droll, it chronicled the complex interactions … [Read more...]
The 2025 Daytime Emmys: The Pajama Game
October 20, 2025 by 8 Comments
I attended my first Daytime Emmys as a soap journalist in 1981. The winners were two powerhouse performers: Best Actor Douglass Watson, who played Mackenzie Cory on “Another World” and Best Actress Judith Light, who played Karen Wolek on “One Life to Live.” Both were so terrific, they won the same awards again in 1982. For all of us who cover … [Read more...]
Marlena’s Soap Opera Press Memories, Part Two
October 16, 2025 by 3 Comments
In Part One of this collection of Marlena’s “back in the day” soap press memories, I revisit some of the very wonderful experiences I had as a young soap journalist. It’s a job I still have 40 years later, and I still take a lot of pride in my work. I spent most of my early years in the soap press writing for just about every soap magazine out … [Read more...]
Marlena’s Soap Opera Press Memories, Part One
October 13, 2025 by 16 Comments
I started watching soap operas in 1967 when I was 13. Both my parents worked—I was a latch-key kid who had our Queens, N.Y., apartment all to herself when she came home from school. I was frequently lonely, since I was an only child, but soaps kept me company back then—and as I grew up, they also gave me my profession. Since 1979, I have been an … [Read more...]
Alina Adams’ New Book “Super Soap Scenes” is a Treat for Soap Fans
October 1, 2025 by 9 Comments
If you are an ardent soap person like me, you probably own many books on soaps. I’ve been very lucky over the years to have contributed to some and am pleased to have made the acquaintance of many of the authors. I use these books often as references when I write this column. Alina Adams’ new book “Super Soap Scenes: A Time Capsule of Daytime’s … [Read more...]
“General Hospital” Stages a Remarkable Funeral for Monica Quartermaine
September 29, 2025 by 4 Comments
Every once in a while, a daytime soap stages an event or storyline so memorable it moves its fans to tears. “General Hospital” accomplished this welcome feat with recent gripping episodes portraying the funeral of a much beloved long-term character, Dr. Monica Quartermaine, played by Leslie Charleson who passed away earlier this year at 79. These … [Read more...]
Meeting the Stars of “Twin Peaks”
September 16, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Marlena says: There’s an unabashed fan of something lurking in all of us. Soap fans understand this very well. So today we salute the joys of fandom by sharing this report of a fan event as related by our colleague Mike Poirier. The object of his abiding admiration is the iconic series “Twin Peaks,” a spooky horror mystery devised by the late David … [Read more...]
“Beyond the Gates”: Time for Reappraisal
September 7, 2025 by 16 Comments
I’ve purposely put off a review of “Beyond the Gates” until the show’s six-month mark. Why? So many viewers really like this show, but I have some serious reservations about it. Before I get to them, I’d like to recognize that“The Gates,” which premiered in February, has changed and probably saved a medium we all said was dying. It has attracted … [Read more...]
Time Passes within the Blink of an Eye
September 3, 2025 by 2 Comments
As a long-time soap fan/observer/journalist, I feel as if the entire daytime landscape has changed within the blink of an eye. It’s so different from what it was in the early eighties when I first peeked in, and yet there is still something eerily familiar. We once tuned in breathlessly every day to find out what would happen next. These days, … [Read more...]
Bitch-Slap, Catfight, Oh No!
August 22, 2025 by 6 Comments
I was watching “Beyond the Gates” yesterday and I am horrified by what I saw. Sparkplug Leslie Thomas (Tricia Mann-Grant) came to visit the otherwise elegant Anita Dupree (Tamara Tunie) and the two got into a bitch-slap fight. Oh no! Bitch-slap fights, and the catfights they frequently degenerate into, have long been a feature of daytime soaps. … [Read more...]
