News Brief

UCLA Daily Bruin: After 14 weeks and an estimated economic impact of $1 billion, the Writers Guild of America strike may finally be coming to a close. 2005 UCLA graduate Marina Alburger, a staff writer for the daytime soap opera THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, attended the meeting Saturday in Los Angeles and voiced similar expectations. “This isn’t a perfect deal. It’s not wonderful, but it’s definitely an improvement over previous offers,” she said. “It sounded as if to me that people were responding positively to the gains we made even if they weren’t in all the areas we had hoped for.”

Variety: Was the strike worth it? In the eyes of many scribes, the answer is an unqualified yes. But when it comes down to dollars and cents, the answer is murkier. The victories in new media that may pay big dividends in the future have come at a high price in the here and now.

PGP Blog: A letter to the fans from GUIDING LIGHT.

Marlena De Lacroix: 10 Sweet and Soapy Valentine’s Day Questions.

Express: The kiss seen ’round the world. YouTube turns AS THE WORLD TURNS' gay couple into worldwide sensation.

Theater Mania: Former ONE LIFE TO LIVE actress Kerry Butler: "Primetime is very different from daytime in some ways in that you wait longer for the set-ups; but you still don't get lots of takes."

MyParkMag: Chris Fountain could never date any of his HOLLYOAKS co-stars because it would be too "awkward". The heartthrob actor - who is currently impressing viewers with his skating skills on DANCING ON ICE - admits he's had a few kisses with some of the girls but knows it could never go any further.

Press Association: In the early years of BBC One soap EASTENDERS, Anita Dobson was the ruling queen of the show, thanks to her phenomenally popular character Angie Watts. However, that devotion hasn't stopped Dobbs, who quit the soap in 1988, offering her thoughts on former on-screen husband Leslie Grantham's sex scandal in 2004. "It was his own fault, wasn't it? It was a shame. It was silly and really unfortunate. He was a silly boy."

PR Newswire: In 2002, Mark Coker and his wife, Lesleyann, co-authored a roman a clef novel entitled "Boob Tube" that explores the behind- the-scenes world of daytime television soap operas (Lesleyann is a former reporter for Soap Opera Weekly Magazine). Despite two years of representation from one of New York City's most respected literary agencies, their agent was unable to land a book deal. Some
publishers said they rejected the manuscript because they questioned whether soap opera fans read books.

Sun Herald: My Damn Channel (www.MyDamnChannel.com), the entertainment studio and new media platform, today premieres three new reasons to work less and watch more video: HORRIBLE PEOPLE, COOKIN' WITH COOLIO, and CARNIVAL OF STUFF. The company also debuts a new look and all- new features designed by Big Fat Brain and built by Reborn Studio. HORRIBLE PEOPLE is an evil comic soap opera. Actor and comedian A.D. Miles ("Wet Hot American Summer", "Dog Bites Man") writes, directs and stars in a depraved soap opera, which takes place at a never-ending cocktail party. Kristin Schaal ("The Flight of the Conchords") and Mather Zickel ("Dancing with Shiva") co-star with A.D. Miles. The series is produced by Jonathan Stern, and new episodes will unfold every Monday at lunchtime for 10 weeks of "addictive workus interruptus."

Mad (UK): Advertisers are rolling out Australian-themed spots for the first commercial break in long-running soap opera NEIGHBOURS, which makes its debut on Five today. Among the ad executions appearing in the show will be one for Red Bull that has an Australian setting and one for soap powder Daz that features former NEIGHBOURS actress Kimberley Davies in a soap-type situation.

Dispatch Online (South Africa): Daytime soap DAYS OF OUR LIVES on SABC3 at 4.55pm holds the record as the longest running in history, but it’s time it bids us goodbye. I can hardly think of anyone who can seriously say they are a follower of this soap, which has lost the plot on too many occasions. No offence intended to those who are fanatics – perhaps you can convince me why I should not think my intelligence is being insulted when I see people rising from the dead and mysteriously ending up stuck on some island. That should give you a fair indication of the last time I bothered to watch DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Frankly, I don’t even bother to watch it anymore. For me, it’s right down there with PASSIONS on e.tv’s daily daytime soap slot. Both these feature too many bizarre, out-there occurrences, including dolls that can change form to become human, to humans that change into animals. Sure enough, there’s space for creativity, but that is a realm of fantasy that should be left to fairy tales, children’s books or folklore if you want to push it that far out. Local soaps have so far done well in not going too over-the-top. Speaking of which, the poor little rich girl, Agnes, in MUVHANGO must be on the brink of an identity crisis.

The Times (South Africa): ISIDINGO cast members rallied around critically injured actress Ashley Callie with messages of support while her family have been at her bedside throughout the weekend.