Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

On this date in...

1966: On DARK SHADOWS, Burke (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Vicki was still at Collinwood.

1974: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered.

1974: On ANOTHER WORLD, after Rachel broke down Mac (Douglass Watson) skipped his dinner plans with Liz at Pat and John's place.  Mac took Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) out to dinner at Tallboys, listened to her life story, and advised her to give up on Steve and make new friends.

1977: FOR RICHER, FOR POORER, the revamped version of LOVERS AND FRIENDS, debuted. Created by created by Harding Lemay and Paul Rauch, LAF replace SOMERSET in the NBC lineup in 1976. When the retooling occurred, the show's setting was still Point Clair but many changes were made to the storylines. The show only lasted until September 29, 1978.


1998: Emmy-winning actor Michael Zaslow passed away.  He was best known for his work as Roger Thorpe in GUIDING LIGHT and David Renaldi in ONE LIFE TO LIVE.  Watch a clip of Zaslow as Pete Chernak in LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING below.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

On this date in...

1974: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Phil Brewer was murdered.

1977: FOR RICHER, FOR POORER, the revamped version of LOVERS AND FRIENDS, debuted. Created by created by Harding Lemay and Paul Rauch, LAF replace SOMERSET in the NBC lineup in 1976. When the retooling occurred, the show's setting was still Point Clair but many changes were made to the storylines. The show only lasted until September 29, 1978.

1998: Emmy-winning actor Michael Zaslow passed away. Watch a clip of Zaslow in LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING below.

50 Greatest Soap Actresses: #44 Vanessa Marcil

NAME: Vanessa Marcil
RANK: 44
SOAP ROLES: Brenda Barrett,GENERAL HOSPITAL (1992-1998, 2002-2003); Josie Scotto, LIPSTICK JUNGLE (2008); Gina Kincaid, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 (1998-2000)

AWARDS:
2003 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
2003 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Favorite Return
1998 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1998 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Outstanding Lead Actress
1997 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1997 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Hottest Female Star
1995 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Hottest Couple (with Maurice Benard)
1994 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Female Newcomer

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Jonathan Reiner: Miraculously transforming from teen temptress to leading lady, Marcil proved her mettle when she goosed the ratings with a heralded return in 2002. The actress and the character are sorely missed.

Lauria & Jordan Join FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Matt Lauria has joined the cast of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

Has FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS found its next Tim Riggins?

LIPSTICK JUNGLE's Matt Lauria—he played Lindsay Price’s gay assistant on the late NBC soap—is joining the season 4 cast in the series regular role of Luke, a charming yet cocky junior who reluctantly finds himself playing for Coach Taylor’s East Dillon squad.

Luke is one of four new characters being introduced to help fill the void left by Adrianne Palicki, Minka Kelly, and Zach Gilford (who’ll now be returning for seven episodes.)

Ausiello also reports Michael B. Jordan is joining the cast.

The alum of ALL MY CHILDREN and THE WIRE is joining Friday Night Lights as Vince, East Dillon’s resident troublemaker. Although charming at times, the junior running back can be dangerous and menacing—a result of his crime-riddled upbringing. He quickly finds himself at odds with the team’s new pretty boy Luke.

FNL returns on October 28 on DirecTV's The 101.

Kentucky Derby Hats

The stars are out in full force for this year's Kentucky Derby. And when you see a star, you'll see a hat. Brooke Shields, Lynn Whitfield and Marg Helgenberger are among the many celebrities at the event.

News Round-up: Michael Easton, Jack Wagner, Gordon

INTERVIEW: ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Michael Easton (John)
His book of poetry, “Eighteen Straight Whiskeys,” is in its third printing. And in June 2008, he released his first graphic novel, “Soul Stealer.”

“This is one of the things that I’ve ever done where I feel like I’ve done something beautiful and pure. It’s the closest I’ll ever come. The way it came about was I started asking a lot of questions in my life, like: Have you ever lost somebody, and how far would you go to get them back? So, out of that came this character Kalan, who is sort of this Etruscan warrior-poet, and he develops the ability to bring back souls from the afterlife. He uses this to wander the earth searching for his one true love, who has been taken away from him.”

With the great reception Michael’s books have received, should John McBain fans fear for his future in Llanview? Would he ever quit acting to be a full-time author? “It’s a good side thing, so I don’t get too obsessed with what’s going on over at ABC. But both jobs co-exist pretty well right now. It gets a little tricky switching from my day job (at OLTL) to writing, and sometimes the dialogue blurs over from one to the other. Especially if I’ve had a couple of drinks,” he adds jokingly. “But I think I’m good right now.”

It's official: LIPSTICK JUNGLE is dead
The show's leading lady, Brooke Shields, told E! that cast and crew received the bad news late last week. "I think a lot of people were really sad, but I think we hung on a really long time," she said. "It was three great years that we've been working on it."

B&B's Wagner set for upcoming golf event
B&B's Jack Wagner will be holding the Third Annual Jack Wagner Celebrity Golf Classic on Saturday, April 21. He explained his motivation to the L.A. Canyon News: “My brother Dennis has been battling leukemia for 10 years now. He received a full bone marrow in July of 2007 and his survival is based upon the research and combination of new treatments which is what my annual golf event raises money for.”

On keeping his character fresh on B&B: “I treat every day as a new play and a new performance. One scene at a time and try to make the most interesting choices I can.”

SESAME STREET's Roscoe Orman (Gordon) on his soap experience
"I learned early on," he said. "After my first season on SESAME STREET, I took a job on a soap opera as a bad guy. A really bad guy. Tyrone the pimp. I got in a lot of trouble over that . . . with the moms who were watching their soap -- and there was Gordon beating people up.

"If you're Gordon on SESAME STREET, you can't do stuff like that. Not on daytime TV, especially. . . . I tend to veer away from really bad characters on TV but in theater, I don't have any kind of restrictions, so I get to play the whole gamut of roles."

Justin Cotsonas in new Off-Broadway play
Producer Allision Ferrier has announced the upcoming Off-Broadway production of Brandt Reiter's new drama "End of Play," which will begin performances on April 17th, 2009. "End of Play" is a thirteen-character drama about Theatre, Hollywood and the cost of dreams. When industry outcast Jack Wells abandons his NYU teaching post for Los Angeles to support his young girlfriend's fledgling career, he finds himself caught between the depth of her ambition and his own tarnished soul. Former AS THE WORLD TURNS actress Justin Cotsonas will star along with Mark Doherty who has appeared in minor roles on the New York soaps.

Jessie Wallace to make EASTENDERS comeback?
The Mirror reports that Wallace - who played Kat Slater - has told friends that she is heading back to Walford to reprise the role that made her a star.

"Jessie is very excited about playing Kat again," a BBC source told the paper. She’s been off screen for a few years and a lot has happened since she was last in the show.

"She feels the time is right for a return and says she can’t wait to get back into the Square and stuck into some meaty storylines."

Out on The Town: Hennesy, Shields & Tunie

GENERAL HOSPITAL star Carolyn Hennesy attended the Eco Stiletto Green "Girl's Night Out for Dress for Success" event at Intuition last night in Los Angeles.

On Monday evening, LIPSTICK JUNGLE's Brooke Shields and former AS THE WORLD TURNS star Tamara Tunie were present at the 8th annual Epic Theatre Ensemble winter gala at Twenty Four Fifth in New York City.

News Round-up

EASTENDERS coy about first all-black show
Viewers of EASTENDERS were treated last night to a unique storyline that involved a detailed and occasionally moving discussion of racist bigotry in Fifties Britain.

The BBC may say it is surprised at criticism that it underpromoted a televisual first: the first episode of the long-running soap to feature an all-black cast. The truth is that this reflective episode was undersold for fear of incurring the wrath, and race-baiting fury, of the redtop newspapers.

The BBC is adamant that it had no idea that the episode coincided with the tenth anniversary of Sir William Macpherson’s report into the death of Stephen Lawrence.

All-black EASTENDERS Makes Soap History - As in Lesson
Perhaps the most surprising thing about last night's episode of EastEnders was not the fact that it had an all-black cast, but that this was the first time this had happened in the soap's 23-year history. Here is a show that claims to represent life in the heart of multicultural London, which has put out thousands of hours of television - and yet it has taken more than two decades to dedicate a full 30 minutes to a black family.

According to the EASTENDERS press office, the episode was neither a political statement nor a conscious decision to right past wrongs. The episode was simply "Patrick Trueman sharing his experiences of being a young man living in 1950s Britain with the family he lives with (the Foxes), which does mean it's an all-black cast on screen ... This is no different to other episodes where we've concentrated on one particular family or storyline in the past."

Angry Viewers: Black EASTENDERS is racist
The BBC has been accused of racism after last night’s EastEnders showed almost exclusively black characters. Viewers from different backgrounds hit out at the “politically correct propaganda”.

The one-off show focused on the black Trueman and Fox families after it is revealed dad Patrick (Rudolph Walker) was arrested for assault in the 1958 Notting Hill race riots. Three white male extras made very brief appearances halfway through the episode, in separate scenes in the cafe and in the Queen Vic. All of the main characters were black.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Y&R's Donnelly Rhodes (ex-Phillip)
Rhodes feels fortunate to have earned a living working close to home in his later years. Canada's film and TV production industry works on a small scale, in part because there isn't enough money in domestic film distribution and TV advertising to sustain a larger industry.

The real opportunities -- and most of the well-paying jobs -- are in Los Angeles. That is why so many young Canadian actors try their luck there first, as Rhodes did early in his career, when he landed make-or-break roles in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and SOAP.

Rhodes says he watched the Academy Awards, but in general he's not one to obsess over which actor wins which award in any given award show.

"I really think there should be an award for the best actor in a lousy script," he said. "That would be worth winning. Basically, it's about the script. If you have a really good part, any decent actor is going to look pretty good in it."

Grace Kelly to join CORONATION STREET?
Katherine Kelly's sister is in talks to join CORONATION STREET. Grace Kelly, 19, is being lined up to play the sister of Katherine's character Becky Granger in the ITV soap after she impressed bosses during an audition for another part.

A source said: "Grace came to audition for a small role and blew bosses away. She's as quirky as Katherine and she's a cracking little actress. However, they couldn't give her the part because she just looks too much like Katherine. It's uncanny. It's been agreed that if she joins the cast, she's going to have to play one of Becky's relatives, maybe even her sister. Sisters playing sisters would be a CORONATION STEET first."

CBS takes TV.com international
The battle between CBS's TV.com and Hulu has heated further with the former opening up some of its online video content to international audiences. CBS fell out with Hulu last week when the NBC Universal-News Corp joint venture pulled its programming from TV.com in a move the Eye claimed "contravened its contractual rights".

While Hulu has been working hard on its international expansion strategy but remains accessible only to US internet users, CBS has now made some of its TV.com content available to overseas surfers, albeit only clips. Classic shows such as BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 and MELROSE PLACE are now accessible globally via TV.com, which recently relaunched following CBS's purchase of the site as part of its US$1.8bn CNET buy-out last summer.

Lindsay Price joins WITCHES OF EASTWICK pilot
The Warner Bros.-produced EASTWICK follows three young witches who come into their powers. WMA-repped Price will play one of them, Joanna, a hardworking, shy reporter for the local newspaper. She joins Jaime Ray Newman, who was recently cast as a fellow witch. Price's casting on EASTWICK is formally in second position to LIPSTICK JUNGLE, which has not been canceled. The show, which wrapped its second season, has developed a passionate fan base but has lagged in the ratings.

INTERVIEW: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS' Scott Porter (Jason)
On my FNL has never found an audience: "There’s so many things you could say. You could blame it on marketing. You could blame it on timeslot or any number of excuses. I think at the end of the day we made it how we wanted to make it. You wish that it could be received as well. But the critical praise that we’ve had has been astounding. Everybody who watches the show absolutely loves it. I’ve never met anybody who said, 'I watched an episode but it just wasn’t my thing.' There’s nothing we can do about the ratings. Nothing we can control about it. I don’t know the real reason. It’s slightly disappointing because I would love the show to go on forever. But we fought for our life every year. I think we’re leaving a legacy that far outweighs ratings. I wouldn’t have it any other way."

Cady McClain on the times we are living in
"It’s an interesting time we are in. Frankly I am trying not to watch too much news, as it just seems to get worse and worse, and the media seems hysterical about every moment. I do have faith that there are good people in this world, and that we can all help each other if things get rough."

Soap Ladies Attend "Style Your Spring" Fashion Show

ALL MY CHILDREN's Tamara Braun (Reese), FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS' Minka Kelly (Lyla) and LIP STICK JUNGLE's Lindsay Price (Victory) attended J.C. Penney's "Style Your Spring" fashion show at Espace last night in New York City.

J. C. Penney Company Inc has announced a new integrated spring marketing campaign to showcase the retailer’s compelling selection of affordable, exclusive designer brands from its portfolio of authentic designers, including nicole by Nicole Miller, Bisou Bisou by Michele Bohbot, ALLEN B. by Allen B. Schwartz, Fabulosity by Kimora Lee Simmons and I “Heart” Ronson by Charlotte Ronson.

Created in collaboration with ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, the marketing campaign will launch on Feb. 22 to the nearly 30 million viewers of the 81st Annual Academy Awards, one of Hollywood’s biggest nights of fashion. This year marks JCPenney’s eighth consecutive year as the show’s exclusive retail sponsor.

AS THE WORLD TURNS' Davida Williams (Jade) was also in attendance.

News Round-up

DirecTV Group continued to sign up subscribers at a solid pace during the fourth quarter of 2008, prompting an analyst to say the satellite TV firm has been "impervious" to the deepest U.S. recession in decades. The company added 301,000 net new U.S. users during the quarter, compared with 275,000 during the year-ago period, making for its biggest quarterly gain in more than three years.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I wonder if the addition of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS had anything to do with some of those new subscribers.

INTERVIEW: Y&R's Eileen Davidson (Ashley)
Davidson appeared on "BuzzWorthy Radio" on Wednesday afternoon.

SAG talks to resume on Feb. 17
The Screen Actors Guild and the congloms will resume feature-primetime contract talks Feb. 17, but with president Alan Rosenberg�s lawsuit threatening to derail any deal.

Will we keep seeing Dr. Pepper on 90210?
TVGuide.com is reporting: "The Dr. Pepper deal was an experiment gone slightly awry. Future product placement will aim for more subtlety."

Washington Capitals coach loved his soaps when he was a player
Bruce Boudreau was a NHL player in the late '70s and early '80s and he and his hockey teammates loved their ABC soaps: "After practice we would all go to lunch, and rush home to see what was happening. It was crazy. Hockey players, when they're young, they have nothing to do....You'd get involved in a storyline, and you wanted to know how it ended up. I used to hate it. One little storyline would last two weeks. The littlest thing, like walking from one house to the other house."

DAYS to air at 2:05am in Ft. Myers
DAYS OF OUR LIVES will be aired at 2:05 am in Fort Myers since it was pre-empted Tuesday due to President Obama's visit.

UGLY BETTY about to be reviewed.
ABC is on the verge of renewing UGLY BETTY for a fourth season.

Are Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight really leaving GREY'S?
Michael Ausiello has more scoop on the departures reported earlier. "Right now, the whole thing is in the hands of their agents and ABC's lawyers," explains an insider. "Something will probably be worked out soon, but it's a safe bet that Katherine and T.R. won't be returning as series regulars next season."

LIPTICK JUNGLE hunk feels PRIVILEGED to keep his shirt on
This week on the penultimate Season 1 episode of the CW's PRIVILEGED, Robert Buckley — who has been wowing the womenfolk as LIPTICK JUNGLE's "eight-packed" Kirby — arrives in the recurring role of David, the boss of the start-up magazine for which both Megan and Will work. Buckley says, "It's been a while since I've been to the spray tan, so I'm gosh-darn pale. I would not look quite the same now that I have this radiant white glow about me."

Win a free ALL MY CHILDREN gift basket
WSBTV.com is doing some early spring cleaning and we've got a few oldies but goodies to clear out! With a fast click you could have your chance to randomly win a FREE gift basket from ALL MY CHILDREN.

Inside the gift basket you'll first find a novel, "Charm" by Kendall Hart. Oh, and not to drop names...but yes, Kendall is Erica Kane's daughter! The novel is about a beautiful, smart woman chasing after her dreams of becoming a successful business owner yet running from her traumatic past filled with shocking setbacks, betrayals and many other surprising ups and downs. Also inside the gift basket, you'll find a 1.7 oz. bottle of "Charm," ALL MY CHILDREN's eau de parfum. Treat yourself to the undeniably, magical and intoxicating new fragrance.

McCord and Buckley "Kiss For A Cause"

90210 star AnnaLynne McCord and LIPSTICK JUNGLE actor Robert Buckley were at the Armani Exchange store at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California on Saturday afternoon. They were taking part in “Kiss For A Cause” in support of the National AIDS Fund.

During the day’s festivities, AnnaLynne and Robert held court in a kissing booth filled with candies as Armani was donating a percentage of the day’s total sales to the NAF.

News Round-up

GUIDING LIGHT's Beth Chamberlin (Beth) on Phillip's return
"Phillip arrives at the church in the nick of time, or maybe not. It depends on your point of view as to whether it's good timing or not. Keep watching in the next few weeks and you will be really satisfied with your show! It's just really good storytelling that the writers have put together and I think it's the kind of thing where people won't want to miss a single episode."

TV Guide's Michael Logan on "Otalia"
"Nobody at GUIDING LIGHT is using the L word just yet, but the increasingly close friendship between Olivia (Crystal Chappell) and Natalia (Jessica Leccia) sure seems like a romance waiting to happen. It's also the most fascinating--and hot--plot playing out on the soaps right now."

Michelle Ray Smith on LAW & ORDER: SVU tonight
PREVIEW: When young girl Rosie Rinaldi (guest star Daisy Tahan) is kidnapped, the girls mother, Liz Ranaldi (guest star Michelle Ray Smith) immediately points Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) in the direction of her ex-husband, Geno Parnell (guest star Ron Eldard), a recently paroled convict. When Parnells alibi checks out, a fight erupts between Parker and Detectives Stabler and Odafin Tutola (Ice-T), which in turn unveils some knowledge on Parkers ex-wife. Parker admits Lizs father is Frank Hagar (guest star Dabney Coleman), a master thief with a lot of enemies. The detectives pay a visit to Hagar, but are surprised to find he has a severe case of Alzheimers disease. With the help of Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), the detectives are able to put together a few clues to solve the case, but must pair up again with Parker in order to find Rosie.

GL's Newman to do North Shore benefit
Performers have been announced for special benefit concerts for North Shore Music Theater, to be held at Joe's Pub on February 9 and at The Theatre at Saint Peters on February 10. Performers including GUIDING LIGHT's Robert Newman (Josh) and Aaron Lazar.

REAPER returns March 3 moving 90210 to 9pm ET
REAPER is back two weeks early and 90210 is getting bumped back an hour to move it out of direction competition with AMERICAN IDOL.

Study links TV with depression
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Medical School studied 4,142 healthy TV-watching teenagers and found that each additional hour of TV watched per day boosted the odds of becoming depressed by 8%. Researchers are quick to point out, however, that TV viewing itself doesn't cause depression. "It could be argued that people with the predilection for later development of depression also happen to have a predilection for watching lots of TV," said one researcher.

Classic Bill and Bradley Bell interview
For about the first year, I frustrated the hell out of Bradley," Bill recalls. "I didn't use any of his stuff because I didn't feel he was quite ready for it." During this intense period, Bradley was living in one of the guest houses on the Bell family's Beverly Hills estate. "We were inseparable, which was great because it was a very good learning opportunity," Bradley observes. "But it was also very difficult, because there was a time I wasn't sure [if] he was my boss or my father."

Comcast on NBCU's short list for LIPSTICK JUNGLE
NBC Universal is looking for an outside partner that would allow it to bring its LIPSTICK JUNGLE series back on the air. One potential partner is Comcast, which unsuccessfully bid on NBC's FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and has said it was interested in participating in similar deals in the future.

Marcia Wallace to Y&R
Emmy award-winning actress Marcia Wallace is joining the cast of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. She'll be playing a woman named Annie Wilkes who poses a possible danger to Katherine Chancellor. Wallace is best known for THE BOB NEWHART SHOW but I loved her most as a guest on MATCH GAME.

News Round-up

Soap January: Bombs Away!
Marlena De Lacroix blogs:
"What is going on in this soap January? I have a feeling the approaching end of the genre may have to do with the frantic state of all the soap activity on and off screen this month. Every soap wants to save itself. Every soap is desperately doing whatever it can to hold on to viewers. Hence, many soaps may be acting more out of panic and fright than thinking calmly and rationally."

Senate approves another bill to delay Digital TV conversion
Will this one pass the House? The bill is essentially the same that previously passed the Senate, but with a few minor modifications from the House.

INTERVIEW: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS' Taylor Kitsch (Tim)
"We'll do 18 pages a day sometimes, and that's just unheard of in television and film. They pick up these idiosyncrasies—we have all this freedom. If we're doing a scene and, say, I want to do something with the bottle I'm holding, [the camera crew] will start with my hand on the bottle to give a segue to go into the scene. All those little moments shape these characters and make it so genuine and relatable."

FNL's Connie Britton blogging for Entertainment Weekly
Her recap of tonight's episode will be up at 1am ET. A tease: "Next up is a scene with me and Kyle my-TV-husband Chandler. Any scene that starts with, 'I don't give two farts about the booster's anxiety' is okay by me. And we had a good time shooting this scene, because Kyle thought he was soooo funny putting one over on me (Tami) about the booster BBQ by saying, 'I promise that maybe we'll have it somewhere else' when I ask if we can not have it at our house next year. He thought his 'maybe' promise, followed by a big smooch was hilarious."

Brooke Shields: LIPSTICK JUNGLE thief stole from me, too
LIPSTICK JUNGLE's” stage manager didn’t just rob the show’s fashion closet — Brooke Shields says he stole from her, too!

“[Arthur Moreira] is the same guy who stole my wallet out of my dressing room last season, right out of my purse!” Shields tells us. Last week, reports surfaced that Moreira took more than $30K worth of designer duds.

Says Shields: “He’s not very bright, because the purse was worth more than the wallet.”

7 ways UGLY BETTY could save itself
Included on the list is "Bring back the soapy tone."

ABC Says Web Viewers Will Tolerate Twice the Ads
The web is about to get a little more like TV -- minus the ad-skipping. ABC.com has started to peddle research that shows online viewers will tolerate shows such as GREY'S ANATOMY with ads from multiple sponsors, much like TV.

ABC.com has been making noise for some time about boosting ad loads to bring the amount of revenue earned from viewers more in line with TV, and started conducting research early in 2008.

The ABC/Nielsen research concluded that adding multiple sponsors per ad break had "a minimal effect" on recall and did not affect purchase consideration or ad attentiveness. ABC said the data show that doubling the number of ads within a show from four to eight "did not affect the viewers' overall experience with the ABC.com player."

SARA A. BIBEL: Baby Blues
"The baby switch storyline has become a soap staple that’s almost as common as amnesia and adultery. ONE LIFE TO LIVE is using a baby switch to generate numerous storylines that impact most of the characters on the canvas. In contrast, on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Nicole’s decision to switch the baby she planned to pass off as her own with Sami’s made little sense."

Brownridge Out as OK! General Manager
“This is off the chart,” a source who wished to remain anonymous told FOLIO:. “One could surmise that Brownridge distracted and derailed that team. Some of the credibility that book had built may have been lost.”

Ad pages were up 23 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, according to Publishers Information Bureau figures. Through the first nine months, ad pages were up 34.4 percent. Last month, OK! cut its cover price 50 cents from $3.49 to $2.99.

Recession rocks Hollywood's showbiz papers
or more than 75 years, Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have battled to be the movie industry's top newspaper, but recent layoffs due to the recession and competition from Internet blogs has Hollywood wondering if it will soon become a one paper town.

Daytime Nielsen Ratings for last week
Total Viewers (versus previous week/versus last year)
1. Y&R 5,217,000 (-206,000/-548,000)
2. B&B 3,581,000 (-154,000/-535,000)
3. DAYS 2,989,000 (+7,000/+80,000)
4. GH 2,771,000 (-96,000/-567,000)
5. ATWT 2,688,000 (-2,000/-521,000)
6. AMC 2,606,000 (-29,000/-193,000)
7. OLTL 2,478,000 (-125,000/-279,000)
8. GL 2,052,000 (-127,000/-630,000)

News Round-up

Happy 7000th birthday, CORONATION STREET
Tonight marks the 7000th episode of CORONATION STREET.

There was an interesting article in Monday's Guardian about keeping soap plotlines fresh after many years on the air. Steve Frost who helms Emmerdale now but who was Corrie's boss not that long ago says there's a fine line between keeping things fresh and being too familiar. It also seems that after Brookdale's ludicrous "body under the patio" plot, soaps appear to be backing down from the extremely sensational. "If you do more and more, and bigger and bigger stories, there must be a boom and bust because people can't take any more and switch off."

More on February sweeps being in March this year
The move to March won’t have much impact on network schedules, which have been less concerned about sweeps periods in the post-metered market era anyway.

INTERVIEW: Former ANOTHER WORLD star Russell Todd (Jamie)
"I was the 10th guy to play Jamie so to most of the cast it was probably just another actor in the revolving door. Still, the first day everyone was very nice and welcoming. There was only one scene that day, a phone call to either Marley or Vicky... I can't even keep them straight now! I was nervous like any actor would be on their first day, but I kept reminding myself what someone once told me: 'You got the part, so relax and enjoy it now!'"

Hope for LIPSTICK JUNGLE?
Offering one more reason for LIPSTICK lovers to apply easy, NBC Entertainment co-chair Ben Silverman said the show could get the "Friday Night Lights" treatment.

"We have some incredible channels in our portfolio and we have sister networks that love the show as well. We are analyzing what we need to do to keep that show on the air," said Silverman.

Will Christina return to 90210?
Lauren London's appearance on this week's episode was the last for which she was contracted. It's unclear what the producers intended Christina's legacy to be.

News Round-up

Agoura Hills sisters are young stars on the rise
Three years separate sisters Vanessa (Eden, Y&R) and Laura Marano, and they don’t look remarkably alike. Still, if you didn’t know better, it would be easy to mistake them for twins.

They complete each other’s sentences. They talk zealously about each other’s work. They share equally high ambitions.

The Agoura Hills sisters are passionately pursuing the craft of acting that they have loved and studied for as long as they can remember.

HOME AND AWAY in LA
Former HOME AND AWAY stars like Tammin Sursok, Chris Egan, Justin Melvey and Chris Hemsworth are finding success in Hollywood.

Historic Wedding on ALL MY CHILDREN
Brides.com went on set to watch the taping of Bianca and Reese's wedding, which is scheduled to air on Feb. 16., to learn all the ceremony details. It's a winter wedding, so the floral decorations flanking the aisle were huge, standing cascades of white silk flowers. The brides carried identical red bouquets. Frosty snow flecked the chapel windows. Bianca's daughter was a flower girl dressed in a red velvet Lucy Sykes outfit.

A Soap Opera’s Sex Is All for a Good Cause
A soap-opera style film shot this month is not intended for entertainment — it’s part of a research project designed to change attitudes about safe sex among young women. And the finished product will be distributed via cellphone videos.

“The soap-opera format provides an opportunity to identify with the heroine and make more-powerful choices after they see her make more-powerful choices,” said Dr. Rachel Jones, who created the project.

Using entertainment to spread public health messages is not new. A pioneer in the field was Miguel Sabido, who created soap operas with messages about safe sex, family planning and education in Mexico in the 1970s.

Univision Sets 'Webnovela'
Univision Communications and programming partner and supplier Televisa may have settled their differences over royalty payments, but Univision has wasted no time in securing non-Televisa content for several of its media properties.

The latest is an unprecedented partnership with giant TV content producer Endemol and Amistad Productions to produce VIDAS CRUZADAS (Crossed Lives), an online telenovela (or Webnovela) scheduled to premiere in the second quarter on Univision.com.

Univision Online, which earlier this year was renamed Univision Interactive Media, is now under the helm of former AOL vice president Kevin Conroy, who took over the division Jan. 12.

The 15-episode Webnovela, still in pre-production, marks Univision's second incursion in the genre. (The first was the 2007 MI ADORADA MALENA, featuring Puerto Rican model Cynthia Olavarría, which was developed with Unilever.)

Goodbye to all that: DAYS OF OUR LIVES dumps John and Marlena
Entertainment Weekly's Nicholas Fonseca writes: "DAYS' sendoff for the pair was a rush job, a pathetic train wreck that all but wrapped up a year-long storyline in about 20 minutes, but I can’t say I was surprised. The series has always treated its departing cast members with astonishing flippancy, and we longtime fans have come to expect this sort of masochistic abuse each and every time."

This week's LA Canyon "Gold Standards"
Tommy Garrett writes: "This week’s soap gold standards were plentiful. Having to choose between them was really tough. But always trying to be fair, I narrowed it down to three soaps: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, AS THE WORLD TURNS and GENERAL HOSPITAL."

LIPSTICK JUNGLE Clothes Stolen, eBayed By Stage Manager
A stage manager has been charged with stealing $30,000 of designer bags and clothing from the television show LIPSTICK JUNGLE and trying to sell them on eBay.

GH's Thompson scored four goals at celebrity hockey event
GENERAL HOSPITAL heart throb Jason Thompson led a star studded field of celebrities and NHL alumni with four goals at the 2nd Annual Luc Robitaille Celebrity Shoot Out Presented by D.I.S.C. Sports and Spine Center to benefit Echoes of Hope that was held Sunday to tie in with the Sundance Film Festival. Scott Wolf, formerly a star in PARTY OF FIVE notched three goals and ultimately helped lead Team Echoes to a one goal victory over Thompson and Team Hope 13-12. A 30-minute highlight show will run on the NHL network in the near future.

Friday Night Ratings

CBS averaged a 6.5 rating/11 share for the night, well ahead of second-place finisher ABC, 4.0/7. Next came NBC, 3.6/6, followed by FOX, 2.5/4. The CW came in last with a 0.9/1.

The battle for the adult 18-49 demographic saw CBS drawing a 2.3 for the lead, and ABC taking second with a 1.9. Tied for third are NBC and FOX with 1.6 apiece. The CW got 0.5.

GHOST WHISPERER kicked off the evening at 8 p.m. with the highest ratings, 6.7/12, for the night. NBC's HOWIE DO IT came in second, 4.6/8, followed by ABC's WIFE SWAP, 3.1/5, FOX's first hour of Bruce Almighty, 2.2/4, and The CW's comedy combo of EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS and THE GAME, averaging 1.1/2.

FLASHPOINT's new season debuted at 9 p.m. for CBS with a 6.3/11. Second place went to ABC's SUPERNANNY, 3.7/6, while NBC's LIPSTICK JUNGLE and FOX's second half of the Bruce Almighty both tied for third with a 2.8/5. The CW trailed with a rerun of the reality horror show 13 - FEAR IS REAL.

LIPSTICK JUNGLE was basically a goner already but these low ratings for the final scheduled episode probably sealed the deal. I was hoping that HOWIE DO IT would be a surprise monster hit because it is going to be the lead-in for FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS starting this week, but it doesn't look like fans were interested in yet another hidden camera show.

News Round-up

Golden Globes intends to crank up the opulence
Do strutting red carpets and collecting gold statuettes at a time of economic crisis fall into the category of the show must go on? Or will the designer gowns and Champagne toasts come off as the ultimate let-them-eat-cake gestures?

Tyne Daly to guest on GREY'S ANATOMY
Tyne Daly stops by next week so we can all meet Dr. Derek Shepherd's dear mother.

Brooke Shields "Not Going to Give Up" on LIPSTICK JUNGLE/span>
"I'm not going to give up until I get the final word. I’m hanging on," she told Us. "I have faith."

UGLY BETTY's Ana Ortiz (Hilda) Is Pregnant
Ortiz, 37, and her husband Noah Lebenzon, the guitarist for the band Half Life, are expecting the baby at the end of July.

TiVo Googlizes the Television
The redesigned search feature in TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD boxes uses the overall popularity of shows to help people find the programs they are looking for. So, for example, if a user starts typing the letters HE into the redesigned search box on TiVo, the popular show HEROES will likely come up first. In the old alphabetical system, HEROES would have appeared well down the list—after reruns of HEE HAW.

ABC says AMC cancellation rumors "absolutely not true"
For now, All My Children fans need not worry. The important thing is that ABC has already gave its assurance that that the cancellation rumors are "absolutely not true." And that ALL MY CHILDREN "was never in danger of being cancelled."

CBS prime time making all the right moves
Rumors of the demise of the broadcast biz have been greatly exaggerated, at least over at CBS. The net, seemingly impervious to the numerous problems affecting some of its rivals, is as steady as they come. And at midseason, it leads in key demo categories while enjoying its customarily healthy advantage among total viewers.

News Round-up

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES hopes to have Gale Harold back very soon
Susan got a phone call from out-of-town Jackson on this week's episode of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Although Gale Harold — who was critically injured in an Oct. 14 motorcycle accident, fracturing a shoulder and, by one account, developing swelling on the brain — was able to drop by the HOUSEWIVES set to record Jackson's call, a timetable for the actor's on-screen return still is up in the air.

"We are working on bringing him back to the show. We just don't know when," HOUSEWIVES producers say in a statement to TVGuide.com. "Because we had to work around his absence, the story doesn't require him immediately. But we would like to have him back on the show very soon."

New HOLLYOAKS triangle in the works
Things are set to really heat in HOLLYOAKS in the coming weeks when Kris finds himself embroiled in a love triangle with Ravi and Nancy. Ravi and Nancy are both completely unaware that they are cheating with the same person.

FBI puts byte on GH computer geek
Sweet Spinelli gets grabbed Friday on GENERAL HOSPITAL - by the FBI!

"He and Maxie have just had a falling out, so he's moping by the docks," says Bradford Anderson, who plays computer nerd Spinelli. "He sees Maxie coming toward him with a bouquet of flowers. Right as he turns to see her, he is grabbed by two FBI agents."

Spinelli is hauled down to the PCPD, where he learns Maxie was right about Winifred.

"He sees Winifred when he is brought into the police station and puts it together."

Yup - Winifred is not the fawning computer geek she pretended to be. She's an FBI agent who's been getting the goods on Spinelli's involvement with the mob.

"He has no idea he has been under surveillance," says Anderson. His lawyer "Diane shows up and barks at people, but Spinelli stays in lockup."

Jason also rides to the rescue, but his little buddy is in big trouble.

LIPSTICK JUNGLE ends--for good?
Tonight likely is the very last episode ever. NBC still has not officially canceled the show, so there is an oh-so-slim glimmer of hope it could be renewed.

CORONATION STREETS's Sophie turns to God
CORONATION STREETS's Sophie Webster is about to become the exact opposite of her wayward sister Rosie – by finding God. The 14-year-old schoolgirl, played by Brooke Vincent, starts attending a Bible study group and soon ends up with two new men in her life - boyfriend Ben, 16, and God. Sophie even takes a vow of chastity, according to reports in The Sun.

90210's Jennie Garth "excited" by Tori Spelling return
"I could not be more excited. To have anyone from the original cast walk through the door I would be like, 'Yes, thank God!' because I just miss them and it’s not the same without them," she told reporters at the People's Choice Awards.

PREVIEW: Tonight's LIPSTICK JUNGLE

"Home Is Where The Heart Is" — Wendy (Brooke Shields) makes a daring bid on a highly sought after film but struggles in her new role as a single parent when Maddie (Sarah Hyland) goes off the rails in Shane’s (Paul Blackthorne) absence. Nico (Kim Raver) asks Dahlia (guest star Rosie Perez) to help boost her professional status and lands her a guest appearance on the TODAY SHOW with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb. Unfortunately, Nico’s attempt to improve her professional image ends up wreaking havoc in her personal life. Meanwhile, a newly engaged Victory (Lindsay Price) unsuccessfully tries to get her down-home, Midwestern parents and Joe (Andrew McCarthy) to get along. Robert Buckley also stars.

Show Cast: Lindsay Price, Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, Paul Blackthorne, David Norona, Andrew Mccarthy, Robert Buckley

Guest Stars: Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Rosie Perez and James Lesure

News Round-up

Is TV suffering from Antihero Overload?
From 24's Jack Bauer to MAD MEN's Don Draper to Dexter Morgan, have Tony Soprano's spawns become too prevalent and predictable? First the dotcom bubble, then the housing bubble and soon the antihero bubble. As these characters are transformed from innovative to imitative, viewers will inevitably tire of them, if they haven't already.

71 shows will premiere in January
This figure, of course, includes new show premieres for all the tried-and-trues, like ONE TREE HILL tonight, or NIP/TUCK, back after nearly a year's hiatus tomorrow. December was essentially dead in front of the tube, as it is every year, and so a lot of new product is hitting the screen this month. In fact a lot more than usual, and I suspect one reason is that television has finally cleared away the wreckage of the Writers' strike. What you're about to see, starting immediately, is a fully cocked-and-loaded network TV industry that is absolutely desperate, desperate, to get viewers back.

New Year Brings TV Time Slot Tussles
A list of some of the most intriguing new time-period face-offs on the midseason schedule, along with predictions on which show will emerge as more popular with viewers.

SARA A. BIBEL: Things Are Getting Weird
"Daytime has taken a turn for the the strange. That's a good thing, in my opinion. In an era of overly safe pregnancy and instant romance stories, it's nice to see two shows (OLTL & ATWT) willing to writing something I haven't seen 1000 times before. Even if it makes me a little uncomfortable."

TOM CASIELLO: Great Marland's Ghost! - Part One
"Recently in my cleaning, I've discovered a treasure trove of long stories I've accumulated from different shows over the years. Some of them are long stories that made it to air... some of them didn't. Some of them were written by the head writers who were working for the show at the time, and others were 'auditions' by people who hoped to one day hold the title.

But there is one I value more than any of the rest, and that's Douglas Marland's proposed long story from 1985."

Taking 3-D to a new dimension: the TV
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, companies such as Panasonic Corp., Samsung and Texas Instruments Inc. will show off TV technology capable of displaying 3-D-like pictures. The industry is billing it as the next big leap in TV technology.

SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER returns tonight
The show's first season averaged 3.5 million viewers -- trumping media darling GOSSIP GIRL. When it returns Monday, viewers can expect Amy's baby drama to intensify as she gets closer to her due date. Is the baby a boy or a girl? Will she give it up for adoption?

Is SECRET TV's best teen drama?
Linda Stasi of the New York post believes it is: " ABC Family's No. 1 original series of all time, "The Se cret Life of the American Teenager," returns tonight with all the quality intact, and it remains, as it was last season, simply the best teen drama on TV."

GREY'S ANATOMY star is pregnant
TVGuide.com reports that representatives for Chyler Leigh, who plays Meredith's (Ellen Pompeo) half-sister Lexie in the series, confirmed that she is expecting.

LIPSTICK's Buckley joining PRIVILEDGED
Robert Buckley, who immediately made waves on NBC's LIPSTICK JUNGLE as Kirby, Kim Raver's strapping young boy on the side, is joining the cast of PRIVILEGED.

"Clearly, I can't get enough cute guys on this show!" PRIVILEGED creator Rina Mimoun quipped while sharing the news.