Ms. Nixon, who wrote nearly every episode of ALL MY CHILDREN from 1970 to 1992 and has remained a consultant to the show since 2000. “Two years ago, what I got was cut in half,” she said. “And a year later, that was cut in half again.”

“I think soaps lose viewers because the stories aren’t good or because they don’t have good actors,” Ms. Nixon said. “I don’t think anyone leaves the theater humming the sets; it’s the story and the actors. “I think they are viable [businesses], but I am afraid the suits are making some big mistakes,” she said of NBC’s decision to kill off older characters on DAYS. “In my experience over the years, young people are interested in ‘older’ stories,” she said. “I have always tried to keep various age groups involved instead of concentrating on just one. … I think that to represent life, in all its varieties, one needs various age groups.”

Budget Cuts at ABC Daytime
“We are carefully and responsibly managing our costs, which include some production cuts, but in ways the audience will not see on screen. Sweeps to date, all of our soaps are showing ratings growth and we are excited about upcoming storylines on all three shows,” a spokesperson for ABC Daytime explained to soapoperadigest.com.

Deep Soap: Thanks for Everything
Sara A. Bibel blogs about the special Robin and Patrick centered Thanksgiving episode which aired today and publishes part of an interview with stars Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson.

Thompson: (unaware the episode is actually airing Thanksgiving Eve, not the actual holiday.) It’s a day nobody watches TV, so why not do an episode about Robin and Patrick?

She also names five things she’s thankful for this year.

Dee-A-Palooza Day Three: Searching for the Real Deidre
Marlena De Lacroix writes: “Deidre is very, very, very [Deidre and Wayne] smart, both politically and personally. She has done all of the above to perfection, and no soap star has treated her fan club better. She has worked very hard. Like Lucci, no one has ever questioned that soap fans absolutely love and adore her.”

INTERVIEW: DAYS’ Eric Martsolf and Ari Zucker
Video interview from the recent “Day of DAYS” event at Universal studios.

INTERVIEW: DAYS’ Jay Kenneth Johnson
Another “Day of DAYS” interview.

INTERVIEW: Colin McShane
McShane is a singer and songwriter based out of New York City. GUIDING LIGHT fans should recognize his music, because his songs have guided their beloved characters through many ups and downs throughout the past year. He spoke to Soap Opera Weekly about his musical background and how he got his tunes on TV. “When GL reformatted in the beginning of 2008, executive producer Ellen Wheeler wanted to incorporate music from up-and-coming musicians. I submitted about 10 songs, and four of them got chosen for recurring themes in the 2008 season. I have been asked to submit more music, which I am currently in the studio working on.”

Soap operas fill afternoons with serialized drama
The Reporter has published an article on daytime soaps that actually is not predicting doom and gloom. Caryn Murphy, a radio-TV-film professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, said the storytelling formula is, in fact, so successful, today’s primetime shows are following suit. More…

Brooke Burke Crowned DANCING WITH THE STARS Queen
Previously dismissed celebrities, including ALL MY CHILDREN’s Susan Lucci, also returned for a last dance.

Photo Coverage: Valarie Pettiford at the Upright Cabaret
The former ANOTHER WORLD and ONE LIFE TO LIVE actress filled Upright Cabaret at Mark’s Restaurant with with two sold-out star-studded audiences which included Marc Cherry, Chris Bratten and Shane Scheel, among others.

HOLLYOAKS wins Mental Health Media Award
The awards highlight the best coverage and portrayal of mental health issues in the media, across TV, radio and newspapers.

HOLLYOAKS won for Hannah’s battle with anorexia in the “Soaps & Continual Drama” category.

TOM CASIELLO: For a Good Cause
On Project Holiday Spirit: “…this isn’t about whether or not you want to see two men kiss at two o’clock in the afternoon on network television. This is about supporting a cause to keep people from DYING. People of all races, all sexual orientations, all worthy of life.”

LYNN LICCARDO: A Pre-Thanksgiving Roundup
“While soaps aren’t asking viewers to invest $25 billion, they are asking us to invest an hour a day, five a week, two-hundred-fifty plus a year. And yet, they continue to put shows on the air fewer and fewer viewers want to watch.”

CADY MCCLAIN: Fall Weddings
“I can’t even count how many weddings I have sat through on the sets of soaps. People used to bring scripts, books, magazines, knitting, homework, crosswords, bills, snacks, you name it, to a wedding set. The hours that would go by just sitting there seemed like endless torture, even though the final product was always beautiful and touching. You’d never guess how many magazines were stuffed under our bums!”

Blake Berris out at DAYS
Berris, who plays Nick, will leave DAYS OF OUR LIVES sometime in January.

EVENT: Laurence Lau to star in “Breaking Legs”
Lau, who plays Brian on AS THE WORLD TURNS, will star in “Breaking Legs” from January 9 until February 1 at the Riverside Theatre, located at 3250 Riverside Park, Vero Beach, FL. Tickets and info here.

“It’s love in the purest sense,” Davidson explains. “They’ve been friends for 30 years and are supporting each other in the most intimate way possible. They do not judge the rightness or wrongness of their actions, nor do they want to tell anyone about it. They know their kids probably won’t understand.”

Former Y&R star Thom Bierdz: Artist, Actor, Broadener
“I am a natural rebel and came out to my family and friends at 18. I was urged by my representation 20 years ago to stay in the closet.

I imagine if I were 25 I would heed the advice of my agent and manager today and play it as they suggested, but their advice may be to come out – which would be so freeing. I would have been a better actor having that freedom and not feeling like I was hiding a secret from Hollywood.”

Y&R’s Marcille bagging on TBS
In the spirit of the hit TBS improv series, 10 ITEMS OR LESS, from Sony Pictures Television, the first-ever star-studded celebrity bagging competition took place Friday, Nov. 21st during The Comedy Festival at Caesars Palace. Y&R’s Eva Marcille (Tyra) participated.

REVIEW: Web Series LUKE 11:17
“Oddly enough, [LUKE 11:17] mines the more genteel pastures of daytime soaps for many of its performers. Ryan V. Cafeo emoted for a nine-episode run on PASSIONS; Bernadette Wilkes once illuminated the set of GUIDING LIGHT; and Chrishell Stause IS a regular on ALL MY CHILDREN. As daytime drama is not often rife with subtle character studies either, it’s a surprisingly well-suited breeding ground for the future heroes and heroines of horror.” LUKE 11:17 Website

Mark Consuelos: I have no idea how I became an OPRAH regular
“I really have no idea why they picked me” to be part of “Fridays Live,” the daytime queen’s Friday panel edition of her show, he says. “I’m sorry for being vague, but it’s really about as much as I know.”

It may have something to do with the fact that Oprah, um, likes him.

“Our producers thought Mark provided the energetic male counterpoint we were looking for in our ‘Fridays Live’ panel,” a spokesman for Oprah’s show said in a prepared statement when asked why Consuelos had been picked.

Indian TV employees resume work after strike
Workers in India’s television industry went back to work on Monday, unions said, after a stop-start strike that plunged the country’s soap opera schedules into turmoil. Shooting resumed in all major studios, although disgruntled employees of some unions that make up the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) said exact terms still had to be thrashed out.

They do it on prime time too: HEROES Creator Finds New Way To Insult Viewers’ Intelligence
“Tim Kring, creator of NBC’s HEROES has found the culprit for the super-mutant soap opera’s problems — its most loyal viewers.”

To accurately depict Briggs’ dialect, passion and fortitude, O’Hare viewed old tapes – and everything else, including being a homophobe, came easy. O’Hare’s met several. And knows they’re walking our streets, working with us, breathing the same air and, given the recent passing of California’s Prop 8, hating on us. Even 30 years later.

“It’s a measure of how far we’ve come,” he starts, “and also a measure of how far we haven’t come. We’re still fighting the same fight in the same place.”

Stressed About Money? Save, Baby, Save…
Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar write on the Huffington Post: “How did we veer so far off course from our historic roots as a country founded on the values of hard work, perseverance and thrift?

Culprit number one is a society in which personal finance, like parenting, is expected to simply be picked up ‘along the way.’ We are not formally taught the basics of personal finance, and unlike parenting, there is not much societal support for admitting to confusion in the arena of money. Culprit number two is pervasive media images of ‘middle class’ lifestyles that are anything but. For instance, if the DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES on Wisteria Lane tried to live like that on real world incomes, they would have been teetering on the verge of bankruptcy by the end of season one.”

Couple Alert: Nicollette Sheridan and David Spade
Nicollette Sheridan is single and ready to mingle! Three months after ending her engagement to crooner Michael Bolton, the DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star was seen making out with Hollywood lothario David Spade at her 45th birthday party at L.A. restaurant Luau on Friday night.

ATWT’s Eileen Fulton getting “back to the basics”
Eileen Fulton is setting the holiday spirit for fans in Manhattan and soon to be fans across the country. The cabaret legend is performing at the famed Metropolitan Room in New York on Friday, December 5, and then an encore on Friday, December 12. Fulton has one of the most sought after voices and cabaret acts in the industry. Her talented musical director, Bob Goldstone, will be performing with her both evenings. “Bob and I have made some great classics a little livelier this year. I’m really excited about the shows and the Metropolitan Room is always a great venue for me. I am so happy they have me as often as they do.”

Her manager is busy booking her for appearances at various locations throughout the U.S. and Eileen is excited about the new gigs. “I love performing in front of a live audience. I miss that. I love working on AS THE WORLD TURNS but since they have so many cast members and storylines going, I decided now is the time to go back to the basics of my career. I love my fans and the audience can give so much to you and you feel wonderful entertaining before live audiences. At least I do.”

Former ATWT star Meg Ryan selling Bel-Air home
Meg Ryan’s Bel-Air home can be yours for the low, low, price of only 19.5 million dollars. This comes on the heels of Friday’s news that Cynthia Watros-Gilliland (ex-Annie, GUIDING LIGHT) sold her Hancock Park home for $5.2 million.

AUDIO: Tampa Bay’s Mix 100.7’s Super Soap Weekend Interviews
GENERAL HOSPITAL star Greg Vaughn (Lucky) coins a new term – the “Lucky Samwich,” plus interviews wtih GH’s Kelly Monaco, Kimberly McCullough, Jason Thompson, Julie Berman and Brandon Barash. ALL MY CHILDREN’s Thorsten Kaye, Eden Riegel, Ricky Paull Goldin, Darnell Williams and Vincent Irizarry are also interviewed.

A source said: “Nobody could quite believe it that she was going for a part, it would be a great coup to get Stephanie on board. There were plenty of excited people. The word is that the character will be involved in some terrific scenes with Ken Barlow, Weatherfield’s most unlikely romantic.”

Other actresses are auditioning and Stephanie, 61, will be told soon whether she has got the part alongside dowdy Ken.

DVR Usage Making Big Changes in Television Viewing
Figuring out a prime-time schedule is usually one of CW network chief Dawn Ostroff’s most important duties. Never, however, has it seemed to matter less. The promise inherent in digital video recorders — that viewers can be in control of their own TV schedules — is rapidly being fulfilled this fall, and the business is changing around it. Nearly 30 percent of the nation’s TV homes have at least one.

Nowhere is the impact more apparent than at the CW, where recording the shows and watching them later account for nearly 17 percent of the network’s viewership over a one-week period. Two years ago, it was less than 5 percent, according to Nielsen Media Research. The time-shifting is more dramatic for individual shows. The CW even had a week where the audience of 18-to-34-year-old women for 90210 increased by a stunning 79 percent over the live broadcast.

AMPTP To Employers: SAG “Completely Out Of Touch With Reality”; Authorization Vote “Will Lead Inexorably To Strike”
The AMPTP today sent a message to its employers. Nikki Finke has the latest in her Deadline Hollywood blog.

MICHAEL FAIRMAN: “Super Soap” Star Interviews Part Two
More pictures and interviews from Super Soap Weekend. Interviews include Jason Thompson, Bradford Anderson, Farah Fath, Ricky Paull Goldin and many more.

Eden Riegel: “The tornado was incredible, and I loved the special effects. It was fun to be a part of it and it was like the show was saying, “Here you are. Welcome back. You’re in the rumble, you are a part of this, and you are nine months pregnant!” And they threw me right in there, in the drama of it all.”

Futures of Entertainment Conference at MIT: Franchising, Extensions and Worldbuilding
From the live blog of Session 5, Tom Casiello added: “Soaps for a while tried to franchise by using more moneymaking schemes, like ’shop the soaps’ or writing novels and working the novel into the story, like the character would write a novel and it would come out in real life. They were successful in that they made money, but the fans took it as a manipulation, like you said. After the fact they growled about it and weren’t happy about it. They want to feel like they’re part of the community. It’s not about extending the franchise in terms of making money, it’s about extending the franchise creatively.”

VIDEO: War Veterans Appear on ALL MY CHILDREN
JR Martinez (Brot) is interviewed by Chris Cuomo on GOOD MORNING AMERICA in a segment about the veterans who appeared on the show.

As for the actors, Jensen continued, “there are already so many reasons for a casting director to turn a person down, and being an openly gay actor trying to get a romantic lead role, you’re just giving them another reason.”

The absence of gay lead actors—and, yes, we are talking primarily of men—stands in stark contrast to the progress activists say has been made in other areas. “The images in the media 30 years ago and the images today are vastly, vastly different,” said Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). “You had THREE’S COMPANY, an over-the-top caricature of a gay man, and the other characters ridiculed him. Today a show like that would not be aired. We have BROTHERS & SISTERS, we have DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, UGLY BETTY. Those are real portrayals.”

A gay character on a TV show is no longer news, though GLAAD has tabulated that just 16 of 663 prime-time characters, or 2.6 percent, are gay. Openly gay celebrities in themselves also are no longer such an anomaly.

Mark Urman, distribution president for Summit Entertainment, said that at this point, “I don’t think that anything to do with anybody’s sexual orientation would or could harm somebody’s career.”

E!’s Ted Casablanca isn’t so optimistic. “My opinion is it would be painful at first because America has shown it has such a fear of gay people,” he said. “It would be very rough going for an actor to find that out, and I don’t blame them for not wanting to find that out. They’re not politicians. They’re performers. They don’t want to be held accountable for America’s discomfort about homosexuality.”

Ronn Moss’s new film, Bolt, expected to earn $27 million this weekend
Moss, who plays Ridge Forrester on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, plays Dr. Forrester in the Disney animated film starring the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus. Meanwhile, as expected, Twilight landed at #1 for the weekend with around $72 million in ticket sales. 90210’s Kellan Lutz is featured in the film.

Colton High grad hits it big on TPIR, appears on B&B
Instead of spending about $4,500 in cash she recently won on CBS’ long-running game show, THE PRICE IS RIGHT, Colton High School grad April Guillemette, 19, is going to stash it in the bank. After all, she needs some money to pay the taxes on about $30,000 worth of prizes she won as the program’s “Showcase Showdown” winner.

“It was just insane,” Guillemette said of her experience. “I’ve watched the show all my life and here I am on the show and I won the whole showcase. It was unbelievable.”

Included in her showcase prize package was a walk-on appearance on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Guillemette got a double shot of television exposure when both episodes aired Wednesday. A video that details her transformation from game show contestant to TV star was posted on THE PRICE IS RIGHT web site as of Friday. Guillemette, who now lives in La Mesa and sells scuba equipment, says she got a flood of calls from old friends in Colton who saw her on TV.

TOM CASIELLO: The Road Back to NYC – What I Learned at MIT
“I listened to film producers, screenwriters, primetime showrunners, agents, sports marketers, scholars, founders of online social media sites, and online game organizers – all of whom had so much to teach me about where all of these businesses are going in the next year. Daytime is struggling, but it doesn’t have to be. The way all of these industries treat their superfans, the way they’ve thought outside the box and allowed them to be part of the creative process, part of the storytelling, is monumental. And no, I’m not talking about I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR or INTURN or ‘Shop the Soaps.’”

It’s Revelation Week in Soapland (UK)
Kris Green of Digital Spy reports: “It’s revelation week in the soaps at the beginning of December, as the lives of some of our favorite soap characters take dramatic turns for the worse. You just know that the scenes below will come back to slap those involved in the face somewhere down the line. And what better time than over the Christmas and New Year period?”

One TV producer tells E! that dramas like GREY’S ANATOMY ring in at roughly $1 million per episode, but these days, that’s more like a starting point. Take Spartacus, the sandal-strapped sword-swinging saga coming to the small screen via Starz. One report estimates the show’s budget at $2 million per episode.

NASH BRIDGES, the erstwhile shoot-’em-up show, apparently cost that much per episode as well. Ditto with FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, which recently trimmed roughly 5 percent from its $2 million-per-episode budget.

TOM CASIELLO: The Loss Soap Fans Don’t Know They’re Experiencing
“For years, I have been looked down on in writers’ rooms for even mentioning fan’s opinions. But tonight, I watched prime-time refer to the ‘Super Fan’ as someone they not only cherish, but they REWARD. And they ENCOURAGE. They know not everybody will devote that much time to the a show, but if they find somebody who’s extremely talented, they’ll pull them into the transmedia they’re putting together to cross-promote the show.

WHY IN BLAZING HELL HAS DAYTIME NOT LATCHED ON TO THIS?!”

Rutherford and Light to host International Emmys
GOSSIP GIRL star Kelly Rutherford (ex-Sam, GENERATIONS) and UGLY BETTY actress Judith Light (ex-Karen, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) have signed up to be guest hosts at the International Emmy Awards Gala next week. Rutherford, who plays Lily van der Woodsen on the CW show, and Light, currently starring as Betty’s Claire Meade, will join an all-star lineup of presenters at the ceremony on Monday.

CORRIE’s Kym to wed HOLLYOAKS hunk
Coronation Street’s Kym Marsh, who plays barmaid Michelle Connor, is set to marry Hollyoaks’ Jamie Lomas after a whirlwind 6-month romance. Kym, 32, and Jamie, 28, who plays bad boy Warren Fox in the C4 soap, have become engaged. A friend of the couple said, “They are perfect for each other. Kym’s stunned she’s found happiness so quickly and wants to cement their relationship.” Kym was married to former EASTENDERS actor Jack Ryder for five years, but they split earlier this year. She has two children from a previous relationship.

Composer/actor Pruitt dies
Variety has more on the life of the late Keith Keith Douglas Pruitt.

RELATED: We Love Soaps obit / FLASHBACK: Opening the Daytime Closet 1993 / FLASHBACK: Soaps Stud Evolves Into Composer

INTERVIEW: Y&R’s Billy Miller
Miller, who plays Billy Abbott, was a guest on “AST: Let’s Talk Lane” last night.

According to my soap insider friend, instead of firing vets like Hall and Hogestyn, who longtime fans adore, the soaps should work on preserving what they have. ‘I don’t really think you’re ever going to get new viewers,’ he continued. ‘The days of moms and grandmas turning their kids on to their stories are long gone. The next best hope is to attract lapsed viewers — fans who left for a reason, who were disappointed in how their stories were being written and how their favorites were being fired.’”

90210 SPOILER: Adrianna’s Shocking News
Teen love between Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) and Navid (Michael Steger) will turn into teen angst in upcoming episodes of the CW show. Adrianna, the recovering drug addict, will be dealing with a teen pregnancy, according to a source close to the show. But is Navid the daddy? It’s anyone’s guess since he recently revealed he’s a virgin.

Things heating up on Britain’s I’M A CELEBRITY, GET ME OUT OF HERE
STAR TREK legend George Takei, 71, has been chasing EASTENDERS actor Joe Swash, 26. He has “already managed to snog him and grope his bum.”

Jason Chambers, HUMAN WEAPON host, arrested on rape charges
Charges have been dropped against THE HUMAN WEAPON co-host Jason Chambers, who was arrested earlier this month over an alleged rape in Los Angeles, celebrity gossip site TMZ.com reported Friday. The report stated that Chambers was arrested on Nov. 11 on suspicion of sexual assault and drug charges. He had to post a bail of $200,000.

Besides being a martial arts instructor, Chambers has appeared in several soap operas including DAYS OF OUR LIVES (as Spencer the paramedic) and AS THE WORLD TURNS (as Kyle the bartender).

MICHAEL FAIRMAN: Super Soap Weekend Star Round-up Pt 1
As many in the industry, and many soap fans know, ABC Super Soap Weekend 13 held this past weekend at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida was the final version of this staple fan fest. “On-Air On-Soaps” participated in the finale and got the chance to catch up with the best from ABC Daytime’s star-studded line-up.

Jason Thompson: “Sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it’s hard. The great thing about working with Kimberly McCullough (Robin), is that we have become great friends. We do care about each other. When I am thinking about her, and the situation we are in, it’s not that hard to feel that, which is, ‘Who does not cry over a new born baby?’ Sometimes, I feel like I needed to hold back more, and I was way too emotional. Not a lot of times, but sometimes, but there are definitely times I try and get there.”

ABC Soap stars invade Disney World
Slideshow of photos from Super Soap Weekend.

It’s a Wonderful Life on GH
GENERAL HOSPITAL pays homage to that Christmas classic on Wednesday, Nov. 26 when Patrick and Robin see what life might have been like had they not met when they did. “Robin ends up dating Patrick’s brother, Matt, for a couple of days. Patrick hooks up with Elizabeth and Carly,” previews Jason Thompson (Patrick).

Soap vet Mark Pinter to GH
Mark Pinter (ex-Roger, AMC; ex-Grant, AW) has been cast as Special Agent Thomas Rayner on GENERAL HOSPITAL. He’ll debut on Dec. 11.

While out in L.A., Pinter has visited his daughter, Siri, who is producing on LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY.

SARA A. BIBEL: Girl On Girl Action
“There is this widespread perception that the daytime audience is socially conservative, unsophisticated and easily offended. That’s why soaps were scared to write interracial romances for decades. Soaps fans embrace love in all its permutations. Soap fans have rooted for romances between cousins, adulterers, felons, and people who have been possessed by the devil. To me, that’s the definition of open minded.”

National Adoption Day 2008 Places More Than 4,000 Foster Care Children in Permanent, Loving Homes
As National Adoption Day’s 2008 host city, New York City kicked off the 2008 event with a press conference and celebration, which included Rita Soronen, executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and founding sponsor of National Adoption Day; Judge Joseph M. Lauria, administrative judge; Victoria Rowell, actress (ex-Drucilla, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) and New York Times bestseller; the New York City Family Court and the Ortiz-Torres-Fonseca family.

Despite the increased use of the web, TV viewing levels remained strong. In the U.S., Ofcom estimated that on average auds watched 4.5 hours of TV a day last year. In Europe, tube addiction is less severe. Polish viewers watched more TV than the other European countries at four hours a day, while the Swedes watched the least at 2.6 hours a day. Brits consume 3.6 hours of TV a day on average. Spaniards spent the least time online of all Europeans — 7.5 hours a week.

MALA BHATTACHARJEE: Pearl Clutchers Anonymous
“I thought [ATWT's] Noah was repressed, but Brian’s repression puts his to shame. He is so tightly controlled and courtly, and he dotes on Lucinda. Seeing him kiss Luke was mindblowing — and yet also made a LOT of sense. I don’t know about anyone else, but the whole time he was protesting the Nuke PDA and cautioning Luke against the Foundation supporting the Big Gay Film Festival, I got a distinct tinge of ‘the gentleman doth protest too much.’”

Also, check out Mala’s highlights from Super Soap Weekend.

ATWT’s Van Hansis on his “Dance Dance Revolution” character
“Wiggles is a fun-loving, dumpster-diving, teenage renegade. He grew up in the landfill on the south side of town, watching cartoons from the eighties. The nineteen eighties. Like way old school. He and Jaquise have been besties 4FR. Turnons: sequined gloves, busting hot moves, arithmetic. Turnoffs: making decisions, thinking about any sort of consequence that his actions may have, and books without pictures.”

Untangling the John Aniston, Jennifer Aniston, John Mayer and Brangelina Gordian Knot
John Mayer met (in person) John Aniston of DAYS OF OUR LIVES fame and father to one Jennifer Aniston. Star Magazine reports that the couple had dinner with John and Jennifer’s stepmother on November 20th

Citing a mysterious eyewitness — who seems to have hidden in the terrine for all the details s/he could give about the outing – there is reasonable hope that this relationship is not only on-again, but hot and blazing.

GOSSIP Guy Nixes Contract
GOSSIP GIRL third-stringer Connor Paolo, who plays Blake Lively’s little (and recently outed) brother, Eric van der Woodsen, has rejected an offer from the show to become a series regular.

So what’s the deal? Is he scared to be gaycast, as Thomas Dekker allegedly was circa HEROES? Nah. The ONE LIFE TO LIVE alum is “totally comfortable playing a gay character.” More likely, it’s about dollars and common sense.

The contract offered called for him to appear in only half of this season’s 25 episodes, which is about what he’s been averaging as a recurring player, anyway. So, basically, by remaining a free agent, he’s got the same gig with none of the strings attached.

Berlanti’s ELI STONE canceled, Is DIRTY SEXY MONEY next?
ABC officials also would not comment on the fate of DIRTY SEXY MONEY, which Greg Berlanti also produces. The dramedy, starring Peter Krause, has suffered from low ratings all season and is not expected to survive. Berlanti could not immediately be reached for comment.

John Thomson’s “loveable” soap role
John Thomson has described his CORONATION STREET character as “loveable”. The COLD FEET star is making a highly anticipated cameo appearance in the ITV soap next month.

“I play an electrician stroke children’s entertainer called Jesse. He’s funny and loveable. It’ll be shown on TV on the 15th of December.”

Burnet: I’m proud of gay storyline
Guy Burnet is proud of being involved in ground-breaking HOLLYOAKS storylines, as he returns in the soap’s spin-off mini series, HOLLYOAKS LATER.

“I can’t tell even you how proud I am, it was basically the baby of me, James and (producer) Bryan Kirkwood and we worked on it really hard for two years. Initially the idea was that it would be a gay relationship between these two guys, but I don’t think that’s as interesting as flawed characteristics. So you had John Paul coming out as being gay and proud, but he had to deal with his family’s religion and then you have something that was never covered in any medium, which was a character who was heterosexual who you then had to justify being attracted to a man,. In doing my research, I found a lot of people who perhaps were married with children and then discovered they had gay tendencies.

You can’t categorise Craig Dean in any way, he said ‘I don’t know what I am, I’m confused’, which I know p****d a lot of people off, but I think there were a lot of people out there who related to that and they’re the people I wanted to do it for.”

SARA A BIBEL: The 7875327th Plan To Save Days
“I don’t know that I could do any better than Dena Higley or Hogan Sheffer. But I am confident that DOOL needs to rebuild from the ground up if it is going to successfully adjust to its new fiscal reality.”

Supercouples on soaps can keep us together
Supercouples have meant big ratings since the start of the golden era of radio sudsers of the mid-1930s. When these programs evolved a decade later into the television serials we still enjoy today, there was always a key element which made these shows great and kept people tuned in. In 2008, most small-screen fans can name, off the top of their head, what romantic duos keep them coming back for more.

Whether is was Mac and Rachel during ANOTHER WORLD’s apex of the late 1970s and early 1980s; Marlena and John on DAYS OF OUR LIVES; GH’s Scotty and Laura/Luke and Laura heyday from 1978 to 1983, or Ken and Deidre on CORONATION STREET — an on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again, and on-gain pairing which has lasted three decades — we all have our favorites.

INTERIVEW: ALL MY CHILDREN star Eden Riegel (Bianca)
“It’s amazing to be back. It’s like going home (if home was a really cold studio filled with really gorgeous people). But the best part is working with Tamara Braun. She’s a fantastic person and an amazing actress.

As far as extending goes, I don’t know. My immediate goal is to execute the current story as well as we possibly can, but if they have a way of extending this story into something equally exciting, who knows?

There was a time not so long ago that Bianca and Maggie could barely greet each other with a kiss on the cheek, now Bianca and Reese are actually in bed together. I love it!”

Main BBC channels go live on net
BBC shows including EastEnders will be available to watch live online starting November 27th, the BBC has announced. BBC One and BBC Two will be streamed live, – just as BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC, CBeebies and BBC News are already broadcast on their channel websites. Director of BBC vision Jana Bennett said this “completes our commitment” to make channels available online.

Fond Farewells, Good Friends & A Few Tears on Tonight’s FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Zap2it’s Korbi Ghosh writes: “It’s a real bitch watching FRIDAY NIGHT LIHGTS without a box full of tissues sometimes… and tonight will be one of those times.”

TOM CASIELLO: An Early Thanksgiving
“So it’s been kind of a downer around these parts, huh? Let’s throw some positivity into the mix, shall we? Here’s five things right now that currently have me bouncing on my couch… the five things that have inspired me lately, as we head into Thanksgiving next week.” If you haven’t checked out Casiello’s new blog, do it now.