Saturday, August 9, 2008

News Brief

HOLLYOAKS character contracts HIV
HOLLYOAKS's Malachy Fisher is to be diagnosed as HIV positive. The character always thought he was invincible to STDs, but his past comes back to haunt him in episodes to be screened next month.

Malachy's (Glen Wallace) relationship with Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalf) is put at risk when he goes to give blood and the results reveal his diagnosis. However, he refuses to face up to the news and goes missing, prompting a scorned Mercedes to sleep with his brother Kris (Gerard McCarthy) for revenge.

Talking about the storyline, Wallace commented: "When you consider how many people are affected by HIV and AIDS, it makes you realise that while there have been huge medical breakthroughs in treatment, we still need to keep education and information in the spotlight. We have a fantastic opportunity to do this with Malachy’s storyline as it’s a relevant and very much a real-life issue."

WHERE ARE THE NOW: Fiona Hutchison and John Viscardi
Fiona Hutchison and John Viscardi are not your average Copake married couple. For one thing, they met on the set of a soap opera in New York City. For another, they're the founders of The Copake Theatre Company, located at the historic Copake Grange.

They also have talent and energy to burn. Hutchison is perhaps best known for her continuing roles as Gabrielle Medina on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and Jenna Bradshaw on GUIDING LIGHT. Viscardi is an actor, playwright and author, who is currently writing a book about dog training. Together, they're a force to be reckoned with.

Viscardi and Hutchison started the theater in 2004. They took a hiatus after two seasons, and Carl Ritchie took over as artistic director. But they'll be back in command this fall.

Viscardi met Hutchison on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in 1990. "I had a six-day job working on that show with Fiona," he says.

Hutchison interjects with her mellifluous English accent at this point. "He played a boxing priest!" she says. "In the first scene we had, he not only had to maneuver eating Chinese food with chopsticks, but he had to hit the heavy bag, all while reciting a four-page monologue. It was quite a sight to see."

Hutchison says she's "tickled" to be known as a soap opera queen. "It's a genre I've worked in, but I actually really like it," she says. "In other words, I like the environment of it, because I do like the high energy and challenge of trying to, as we say, turn it out but make it believable."

She was recently invited to come in this fall and do what is called "shadowing" on the set of AS THE WORLD TURNS, to observe and "shadow" the show's director. "I cannot tell you what an honor that is," she says. "I don't know if I'll get the opportunity to actually direct, but I'm excited about the possibility."

INTERVIEW: Y&R's Jeanne Cooper
"Katherine has big storyline coming up in two weeks that will carry on ‘till the end of the year… easily… Thank God! It is front-burner stuff! It will deal with Jill and Katherine, and many offshoots of that relationship."

B&B vs BIG LOVE
Ruth Ritchie writes in the Sydney Morning Herald: "In television, novelty often passes for originality. Purple polygamists should have been just a passing fad. But the last episode of the second series of BIG LOVE had fans of big Utah families sitting on the edges of our seats. It occurs to me, after years of devotion to THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, that the outrageous conceits vital to the survival of the long-running soap are perfectly logical in a polygamist potboiler. So many marriages, so many children - always ranging in age from toddler to retiree - we really have to stretch the imagination in traditional soap. Not so in Utah - the scene where two women cross the street to explain to the neighbour that one of them, unfortunately, cannot be a surrogate mother to the neighbour's unborn child because her husband, and two other sister wives wouldn't approve - is very believable."

INTERVIEW: DAYS actor Shawn Christian
"What’s coming up is that she [Chelsea] does find out [Daniel slept with Kate], and we are just filming that now. Again, what are the consequences of all this? And that’s why I end up once again talking to Lexie. I don’t have any family ties here in Salem, so whom do you turn to? Lexie is a colleague, and since we have worked together in life or death situations, Daniel can count on her trust."

Deep Soap: Behind The Scenes of NIGHT SHIFT
Sara A. Bibel visited the set of GH: NIGHT SHIFT and brought back a lot of interesting tidbits.

Antonio Sabato, Jr.: "I had a great time during those two years, from 92 to 94. I’m having a great time being part of the show again. I’m working with Peter [Brinkerhoff], our director, and Kimberly [McCullough] and some of our make-up and crew people. Nevertheless, it’s a different show because it’s a new set. We shot two days a week versus a different show every day. The rest of the cast is different."

Jason Thompson: "The shows are written differently. The thing about daytime is that everything’s always pretty dire. Here, I think we’re going about business more. The story with Robert is very, very serious and the emergencies that come in are serious but there are little moments where we can be human. I think they’ve done a good job of having scenes with Patrick and Robin where they’re communicating and having adult conversations."

GH: NIGHT SHIFT coming to DIRECTV's The 101
NIGHT SHIFT will air on DIRECTV's The 101 on Mondays at 2 pm ET beginning August 11. PASSIONS previously aired in this time slot. DIRECTV is beoming a player in the industry having rescued PASSIONS last year and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS this year. They are said to be interested in saving good but low rated prime-time shows versus developing new shows from scratch.

EVENT: Y&R's Linder at the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic
The Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic takes place Sunday at Pinehurst Resort. The event draws in national celebrities to raise money for cancer research through The V Foundation for Cancer Research. This year, celebrities include actor Dennis Haysbert from THE UNIT, former ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT host Bob Goen, former Major League Baseball player Tony Womack and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS actress Kate Linder.

SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES: Episode #842
Blake and Matt's lunch plans are interrupted.

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