NEWS: Daytime Celebrates, Hugh Bonneville, Cameron Mathison, Larry Bryggman, Vanessa Whitburn, Amber Tamblyn, Shonda Rhimes, Luke Grimes, Jon Hamm

Daytime Soap Operas Have Reason to Celebrate: THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Turns 40 and GENERAL HOSPITAL Turns 50
According to Karen Herman, Director of the Archive of American Television, the Archive seeks to showcase shows and people that will leave “an indelible mark on generations of audiences.” Herman continued, “Television has been at the center of American lives and living rooms for decades, and what is on our screens has mirrored and influenced the history of this country.”

DOWNTON ABBEY's Hugh Bonneville would 'never say never' to EASTENDERS role
Bonneville plays the Earl of Grantham in ITV's hit drama Downton Abbey, but he might be propping up the bar of EastEnders' Queen Vic in the future. The actor made a brief appearance as a headmaster in a single episode the east London-based soap in 1995, but says he would consider returning to Albert Square after DOWNTON. Bonneville told The Mirror: "I might go back. I am a jobbing actor and I will take whatever comes along, thank you very much. I would never say never."

ALL MY CHILDREN alum Cameron Mathison enjoys spreading his wings
"I’ve been lucky to do five movies in the last 15 months and some TV shows. I’m so grateful for that. So, as far as what I’m hoping to do is just to continue to grow as an actor and spread my wings in that way."

"A Tribute to Pine Valley" has added more cities
Jacksonville, Nashville and Cleveland are now on the schedule.

Helen Carey, Larry Bryggman to Lead "Other Desert Cities" at DC's Arena Stage
The show runs April 26 – May 26, 2013. AS THE WORLD TURNS alum Larry Bryggman can also be seen on PERSON OF INTEREST on April 4.

THE ARCHERS editor Vanessa Whitburn to step down after 22 years
Whitburn, who has been the longest-serving editor of the radio soap opera, is retiring from her role to develop a TV drama. THE ARCHERS is the world's longest-running soap opera, with 17,000 episodes broadcast since 1950. The "everyday story of country folk" is set in the fictional Midlands village of Ambridge.

Speaking of her decision to leave, Whitburn said: "I have had a wonderful time running THE ARCHERS, always interesting and exciting. But I want to step down now in order to take a holiday, develop a project for TV drama and get involved in some more training overseas.

Richard Wilson: I've Turned Down Several Soaps
The ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE star has had a number of offers to appear in long-running serial shows such as CORONATION STREET but declined them because he couldn't hack the tough workload and lack of rehearsal time.

Richard said: "I did a small part in EMMERDALE once because I was short of cash but soap stars have a fairly horrendous schedule. My friend [Sir] Ian McKellen has appeared in CORONATION STREET. But there is very little rehearsal and I wouldn't like that."

How Do You Catch Up With a Show 8,000 Episodes Into Its Run?
CORONATION STREET boss Kiernan Roberts says: "The premise is very, very simple: This is a program about the sometimes extraordinary lives of some pretty ordinary people living in a back street in a fictional town called Weatherfield, which is somewhere in Greater Manchester. These are generally very down-to-earth, working people. They aren’t rich or particularly glamorous, but their lives can be very, very exciting.

"Although the show has been around for 52 and a bit years, most of our stories play out over months rather than years, and some are even shorter than that. So, hopefully, anybody coming new to the show will very quickly get hooked. I would also say that right now is a very good time to be coming in, because we've got a huge story that revolves around a fire in the Rovers Return pub. It’s a big event, and it’s very easy to see what’s going on there."

The Dangers of the VERONICA MARS Kickstarter Victory, Campaign Passes $4 Million
Kickstarter and its ilk are basically a donation model where wannabe entrepreneurs submit ideas and solicit funding from the public, usually in exchange for some small goodie. The contributors do not receive equity, so the practice is not regulated -- yet.

In this case, VM creator Rob Thomas and producers offered contributors a) a copy of the script, b) a speaking part in the film (for $10,000), c) T-shirts, d) DVDs and e) signed posters. The good news for recipients is that the offerings should not be subject to federal or state securities laws because they do not include an investment opportunity. However, if producers have not accurately stated the facts regarding their project on the website, or if they do not live up to their promises, they might find themselves subject to state and federal laws prohibiting mail and wire fraud, unfair competition and false advertising. So it behooves producers using the Kickstarter model to make full disclosure of all material facts, which is similar to the standard under securities laws.

Why marriage equality is no longer taboo on network TV
While other series have their token Asian, black and gay characters, Shonda Rhimes has waged a one-woman campaign for tolerance, for creating a “world that looks like the one I live in.” And that includes Asians, African-Americans and gay characters.

“I felt everybody should be represented on television,” Rhimes told The Post.

The first gay marriage she wrote, in 2011, occurred between two women, Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), on GREY'S ANATOMY. In fact, Rhimes showed how Callie went from being in a relationship with a man to realizing she was bisexual.

GENERAL HOSPITAL alum Amber Tamblyn joins X/Y
The ensemble relationship drama is already filming in New York under helmer Ryan Piers Williams. Amber Tamblyn joins America Ferrera, Common, Melonie Diaz, Jon Paul Phillips, Dree Hemingway, Ann Dowd, Adam Rapp, Maria Dizzia, and David Harbour in the drama. She’ll play Stacey, a close friend of Silvia (Ferrera) and Mark (Williams) and partner to Tessa (Sue Jean Kim), who has her own demons to battle following her mother’s death.

Former Y&R child actor Robbie Tucker hits the big screen
Robbie Tucker, who played a pre-teen Fenmore from 2009-12 on Y&R, can be seen in the film Family Weekend¸ set to hit theaters on Friday, March 29. The actor plays Mickey Smith-Dungy, a boy who suffers from undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. The film follows Mickey's older sister Emily, who takes rather drastic measures to capture the attention of her perpetually-scattered parents, played by Matthew Modine and Kristin Chenoweth

BROTHERS & SISTERS alum Luke Grimes joins TRUE BLOOD
Grimes will play a '70s-era vampire named James.

Jon Hamm's Private Parts: Jockey Offers Mad Men Star a "Lifetime Supply" of Underwear
The New York Daily News recently reported that Hamm was asked by show producers to wear underwear while sporting tight suits on the set of AMC's Emmy-winning series Mad Men. A source explained to the Daily News, "This season takes place in the 1960s, where the pants are very tight and leave little to the imagination. Jon's impressive anatomy is so distracting that they politely insisted on underwear."

Indeed, a source tells Us Weekly, "It's true. The man is packing!" Adds a show source, "Costumers have their hands full."

Thankfully, Jockey's got the actor covered. "We hear Jon Hamm's too big for his britches," the company tweeted. "Jockey's offering free underpants for life to the MAD MEN star."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: What Primetime TV Tells Us About Being a Man
"The influence of television and popular media on young men is undeniable, especially given the absence of male role models in many American homes. Almost one-fourth of children in the U.S. live in mother-only single-parent households. In homes with both parents, some studies indicate that the average father spends less than 10 minutes a day alone with his child. Add to that the statistics that show that the average teenager spends more time in front of a television than any other activity other than sleep. The average teen spends 20 hours a week watching TV. African-American households watch more TV than any other group. Just as whatever we eat affects our bodies, so does whatever we digest mentally affect who we become."