News Brief

Entertainment Weekly: 17 Great Soap Supercouples from Angie and Jesse to Luke and Laura to Luke and Noah.

Los Angeles Times: More on the GUIDING LIGHT revamp: In addition, the median age of its audience is now nearly 56 years, which poses a dilemma for the producers and network executives, who are interested in reaching younger viewers that advertisers covet. They must figure out how to keep loyal fans of the show tuned in, while attracting a generation weaned on reality fare such as MTV’s REAL WORLD and ABC’s THE BACHELOR. It’s the intimacy of those programs and the edginess of movies shot with hand-held cameras, such as “The Blair Witch Project,” and more recently “Cloverfield,” that soap opera producers are trying to duplicate. “Ellen’s challenge has been, ‘How do I preserve what’s working and at the same time make the show more visually relevant and current for viewers who have so many other choices,’?” said Barbara Bloom, CBS’ senior vice president for daytime programs. “This is all about continuing the evolution of the show so that it will have longevity.”

Fairfield Champion: Getting lost in some ludicrous soap plots from over the years including "Roman is John is Roman is . . . Chris?" and "Dallas is but a dream."

Monsters and Critics.: A chat with KNIGHT RIDER and former ALL MY CHILDREN star Justin Bruening. "Working with the new KITT - that was an amazing experience. Actually, it’s the Shelby Cobra 500GTKR. It’s an absolutely amazing piece of machinery, and all our little bells and whistles that we added to it also heighten the experience."

Variety: Actor Timothy Stetson, who appeared in several British TV shows and films, was killed in an apartment fire Jan. 21 in Los Angeles. He was 53. He previously appeared in 22 episodes of ALL MY CHILDREN in the U.S.

Inside Pulse: All-Star FAMILY FEUD is now out on DVD including "SOAP vs ALL MY CHILDREN." SOAP is Jay Johnson, Robert Mandan, Donnelly Rhodes, Jimmy Baio, Arthur Peterson. AMC is Ruth Boyd, Susan Lucci, Taylor Miller, Peter Bergman & Louie Edmunds.

Broadcasting & Cable: At the Fifth Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards, Mark Itkin recalled that he convinced Tartikoff to syndicate a late-night soap opera when, briefly, Tartikoff ran New World, then a producer of television. Tartikoff left that job, and the soap withered, but Itkin insisted, "There still should be a late-night soap opera, by the way … I'm always selling."

Gazette & Herald: After the death of popular soap character Vera Duckworth on CORONATION STREET, Age Concern Wiltshire is highlighting the need for older people to plan ahead. Millions tuned in to the ITV soap last week as Vera left behind her screen husband, Jack (William Tarmey). As well as having to deal with the terrible grief of losing his beloved wife, he also had to begin making all of the arrangements for her funeral without any indication of her wishes. Although this is a soap opera, it does highlight the issue of not making any prior arrangements for when the time comes. In fact, less than two per cent' of people pre-plan their funeral.

MyParkMag: Chris Fountain is set to leave HOLLYOAKS after being offered £100,000 to star in the 'Dancing on Ice' live tour following the contest finale. The actor - who plays bad boy Justin Burton on the Channel 4 soap - is currently splitting his time between training for the ice-dancing show in London and filming 'Hollyoaks' in Liverpool, but has reportedly decided to leave the soap in favour of the 'Dancing on Ice' live tour.