News Brief

DANCING WITH THE STARS UPDATE: Lucci rebounds
Orlando Sentinel: "Comedian Jeffrey Ross was the first ejectee Tuesday night. Daytime diva Susan Lucci and chef Rocco DiSpirito had bombed in Monday's season premiere. Oh, how they rebounded Tuesday. Lucci executed an elegant quickstep."

Lucci "wasn't that impressive"
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Susan Lucci started slow with her quickstep, but then picked it up toward the end. Still, it wasn't that impressive. She'll hang in there for now. How long depends if she can learn the more difficult dances."

Lucci not as "frail"
Chicago Sun-Times: "Susan Lucci didn't look quite so frail tonight during her quick step. Must have been the whole crouton she ate for lunch. Way to go Susan!"

DEEP SOAP: Sell Me On It
Sara A. Bibel blogs: "It looks like ABC is on the same wavelength as I am about viewer frequency. The network is launching a major new promotional campaign, 'Take a Look Now.' While some fans might mock the line about the commitment to great stories, I’m again impressed by ABC’s efforts to promote its shows."

INTERVIEW: ONE LIFE TO LIVE star Andrea Evans
On what's ahead for Tina: :I think more vintage Tina and more what the fans want to see. I think the fans were very happy to have Tina come back for the 40th anniversary. We did the Medorra storyline, which is very 80’s Tina. Totally 80’s Tina….. and gave the audience what they want. I think now, they want to see her blend in to her roots with the family, and involved in more of the storylines that are in Llanview."

DAYS' Mary Beth Evans talks about her SVU appearance
"At the Daytime Emmys, I sat next to Bruce Evans [head of NBC daytime] and we became fast friends. I even sent his mother one of my apple pies. He said he wanted to make [DAYS OF OUR LIVES] less of an island and get people from our show onto other NBC shows. He called me up later and said I'd get to be the test case."

GREY'S adds McHunky to start fifth season
McDreamy and McSteamy, make way for McHunky. That's right. There's a new doctor operating on GREY'S ANATOMY, the ABC hospital drama that begins its fifth season with a two-hour episode on Thursday.

And the new cast member actually has a last name that Mc-fits the GREY'S Mc-nickname pattern for its so-called "studs in scrubs" characters. Scottish actor Kevin McKidd, best known for his star turns on HBO's ROME and NBC's short-lived JOURNEYMAN, makes his first appearance Thursday night as U.S. Army surgeon Owen Hunter.

TV GUIDE: James Stenbeck to die....again
Next week, AS THE WORLD TURNS kills off supervillain James Stenbeck when he takes a flyer off a lighthouse. But is he really most sincerely dead? As veteran ATWT fans know, Stenbeck has come back from the dead many times--even after a fall from an airplane.

CADY MCCLAIN: Why Palin is a Moron
"I think Palin is an ignorant woman. An ambitious woman, but an ignorant, closed minded one. A dangerous combination. History has shown us what people like this do."

Author will reveal the secrets of Milford-Haven
Mara Purl sees the Central Coast as something of a “spiritual home.” In fact, the Los Angeleno is so smitten with the area that she’s placed the location of her Milford-Haven novels (and radio soap) slightly north of Cambria.

She has been a reporter for publications from The Financial Times of London to Rolling Stone, with stints along the way with Working Woman Magazine and The Christian Science Monitor.

Those platforms helped launch successful careers as an educator, author, producer, creator of a British radio drama based on Milford-Haven and a regular role on DAYS OF OUR LIVES (ex-Darla Cook).

As varied as her career has been, she says, “Writing is my passion; story is the lens through which I look at life.”

Hansis thanks fans for raising $7,100 and counting
ATWT's Van Hansis, who turns 27 on Friday, responded to learning fans had donated money in his honor to sponsor a student at his high school: "Walnut Hill is a private school, and thus, students and their families have to pay their way. The school is very generous with scholorships and never wants to turn away a student due to thier financial background, but sometimes the school needs help. And you all, through your donations and dedication, helped give a student the help he needed. You raised $7,100 to date for this student. That is amazing. And you did it in my name. That is one of the kindest, most humbling experiences of my life."

I presented him with a bag full of birthday cards from fans and the gift at Sunday's Broadway Flea Market.

HOLLYOAKS star grateful for BSAs backing
HOLLYOAKS star Roxanne McKee has credited the British Soap Awards for improving the image of the show. The actress, who plays Louise Summers, admitted that the Channel 4 soap was mainly known for its attractive cast before it scooped six prizes at the ceremony in May.

"It used to have that image but recently it won six awards for writing and acting," Roxanne told Take 5 magazine. "It has been perceived as a show just about looks, but then it's a very young cast - and youth is always attractive. In EMMERDALE, EASTENDERS and CORRIE the cast is older, but the young people in those soaps are beautiful too."

Shannen Doherty: Leave Skinny 90210 Costars Alone!
“I see those girls and they eat on the set, so I’m pretty sure they’re not starving themselves."