News Round-up

The "New" ALL MY CHILDREN, Part 1 — Lifting the Fog of Stupidity
Marlena De Lacroix writes: "A few weeks ago I realized I was receiving one of my best ever Christmas presents. I was watching ALL MY CHILDREN and I realized, after twelve long miserable years out in the cold, I finally want to watch my old favorite show regularly again!"

CBS going after Hulu with TV.Com
CBS Interactive (CBS) will relaunch TV.com, one of the domains it picked up in its $1.8 billion CNet acquisition, to go after Hulu and other TV-on-the-Internet portals more aggressively. The full-scale relaunch with new content partners is slated for January but the cosmetic changes will start this week with a new look and logo, according to sources familiar with the plans.

CEO Leslie Moonves singled out TV.com for investors last week as "extremely exciting," explaining "we think TV.com will become the destination, or certainly one of the leading destinations, for anybody who wants to watch TV shows or have a community around TV shows, see clips, play games, etc."

Magazines sacrificing websites to save print editions
The operating policy now, particularly at Condé Nast, basically reads: Revenue first! Future later. And the printed page, the luxury object, is still where you find the money these days.

Santa, celebrities and volunteers join forces to assemble milestone 400,000th package
During a fast-paced and energetic weekend, 1000+ Operation Gratitude volunteers were joined on the Assembly Line by celebrities Kathy Ireland, Ben Affleck and DAYS OF OUR LIVES stars Deidre Hall, Jay Kenneth Johnson and Leanne Hunley as they celebrated the assembly and shipment of Operation Gratitude's 400,000th Care Package. Founder Carolyn Blashek reported that this milestone package represents 20 million individual items, more than 2.8 million pounds and $40 million worth of product that Operation Gratitude has sent to troops deployed overseas since 2003.

More soap opera references as NFL players react to Pro Bowl announcement
Indignant over another Pro Bowl snub, Washington Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher stepped out of character and vented his frustration, calling himself "the Susan Lucci of the NFL" and deeming his career "Hall of Fame worthy."

"I understand they can take only two middle linebackers, but to have it happen year after year after year after year after year. I'm an eight-time alternate. I'm the Susan Lucci of the NFL," said Fletcher, referring to the soap opera star who was nominated for an Emmy 18 times before finally winning.

Beals surprised by change in final season of THE L WORD
Jennifer Beals reveals she was "completely" surprised to find out that the final season of her "The L Word" series has been transformed into flashbacks. The Showtime series is returning Jan. 18.

Asked whether she likes the way her Bette Porter character's storyline has been handled, she says, "I don't know how the show has been edited. It's completely different from the way we shot it, in a way, since it's all being shown as flashbacks."

FNL, DH, B&S and GREY's appear on L.A. Times Best & Worst TV Moments of 2008 list
Best: The continued evolution of the relationship betwen Eric and Tami Taylor on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
"FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS has always nailed the difficulty in maintaining an adult relationship. This season, as the show airs on DirecTV, has been no different. The promotion of Tami to principal has added a new dynamic to the very real marriage, as Eric has been forced to adjust to a new role. 'You know who I miss? I miss the coach's wife,' he said early in this season. Rather than get angry, Tami does him one better. 'You know who I can't wait to meet? The principal's husband.'"

Worst: Denny's (latest) return on GREY'S ANATOMY
"The love story between Dr. Izzie Stevens and patient Denny Duquette was touching in season 2 and when he died it was downright heartbreaking. But now in season 5, seeing him as a figment of Izzie's hallucination is over the top and hard to watch."

Best: DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES make a five-year leap
"It could have been a jump-the-shark moment, but instead, "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry's time jump reinvigorated a show that was already on a Dana Delaney-juiced high."

Worst: Former siblings Justin and Rebecca get romantic on BROTHERS & SISTERS
"We know, we know. Rebecca was never technically Justin's sister. And yes, you could see the move coming from a mile away. (Both of them are young and hot. What else is a primetime soap opera to do?) Still, Justin and Rebecca operated as siblings for the better part of an entire season and the weirdness of seeing them jump each other, frankly, has never gone away."

CBS, Time Warner execs discuss Olympics TV bid
CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. executives have discussed joining forces to bid on rights to televise the Olympics in 2014 and 2016, turning that competition into an even greater clash of media titans.

2009 Star To Watch: 24's Annie Wersching
"Anybody who caught Annie Wersching as GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Amelia - aka the producer who sought revenge against Kelly Monaco's Sam by, um, making her a star (even for a soap, that one didn’t make much sense!) - could see that this woman’s star was on the rise."

Former 90210 star Tiffani Thiessen is pregnant
A source tells Star that the actress has been staying low key with the news because she's in the early stages of her first pregnancy. "She and her husband are over the moon at the thought of becoming parents."

Pregnant Kelly Rutherford still breastfeeding yer 2-year-old son
In the new issue of Us Weekly (out Friday), former GENERATIONS and current GOSSIP GIRL actress Kelly Rutherford says she's preparing for the summer arrival of her second child with hubby Daniel Giersch — and at the same time, breast-feeding 2-year-old son Hermes.

"It's an amazing bond with your child," says Rutherford, 40. "Some cultures do it up to five years, normally. I thought, 'Well, I'll just do it as long as it feels right for my son.'"

INTERVIEW: GH's Brandon Barash
"It was fun performing on stage at Super Soap Weekend - I think it would be fun for Johnny to be a rock star, just to fulfill my own selfish desires."