A Season for Miracles

• Father Clarence helps Tad deal with a colicky baby -- and a stubborn momma!
• Greenlee and Zach get out of the bomb shelter, but only one of them comes out alive! Will Father Clarence save the day?
• And what about Junior? Will his alcohol-fogged memory come back in time to save his hide?
• And what of Josh and Mini-Hands Julia? Maybe Father Clarence can save their storylines!

Speaking of storylines, it's the end of a wacky year for All My Children. With lots of big returns and heated buzz already for AMC in 2008, what are your New Year's wishes for the show? Or have they already come true? You can guess what mine are, people, but you tell us what you think, here.

12/21/07 Podcast

Things are Really Hot on All My Children!

(Too bad it's all behind-the-scenes stuff and not the actual show that I'm talking about.)

• Greenlee confesses her sins - again - as she and Zach remain in the B.S. (that actually stands for "bomb shelter, but the initials are wonderfully appropriate).
• Spike finally gets his cochlear implants (and some shoddy bandages).
• Tad threatens Krystal wth a custody suit (conveniently forgetting that a murderer isn't exactly a better role model for a child than an egotistical psychopath).

But the big news? Of course! Rebecca Budig has been asked to reprise her role as Greenlee, and Sabine Singh has been quietly released from her contract. I don't have to tell you people what to do. You go, here.

12/14/07 Podcast

Genius is Immediate, But Talent Takes Time....

• Zach is taking his time hammering his way out of the bomb shelter (and Greenlee is taking her time hammering his eardrums).
• Kendall is taking time during her husband's disappearance and possible homicide to write a novel.
• J.R. is taking his time in jail, and Ava's taking time to get him out.
• Richie is taking his time in that damn hospital bed, and still managing to wreak havoc without lifting a finger.

So Brian Frons is making waves this week by refashioning Soapnet to include more... movies? Does this give you perhaps a little clue into this maniac's motives? We here at the Pine Valley Podcast encourage freedom of expression. It's the American way. We encourage you to a) please take the time to email all the maniacs at ABC with your feelings, and b) share your missives to the network with us! (We love reading other people's mail!)

12/07/07 Podcast

Apologize to Me

• For putting Greenlee and Zach in a bomb shelter.
• For making Kendall crazy with grief -- again.
• For having Mini-Hands Julia ask Jack out for coffee.
• For having Richie's shrink be just as evil as Richie is.
• For Jack-ass' annoying harshness to Erica whose behavior, after 20 years of romance, should not be a surprise.

(Good stuff, though, with the J.R. back-on-the-booze storyline, Emma meeting her Grandpa, and the old-timers coming back for Thanksgiving.)

What was your favorite moment of the week? Did you have any? Tell us (and cheer me up, please) here.

11/30/07 Podcast

Taking Chances...

• Zach takes a chance on Greenlee's sewing skills.
• Adam and Tad take a chance on togetherness.
• Ava takes a chance on a still drunk (but very honest) J.R.
• Richie and Babe take a chance on Blandie's cooking.

Babe and Richie are getting, uh, closer, I guess. I certainly couldn't tell by their body language, could you? What do you think of their chemistry? I dunno, folks. Personally, I'm not really feeling it. Help me out with your feelings, here.

11/21/07 Podcast

A Confluence of Events

• Zach gets hits by a car driven by
• Richie who has been driving like crazy in Vermont, where
• Greenlee happens to be on the run, when she falls into a gulley in which
• Zach lies unconscious, after he was tossed out of a moving vehicle and into that same gulley by
• Richie who is, by the way, almost certainly evil. (Darn.)

Taylor's back this week, people, and actually is one of the few folks looking forward to seeing what scab writers might do. Give Taylor, and the rest of us, more of your ideas here.

11/16/07 Podcast

Trust Me

• Aidan busts Greenlee out of jail.
• Kendall discovers that she has a conscience.
• J.R. rediscovers cheap scotch.
• Krystal and Adam are PDA-in' all over the place, and Tad doesn't like it one bit.

The writer's strike is in full swing, and this will pose special problems for the soaps. And I'm bummed, because like I said, the show is finally starting to get better. New writers could really put a wrench in the works, but if the strike doesn't end, they're comin'. Any words of wisdom for the scab writers? Give them your tips, here.

11/09/07 Podcast

Strike While the Iron Is Hot!

(Pun intended.)

• Tad and Hannah have sex!
• Ava and Jonny have sex!
• J.R. and Babe have sex!
• And - oh yeah - Kendall frames Greenlee for kidnapping.

Okay, so the writer's strike has begun. This means that the All My Children writing team will not be reporting to work on Monday, November 5th, 2007. With scripts written only until about the middle of December, this could put a serious damper on (what we all have conceded is) the improved writing we've been seeing from the AMC team. I, for one, would much rather see old shows rerun when the well runs dry. A little Greg and Jenny, Angie and Jessie, maybe even Leo and Greenlee... What about an "interim" (read: scab) writing team? Oh, this is all so confusing! Tell us what you think of all this, here.

11/02/07 Podcast

In the Boom Boom Room...

• Kendall takes off with Spike – and a gun!
• Krystal takes a night off – with Adam!
• Tad has a night out – with Hannah!
• Blandie has a date – with a bottle of Clairol!

Dag, people! Just when I thought my dislike of Blandie would keep me going – you know, give me something to rail against when I watch my beloved show taking some tumbles – the girl goes out and does something, well, interesting. She goes and dyes her hair brown. And I hate it, because I love it! She looks (and I never thought I'd say this) hot! And her acting has improved too! What do you think about Blandie's hair? And what the hell am I gonna call her now? (I mean, people, her hair is anything but bland.) Tell us what you think, here.

10/26/07 Podcast

A Week of a Few Surprises!

• Blandie wasn't really shot by Ryan. (Duh.)
• Aidan catches Kendall breaking into Greenlee's apartment. (Doh!)
• Krystal and Adam make out. (Damn!)

I have to admit it, folks. I'm starting to get that nagging "Dag-I-gotta-watch-my-TiVo'd-episode-of-AMC-even-though-I'd-rather-be-watching-The-Salt-n-Pepa-Show" feeling again. So I'll rephrase my question from last week: do you like the show right now? Is it getting better, at least? Please share your thoughts (I need them), here.

10/19/07 Podcast

The Gettin' is Good, We Think

• Ryan gets a gun!
• Blandie gets shot!
• Kendall gets mental!
• Babe gets a nose job!

So it's been a few months now that we've had new head writers in place. What do you think of the job that Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown are doing? Opine, please, here.

10/12/07 Podcast

Who Can You Trust?

• Big bad Richie hasn't yet been as big or as bad as Blandie has made him out to be.
• Zach and Hannah get caught with pants on, but with guilt all over their faces.
• Adam apologizes to Krystal for stealing baby Jenny, and Krystal apologizes for, well, nothing at all.
• Zach and J.R. plot – together! – to get Greenlee out of Fusion and into maternity clothes.

So Jordan and I agree (I think): neither of us care to see this particular Greenlee reunite with anyone, let alone with Kendall. Superposter posed the question too, but feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts on this, or anything else, here.

10/5/07 Podcast

Things Aren't What They Seem Down in the Valley!

• Wes ain't who he says he is.
• Hannah ain't who we think she is.
• Blandie ain't as safe as Ryan says she is.
• J.R. is who we'd rather not see him as.
• Ava really is always what she has been, unfortunately.

Question of the week: did anyone really enjoy Greenlee's "detective" work? I mean, isn't it hard to enjoy the goofy hijinks of characters that you don't love to hate, but just simply hate? If you think I'm way off base on this one, you can all tell me all to go to you-know-where, here.

9/28/07 Podcast

Gimme a Break!

(Well, just a little one.)

I'm out this weekend, folks. Out someplace I've barely heard of (Newport, Rhode Island) at a wedding for one of Carlos' homies. Not a whole lot of "flava," if you know what I mean, but man! Them mansions are ridic-a-lous! I highly recommend this place, people.

So I'm sorry to say, no podcast this week, but let's dish on the week instead. Krystal thinks she's busting Adam, but really she ends up testing Stuart's devotion to Marion! (You can't tell me that Stuey didn't feel a little tingly after that kiss Krystal planted on him!) Ms. Erica Kane gets Kendall to take a second look at cochlear implants, and my heart breaks (again) for Ms. Kendall. (That child was gorgeous, people! Cassie de Paiva's son -- she plays Blair on One Life to Live -- looks just like her, and he did a great job playing the deaf child that Erica has on her show.)

What else? Oh, we find out that the guy who held up Babe is Richie, Blandie's brother, and Babe has to go ID some dead guy we all know ain't Richie because we already know that new Babe is gonna have some kind of relationship with this wacko. She works up some tears for the scene after the viewing of the body with Goofy Wes, and I'm just pulling my hair out. (I will not miss Alexa Havins' crying jags!)

Who did I miss? Oh, J.R. gets creepier! This thing with Ava? The kiss? Gross, people, gross. He's turning her into some kind of porn star, and smirking his way through every freakin' show. Oh -- Di made an appearance. (Taylor, you missed out!) Hannah continues to impress me -- although the woman is now half her original size. (Rice and beans, girl, rice and beans!) Plus her hair looked bad on Thursday. Her chemistry with Josh? I ain't feelin' it yet, but I'm hopeful.

The only thing I want to say about Freaklee is that Kendall pretended to be all nice to her, saying that she would reconcile with Greens just so that Kendall could move on. I was about to throw something at the high-definition television because I cannot take a "Kenlee" reunion, but then my girl turned it on! She walks out of Greenlee's apartment after this ridic-a-lous meeting with a smirk and says something like, "She bought it." I am very intrigued by what our girl has in store for Freaklee! (Suggestion: blunt objects are messy, so choose your weapon carefully. You want to make sure you get the job done, girl. You can do it!)

Okay, enough rambling from me. What are your thoughts? Please, keep me going and post them, here.

You Know You've Overstayed Your Welcome When...

• Even Blandie doesn't want to talk to you (Aidan!)
• Even Kendall doesn't want to hold you (Ian!)
• Even a prison shrink wants you out of his office (Ryan!)
• Even Ava won't have sex with you (J.R.!)
• Even Taylor Crawford stops watching!

Yes, people, it's Taylor's last podcast (at least, for a very long time). The man just couldn't take the "gifts" that AMC keeps on giving anymore (and can we blame him?). He's taking a break that he may not ever come back from, and we will miss him. Taylor, we're glad we knew ya'. Your thoughts, folks — any and all — here.

9/14/07 Podcast

A Short - But Kind of Sweet - Week

• Blandie actually reveals her secret (and I'm starting to sort of care).
• Krystal and "Stuart" bond.
• Aidan and Greenlee make love (I care about this only because it means brief but welcome moments of silence from both of them).
• New Troublesome Teens party in Philly (and away from Pine Valley).

It's been a sweet week for the most part in Pine Valley, but it will be sweeter next week when Taylor Crawford returns for what may be his final appearance on the Podcast. Send Taylor your thoughts and best wishes, here.

9/7/07 Podcast

An Action-Packed Week?

• Tad kisses Krystal!
• Kendall spikes Spike's juice box!
• Zach kangaroos Ian!
• Blandies makes love to Ryan! (Just so you know, the exclamation point on the end of this headline is a stretch, people.)

Okay, so Blandie still has a secret. I think I know what it is (although I haven't read any spoilers), but the real question is, do you care? Let us know, here.

8/31/07 Podcast

It's All Starting to Unravel (Slowly....)

• In her grief for her children, Kendall pulls a Bianca. (I know you all remember when Bianca took "Bess" people!)
• Ava pulls a Madonna and kisses Amamda (except it's half as sexy).
• Jamie pulls a Jake, and Babe conveniently remembers that she loves him.

So Pedro gets his wish! His question is (and it's a good one), in an "act-off," who wins? Aspiring Aidan? or Jumpin' Jackson? You decide, please, here.

8/25/07 Podcast

Back to Basics

• Kendall takes off in a desperate attempt to save Spike's hearing, while Ian is fighting for his life.
• Zach gives Ryan what-for.
• Greenlee gets drunk (before even taking a swig), and screws things up for Kendall even more.
• Jack and Erica make love on the floor, and get divorced minutes later.

We're feeling optimistic about the show this week. Not a blockbuster week, but some really nice things are starting to happen, people! Do you agree? Your thoughts please, as always, here.

8/17/07 Podcast

There's Plenty of Blame to Go Around, People...

Baby Spike is deaf, and Baby Ian fights for his life, as

• Kendall blames herself for poor decision making.
• Ryan blames Greenlee, but still loves her?
• Zach blames the Cambias Curse.
• Blandie thinks about herself, and worries about losing her family over some dark secret nobody really gives a s#*$ about.

So we're confused, folks. Are you digging the Summer of Devastating Sadness, or are you about to toss your TiVo out the Window, like Terry and Stacy? (Taylor may be joining them soon!) Please opine, here.

8/10/07 Podcast