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1983: All My Children's Verla Grubbs told Phoebe about her father.

1985: Todd arrived in Salem. on Days of our Lives.

1990: Bo Brady returned to Days of our Lives.

1991: Another World's Kathleen unintentionally interrupted

Cass & Frankie's wedding."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1966: On Peyton Place, Ann Howard (Susan Oliver) hired Steven Cord (James Douglas) to investigate Chris's fall from the bluff years earlier, convinced she had nothing to do with it.

1967: On Dark Shadows, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) spoke to the portrait of Josette,...

1983: All My Children's Verla Grubbs told Phoebe about her father.

1985: Todd arrived in Salem. on Days of our Lives.

1990: Bo Brady returned to Days of our Lives.

1991: Another World's Kathleen unintentionally interrupted

Cass & Frankie's wedding."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1966: On Peyton Place, Ann Howard (Susan Oliver) hired Steven Cord (James Douglas) to investigate Chris's fall from the bluff years earlier, convinced she...

Recently, ABC served up the new,official,synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Mistresses" episode 6 of season 2. The episode is entitled, "What Do You Really Want?" And it sounds like things will get extremely dramatic and interesting as Savi learns something that could destroy she and Dom's relationship, and more! In the new, 6th episode press release: Savi is going to have an epiphany on the eve of signing her divorce papers and Karen's secret life is going to get the best of her. Press release number 2: Karen’s secret life will get the best of her when she meets a guy she likes. Josslyn is going to get shocking news from Harry that could impact both of their lives. With Daniel out of town, April will have her reasons to decline a dinner invitation with the wealthy parents of her daughter’s best friend. Before Savi and Harry sign their divorce papers,...

With the release of Kung Fu Panda 2 this week, it seemed like a great time to investigate the rich and detailed history of the panda in cinema and television. However, after some research, it became clear the bear has been largely underrepresented on screen, particularly in the live action arena. What a terrible idea…

Even more distressing, there haven’t been any panda monster movies like I had hoped. Aspirations of discovering a low-budget B-movie about a panda stalking a dwindling crop of teenagers, snapping them like bamboo twigs and drinking their blood proved disappointingly fruitless.

The logic should have been obvious, though. Pandas are traditionally slow, docile and most importantly, extremely cute. They are the very definition of “charismatic megafauna,” which simplified, basically describes an animal that’s so darn photogenic that it can’t help but evoke deep compassion in all of us. There’s a reason...