Table of contents for February 16, 2015 in ABC Soaps In Depth

Although Rick Springfi eld (ex-Noah, GENERAL HOSPITAL) — or rather, his butt (and that’s not a joke) — has been cleared of any wrongdoing in a mid-concert mishap that left a fan disabled more than a decade ago, TMZ reports that fellow daytime alum Ashley Hamilton (the original Cole on SUNSET BEACH) is still on the hook for impersonating a cop in order to get a friend faster medical attention, and ONE LIFE TO LIVE grad Brandon Buddy (Cole) is being investigated for possessing “dangerous” drugs. He also was arrested for DWI! In related news, soap storylines suddenly seem crazy-believable!…

GH’s Felicia may have lost the Port Charles mayoral race, but her portrayer, Kristina Wagner, has won a new primetime role! The actress will join her former husband, Jack Wagner (ex-Frisco), on the Hallmark Channel series WHEN CALLS THE HEART (where he plays Mountie Bill Avery) when the second season premieres in April. Details are scarce about what role the actress will be playing on the frontier drama (set in a 19th century mining town), but the cable network has teased that something from Bill’s past could threaten his romantic future with Abigail (Lori Loughlin, once Jody on THE EDGE OF NIGHT). Hmm… might that “something” be Wagner’s character? As for what the fan favorite’s new job means for her status on GH, a show rep tells In Depth that…

Look for GH’s Wally Kurth (Ned) to bring his other soap character, Justin, back to DAYS this month to deal with a family crisis. “Stopped in Salem for a visit,” the actor tweeted about the scenes taped last October. (DAYS fi lms several months in advance.) Kurth made his last Salem appearance in April 2014 — attending the marriage of his son, Sonny, to Will. But as Kurth’s been busy on GH in the months since, attorney Justin has been off screen working on a high-profile case.…

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 JJ decides to tell Paige more about his affair on Monday, February 2, but will he really reveal that her mom was his lover? On Tuesday, February 3, Paige decides to take Theresa’s advice, which just seems like a really bad idea in general! Adrienne and Lucas get a whole lot closer on Wednesday, February 4, only to receive a bit of news they didn’t expect on Thursday, February 5. And you won’t believe what Victor does on Friday, February 6! (Then again, he is wearing his “I’m about to shock you!” scowl in the photo on the right.)…

You can go ahead and scratch GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Sam off the list of candidates for Mensa. She’s running around Port Charles — you know, the most dangerous city that never existed! — telling anyone who’ll listen that Spencer witnessed something on the docks that he shouldn’t have. And not for a moment does it appear that she’s considered the possibility that she’s putting the kid’s life in danger. (Yes, he’s 9 going on 29, but he’s still a child! And even if he wasn’t, maybe he’d rather not have a target painted on his back, huh?) Of all people, Jason’s “widow” should know how far villains in her town are willing to go to silence those who have seen/heard/found out too much. If the private detective had any clue about…

Doesn’t anyone in Port Charles believe in storage lockers? Johnny’s apartment was still totally intact after he was locked up for two years. And he had confessed to the crime for which he was jailed, so it’s not like he thought, “They’ll never prove I did it.” He admitted he did it! So, uh, WTH? And, as if that wasn’t weird enough, it was offthe-charts bizarre that the same exact furniture that Bobbie and Luke remembered from their childhood was still in the same exact place in a house they didn’t even own anymore. In all those decades, no one packed the stuff up or got rid of it? Or heck, even moved it around? Just bizarre!…

The stars of GENERAL HOSPITAL, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL, DAYS OF OUR LIVES and THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS share their plans for Valentine’s Day! How do you know when you’ve found true love? Although it’s cliché, you just do! GH’s handsome and talented Bryan Craig (Morgan) sure does! His year-and-a-half relationship with gorgeous former co-star Kelly Thiebaud (ex-Britt) happened fast, but it has only gotten stronger and deeper with each passing day. On The Fast Track “Our relationship is like Benjamin Button. That’s the only way I can explain it,” Craig laughs. “I feel like it has worked backwards. We were in love so quickly, all the stuff that is supposed to come later happened naturally first. We just knew what we had was amazing and decided to…

Valentine’s Day represents love, so it was completely natural for Y&R’s Cady McClain (Kelly) and Jon Lindstrom (Kevin, GH) to choose that day last year to tie the knot. “We wanted to do it that day because we wanted to go to the courthouse and see all the other people getting married,” the beauty recalls with a smile. “We thought it would be so romantic to see all different kinds of people participating in the Valentine’s Day holiday. And it was very, very cool, because there really were all kinds of people — big families coming together, young couples, older couples, quite obviously new couples. There was every ethnicity, every sexuality. It was wonderful! And, of course, having it on that day will help us remember our anniversary!” February 14…

If you ask us, there’s nothing more romantic than a man who appreciates how lucky he is to be with the woman he loves. And “lucky” doesn’t even begin to describe what B&B’s Don Diamont (Bill) thinks of being married to his wife, Cindy Ambuehl (ex-Kim). “It’s nothing less than divine intervention,” he explains. “I’ve always said, if there is anything that makes me believe that there is a god, it was that woman coming into my life.” Sure, Ambuehl has movie star good looks, but there’s a lot more to the elegant beauty than meets the eye. For starters, she’s one smart cookie, considered to be one of the top real estate agents in the city of L.A. “Of course she can’t be that smart,” jokes Diamont. “She married…

GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Brandon Barash (Johnny) is one lucky guy. This February 14, he gets to call not one but two beautiful blondes his Valentine! The look on his face and the sound in his voice when he speaks of his wife, Kirsten Storms (Maxie), and their baby daughter, Harper Rose, says it all. He’s a very happy, very content man, and he can’t hide it! A Perfect Partnership Let there be no mistake about it, Barash puts out a vibe. It’s not an invisible force field to keep intruders out of his personal space. On the contrary, it’s more like an energy that draws you in, because he wants you to feel that same absolute joy for life that he’s feeling these days. “I’m happy,” he says, putting it simply.…

The Young & The Restless It’s always a little bit stressful when a soap opera undergoes any sort of regime change. Yet the announcement that Charles Pratt Jr. would be taking over as headwriter and co-executive producer at THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS didn’t dim the megawatt smile of Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea) in the slightest. In fact, the news might even have boosted it up a bit, since the actress once worked with the scribe when she played Annie on ALL MY CHILDREN. “He wrote some incredible stuff for my character,” she reveals. “The whole Crazy Annie thing — which is now my nickname from the show — started with Chuck. He really created challenging, interesting, juicy stuff for Annie — literally some of my favorite storylines on the…

THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Michael is the kind of character that is used to gathering as many facts as he can to deal with a situation. Yet that analytical approach — coupled with fear — became the problem as he continued to collect second, third and even fourth opinions regarding what cancer treatment he should take. “I would like to know the best way I can beat this cancer without losing… who I am along the way,” he told the doctor, who responded with the grim news that he was in Stage 3 of cancer — which meant he needed to undergo traditional radiation. Michael’s reluctance followed by acceptance will be the first step in this powerful journey toward (we hope) recovery!…

For his entire adult life, GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Nikolas has rejected any urge he’s had to “act like a Cassadine.” Machiavellianism, murder and deceit were far, far beneath him. Until now. Much to grandma Helena’s delight, he’s embracing the bad and trying to grab ELQ as well! As he has, Tyler Christopher has again proven that his lack of an Emmy is a travesty! Temptation Island It all started when Nikolas opened the folder Helena left behind. Inside, he found a stock certificate — 1,000 ELQ holding shares with Tracy’s name on them. Helena’s cryptic message: “Have a glance at it, if you wish, and then finally tell me that you are ready to take up the mantle to which you were born.” Power Corrupts Though Nikolas might have wanted to…

You know how, in our We Speak Out column, we, well, speak out about what’s working (and isn’t) on the daytime soaps? Well, this column is just like that… only the shows are of the nighttime variety! Hail To The Queen If EMPIRE is the African-American DYNASTY, then God knows we don’t have to think too hard to figure out which character is its Alexis: As tough-as-herwell-manicured-nails Cookie, Taraji P. Henson had us eating out of the palm of her hand from the get-go. But what we really love about the show is that Terrence Howard’s Lucious is way more of a badass than Alexis’ ex-husband ever was. Sure, Blake may have tried to throttle her now and then, but as we’ve already seen, Lucious takes a more hands-on approach…

Vinessa Antoine (Jordan) has learned her lesson about social media: Choose your words carefully! After she made a cryptic Facebook post saying a decision had been made and her GH fans should stay tuned, rumor quickly spread that she was leaving the soap! Deleting the original status update, Antoine later offered a clarification. “I see how a little speculation and rumor can turn into something else!” she said in a new note. “As far as I know, I’m still on GH, lovelies. My Facebook status was about Facebook. Was thinking about letting someone else handle my page for me. I like having a personal relationship with y’all but was feeling overwhelmed with all the social media handles. I will keep my Facebook page. I will be on it less for…

News that Jen Lilley (Theresa) was recording a full-length album sparked an Internet frenzy among fans worried that she’d be exiting DAYS. But the actress tells In Depth that nothing could be further from the truth! “No, absolutely not!” she laughs. “I have been offered to renew my contract. It’s just waiting for me to go sign! I love DAYS, and I feel really fortunate to have this job.” That said, Lilley will be taking a short break from the soap in February to headline a movie in Boston, a Christmas fl ick tentatively titled Holly Grove. “I am taking three weeks off, and they are shooting around my schedule, which is huge,” she says. “I’m really grateful.”…

Elizabeth couldn’t catch a break if she set a trap for one! THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12 Okay, so Liz may not be having as hard a time as the jailbreakers whose travails are detailed in our In Depth Cover Story on page 26. But nobody can say that she’s having an easy go of it, either. After her amnesiac exlover, Jake, has another fl ash of memory on Tuesday, February 3, she confronts him with the truth on Monday, February 9. Then, on Wednesday, February 11, she fi nds herself in the awkward position of having to turn to another old fl ame, Nikolas, for help. (At least she has his half sis, Lulu, in tow for that task.) Finally, on Thursday, February 12, Ric’s motives tick off Liz so royally…

Let’s face it: THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Phyllis could make a sane person jump off the deep end! Yet is she the one manipulating the situation to make it look like Kelly is a nutjob willing to do just about anything to get Jack back? Or has Kelly’s love for Jack — and hatred for the redhead — pushed her over the edge? “I don’t know where this storyline is going — I’m just playing ever ything that’s given to me,” smiles Cady McClain, who plays Kelly. “There’s a lot of room for the audience to make up their minds as to what’s really happening.” Still, the Daytime Emmy winner admits that her alter ego has had her buttons pushed by Phyllis, maybe to the point where she can…

Jake’s not the only Port Charles denizen in need of a good shrink. Nikolas, too, should really pay a visit to Kevin’s couch. Not only do his recent relationships fall into two categories (“disastrous” and “catastrophic”), but the push/pull of his good intentions and evil lineage is enough to give a guy a split personality. On second thought, maybe he needs a better analyst than Kevin. Considering that the doc still has a framed photo of himself and ex-wife Lucy in his offi ce, he may have some issues of his own to work out before solving others’ problems.…

In Depth asked... Should Nikolas pursue a romance with Elizabeth again? Reader Reaction: 55% TOTALLY! 45% NO WAY! Despite those wanting Liz to stick with Ric or even reunite with Jason, the “Niz” fans came out in force to support their favorite coupling! This issue’s question... Do you like Michael and Rosalie together? TOP 5 GH COUPLES 1 Alexis Davis & Julian Jerome 2 Liz Webber & Jason Morgan 3 Sam McCall & Silas Clay 4 Maxie Jones & Nathan West 5 Sabrina Santiago & Patrick Drake TOP 5 ACTORS (as voted by Soaps In Depth readers) 1 Last Issue: 1 Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) 2 Last Issue: 2 William deVry (Julian, GH) 3 Last Issue: 4 Billy Miller (Jason, GH) 4 Last Issue: 5 Michael Easton (Silas, GH) 5…

This season of hearts and fl owers, GH’s Teresa Castillo (Sabrina) isn’t just celebrating being in a happy, healthy marriage. She’s also celebrating having a happy, healthy baby. It’s her 11th Valentine’s Day with her husband, Shane Aaron, but it’s their fi rst with their baby daughter, Victoria. Having gone from “couple” to “family” has given Castillo a new love and appreciation for the man of her dreams. “There’s a lot of love to go around,” she smiles. “Becoming parents has made Shane and I more of a team. Just watching him become a dad has been really cool. There’s a whole new level to him that I didn’t really know before.” Date nights are far and few between, and those that do happen nowadays have a whole different look…

Getting wined and dined on Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly priority No. 1 when you’ve got a toddler in the house. B&B’s Heather Tom (Katie) agrees that trying to plan an evening out with her husband, James Achor, usually involves having their adorable son, Zane, along playing third wheel! “We do bring him with us a lot,” says the actress. “For better or for worse, I have a 2-year-old who knows how to order at a restaurant!” That’s not to say the actress and her hubby don’t schedule some grown-up dinners out. “We do make a concerted effort to have date nights, but it’s hard because we’re so tired!” she says with a laugh. “We’ll look at each other and say, ‘Oh, God — are we really going to go see…

DAYS’ Bryan R. Dattilo (Lucas) embarked on a wild new adventure when he wed actress Elizabeth Cameron in 2011. Not only did they create a blended family with his son, Gabriel, now 15, but they’ve also since added their new baby girl, Delila (born last June), to the mix. How are the doting parents keeping the romance alive? “It’s a tricky thing that I’m sure all couples go through when they have a baby,” Dattilo suggests of having to share his wife’s attention. “You have to remember that what made the kid was your love, so don’t forget that the love is still there. “I mean, it’s all about the baby, of course,” he adds, “but you have to make time for each other, too.” Dattilo is a man of…

Maxie’s Back! Loving the Maxie and Nathan love story. It’s sweet and nice to see Maxie being level-headed for a change. Kim Furstenfeld Holdeman via Soaps In Depth Facebook page The Fast Track The story with Nathan and Maxie trying to be together on New Year’s Eve was ridiculous. I understand that GENERAL HOSPITAL wanted to prolong their separation, but please give the viewers a little credit for understanding how time and air travel work! Elizabeth Snidman via E-mail Stylish Jason I love the reinvention of Jason! It’s so nice to see him have a sense of humor and a wardrobe that consists of more than black T-shirts and jeans! Leanne Shepherd Voshel via Soaps In Depth Facebook page Selective Amnesia Jason needs to get his memory back and reunite…

F o r DAY S OF OUR LIVES reporter Will, being an earnest straight shooter both hinders and helps when it comes to his career. While it looked like he might never get over being enamored with his latest subject, Paul, enough to ask his most burning question, being dared by Paul to do so provided unexpected courage. “Are you gay?” Will inquired, his eyes connecting with Paul’s hypnotic stare. The ball player retained control of the moment, asking Will first for his opinion on the subject, then for the truth about his own sexuality. The exchange was fraught with tension — anything could happen — but the kiss that followed was so hot that it melted the screen. Had Will just risked everything for the truth?…

GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Spencer Cassadine may live in a giant mansion on a private island, have horses and servants and just about anything/everything money can buy, but his reallife counterpart, the adorable and talented Nicolas Bechtel, has it so much better. How can that be, you ask? Because he has a family that knows how to have fun! Mom Julie, dad Nick, sister Nicole, 12, and the soap star himself spend loads of time together just playing, laughing and goofing off. “We go to the park almost every weekend because my sister is a softball player and plays in tournaments,” the fan favorite says. “I take my scooter, and my mom packs lunch for us all.” Although Mom’s attention is frequently focused on helping the GH scene-stealer prepare for work, Nicole…

Q: Which of your co-stars might actually enjoy jury duty and why? Chad Duell (Michael, GH) “Carolyn Hennesy (Diane). I can see her sitting there with that look in her eyes, watching intently and enjoying it.” Daniel Goddard (Cane, Y&R) “Christian [Jules] LeBlanc (Michael). I think it would challenge him in a way that he would participate in the jury as opposed to, ‘Can I go home now?’” Marc Anthony Samuel (Felix, GH) “Parry Shen (Brad). He has a very analytical mind, and I think he would enjoy the process of listening to all of the details. He’s very detail-oriented and observant.” Rick Hearst (Ric, GH) “Enjoy it? I think it would be a tie between Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis), Michelle Stafford (Nina) and Finola Hughes (Anna). I think they…

The latest comings and goings — and how they will change your shows! The In Depth Story: After word leaked that Alderson had decided not to renew her GH contract, the Emmy winner posted a very personal good-bye video to fans on her YouTube channel. “I wanted to make this video to tell you guys myself why I decided to leave GH,” she said. “I’ve had the best time over the past three years. And this decision is purely spur of the moment, kind of an epiphany that I had, that I’ve been in this amazing little soap bubble since I was 6 years old. “I’ve never done anything else,” she continued. “I’ve never pushed myself. I never challenged myself to do other things, and not necessarily in the industry…

Soap vet Grayson McCouch — once fan favorite Dusty on AS THE WORLD TURNS — takes over as PCPD commissioner Kyle Sloane this week, replacing Robb Derringer in the role. “We thank Robb for his work on the series and wish him the best,” ABC said in a social media statement, giving no other reason for the switch. (McCouch is only a year younger than Derringer, so the age of the character doesn’t seem to be a factor.) In addition to the seven years that McCouch spent on ATWT, he also played Morgan on ANOTHER WORLD and Don on the Nickelodeon primetime sudser HOLLYWOOD HEIGHTS, helmed by former GH/current THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS executive producer Jill Farren Phelps…

ABC Daytime is bringing back its “Fan February” campaign this month. “We’re giving you, our loyal GH fans, something special every day, all month long!” a show rep tells In Depth. The network fi rst introduced the brilliant promotional stunt back in 2003. It allowed fans to submit ideas for scenes that they’d love to see play out on their soaps. In some of the more memorable stand-alone episodes that made it to the air, Sonny and Jason swapped places while the Quartermaines starred in a reality TV show, and ALL MY CHILDREN’s Tad The Cad married Erica Kane! For details on the 2015 incarnation, be sure to check out abc.soapsindepth.com!…

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 After making a declaration about Ridge that unnerves Caroline on Monday, February 2, Brooke follows up with a sincere and fervent promise to her sister, Katie, on Tuesday, February 3. Wyatt returns home to L.A. on Wednesday, February 4, and delivers some startling news to Deacon and Quinn. On Thursday, February 5, Liam and Bill scheme to avenge their hurting loved ones. Ridge and Caroline’s connection builds in intensity on Friday, February 6, when she poses for his painting.…

Will THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Deacon remain committed to Quinn now that his old flame, Brooke, is back on the scene? Executive producer and headwriter Bradley Bell says that despite the headaches she may potentially cause, there’s something about Quinn that makes her perfectly suited for the bad boy. “Together, they prove that two bads can sometimes be a good,” notes the scribe. “Quinn once thought that Bill was the beginning and the end for her, and Deacon once thought the same of Brooke. But now, they’ve found one another, and something special has come out of that.” The smattering of kisses Deacon and Brooke shared last fall may have indicated a certain lingering attraction, but Sean Kanan (Deacon) doesn’t necessarily see his alter ego giving up on what…

… or was GH’s Dante behaving like a Neanderthal, showing up at Johnny’s door and busting his chops about Lulu? Yes, the mobster and Mrs. Falconeri had a pretty hot relationship before she found true love, but that’s history. So why all the chest-puff -ing? Shouldn’t Dante be smart enough to know that, by warning Johnny to keep his distance from Lulu, he was pretty much guaranteeing that the ex-con would do anything but?…

After you’ve been married for a long while, it can be challenging to remember the details of how your man proposed. However, that’s not the case for Jen Lilley (Theresa, DAYS), who has occasion to remember it every year. “We got engaged on Valentine’s Day,” she reveals, adding that she and her hubby, Jason Wayne, have now been hitched for seven years. “It’s one of my favorite holidays, so all my girlfriends were like, ‘You have to propose to her that day.’ He thought it would be cliché, but they were like, ‘Jen will love it,’ and I totally did.” The duo had met at church, where Wayne played the drums in the worship band that Lilley sang with, but dating him wasn’t something she considered. “Jason doesn’t like cheese…

Have you ever wondered whether soap opera actors are just as romantic in real life as their daytime alter egos? Where B&B’s Sean Kanan (Deacon) is concerned, the answer is a defi nitive yes! First, a bit of backstory: Kanan’s wife, Michele, woke from her sleep a few weeks before Valentine’s Day of last year in tears. “It was right around the time when my grandma died, and I’d had a dream about this school carnival she used to take me to and the ‘duck pond’ game they had there,” she explains. “They give you a fi shing rod with a magnet on it, and you’d use it to pull out a rubber yellow duck in order to win a prize.” Kanan ended up devising an adorable Valentine’s Day surprise…

Five minutes in the same room with GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) and her husband of 13 years, Michael Saucedo (ex-Juan), is all it takes for it to become perfectly clear that they have the forever kind of love. And apparently, just a few weeks into dating, they thought the same thing. After working together for a year and a half, the costars began going out, and suddenly, they saw each other in a whole different light. “Ever ything just clicked, and I thought, ‘Of course. This is it. This is who I was meant to be with,’” Herbst recalls with a smile. Although that sounds like it could be awkward, it wasn’t. Not at all. In fact, there wasn’t a long fl irtatious period, so the transition to “more…

Having Words Laura Wright (Carly) loves her job, but that realization was recently reinforced while on the GENERAL HOSPITAL set doing scenes with Billy Miller (Jake/Jason). “They were simple, nice scenes in the hospital, just Carly talking and trying to fi gure out her life,” she recalls. “And I got this enormous feeling of gratitude and excitement that this is what I do for a living! I feel that I’m good at what I do because I enjoy it so much. I love that we take words and bring them to life and put our own little dance to them.” A longtime soap fan herself, Wright makes it a point to find significance in every scene. “I work so hard at fi nding the moment that I, as a viewer,…

THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Maya has earned a reputation for speaking her mind bluntly, and she did just that during a run-in with Rick’s estranged wife, Caroline. Karla Mosley (Maya) served a passionate and powerful dose of harsh reality to her rival, who could only blink back angr y tears. “Maybe it’s time you learned that life on this planet isn’t all about Caroline Spencer,” said the new lady of the house, unflinchingly laying all her cards on the table. “I will succeed where you failed. Hear me, and believe me, Caroline. I will be the next For rester matriarch.” With such a potent brand of in-your-face confidence on display, perhaps Maya really is Stephanie’s true successor, after all!…

Everyone loves a good villain, so it comes as no surprise that the name Lorenzo Alcazar often gets bandied about when something goes wrong in Port Charles. Might GENERAL HOSPITAL ever bring back Ted King, who played both the baddie and his even badder brother, Luis, so he can claim responsibility for something? “There’s a lot to work out logistically. They teased the audience about a year ago with bringing him on, but that’s up to [headwriter] Ron Carlivati and [executive producer] Frank Valentini,” the actor explains. “I certainly know that those guys are creative enough to figure it out.” A Detour Through Llanview Amongst those logistics are, well, logistics! King had relocated to New York in order to work for the dynamic duo as Téa’s brother, Tomas Delgado, when…

Is Bill Eckert Alive? Helena must have rubbed a genie lamp because her wish came true! Nikolas told his granny he was tired of being Mr. Nice Guy and was ready to embrace the Cassadine in him! Thrilled, she patted him on the back for rigging the mayoral race and admitted she was now working with Luke. There was also the matter of her “secret weapon” planted inside ELQ, Rosalie, who not-so-coincidentally was hired as Michael’s new assistant. But Helena and Fluke had someone else to worry about: Shawn. On Sonny’s orders, Shawn tailed Fluke in an effort to uncover his true identity. But Michael caught him snooping around the Spencer house and filed a restraining order against him. Shawn did, however, learn that Fluke was working with Helena and…