(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “All My Children” Episode Recap – Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

IT HAPPENED TODAY…

Uncomfortable with Madison’s living conditions, Ryan expresses his feelings to Madison and then Scott who both suggest he back off. Ryan confronts Scott about his deception. At Fusion, Madison calls Greenlee out on trying to steal her idea when Kendall explains the idea Greenlee has come up with to off-set their problems with the toxic product. When Madison puts her on the spot, Greenlee confesses to Kendall that she’s known that Madison is carrying Ryan’s baby all along. Greenlee caves to the pressure and agrees to make Madison project manager for the new line. Greenlee tells Ryan that she understands Madison doesn’t have complete say on whether or not he can be near his baby.

Caleb arrives at Erica’s penthouse for a business meeting. Erica makes it clear to Caleb that she is committed to Jackson so there is no problem with them working together. Their conversation is interrupted when Asher shows up with a delivery from JR. Father and son wind up in an argument over Asher working for JR. Erica insists Caleb must make up with Asher and says that path is through Colby since Asher likes her.

JR reaches out to Scott who sees right through his invitation.

Liza continues to try and call Colby but all she gets is her daughter’s voicemail. Erica gives Colby the following advice; own your mistakes and be unafraid of who you are. Colby sends out another video from her webcam about how she will call out the wrong behavior as she sees it in her life.

Griffin gives Kendall a clean bill of health. Griffin investigates the letter.

On the Next All My Children…

• Kendall, Bianca and Marissa bond over being mothers.
• Amanda confides in JR that things between her and Jake aren’t going well.
• Jake passionately defends Cara.

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “One Life to Live” keeps it all in the family with plot twists so convoluted and mind-boggling that you need a score card to keep up with just who is related to who.

First it was Walter Balsom, then it was Mitch Laurence, then it was Charlie Banks, and then (finally) it was Clint Buchanan.  Is there a middle-aged man in Llanview that has not, at one time or another, been named as Rex’s biological father?  Not really….other than maybe Nigel (which would be awesome by the way).  But what is the point in all of that?  The plot has been long and drawn out that it no longer even has any shock value.  “What?  Clint is really Rex’s father?”  Yawn…so what?  It’s no different than if the former cult leader Mitch Laurence were his flesh and blood.  Not only has this storyline lost it element of suspense, it is no longer even has any humor left in it.  In fact, it simply highlights the fact that the writing staff clearly has no idea how to write for the character of Rex or a way for him to fit in with the rest of the characters on the canvas.  Moreover, Rex isn’t the only one person in Llanview that has fell prey to a mutated family tree.  And while, thankfully, no one has yet to become their own grandpa (as the song goes), the writers appear to be headed in that general direction.

Take David for example.  Not only are Bo and Matthew his father and brother, but Viki and Clint’s children are also now his cousins – Natalie biologically, and Kevin, Joey, and Jessica via adoption.  David is also cousins with Rex, who is now Cord’s half-brother.  Cord and Natalie are biological half-siblings, as are Natalie and Jessica, Kevin, and Joey (whom are full brothers).  Also, Natalie and Jessica are twins…even though Jessica’s father is Mitch Laurence.  Rex and Natalie, who have always thought of themselves as siblings now really are.  But now Rex and Jessica are also siblings, but not for the first time.  When Rex thought Mitch was his father, he and Jessica thought they were related then as well. Confused much?  Just wait…there’s more.

If Dorian and David finally get married, Bo and Nora would become her father and step mother-in-law (which is about as weird as when Dorian was Viki’s step mother back in the day), and Matthew would be her brother-in-law.  Matthew and Shane are cousins.  Shane is being bullied by Jack who is the cousin of Shane’s cousins Jessica, Natalie, Joey, and Kevin. In addition, Jack is Dorian’s niece, and the grandson of Dorian’s sister and David’s ex-wife Addie. All this would mean that, should David and Dorian wed, Shane’s cousin (David) would be the uncle (by marriage) of Jack (his bully).  And the list just goes on and on and on.  Even for a soap opera, the Buchanan family tree contains way too many branches.  Unfortunately these types of strange connect-the-dots type familial relationships seems to be as much of a favorite of the show’s writers as those ever increasing “Who’s the Daddy?” storylines.   I’m just waiting for the day that they make Viki and Dorian sisters or, better yet, lesbian lovers.  Because knowing this show, if the writers think they can get a few new viewers out of it, they’ll do it.

On an unrelated note, has anyone noticed the color change in the background of the sponsor card shown as each of the ABC soaps head into the commercial break at the beginning of each day’s episodes?  I’m referring to one with the ABC logo in the corner and logo in the center of the screen for the title sponsor of that day’s show where the announcer says “ABC’s (soap name) is brought to you by….”  Anyway the background behind the sponsor’s logo, which had been white, was recently changed to more of a orange/brown background.  Not really a big deal, just an interesting observation in my opinion.

Moving on, it appears as if no one correctly identified last time’s mystery “OLTL” celebrity guest star, which was the British rock band Simply Red.

In case you missed the clues, here they are:

Llanview turned red in 2004 when Al presented Marcie with a very special Valentine’s Day treat, which included a performance by her favorite band.

Now it’s time to play another round of “Llanview, Who Am I?,” a new feature where you have to use the clues to figure out the identity of some mystery future celebrity from “OLTL’s” past. See if you can figure it out. Good luck!!!

Simon says that this actor who co-starred in a popular ’80s CBS primetime action drama played a cad on “One Life to Live” in the late 1970s.

So who is this mystery group from the past? I’ll have the answers in the March 30th edition of My View of Llanview. And don’t forget to check out my Twitter page for all the latest “OLTL” news and information at SON.

Now, before I wrap up this column, I’m going to look into my crystal ball and give you a quick sneak peek at a few things coming up a few weeks down the road. These are for the week of April 4th. A secret is exposed.  Someone is pushed to their breaking point.  Backed into a corner, one person tries to shift blame to another.  An unlikely pair grow closer.  And a mother needs a boost of confidence.

Well that’s concludes yet another column. Have a great St. Patrick’s Day and take care. And until next time remember, we only have “One Life to Live”…

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — "The Bold and the Beautiful" Episode Recap – Monday, March 14, 2011.

IT HAPPENED TODAY…

Stephanie told Brooke that she wanted to believe and trust in her but realized it's the same ol' same ol'. Brooke told her that they were better than this. Steph said that she thought they were but they're not, and that it would never be possble for them to be friends. She then asked Brooke if she just can't help herself when it comes to betraying people. Brooke asked Stephanie to please let her explain. Taylor bounced back into the conversation. "So you can make excuses and lie like you always do?". The women continued to argue back and forth. Brooke couldn't win either of them over. She reminded Stephanie one last time how much they've been through the past few months and asked why she would want to throw that away over something so meaningless. "You see, that's the problem. You think something as important as this is meaningless. You seduce that boy into kissing you, and then you keep the secret from your husband!" snapped Stephanie. She said she sometimes thinks Brooke doesn't know who she is. "I'm just a slut from the Valley" said Brooke. Steph told her that she wanted to trust her so badly, but she ended up betraying her. Brooke said that she didn't. Stephanie told Taylor that she was sorry and that she should've listened to her before. Steph told Brooke that she let her down, but most of all she left her husband down. Taylor asked Brooke if she even thought about how this would damage Ridge and Thomas's relationship. Brooke said that she did and that's why she didn't want Ridge to find out. Taylor called BS and said that Brooke knew Ridge would be angry with her. Stephanie added that Brooke knew she would lose Ridge if he found out. Brooke said, "I really hate to disappoint you ladies, especially you Taylor knowing how badly you still want Ridge, but he loves me and he knows how much I love him and our marriage is stronger than its ever been, and it's certainly not going to be affected by some silly little kiss.". Brooke then left the room.

Ridge announced to Thomas that the cancellation of the Taboo line would be effective immediately. Thomas couldn't believe it and reminded Ridge of how successful the line has been, saying that he'd be making a mistake if he cancelled it. He told Ridge that they were just alike and asked him if he'd ever kissed Brooke while she was married to Eric. "Don't you see? Dad I am just lke you!". Ridge said that he was cancelling the line for the better of everyone, especially Thomas. Thomas asked Ridge if he really wanted to start a war with his own son. Ridge said that he didn't want to argue. Thomas told him that he earned this line and worked hard for it and that none of this was fair. He accused Ridge of letting his emotions get the best of him and not acting like a CEO. "You're not thinking about what's best for the company.". Ridge told him that he's thinking about what's best for the family. "Dad, you're making a BIG mistake over something so silly! Look I appreciate women, all women, just like you; but you need to stop listening to mom and her insane psycho-babble.". Ridge told him that he should have listened to Taylor a lot sooner. "Great, now she's got you convinced that this is a huge deal and that working with Brooke is somehow corrupting me!" Thomas said in disappointment. Ridge asked Thomas why he even kissed Brooke in the first place. "Like I said, I really don't know why. Maybe it was all the talk about Brooke's pull over the Forrester men. Wanted to see if there was any truth to it." said Thomas. Thomas asked if that was worth ruining their relationship and his line. Ridge told Thomas he didn't want to ruin their relationship but that there was more to this than he even realized. Thomas told him that he does not have feelings for Brooke. Ridge said he wasn't sure about that. He told Thomas that he should've put an end to all of this after Thomas's runway stunt. Thomas told him that brought Forrester great press and then begged once more for him not to cancel the line. Ridge told him the Taboo line is DONE. There was no changing his mind.

Alone, Ridge ordered Madison to send out the Taboo cancellation memo and to cancel the Taboo press release. Brooke entered the room and told Ridge that Steph knows the news. She expressed how disappointed she was that their friendship was over. Brooke said that Steph and Taylor were both overreacting about the kiss and told Ridge that they should just put this all behind them and get back to business as usual with the Taboo line. Ridge broke the news to her that he cancelled the line. Brooke begged him not to pull it over this silly mistake!

Thomas went to see his mother and grandmother. He scolded Taylor for telling his father and told her that she's ruined everything. Stephanie told Thomas that he was in way over his head. He told Stephanie that for the record he was the one who kissed Brooke, not the other way around. He continued to defend the kiss & Brooke. He then told them that Ridge cancelled the Taboo line. "All of my hard work down the drain because of you're paranoia of Brooke.". Taylor told him that this is the way it has to be.

Later, Madison visted Thomas in his office and told him about the cancellation memo. He told her not to send out the memo or cancel the press conference. Once Madison left, Thomas said to himself "You want war, dad? You've got war."

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — "The Young and the Restless" Episode Recap – Monday, March 14, 2011.

IT HAPPENED TODAY…

Jack gets the news from Kyle that he wants to move back to the ranch now that Diane and Victor are married. Jack is upset by the news and wants Kyle to stay. The young boy admits that he's happy that his mom has gotten married and can't wait to go back to the ranch.

Diane and Victor want to celebrate at Gloworm the minute they head home. He calls Katherine, who believes that he's having a late celebration to announce making amends with his family. Nick arrives and fills Katherine and Murphy in on the latest Newman situation.

Jack and Phyllis arrive at the restaurant, where he instantly gets into it with Diane about Kyle. When Victor arrives, Jack tells him that it is not his business where his son is concerned. A haughty and gloating Victor tells him that it is now.

Katherine tells Jack that he’s partly to blame for the Newman downfall. Jack shoots back that Tucker also had a role in it. She leaves the celebration and heads to his office where she lays into him for his dirty tactics. Not ashamed of what he’s done, he states it was business. Katherine is appalled by his behavior and vows to take him down.

Billy is upset that Victoria kept him in the dark about her deal with Tucker and believes it was because she doesn't trust him.

Nikki, alone in her suite succumbs and takes a drink.

On the Next The Young and the Restless…

• Chloe walks in on Chance and Heather in bed.
• Sharon lashes out at Nick about Faith.
• Chance's court case is set to start.

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — We had previously reported that NBC's "Days of our Lives" was seeking to cast the contract role of Ryan, who is described as a "17 to 18-year-old Caucasian or African American male." According to the breakdown released at the time, "Ryan is the all-American high school idol. Gorgeous, well-built quarterback of the football team. Popular, confident and charismatic…the world is at his feet for the taking." Recently, Soap Opera Network received a link to a clip of actor John Gregory Willard screen testing for the role. While the clip was posted on the Vimeo website about a month ago, there has been no word on whether the show has cast the role. "Days of our Lives" is currently filming two to three months in advance, while the character is scheduled to debut in May.

Since beginning his career in 2006, Willard has appeared in a number of films that have included some of Hollywood's top elite including Kristen Stewart in "The Yellow Handkerchief" and Chris Evans in "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond."

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — "General Hospital" Episode Recap – Monday, March 14, 2011.

IT HAPPENED TODAY…

Even as the antidote starts to work, Brenda’s survival is not clear. Family members converge upon the hospital to support Sonny and Brenda. Theo escapes, but Jason vows that Theo will never be able to hurt Sam again. Dante is warned not to compromise his badge by working with the mob.

Carly enlists Luke and Ethan to blackmail Jax into dropping the custody battle over the Jacks children. Alexis warns Jax not to take on Carly.

Michael and Abby make intimate dinner plans despite Kristina’s continued warnings. Kristina finds a legit way to interrupt the happy couple.

On the Next General Hospital…

• Elizabeth walks in on Nikolas and Brook Lynn about to do the deed.
• Elizabeth learns that the paternity results for Aiden arrive at the end of the week.
• Johnny sets a plan in motion.

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — "One Life to Live" Episode Recap – Monday, March 14, 2011.

IT HAPPENED TODAY…

Todd’s gunshot wound may prove to be fatal. Téa, Dani, and Viki rally around him. John is forced to work with Brody to investigate the shooting. The shooter has gotten away, but blood at the scene of the crime indicates he’s been wounded. Tomas privately tends to a wound.

Natalie and Brody are relieved that Liam’s crisis turned out to be nothing of consequence. Natalie’s concerned when she hears that John’s been involved in a shooting, and John is concerned when he learns that Liam was treated at the hospital.

Langston is upset to discover that Ford intends to stay married to Tess and breaks up with him.

Dorian warns Viki to include Charlie more in her life or she might lose him to Echo. Viki gets word of Todd’s shooting. Despite their attraction, Charlie tells Echo he can’t leave Viki. He returns home and tells Dorian it’s over between him and Echo, but after Dorian leaves, Charlie visits Echo again and tells her he doesn’t want it to be over. Echo and Charlie prepare to enter into an affair and they seal the deal with a kiss – witnessed by Tess.

On the Next One Life to Live…

• Starr and James learn Todd has been shot.
• Tomas keeps Blair in the dark.
• Clint and Nigel have a heart-to-heart talk.

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — "All My Children" Episode Recap – Monday, March 14, 2011.

IT HAPPENED TODAY…

Madison admits to Ryan that he’s right, he is the baby’s father. Madison claims she didn’t mean to hurt Ryan by not telling him. Ryan wants to do right by Madison and offers his thanks for her help with Emma. After learning from Madison that Ryan now knows the truth, Scott says he still wants to be involved with her. Greenlee doesn’t tell Ryan that she already knew about the baby and promises to always be there for him.

Angie returns to PV and family and friends throw her a welcome home party. After informing Jake that she might take a longer maternity leave than planned, Angie and Jesse ask Jake and Amanda to be their baby’s godparents.

Amanda overhears Tad telling Jake that she needs to grow up. Amanda asks what she can do in order to finally be forgiven. Jake and Amanda both agree that they’d like to get back to the loving couple that they were while Tad and Cara share a close moment as he tries to learn Spanish.

On the Next All My Children…

• Madison calls Greenlee out on trying to steal her idea.
• Erica makes it clear to Caleb that she is committed to Jackson.
• Colby sends out another video from her webcam.

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — "One Life to Live's" Mark Lawson is ready to prove that he is both a lover and a fighter, telling ESPN that "I want to take part in a celebrity mixed martial arts tournament. UFC president Dana White, let's set this up. I'm a good fighting weight of 175 and I'm ready to take on all comers." However, don't expect Lawson to be quitting his day job anytime soon. "I love acting and singing, but something inside of me wants to get back into the cage."

In an interview with the sports network's website, the actor reveals to columnist Lynn Hoppes that he has some prior experience, not to mention the fact that he works out nearly every day, is a personal trainer, and runs a strength and conditioning business. White, meanwhile, has responded to Lawson's request, encouraging the soap star to get the event set up. 

Before joining "One Life" as Brody Lovett in 2008, Lawson participated in an MMA fight in the 'Octagon,' earning a 1-0 record in a semi pro fight.  However, he did not make it through the fight unscathed.  "I did break my jaw in that match, so I'd be a little worried about that.  I think my agent is going to kill me for issuing this challenge," he reveals.

A Virginia native, the 31-year-old Lawson earned a bachelors' degree in fine arts from the renowned Boston Conservatory.  He is also a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.  His other acting credits include an appearance on "Cold Case" in 2005, and the comedy short "Breakdown" in 2006.

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — On Sunday, March 13, Soap Opera Network chatted with some of your favorite actors from "All My Children, "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital" at a press party held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The event took place immediately following the 7th and final production of "ABC Daytime Salutes Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS" charity event. In our first of a series of interviews, we thought it would be best to start things off by talking with "One Life to Live" head writer Ron Carlivati.

Carlivati came to "One Life to Live" as a writer's assistant in 1996. Since then he found himself taking on the positions of script writer and breakdown writer on one of daytime's longest running soap operas. But what is different from being a writer on the show to now being the head writer of said show? "Well suddenly it is all on my shoulders," said Carlivati. "I have to come up with who is going to do what to whom; this one is going to get pregnant; this one is going to shoot this one. I have to get it approved by the people above me, but it's really up to me to come up with the overall stories." As head writer, Carlivati works with a team of writers in scripting the daily escapades of Llanview's dynamic citizens. So how much influence could a writer have on changes in a storyline? "I have an amazing team that I work with and they have great ideas. I will change ideas in midstream because they have awesome ideas also," Carlivati shared.

Since taking over head writing duties in 2007, Carlivati and his team secured the soap its third Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team in 2008 (previously "One Life" won in 1987 and 1994). So what's it like for the man knowing that he's in charge of spearheading the shows creative future? "It is an incredible responsibility," the writer said. "I take it very seriously. I love it. It is a great job. I'm actually the same age as the show [42 years], so I think that 'One Life to Live' and I are on parallel tracks. The show started in 1968 [July 15], and I was born in 1968. Here we are 42 years later and I've been writing on it for 15 years, so 1/3rd of the show I've been involved in."

Through out "One Life to Live's" more than forty years on the air, the show has had numerous special episodes to honor its history. From campy storylines in the episode "Trading Places" in the early 2000's, where Todd Manning (then played by Roger Howarth) dressed up as Viki Davidson (Erika Slezak), to as recent as last year's episodes where cast members (including Kristen Alderson) sang songs from the heart in a series of episodes dubbed "Starr X'd." Does Carlivati expect to continue the tradition? "We have a great one coming up that's to honor Erika Slezak [Viki] for her 40th anniversary on the show. She's basically the whole show and that's coming up in April. Her anniversary is actually in March, but the episode falls in April. It's going to be a fun day," the passionate writer said. "I love doing stuff like that. When we had the 10,000th episode or the 40th anniversary, it gives you the opportunity to really focus in and be like 'ok, this is really going to be a special show for the audience.'"

At the end of the day "One Life to Live" is written to provide entertainment to its millions of viewers, but how much influence does the audience have in the stories that are written? "I was a fan before I worked there. I like to think that because I am a fan that I sort of know what I would want to see. That feeds into what I do," said Carlivati. "I feel that I do have a huge amount of respect for our fans because we wouldn't have a show without them. It definitely influences what we do. I like to have a lot of those inside jokes, or little nods to the audience, to let them know that we do hear what they are saying."

In the last year alone sister soaps "All My Children" and "General Hospital" have gotten new opening sequences. Fans have long clamored for "One Life" to get a new opening as well. Does Carlivati see one in the shows future? "I don't know. That is Frank's [Valentini, Executive Producer] doing. I'm sure I would be told if it happens, but I don't know anything about it," he said.

Speaking of openings, in the past the show had started with episodes displaying a title card. Now they are no where to be seen. So what happened? "We did it for a long time. It was actually Frank's idea," said Carlivati. "We used to title the episodes before they were seen on the air. We would just title them for ourselves and Frank had the idea to start putting them on the screen. We did it for a couple of years and I loved it. I actually miss it because now when we're writing I'm like 'oh, I know what a great title that would be for that.'" The concept really did give the show more of a primetime feeling… "I think that was the intent. I'm not sure exactly why they decided to discontinue it, but I loved it," he said.

With the popularity of telenovela's where a set of stories play out on screen for approximately three months through a limited series on Spanish networks like Univision and Telemundo, fans often wonder how much planning goes into the American soap operas. "I try to have a plan in mind, but I do like to be open to new ideas. If you set a plan in stone, it changes every time," Carlivati said. "We'll say this is what we're going to do in January, this is what we're going to do in February, March, etc. When you actually get there it doesn't happen that way because something takes off and you go in another direction. As long as you have some goal in mind," he continued. "The pregnancy is the easiest thing in the world because you're like 'ok, I know nine months from now there's going to be a birth. There's going to be somebody trapped in a snow storm going into labor.' You can frame your story in over a year's time. You're going to have the pregnancy and the delivery. I think that is what worked well with the story we just did."

Ultimately, when it comes down to it fans look forward to the revelations of big secrets. Storylines involving secrets and lies are always the most highly sought storylines playing out on soaps. "One Life to Live" upped the ante with major Who's the Daddy? drama. "The audience has waited for so long, so they want to see that pay off," said Carlivati. "I think that is why our double wedding was so successful because people were dying to see those reveals come out like 'Who's the father of Jessica's baby? Who's the father of Natalie's baby? Who is Rex's father?' They were ready for all of that to come out."

In part two, we'll speak with "One Life to Live" Executive Producer Frank Valentini and finally learn whether the soap will get that highly sought new opening sequence and learn more about Valentini's work ethic.