Getting Chill with the Small Screen
November Newsletter
Hard to believe it, but 2025 is almost over. It’s been an insanely productive year, and very rewarding as well. Recently, I was able to attend a soap opera conference, which was held at Bowling Green State University. It was a small but intimate affair that included some wonderful Q&A’s with actors who worked in the genre as well as fans and academics (and academic fans) who shared all of the facets of melodrama that made us love soaps and the worlds those shows create. I hadn’t planned to do an in-depth recap, but I did want to share a little of what this weekend was like.
I arrived knowing not one single soul. By the end of the conference, I had made what I think will be lifelong friends, and I also connected with some really impressive names as well. I’m not sure what to call us… we are historians, but the people I met are diligently working towards maintaining not just a history of daytime (and nighttime) drama but also building and enhancing the communities that we fans live in. With so many shows now long gone, there are a handful of people diligently keeping their memories alive in a couple of different and fascinating ways.
The panels were of a wide variety, with a nice amount of time dedicated to the actors who all came in via zoom. Constance McCashin (Knots Landing), Kin Shriner (General Hospital), Claudia Lamb (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) and Louise Shaffer (Ryan’s Hope) all proved to be lively, open and engaging speakers. Most of these talks were moderated by Alan Locher, who some of you will know from his YT show The Locher Room. Alan is someone I’ve long admired, because his Locher Room is dedicated to bringing together actors from the soap world for mini-reunions. These are casual conversations and so much fun, and whenever I get to catch up with one of my favorite people from One Life to Live, I’m always so grateful and pleased. Locher also gave the keynote speech, where he took us through his wonderful, personal journey of going from soap fan to someone working in the field of daytime drama.
The more academic stuff was equally as engaging, with Alina Adams coming in through Zoom as well (although she’d planned to be there in person) and Natalie Moore proving that there’s still more to learn about our beloved soaps. Her podcast Making Stories Without End is absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend it.
But it was the final panel, which included Elisa Smith, Annie Armstrong and Paul Gosselin that brought a true emotional punch to the conference. What a way to end the weekend! Paul, by the way, has appeared on soaps (One Life to Live, which made me super starstruck) and he has a webseries called Misguided, which is a tribute to Guiding Light while also chronicling Paul’s journey through Los Angeles. Must see TV!
For my part, I spoke about the TV movies that blurred the lines between soap opera actors and their characters, exploring fandom in a multitude of ways. My podcast partner Dan Budnik came in via zoom and we had a blast! It was such a joy to deep dive into two of my greatest passions (TV movies and soaps, of course!) and to feel so welcomed. We are hoping to bring our presentation to our podcast in some form, so please stay tuned!
Announcements
Z’OMG. I worked on a new movie. Of course, it’s a movie that takes place in the 1980s, but what a film! I am a pretty big fan of Maxxxine (2024), which is the last in a trio of Ti West horror films that have gained quite a nice following with each new movie. The trailer for Maxxxine had me hooked, and I was pleased that I could make time to catch it in the theater. I know fans tend to gravitate towards the other two films in the trilogy: X and Pearl, but I thought Maxxxine was excellent (exxxcellent?) and it’s far and away my personal fave. You can imagine my surprise when Second Sight asked me to join Bill Ackerman for a commentary track. This one was a lot of fun to research and we concentrated on the film references and how Maxxxine captures its place and time, and where it fits in terms of commentary and style with that era and with West’s other films in the X series. This is a Region 2 release, due out on November 17th. It has a lot of neat extras, so here’s a link where you can check out what’s on this release and buy it.
November Watchalong
I’m in a Curtis Harrington kind of mood, and think How Awful about Allan might fit the bill! Join me and Dan on Bluesky November 30th, at 1 PM CST for a watch party. You can find the film here, and use #TVMParty to join the discussion.
TV Movies that Need a DVD/Blu Ray Release: October Picks:
274: Sweet, Sweet Rachel, 1971
275: A Howling in the Woods, 1971
276: I, Desire, 1982
277: In the Shadows, Someone’s Watching (aka With Harmful Intent), 1993
278: Terror on the Beach, 1973
279: Dead Air, 1994
280: Vampire, 1979
281: Death Car on the Freeway, 1979
282: Night Slaves, 1970
283: A Little Game, 1971
284: Sorry, Wrong Number, 1989
285: The Strange and Deadly Occurrence, 1974
286: Last Bride of Salem, 1974
287: Deathmoon, 1978
288: Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer, 1983
289: Hotline, 1982
290: Sandcastles, 1972
291: She’s Dressed to Kill, 1979
292: Death of Ocean View Park, 1979
293: Werewolf of Woodstock, 1975
294: Haunted by Her Past (aka Secret Passions), 1987
295: The Covenant, 1985
296: Dark Mansions, 1986
297: Midnight Lace, 1981
298: Look What Happened to Rosemary’s Baby, 1976
299: A Cold Night’s Death (aka Chill Factor), 1973
300: A Taste of Evil, 1971
301: Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, 1978
302: Death Cruise, 1974
303: Werewolf pilot TVM, 1987
304: Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1980