Soap Opera

Is soap opera the one thing that unites us all? Such a question inevitably arises during "The Promise," Aleksei Arbuzov's look at the lost loves of the Russian postwar generation, being given its Boston premiere by the scrappily ambitious Basement on the Hill Stage. Arbuzov was one of the Soviet era's most successful playwrights, but if you imagine his work therefore consists of a medicinal dose of socialism, think again. "The Promise" (which saw dozens of Russian productions, and a successful West End run with Ian McKellen)

Yahoo's dysfunctional turnaround efforts have morphed into a Silicon Valley soap opera, one that has taken another strange twist with the Internet company's ousting of CEO Scott Thompson just four months after his arrival. Thompson's hasty departure, amid a furor over an inaccurate resume, ushers in a new cast of characters led by interim CEO Ross Levinsohn and New York hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb. It was Loeb's sleuthing skill that uncovered Thompson's misleading biography.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Every evening for the past four months, a tall young man with soulful blue eyes has been stealing hearts across the Middle East, from the refugee camps of the Gaza Strip to the gated mansions of Riyadh. But it's not just the striking good looks of Mohannad, hero of the hugely popular Turkish TV soap "Noor," that appeal to female viewers. He's romantic, attentive to his wife, Noor, supportive of her independence and ambitions as a fashion designer - in short, a rare gem for women in conservative, male-dominated surroundings.

ABC's "General Hospital" led with 23 nominations Wednesday in a Daytime Emmy Awards field with notable omissions as well as old favorites. The television academy said "General Hospital" will compete with NBC's "Days of Our Lives," CBS' "The Young and the Restless" and the canceled "All My Children" of ABC for best soap opera. CBS' "The Bold and the Beautiful" has won that trophy three years running but wasn't nominated this year. Another surprising absentee is ABC's other axed drama, "One Life to Live," said Carolyn Hinsey, author of "Afternoon Delight: Why Soaps Still Matter.

The soap opera of English soccer reached yet another a noisy climax Wednesday when national team coach Fabio Capello quit angrily just eight hours after potential successor Harry Redknapp was cleared in a London court of tax evasion charges. Only four months before the European Championship, Capello's employers stripped John Terry of the England captaincy over racism charges without consulting the manager — and as a result now finds itself seeking a new team leader. The career of Redknapp, a hugely popular Londoner who is currently manages the Premier League team Tottenham,...

Yahoo's dysfunctional turnaround efforts have morphed into a Silicon Valley soap opera, one that has taken another strange twist with the Internet company's ousting of CEO Scott Thompson just four months after his arrival. Thompson's hasty departure, amid a furor over an inaccurate resume, ushers in a new cast of characters led by interim CEO Ross Levinsohn and New York hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb. It was Loeb's sleuthing skill that uncovered Thompson's misleading biography.

NEW YORK - Mary Fickett, who played compassionate nurse Ruth Martin on ABC's "All My Children," has died at age 83. The veteran daytime drama star died Thursday at her home in Virginia, the network said. Ms. Fickett was an original cast member of "All My Children," which premiered in 1970. For decades she appeared alongside Ray MacDonnell, who played her on-screen husband, Dr. Joe Martin, in the fictional town of Pine Valley, Pa. She retired from the show in 2000. In 1973, she became the first performer to receive an Emmy for...

CBS is pulling the plug on the soap opera "Guiding Light" after a 72-year run that predates television, the show a victim of the economy and changed viewing habits. The drama's final episode will air Sept. 18. The Guinness Book of World Records has cited it as the longest-running television drama. It began as a 15-minute serial on NBC Radio on Jan. 25, 1937, and debuted on CBS TV in 1952, focusing on the fictional town of Springfield and the Spaulding, Lewis, and Cooper families.

A historical novel is a guilty pleasure with minimal guilt. Even if the story equals a prime-time soap opera, it's edifying entertainment, often offering a panorama of another time and place. Historical novels can focus on a single event, or build on generations to tell a story. Some use an epoch simply as textured wallpaper, letting personal intrigue become the main event. With "Cassandra, Lost," it's hard to tell whether this is popcorn romance or ambitious history. The changes in tone become dizzying.

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s celebrity was always more about winning attention than winning film roles. But now, the ailing 94-year-old diva’s final fade is being upstaged by a real-life Hollywood soap opera featuring a family fractured by fame, fortune, deceit and just plain weirdness. As the former socialite and actress lies motionless — unable to eat, barely able to communicate, hardly knowing where she is — tensions seethe between the two people closest to Gabor: Her husband of 25 years, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, and her only daughter, Francesca...

NEW YORK - Jonathan Frid, a Shakespearean actor who found unexpected - and, by his own account, unwanted - celebrity as the vampire Barnabas Collins on the sanguinary soap opera "Dark Shadows," died Friday the 13th in Hamilton, Ontario. He was 87. He died of complications of a fall, said Kathryn Leigh Scott, who played several characters on the show. Mr. Frid, who lived in Ancaster, Ontario, leaves no immediate survivors. Mr. Frid, along with several castmates, makes a cameo appearance in Tim Burton's feature film "Dark Shadows," to be released May 11....

The creator of "Desperate Housewives" told jurors Monday he thought he had permission to tap the head of Nicollette Sheridan but acknowledged the incident created a strained and awkward dynamic with an actress he considered smart and funny. Marc Cherry testified during Sheridan's wrongful termination trial that by the time he hit Sheridan in Sept. 2008 — he calls it a tap for artistic direction, she contends it was a wallop — he had already received permission to kill off her character in the script.

Medford photographer George McLean shares an up close and personal encounter with Ruby the hawk: "Have you ever seen a dog, cat, or wild turkey study its image in a reflective surface? "This great Red-tailed hawk female, 'Ruby,' has a place in my heart. I have spent many hours with her over the past two years, taken thousands of pictures. "Every now and then, she will run back and forth on a girder and study her image in the window on the building at Alewife Parkway.  A year ago, she at first would fly full speed with talons...

NEW YORK - Zina Bethune, who as a petite, blond youngster in the late 1950s and early '60s balanced careers in ballet and acting, including a regular role on the CBS series "The Nurses" when she was 17, was killed in an accident in Los Angeles shortly after midnight Sunday. She would have turned 67 yesterday. Her mother, Ivy Bethune, confirmed a Los Angeles Police Department report that Ms. Bethune had been struck by two vehicles after getting out of her car, which she had parked on the side of a road, apparently to check on what she thought was an...

The soap opera of English soccer reached yet another a noisy climax Wednesday when national team coach Fabio Capello quit angrily just eight hours after potential successor Harry Redknapp was cleared in a London court of tax evasion charges. Only four months before the European Championship, Capello's employers stripped John Terry of the England captaincy over racism charges without consulting the manager — and as a result now finds itself seeking a new team leader. The career of Redknapp, a hugely popular Londoner who is currently manages the Premier League...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 30 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder win their season opener with a 97-89 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. Durant led the league in scoring the past two seasons, including averaging 27.7 last season. On Sunday, he was 11-of-19 from the field and added five rebounds and six assists. James Harden added 19 points and the Thunder held Orlando star Dwight Howard to just 11 points. The Thunder lost to Dallas last year in the Western Conference finals but are expected to one of the top teams this season.

ABC's "General Hospital" led with 23 nominations Wednesday in a Daytime Emmy Awards field with notable omissions as well as old favorites. The television academy said "General Hospital" will compete with NBC's "Days of Our Lives," CBS' "The Young and the Restless" and the canceled "All My Children" of ABC for best soap opera. CBS' "The Bold and the Beautiful" has won that trophy three years running but wasn't nominated this year. Another surprising absentee is ABC's other axed drama, "One Life to Live," said Carolyn Hinsey, author of "Afternoon Delight: Why Soaps Still Matter.

Patricia Modell, the wife of former NFL team owner Art Modell and a longtime television actress, has died. She was 80. Mrs. Modell was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens announced after being contacted by Modell's son. She had been hospitalized for around five months. During a 22-year acting career, Patricia Breslin Modell performed on the New York stage, in motion pictures and on television. She starred in the "People's Choice" television series with actor Jackie Cooper and played the role of Meg Baldwin in the soap opera "General...

The folks at the Big 12 offices must have been smiling as they saw these results roll in: — Texas A&M blows a big lead to future Southeastern Conference rival Arkansas, the week after the Aggies did the same against current conference rival Oklahoma State. — Nebraska gets run over by Wisconsin in its first Big Ten game. — Colorado loses at home to Washington State in its first Pac-12 game. The three teams that have left or are leaving the Big 12 have had their issues this season.