Mathison Back To DANCING WITH THE STARS
Between a front-burner storyline on AMC, competing on DANCING WITH THE STARS and hosting I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR, Cameron Mathison (Ryan) unquestionably had one of the craziest schedules in daytime. So now that he's been eliminated from DANCING and SOAP STAR has wrapped up, he finally gets to relax. Right? "My schedule slows down until Saturday, but then on Sunday morning, I have to catch a flight back to L.A. for the finale of DANCING WITH THE STARS," the actor smiles (yes, he still has the energy to smile). "I dance the Paso Doble again on Tuesday night so that's really cool. I just have to refresh my memory of that dance. It was probably one of our best dances we did, so we want to make sure we nail it.... I wish I was still going. The schedule was tough but it was really energizing. I actually loved every second of it."

Baby News
As Y&R's Nikki and Victor argue about life-and-death decisions for Victoria and her unborn baby, Amelia Heinle (Victoria) and real-life husband Thad Luckinbill (J.T.) are celebrating the birth of their baby boy, Thaddeus Rowe Luckinbill. Check out the December 4 Digest to see what Heinle has to say about the new addition to her family!

Holiday Soap Schedule
Happy Thanksgiving from Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly! How will the holidays affect your soaps? Read on.

Thursday, Nov. 22
ABC soaps are rebroadcasting episodes
ALL MY CHILDREN: Encore presentation of Aug. 31, 2007 episode. Krystal arranges a surprise for Tad, and Ryan and Annie visit Chicago.
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Encore presentation of Nov. 22, 2006 episode. Qs learn presumed-dead Jason is alive. Spencers say goodbye to Laura. (Hankie alert!)
ONE LIFE TO LIVE: Encore presentation of August 16, 2007 episode. Joey, Kevin, Alex, Cord and Max return for Asa's funeral.
CBS soaps are pre-empted.
NBC — DAYS is pre-empted.

Friday, Nov. 23
ABC soaps are all pre-empted
CBS soaps AS THE WORLD TURNS, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL and GUIDING LIGHT are pre-empted. YOUNG AND RESTLESS will air.
NBC — DAYS will air.

PASSIONS airs on DIRECTV and is not affected by holiday preemptions.

Welcome Back
Kristina Wagner will return to GENERAL HOSPITAL as Felicia in December.

In prime-time news, GH alum Alicia Leigh Willis (ex-Courtney) has nabbed a juicy prime-time role. For Willis' take on the project, pick up the latest issue of Soap Opera Weekly.

Mathison exits DANCING WITH THE STARS
Cameron Mathison (Ryan, AMC) and his partner Edyta Sliwinska were eliminated from DANCING WITH THE STARS on November 13th's RESULTS SHOW. Mathison, nicknamed Superman, received a standing ovation from the crowd. Thanks, Cameron, for a great ride.

Michael McBain Recast on OLTL
Chris Stack will replace Nathaniel Marston as ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Dr. Michael McBain. Stack debuts on Dec. 3. Marston's last airdate is Nov. 29.

Cady McClain Off ATWT
Cady McClain (Rosanna) is leaving AS THE WORLD TURNS, which she addresses in the next issue of Weekly. Might this signal a return to ALL MY CHILDREN as Dixie? Weekly's hot on the story!

Marston Officially Off OLTL
ONE LIFE TO LIVE has confirmed that Nathaniel Marston will not be returning to the ABC soap. The show issued the following statement on November 8:

"Nathaniel Marston has been a valuable member of the cast of ONE LIFE TO LIVE bringing Michael McBain to life for legions of fans. He leaves the show with our sincere appreciation for his many contributions and our support as he addresses personal challenges. We wish him well."

When asked for further details — when the role will be recast, Marston's last airdate — a spokesperson for the show said this was the only comment that would be issued right now. Insiders say the role will be recast ASAP (with the writers on strike, a hasty rewrite to explain Michael's exit would be problematic).

Marston has not been back to work since his Oct. 20 run-in with the law.

Marston landed in Bellevue Hospital after allegedly attacking three people in midtown Manhattan on October 20 at 4:30 a.m. Published reports say Marston assaulted his victims with a metal crate, breaking one of their legs. The incident resulted in the hospitalization of Marston, Police Officer Sean Turner and at least one of the victims. It occurred at 45th Street and 10th Ave.

In October 23 editions of the New York Post, Marston said that "cops arrested the wrong guy." He added that he "was mistakenly taken into custody as the attacker."

Marston is to appear in criminal court of the City of New York February 4, 2008. The formal charges are as follows:
• 1 count Assault in the Second Degree
• 3 counts Assault in the Second Degree
• 3 counts Menacing in the Second Degree
• 3 counts Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree
• 1 count Resisting Arrest

This is not Marston's first run-in with the law. He was arrested in October 1999 on criminal mischief charges after punching an ATM machine. He was also temporarily recast for a few episodes last November for reasons never made public.

Storms Pleads No Contest
An attorney for GENERAL HOSPITAL's Kirsten Storms (Maxie) pleaded no contest on his client's behalf in an L.A. Courtroom Wednesday, November 7. Storms was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to attend 12 AA meetings — two a week — starting immediately. Her driver's license was suspended for six months and she must pay a $390 fine. Storms was arrested over the September 8 weekend. A CHP officer stopped her blue Mercedes when she threw a lit cigarette out the window. The officer noticed the smell of alcohol and she was given — and failed — a sobriety test. She was taken to Van Nuys Jail, booked on DUI charges and later released on $5,000 bail.

Check out upcoming issues of Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly for more information.

Writers Strike Update
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were unable to come to terms. No agreement has been reached on issues such as residuals and distribution of shows, and writers went on strike Monday, Nov. 5. What will this mean for daytime? Soap operas have been working to stockpile at least several weeks' worth of scripts in anticipation of a potential strike. The last writers' strike, in 1988, which ran for five months, did not result in a hiatus for soaps. However, without experienced script writers many suffered in quality. At first most stories were dragged out for as long as possible, then plots lurched forward that did not leave shows in the best of shape. This strike hits soap operas harder than other TV shows because prime-time shows can run repeats and daytime cannot. As GH Head Writer Robert Guza, Jr. said to Digest in the 11/6 issue, "There is definitely concern for how daytime would survive a long-lasting strike."

Dion Does Daytime
Grammy award-winning superstar Celine Dion appears on ALL MY CHILDREN on November 21. Dion will guest on Erica's show, NEW BEGINNINGS, and perform the title track from her new album, Taking Chances.

Knight Time for Bruening
Justin Bruening (ex-Jamie, ALL MY CHILDREN) has been cast in NBC's two-hour movie KNIGHT RIDER, based on the popular series which starred David Hasselhoff (ex-Snapper, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) from 1982-'86. Bruening will play the son of Michael Knight (the Hasselhoff character) in the TV film. Coincidentally, Bruening has already played the son of a Michael Knight, specifically Michael E. Knight's (Tad) son on AMC. Here's another tie-in: Catherine Hickland (Lindsay, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) was married at one time to both Hasselhoff and Knight.

If the movie is a hit, there could be a new series in the works.

UPDATE: Family Tragedy
A memorial site has been established for Michael Tylo Jr., the son of Hunter Tylo (Taylor, B&B) and Michael Tylo (ex-Blade, Y&R; ex-Quint, GL). The 19-year old Tylo drowned at the family home in Nevada on Oct. 17, according to the Associated Press. The cause of death reportedly was listed as accidental drowning.

According to Usmagazine.com, Sarah Mildebrandt, Investigative Supervisor at the Clark County Coroner's office, said, "The cause of death was drowning due to seizure disorder."

Hunter Tylo was in Los Angeles at the time of the incident, B&B; representative Eva Demirjian told the AP.

Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly join the actress's fans in offering our deepest sympathy to Tylo and her family.

PASSIONS Online
Now PASSIONS fans — even those without DIRECTV — can keep up with their favorite soap in total Harmony. NBC.com/passions is offering a subscription service that will allow viewers to watch all new episodes online for $19.95 per month. New episodes can be accessed through the site for up to eight weeks so fans won't have to miss a single moment. Additionally, DIRECTV has added four new episodes of the interactive PASSIONS LIVE! series to their "101" channel, allowing viewers to call in and ask questions of their favorite PASSIONS stars.

PASSIONS: DIRECT(V) To You
PASSIONS fans will have multiple opportunities to catch the soap when it bows on DIRECTV. PASSIONS will air each new episode twice a day, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. EST Mondays through Thursdays, with PASSIONS marathons every Saturday at 10 a.m. EST. DIRECTV subscribers can watch PASSIONS on the satellite television provider's original programming channel, The 101.