Welcome Home Jesse

Looks like ABC is confirming that Darnell Williams back as the late Jesse Hubbard and NOT Loving/The City's Jacob Foster.

Lucy! You have some 'splanin to do.

Huge Un-Casting News
Rumblings have Rebecca Budig returning to All My Children in the role of Greenlee duPres, a role she originated in 1999 after a stint on the Guiding Light as Michelle Bauer. Budig left the role in 2005. Greenlee was recast in 2007 with Sabine Singh.

Budig received two Daytime Emmy Nominations in the Supporting Actress category for her role as Greenlee . Her departure was the conclusion of a front-burner storyline in November 2005, when Greenlee learned best friend Kendall Hart (Alicia Minshew) was not being her surrogate, but rather carrying her own child with Greenlee's then husband, Ryan Lavery (Cameron Mathison).


My View: Christmas has come early again. Singh never captivated me in the role of Greenlee. She failed to have the vulnerability and insecurities that made Greenlee such a complex character under Budig. Let's face it, Sabine is not a great actress. Everyone can play a "bitch." Budig played played a bitch with a soul.

But even Budig's starpower may not be enough to save this sinking ship. The writers have to get their storylines in order. They must remember what made Greenlee so great. Rekindle her relationship with frenemy Kendall. Budig and Minshew were All My Children's hottest couple (see picture).

DO NOT revisit a Greenlee/Ryan pairing. Though they made for great friends, romantic chemistry was non-existent between Mathison and Budig. That is not to say I have high hopes for the continued Greenlee/Aidan pairing.

Maybe with a fresh face, Greenlee can get a fresh start.


Update: SON is confirming Budig's return. It's ironic that neither SOD or TVGuide have mentioned anything about the recent returns.
Update: PVB is confirming Budig's return too. Looks like this is a sure thing people.

A Ghost of Christmas Past
In 2002, Julia Keefer (Sydney Penny) was amnesiac Maria Grey's (Eva LaRue) surprise Christmas present. Their brother, Mateo Santos (Marc Consuelos), was able to arrange the visit after helping the FBI in the Proteus drug ring investigation, though Julia was supposed to be Witness Protection with her husband, Noah Keefer (Keith Hamilton Cobb).

Julia helped Maria hide her new lover, an injured Aidan Devane (Aiden Turner), in the Wildwind hayloft . She also caused Maria to remember the tornado in 1994, that left Julia disfigured after a chandelier fell on her at Chandler Mansion.

Flash forward five years, and Julia is a now a widow and out of Witness Protection. Though the Santos family all live in California with Mateo, Julia has started her life anew with her own Christmas miracle, adopted daughter Kathy Mershon Keefer.

Christmas Wish...
Bianca (Eden Riegel) and Miranda (Hayley Evans) are returning to Pine Valley for Christmas 2007. They air on December 26th and 27th.

If I get my Christmas wish, the return would be a more permanent gig. Anyone taking bets on whether Bianca is with Zoe (Jeff Carlson), or has she reunited with the love of her life, Maggie (Elizabeth Hendrickson)?

The picture is of Bianca's own Christmas miracle in 2004 when Erica (Susan Lucci) reunited her with Miranda (then- Joseph & Raymond Cartigiano).

Welcome Home Debbi & Darnell
SON is reporting that Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams are slated to return to All My Children in early 2008, in spite of the writers strike that still looms over the television industry.

Morgan will reprise her role of Dr. Angie Hubbard-Foster, last scene on defunct ABC soap opera The City in 1997. It is still unclear if Williams will reprise his signature role of bad-boy turned cop Jesse Hubbard, or look-a-like Jacob Foster (the role he played opposite Morgan in the City from 1995-97).

Morgan and Williams are cited as soap opera's first African American super couple. Their storyline in the mid-eighties coincided with the phenomena that was Jenny & Greg Nelson (Kim Delaney and Laurence Lau respectively).

Williams left All My Children during the 1988 writer's strike, with Jesse being killed in the line of duty. Williams has made on and off again appearances as a ghostly apparition throughout the late nineties and early 2000's. It would be hard to explain a sudden revival of Jesse in light of these developments. Williams has also been an off screen presence, taking on the role of acting coach at All My Children.

Morgan left All My Children in 1990, and was recast with Saundra Quarterman. She later moved Angie to Corinth in Loving (1993-95), and later its spin-off The City.

My View: It's great that Debbi and Darnell are coming back to All My Children, but I have to wonder what storyline the writers have in store. For the most part, they do not have much connection left to the current canvas.

It will also be hard to reintroduce both actors because of their stints on Loving and The City. A lot went on when Angie and Jacob were around in Corinth and New York City. For one, Angie got married two more times, once to Jacob and another time to a man named Charles Harrison. Jacob and Angie even adopted a child together, Cassandra Foster.

Writers will also have to account for Angie and Jesse's son, Dr. Frank Hubbard (seen in the photo portrayed by Z Wright in 1988), last seen in Pine Valley in 2002 played by Jason Olive. Olive's departure was the result of the transition between head writers Richard Culliton and Gordon Raysfield's. His departure was never explained on camera.

It is great to see some veterans back. Let' s hope the current writers don't sink another super couple.

Catch up on your history by reading biographies for Dr. Angie Hubbard-Foster and Jesse Hubbard .