Category: SOAP OPERAS

TAMARA OBSCURA || GETTING EXCITED

Is anyone getting as excited as I am to see Tamara back? I know I am. I can hardly wait to see how she’ll look as Taylor.

Okay, random post…. just because.

TAMARA OBSCURA || NEW 2011 PRESS SECTION

I’ve been pulling together the 2011 press section. With the news of Tamara’s return to daytime, I really wanted to get the articles I’d collected so far this year typed out and put into the press section. Most of the articles deal with Tamara’s decision to not return to ALL MY CHILDREN as Reese Williams. If I may insert my jounalistic freedom of speech here, I’d have to say for the most part the new scribes for AMC are a little condescending of Tamara and the character of Reese. It’s as if they’re trying to make like she never existed. One article’s title is very much suspect: Bianca: Out With The Old, In With The Who?. As if Reese is ‘old’ per se. My main gripe is that no one has addressed the shoddy treatment she received at the hands of ABC and AMC while she was there. She signed up for one role and was handed another. It’s as if Tamara and by extension Eden Riegel’s decisions not to return are out of spite and not artistic integrity, not to forget that both were treated badly and promised something that didn’t come to fruition. Does Brian Frons and Julie Hannan Carruthers wonder why Eden signed onto THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS and Tamara is returning to DAYS OF OUR LIVES? Instead, they write Bianca as some sort of vacuous, unfeeling twit. Here would have been a great shattering moment for both Her Kendallness and NotBinks: When Thorsten Kaye refused to move west with AMC and it was decided that Zach was going to be killed off…why not have Zach die going to get Reese and have the plane crash with the both of them aboard. That way AMC has the ability to not undo the first gay marriage on television and keep Reese as the loving mate she was to the real Bianca. I have to wonder how Tamara feels about how coldly these writers are treating her character?

Editorial over. There are quite a few articles in the press section for 2011. The scans, as always, are linked through the article to the gallery.

TAMARA OBSCURA || TAMARA IS COMING BACK TO DAYTIME

In what I can only call a shocking announcement, it appears that Tamara is on her way back to daytime television. And it’s back to DAYS OF OUR LIVES, but not as Ava, her Emmy Award Winning role…but as a character currently being played by her former GH co-star Natalia Livingston. The character is named Taylor Walker. Here’s the news bite from SOAP OPERA DIGEST ONLINE, more below the cut:

Huge DAYS Casting Change!

Soap Opera Digest has learned that Emmy winner Natalia Livingston (ex-Emily/Rebecca, GH), who just started airing three weeks ago as DAYS’s Taylor, has been let go and replaced with another Emmy winner who used to call Port Charles home — Tamara Braun (ex-Ava, DAYS; ex-Carly, GH et al). Braun appeared as Ava in 2008 and took home a golden trophy for her Salem performances in 2009. She will start taping today; look for her to first air in late April. “It was decided to take the character of Taylor in a new direction,” explains Co-Executive Producer Gary Tomlin. “Natalia Livingston is an amazing actress and a consummate professional. She is a class act and everyone at the studio adores her.”

SOURCE

I want to thank Lisa for the heads up on this news. While I would have loved to have seen Ava back in Salem, it’s good news that Tamara will once again be gracing our screens and rest assured, TAMARA OBSCURA will be here to keep you up on Tamara’s new role.

TAMARA OBSCURA || HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDEN RIEGEL

Not only is this the first day of a new year, but it is also Eden Riegel’s birthday. I’m sure all Tamara’s fans wish the mom-to-be and Reese Williams’ lady love a fantastic day and hope that Eden has a great day with Andrew (hubby and daddy-to-be) and Riley (puppy-brother-to-be) a great day. Eden, you deserve it. I also want to say that I’m hoping that Heather (Eden’s character on The Young & The Restless) and Ronan (Jeff Branson) really make it. They shine as a couple and I hope TPTB at the Y&R don’t screw up with this one. They probably will, but I can hope can’t I?

Don’t forget to check out my site for Tamara’s DAYS OF OUR LIVES co-star, Stephen Nichols @ RENEGADE ~ STEPHEN NICHOLS ONLINE. The reason for the plug? Stephen is on the same show as Eden Riegel. Ironic that both of Tamara’s ex on-screen loves are on the same show. Of course on DOOL, Tamara played Ava Vitali, the role in which she won her Emmy for Best Supporting Actress on a Daytime Soap Opera. Now all we need is for Tamara to show up on Y&R as a love interest for both Tucker McCall (Stephen’s character) and Heather Stevens (Eden’s character on the show). Ronan and Ashely (Eileen Davidson) who? Just kidding………

TAMARA OBSCURA || GLORIA STUART 1910-2010

I wanted to make this post here to honour the life that was Gloria Stuart. Gloria passed away today after a battle with Lung Cancer. For GENERAL HOSPITAL fans, we remember Gloria for her cameo as Old Katherine to Tamara’s Young Katherine in the New Year’s Eve 2002-2003 episode of GH where we got to see what became Carly’s club The Cellar was like back in the swingin’ 1920s when it was a speakeasy where booze, crime and romance ruled Port Charles. It was a lovely couple of episodes where GH finally allowed Tamara to show what she could do in terms of acting. I also remember an interview on Entertainment Tonight with Tamara and Gloria, and dammit I wish I had it, but Gloria really had some nice things to say about Tamara and her future. I’ll always love Gloria for what she said. Thanks Gloria for your spirit and for your youthful dedication to your craft. From TAMARA OBSCURA & OBSCURE MEDIA, I want to offer my sincere condolences to Gloria’s family and to her fans. I know we’re all be a bit darker without her light. Sail on Gloria. You will be missed. In Gloria’s honour, I’d like to remind Tamara fans of the work she did on GH. Here’s my special video I put together. Something I called SPEAKEASY OF FATE. Enjoy.

TAMARA OBSCURA II 10/29/2002 – GENERAL HOSPITAL MEDIA

Okay, when was the last time one saw a whole day devoted to the return of a non-legacy member of a soap opera? Not! It’s not surprising that with the return of Vanessa Marcil to her much vaunted role of Brenda Barrett (remember the ‘Luminous Brenda’ comment Carly made while stuck in the quicksand?) ABC decided it was going to pre-empt ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE and give that airtime over to three ‘special’ episodes dedicated to three significant parts of Brenda’s life. For Brenda fans, I’m sure it was a joy to see them. For others of other legacy characters like Lucky played originally by Jonathan Jackson, I’m sure it was a major league pain in the …… Given that other shows have had original actresses/actors return to the parts they created like Andrea Evans, the original Tina Lord on OLTL, this came as a major letdown. However, the one upside to it all is that fans of some of the other characters who have either been reduced to occasional appearances like Monica (Leslie Charleson) or even those who have disappeared altogether like STEPHEN NICHOLS who played the part of the Dark Prince Stefan Cassadine or we, Tamara Braun fans, we were able to see those we loved and lost. So thanks to this, I have one episode of GH from October 2002. Tamara was beautiful as Carly and I truly loved the essence of humility and sensuality she brought to the part. I truly do miss her, though I don’t miss the crap they gave her. Thanks to our friend Hurley for the excellent screencaps and to me for the clip. [ 079 ] SCREENCAPS: 10/29/2002 – GENERAL HOSPITAL [ 001 ] MEDIA CLIP: 10/29/2002 – GENERAL HOSPITAL