Hey everybody -- I'm back! Thanks to Suellen for popping in last week to cover the Two Scoops column for me while I was playing with the cast of All My Children in Los Angeles. She was a part of this site for so long, and it was great to welcome her back.

Speaking of being welcomed back, how about the return of Dixie Cooney Martin? To make sure she looked her best in JR's time of need -- and perhaps in anticipation of an upcoming appearance in Lord of the Dance -- Dixie paid a visit to the Glamorama's Heaven location and asked for a new do. More than any other All My Children performer, Cady McClain has always found her hairdos picked and panned by viewers. Remember the "Pixie Dixie" hairstyle from the 1990s?

Ya know, the Dixie pancake death is one of those daytime debacles that doesn't seem like it can ever be undone -- new writers or not. It might have been fixable had ABC quickly issued a mea culpa the minute they realized that offing Dixie was a mistake. Fans were outraged and asked for Dixie's return. Now, it's been too long since Dixie died, and Dixie has made too many ghostly returns to pretend that she didn't really die.

On the flip side, it's nice to have someone in Heaven that can pay visits to our favorite Pine Valley residents in their time of need. Let's be honest: There don't appear to be that many former stars lining up to make special appearances on the show. I've also really enjoyed both of Dixie's afterlife returns. It doesn't, contrary to what ABC may want us to believe, lessen the sting of Dixie being killed off.

A lot of readers were right about the JR bone marrow saga: Annie's a match. Of course, the one person that no one wants to be able to ride to the rescue ends up being a match. It's an interesting twist that Annie once again gets the opportunity to save a Chandler. In the weeks ahead, Annie will push Littl -- er, AJ -- out of the way of a speeding car, and she'll help Colby hack into Pine Valley University's mainframe to change her grades. In addition to being a guardian angel, Annie is a jill-of-all-trades -- accountant, editor, rocket scientist...

Oh, Frankie... it looks like you're on your way to a pill problem. He's reeling over his part in the death of the uninsured aneurysm patient... and then he came out on the losing end of a fistfight with Angie's desk. I am not sure if, in the real world, the chief of staff's kid would be allowed to sit at her desk and take her phone calls. I can tell you, though, that there is a real-life version of this playing out here in the Philly area. A patient was taken to a hospital for an aortic aneurysm. He claims that he was turned away because he had no insurance -- and he is suing because he suffered a massive stroke as a result. Makes me wonder if the new writing team snatched the story from the headlines.

Anyway, back to the show. With Frankie not really having big story at the moment, it will be interesting to see how a potential drug story plays out. It will undoubtedly give Denise Vasi's Randi some good story, as well. I'm guessing that Madison will get roped into the plot -- possibly helping Frankie get pills because she wants to "thank" him for all that he's done for her. Will a drugged-up Frankie sleep with Madison because he's not thinking straight? Oh, the drama!

I was traveling and didn't have a chance to really read any previews for what was going to take place last week. I also had to watch episodes out of order, so, I have to admit that I was really caught off-guard by the "shooting" of Erica. Erica was overacting as she was being held at gunpoint by Gayle -- but that's the norm for Erica, right? Gayle was a little over-the-top, too, but what soap villain isn't a little campy? Anyway, when Erica popped up, yelled, "Surprise! Gotcha, David!" and then did her touchdown dance, I was surprised.

David is going to go on the run. For whatever reason, he must have taken notes from Kendall because he won't really stray too far from his Wildwind home. Of course he'll end up doing a good deed while hiding, and that will help to redeem him... a little.

There are a lot of paternity issues flying about -- and there are no "Who's The Daddy?" plots taking place. Thank goodness for that. Adam 'fessed up to having a fling with a woman in California and fathering a child. Oddly, that kid, Miguel Reyes, never materialized in Pine Valley. Odd that they'd mentioned two off-screen characters by name for nothing. Hmm. Meanwhile, the Damon saga continues. I told you there was something not quite right with the way that he was a one-named bandit for most of his time on the show. A lot of readers had speculated that Damon was really Miguel, but that idea was seemingly shot when Damon wasn't a marrow match for JR. It is going to be interesting to see your reaction when Damon's Pine Valley link is finally revealed in the next week or two.

I mentioned at the top of the column that I had a chance to visit AMC's new Los Angeles studio. First, the space is amazing -- it's so much bigger than the space the show had in New York. I am working to get some videos and interviews posted, but in the meantime here is a preview.

Brittany Allen is so much more fun than her on-screen alter ego, Marissa. I gave Brittany a hard time about Marissa being such a goodie-goodie and challenged her to "play bad." I have video of her mugging for the camera and trying to give her best evil glare. It's very, very funny.

I think Jamie Luner (Liza) might have been flirting with me! I was late for the poll interview with her, but when I walked up, her neck snapped and she gave me a sexy little smile. She had surprising insight into what is needed on All My Children (and daytime in general) to make the show better. I'm hoping she accepts my offer to do an interview for the site or on Soap Central Live.

Adam Mayfield (Scott) and I chatted about his recent appearance on Soap Central Live. He told me that he had a great time as my guest and is looking forward to appearing again in the future.

Stephanie Gatschet (Madison) messed with my head. She sat stoically as I asked my questions and I started to worry if maybe my questions weren't clear or if I had offended her. Finally, when she realized that I needed a lifeline, she started laughing and we had a really good chat.

Everyone I spoke to talked about how much they'll miss David Canary when he exits the show. You could see that they were torn between wanting him to enjoy his retirement and having him continue on the show.

I'll be back here next week. Until then, I am waiting to see if the Glamorama has a Soap Central location -- it'd be nice to not have to travel out for a haircut!

dan