Once again, ABC Daytime is presenting viewers with concurrent storylines on two soaps that are suspiciously similar. On GENERAL HOSPITAL, a philandering politician was accused of killing his mistress, then a former lover came under suspicion, but his vengeful, neglected wife may have done the deed.

The farther it goes off the rails, the more I have been enjoying YOUNG AND RESTLESS. Currently, the major stories hinge on a guy who poked needles into his eyes to fake blindness and now is pretending to be gay; a guy who impersonated someone else for years; a fellow who faked his own death so he wouldn't have to tell anyone he's gay; and a hysterical pregnancy.

The lead-up Lizzie and Bill's wedding today on GUIDING LIGHT was a near thing — nearly too over-the-top with its silliness.

I know what you're asking: "Joe, is there an unscripted show you hate even more than AMERICAN IDOL?" The answer is, "Why, yes, of course — lots of them!" Most alleged "reality shows," like JON & KATE PLUS 8, are beneath contempt and I refuse to sully my TV screen with them. However, of the shows I can force myself to watch, BIG BROTHER is certainly at the bottom of the barrel.

Holden, Holden, Holden. Dude, we gotta talk. You're supposed to be one of the heroes of AS THE WORLD TURNS. And heroes do not take advantage of lady friends when they are drunk and vulnerable.

It would be too easy to create a list of "10 Things I Hate About 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU," but I will limit myself and boil it down to three points:

So, the way I saw it, ALL MY CHILDREN's Randi was clearly defending herself from a would-be rapist when she brained DA North. Even if she had killed him, it would have been a case of self-defense, and she would have been cleared of any homicide charges.

I almost don't know what to write about this week's harrowing episode of RESCUE ME, which left me totally shaken. The tone of the show whipsawed wildly from sweetly zany to gruesome to blackly comic to sad to sentimental. Watching it was like enduring an emotional pummeling.

MAKE IT OR BREAK IT made a big leap forward with its second episode. I'm not prepared to say this ABC Family series is going to...er, make it, but among the things it did right:

We got another double-shot of the imported British series MERLIN this week, and it has made good on its promise and developed into a solidly entertaining series. The writing is strong, but the casting and acting is even better. Colin Morgan makes Merlin awkward without turning him into a buffoon, while Bradley James' Arthur seems to be a snob purely because it's expected.