Your weekly guide to TV’s best and worst one-hour shows.
Mama checks in with the soaps this week:
“All My Children” (Thursday, Hulu)
Mr. Christine Baranski, aka Matthew Cowles, returns to Pine Valley as the best-named soap villain ever, Billy Clyde Tuggle. We last saw the former pimp when he fell off a bridge in 1991, but this is a soap opera, so his rising from a watery grave shouldn’t come as too much of a shocker.
“General Hospital”(Weekdays, 2 p.m., ABC)
If you’re not a regular viewer of soaps, be prepared for a little confusion. Let’s recap: ABC canceled “One Life to Live,” and three of its most popular characters — Todd, Starr and John — successfully “moved” from Llanview to “General Hospital’s” Port Charles. But then “One Life” was picked up online by Prospect Park studio, and the studio prohibited ABC from even mentioning the characters’ names. So all three characters suddenly disappeared. But the three actors — Roger Howarth, Kristen Alderson and Michael Easton — playing the characters decided they liked it better on a network, so after a couple days online, they popped up as three new characters in Port Charles, who resembled their former characters, making all of the other characters do double takes, and making Mama’s head hurt.
“One Life to Live” (Wednesday, Hulu)
If you have to pick which online soap to devote your time to, “One Life” is a better choice; it more closely resembles its old self. One of the show’s most famous fans, Snoop Lion, is back in Llanview for a three-day stint starting Wednesday (he also produced the show’s new theme song).
“Army Wives” (Sunday, 9 p.m., Lifetime)
Seven seasons in, most of this show’s original cast has departed. Although former wives Claudia Joy (Kim Delaney) and Pamela (Brigid Brannagh) may still be sorely missed, the new crop has mostly done their share to soldier on — particularly Torrey DeVitto as the tough-as-nails stepmother Maggie, and Ashanti as the cash-strapped Latasha.
“The Young and The Restless”(Weekdays, 12:30 p.m., CBS)
The daytime drama bids adieu to veteran Jeanne Cooper, who died last week, with a special episode dedicated to the actress who portrayed Katherine Chancellor. Cast members and family pay tribute to Cooper’s nearly 40-year span on the show, making her the longest-running cast member — which means plenty of nostalgic clips from soaps’ heyday.