It was big news in the world of daytime when Joseph Mascolo exited Days of Our Lives a few months ago. After all, Mascolo's Stefano Dimera was hailed as the number one villain of all time in daytime by Soap Opera Digest.

His return to Days was supposed to be long-term, but it didn't work out that way. In a surprising, some would say typical, soap way, the phoenix will rise again. Stefano Dimera, in the form of Joseph Mascolo, is coming back to Days of Our Lives. His reign of terror will commence once more -- in early August. Meanwhile, the other big time evil-doer on the show, Victor Kiriakis, will become more moderate and good by comparison.

Evil on the soaps is, well, a necessary evil. You can't have characters who are happy and blissful all the time. You need the selfish, the greedy, the vengeful, all those evil types to keep the stories interesting.

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Usually when you talk about death on soap operas, you have to know that like science fiction, death doesn't mean the end of the story. After all, many characters have come back from the dead thanks to mistaken identity, bizarre abductions, switched coffins, et. al. But when I tell you now that the NBC soap opera Passions is dead, I really mean it. Really.

There is no chance that Passions is coming back to NBC. The soap was yanked from the daytime lineup last year, but in a deal with DirecTV, Passions has remained in production. The satellite provider has been showing episodes of the bizarrely-plotted show for months. However, in a recent development, DirecTV has decided to pull the plug. Universal Media Studios, which produces the one-hours, has been trying to find a new place on the dial for Passions without any luck.

I think most readers are going to be stunned that this guy was still alive in 2007.

Lane was one of the most famous character actors in TV history, appearing on such programs as Petticoat Junction (where he was a regular), I Love Lucy, Dark Shadows, L.A. Law, St. Elsewhere, Little House on the Prairie, The Odd Couple, and...oh, way too many to list here. He was also in the films It's A Wonderful Life, The Road To Singapore, 42nd Street, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and many others. His career spanned over 60 years, his last role as the narrator in the short film The Night Before Christmas in 2006.

Lane passed away quietly on Tuesday in Santa Monica, CA.

Every Tuesday here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, May 30, 2006:

• ALF - Season 3
• ALF: The Animated Series - 20,000 Years In Driving School
• AlfTales - Alf & The Beanstalk
• American Muscle Car - Season 2
• Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book 1: Water, Volume 3
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 1 (new package); Season 2 (new package); Season 3 (new package); Season 4 (new package) buy Season 5 (new package); Season 6 (new package); Season 7 (new package)
• Dark Shadows - DVD Collection 24
• The Doris Day Show - The Doris Day Special; Season 3
• The Dukes of Hazzard - The Complete 6th Season
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids - Vol 3
• Gimme a Break! - Season 1 (Canada)
• Joey - The Complete 1st Season
• The Kids in the Hall - Season 4
• Night Stalker - The Complete Series
• Numb3rs - Season 1
• Queer as Folk - Season 5 (Final Season)
• Rollergirls - The Complete Season 1
• The Tomorrow People - Set 3
• The Venture Bros. - Season 1
• Will & Grace - Series Finale