Daytime soaps have always had a sketchy history when it comes to life and death. In short, like science fiction and fantasy, death is not a finality. Soap characters can return from the dead, not really have been dead at all, reappear as missing twins, turn out to have been victim of a coffin switch, and if all else fails, death become a way to bring a character back as a ghost or guardian angel. All that is part of Soaps 101, a college course taught at most universities today, I believe.

That was a long introduction to reveal that fan fave and multiple Emmy winner Cady McClain is returning to All My Children. Cady was more recently on As the World Turns as Rosanna, but left about a month ago when her story line wrapped. That means she was free to sign up with another soap and ABC came a callin' for the actress.

Pine Valley, here we come!

'All My Children' celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this month, and now the soap opera's creator, Agnes Nixon, and cast members will answer fan questions in our Outside the Box interview.

Stars Susan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, Rebecca Budig and Bobbie Eakes will join Nixon on Tuesday, so now's the time to ask those burning questions for Erica Kane (who doesn't?) and her Pine Valley cohorts.

While a lot of ABC soap fans are flipping out about Thorsten Kaye's exit from All My Children, and others are giddy about James Franco bringing his movie star luster to General Hospital, there's more big news coming about those soaps. First, the original Lucky, Jonathan Jackson, is returning to General Hospital after 10 years off the show. And the original Greenlee, Rebecca Budig, is coming back to All My Children after leaving the show in March 2009.

Both these returns are exciting... and fraught with drama. While Jonathan is a three-time Emmy-winner and a superb Lucky -- he originated the role -- his choosing to resume the part means that Greg Vaughan has been dumped.

To be really, really honest, Greg was a great looking Lucky, but he never had a good grasp on the character of Lucky.

There are many things the soaps do well. You know, things like lavish weddings, fancy dress balls, murder trials, even corporate boardroom shenanigans. On the other hand, there are more action-oriented story lines that just bring out the worst in soaps.

In the last few weeks, for instance, All My Children staged the worst looking motorcycle/car crash I've ever seen on TV. It was riotously funny, and that was not the desired effect. When a wedding gown-wearing Greenlee (sans helmet) careened off the road into a frozen river, the sight of her veil flying in the wind as the tires screeched, with the headlights blinking and the actors pretending to be tossed around, was a hoot. All I was thinking while watching the accident was: "Could this be executed any worse?" (Also, what a waste of Rebecca Budig's return.)