Brook Kerr (Whitney Russel)and Eric Martsolf (Ethan Winthrop)

As Passions makes its move to DIRECTV Channel 101 on Monday, September 17, I wanted to reflect with some of Harmony's most popular residents. The following are snippets of conversations I've had over the past year and a half with Brook Kerr (Whitney), James Stevenson (Jared), Charles Divins (Chad), James Hyde (Sam) and Eric Martsolf (Ethan).

Brook Kerr, who will not be making the move to the new network, was super excited about last summer's Passions Vendetta storyline. She was excited to play Whitney in a new and different way. "I get to be like my character in that I don't know what's coming up next either," Brook told me. Whitney ran away over the guilt of giving up her child, and of not telling Chad. But Brook hoped that all was not lost for our young heroine. "I hope that Whitney is able to get past her guilt and be free to find love with someone who is able to love her back. She needs some kind of spark, as everything is so dark for her now."

For James Stevenson, another actor who has opted out of the move, his time in Harmony was spent romancing, and then being used by Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane. We all know that Ethan was and is the love of Theresa's life, but poor Jared didn't know what hit him. Now that their relationship is over, James' following words seem almost prophetic when he spoke them a year ago: "Jared is more than capable of handling Theresa's dramas. He's very confident, borderline cocky, but in a cute way. He doesn't fail much. It's going to be interesting for Jared - he seems to roll with the punches."

And punches are definitely what Theresa ended up delivering. Jared never stood a chance against Ethan. But he left with his dignity intact.

Soap-opera couple

Charles Divins, who won't be back in Harmony this fall, hit the nail on the head when he described his relationship with Whitney. When I spoke with him last fall, fans were just getting an inkling that Chad might be cheating on his beloved Whitney. I asked if there could ever be a happy ending for a soap-opera couple, and he replied: "I hope not! People watch soaps as an escape vehicle. Why would you want to watch normal stuff? People need drama. Whether you love it or hate it, people will talk about it."

James Hyde, one of the original cast members, who will be making the move to DIRECTV, has fond memories of his time portraying Sam Bennett, the gorgeous, straight-arrow police chief. As the emotional grounding of the show, Sam has had his fair share of lost love and heartbreak. And he certainly could sympathise with his son Ethan's torment over loving two women. Ethan's relationship with Theresa versus Gwen, James told me, "goes back to parallel with my story with Ivy and Grace. Theresa was Ethan's first love. Every conversation Ethan and Sam have is, 'Do you still love Theresa?' We go around for a while and realise together that he still loves her. You gotta go with the person you love. It goes back to Sam and Ivy."

When Eric Martsolf returns to the show with the rest of the cast on September 17, will he still be tortured by the Theresa/Ethan/Gwen love triangle? For now, he and Theresa are married, but Gwen still wants to destroy all chances for Theresa's happiness. Eric had a plan for Ethan and Theresa's happiness, even if it could be only temporary: "Lindsay (Hartley, who plays Theresa) and I have talked about it, and we'd like to see Ethan and Theresa happy, if only for a little while. Let them run off to Hawaii, and not think about the blackmailer and her brother, who are in jail for a little bit, and just allow them to be together and have a good time. But then, I guess it wouldn't be a soap opera if things ran smoothly, would it?"

No, it certainly would not. And, how it's looking now, Gwen does not seem to be allowing any sort of happiness to happen for Ethan and Theresa.

I hope this little trip down Harmony's Memory Lane made you remember why you watch Passions in the first place. The cast and crew of the show hope that you will make the switch with them to DIRECTV on September 17. They've promised plenty of fun and surprises to come. And of course, a little magic.