DRW50

I'm not attracted to either of them...just surprised at the scene. Usually when I see the '80s scenes of Speedo guys on soaps it's more along the lines of Kelly or Ridge Forrester where they are somewhat coldly sitting or standing at poolside, rather than hanging off and all around the lighthouse. Something in the framing feels more casual but also more explicit. Add in poor Kassie Wesley also being in such tight garb (not even getting into that Mister Mxyzptlk-esque Bauer cousin), and it all feels alien to most of the GL I knew. Then again this is the period where even Johnny, whom I first knew from later clips of endlessly singing with Chelsea or just standing around looking bored or vaguely puzzled, is half-naked or packed into the tightest jeans on the rack, not to mention Rusty, Frank, etc.

The show started to feel very cold and dead around 1999. This went on until around 2004. Then fortunes improved for a number of years until 2010 when real efforts began to strip the show of any identity or heart or community. And that slowly was whittled away until we got where the show is now.

Thanks for the dates @Franko . Seeing Perry Stephens wandering around half-naked with Lily that early on tells me they didn't waste much time throwing Lily and Jack into an affair. I suppose Jack had already cheated on one wife, but those were very different circumstances. It doesn't do him any favors as a character and makes me wonder if they should have kept Stacey and Jack apart. Not that I'm complaining about Stephens going around half-dressed - one of the most beautiful men on soap. Speaking of beauties, that place April and Ned have their domestic scenes in is gorgeous. I don't know what history Loving's set designers had but they knew how to do a lot with what they were given. This has scenes from about 49-53 minutes. 13-18 minutes, including a cast crawl.

Eileen's grandmother clause made me think about Lien, which made me watch her debut (she was the cliffhanger the episode before, but close enough). I didn't realize that Tom just accepted Lien's word without any type of test. I wonder if Marland may have wanted to leave the door open of her not being Tom's daughter, but the strike got in the way. Probably not, as that isn't necessarily his style, and similar stories on AW and Santa Barbara seemed to be a mess. Marland rushes through some of these beats compared to his usual pen - I wonder if this was down to Hillary B Smith not being too far off her maternity leave (and she was planning to leave altogether until nearly the last minute). I do think it's a bit of a stretch for Lisa to not have more of a skeptical or surprised reaction to Lien, but maybe they didn't want to send a negative message about the first major Asian character on the canvas. I do love that Lisa takes little time to spread the news. Scott Holmes never has the charisma Justin Deas or Gregg Marx had as Tom, but I do think he shows here he was capable of subtle, meaningful performances. I'm sorry he lost that along the way. A shame this is the only time they delve into Tom's pre-Margo past, when Carol or Natalie were drama waiting to happen. The last scene in this episode is beautifully done.

Thanks @slick jones I love those photo choices for Eileen. The photos of Eileen with her tiara, I think for ATWT's 20th anniversary (?), always make me smile.

Grant Aleksander's briefs near the end of this video are shocking to me - don't remember GL ever having this particular display of flesh framed this way, not even with John Wesley Shipp.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tom-troupe-dead-stage-screen-actor-1236324292/ RIP Tom Troupe.

Thanks. That happened a lot with the Soapcentral bios for Guiding Light...I suppose this is just a newer era version.

Was there a character on Passions named Elijah Sanders or is that just something someone put on their Wiki for fun?

That's what I always thought too. She may have said longest running cast member as it was a comment about whether Jerry was the longest running when he did the goodbye to Charita Bauer. I thought it was her, but she said otherwise. Maybe she doesn't consider herself as the longest because of her maternity leave breaks. I don't know. I did remember a clip of her on her channel labeled as 1978 with Mark (or whoever she was dating at the time) and a puppet.

Casey, in 1990. It had already been broken by that point with Lien's arrival in early 1988. I doubt the backlash Eileen faced over Margo's late 1986 miscarriage was the reason for that retcon but it's interesting it happened only a year later.

Any writer does tend to have a certain type. I think you saw that again when Marland was at ATWT with the parade of hunky farmhands. It doesn't seem to have been anything untoward as we've never heard any stories along those lines. It does seem like she replaced Peggy. I wish we had more of those episodes in detail for an exact date. At one time Denise replied on Youtube that Jerry ver Dorn started on the show before she did, but for some reason I thought Katie was already established by then. I guess it must have been very close.

I could see her fitting into that part, although Cindy Pickett was fantastic.

Eileen mentions here that she asked for Lisa to be wealthy when they asked her to return in 1966. I assume it was the divorce settlement from John Eldridge.

The robbery that kills Steve is around 31 minutes to 41 minutes. There's another cast crawl @slick jones . The date isn't right here as this would be November or December 1987. I think some of this was already on Youtube but I'm not sure if it is now. Jacqueline Courtney also has a credit as "announcer." I guess Joe Stuart was still trying to give her a bit of work even after the Diane role was over...or was that story still going on at this point? More that had not been up before as far as I know, taking up a whopping 33 minutes. We get the shootout, which is much more extensive and budget-busting than I had expected. And I finally get my answer as to whether Cecilia was still in Corinth when Steve was dying...and the answer is...sort of? More in the first 43 minutes. We don't see Steve's death, although maybe it's in the credit crawl. I also see that Patrick Tovatt played Steve's doctor, which is a bit of a step down from his playing regulars on soaps in 1985-1986, but a job is a job. This also has some of Cecilia's exit, leaving the boarding house with a bag as Rick tries to get her to stay. I am glad we got at least a glimpse of her at the hospital after Steve was shot as otherwise, I'd assume she wasn't even involved in the story. So we are still left wondering if she left while she thought Steve was alive, or if she knew he was dead. Maybe we'll never know. Or I just missed a line. Soaps, at least in these days, could still teach people to act. Colleen Dion was so green in what I've seen of her on Search, but in her last moments here she reminds me of the actress I was so fond of on B&B. I'm glad Cecilia got to have a dignified exit compared to many on the show. @Kane There should be a lot for you here. @dc11786 This may fascinate you too.

Marie Wallace, who is 90.

There's also David Henesy, although he was a child at the time.

The start of this has about a moment of footage, part of it is just the credits/beauty shot, part of it Curtis, hot and bothered in his tight trousers, beating some Eban Japes ass. (I assume Lotty's cry of surprise/pain when Curtis accidentally elbows her was scripted - if not, I guess Burke Moses really throws himself into scenes). Another big chunk of an episode from an hour and 2 minutes to an hour and 22 minutes (one moment is AMC). @slick jones There's a cast crawl. Some funny moments in this. When Ava and Steve are talking, one of Ava's earrings falls off, and Roya just keeps the scene going, casually pulling off her other earring. And a seduction/comedy moment with Ava and Alex at around and hour and 10 minutes that has an...interesting music cue.

ATWT, of all the soaps, had a slate of goddesses who powered the canvas, and the show was always at its weakest when it took those legends for granted. One of many reasons I find ATWT's last decade so alienating is the lack of interest in actress or character. Eileen truly was a goddess, a perpetually fascinating presence, yet whatever facade she put on for the public she made seem fun and natural. Eileen's interviews are a delight, all the way to her final appearance on Locher Room. I didn't know until about 10-15 years ago that she even had a column in Rona Barrett's Daytimers. She gives some hilarious comments, especially when answering reader mail. She could have easily been a comedian or had a talk show. By the time I started watching ATWT, Lisa's biggest days had faded, but she was a wonderful day-to-day character. Eileen was always doing something - a line reading, a side-eye - to keep you entertained. When Eileen had one of her biggest opportunities, with Eduardo's death and Lisa's wrongful death suit against John, she rose to the occasion and should have received a Daytime Emmy nomination. It's tough to see so many formative figures who made me love soaps leave, especially when it comes to ATWT, which was the elite. Still, she had a long and hopefully happy life, defining a genre and being a nationally known figure, living life on her own terms, to the end.

Pat Bruder.

Thanks. Odd choices all around...having him hook up with some 18 year old legacy character as she arrives in Salem, then leaves not long after. At least there was no pregnancy.

They didn't waste much time writing Doug III out once Ron left. Is it common to have an exit so blatantly spoiled in a promo for someone who wasn't obviously going (like John's passing or the recent exits for Bo and Hope)?

Thanks. That makes sense. I suppose that wasn't a bad way to redeem Lisa for viewers (certainly a better idea than her being gang raped...). I'm so glad you were able to see those moments. I hope some shows up eventually.