DRW50

Thanks. I have vague memories of this. The main memory I have of Sean is they dressed him straight out of 1975, presumably because they thought it would make him seem oily, but instead it just showed how dated large parts of GL felt around this time. There's so much more they could have done with bringing in Sean Reardon beyond just wanting us to feel sorry for Matt. It would have been much more honest if he was a good man but also a selfish one, the two sides warring, similar to what Matt was intended to be. It would have done more to benefit Matt as a character - they always refused to inject nuance into Matt, to the point of not even wanting to admit that he sold ass for cash. I also don't really believe Vanessa would have pushed Matt to try a relationship with Sean when he was visibly uncomfortable. Vanessa had smarter instincts and also respected her partners more. It took Sean being the oiliest cliche imaginable to her for her to see through him. I did not hate Matt in of himself, but similar to Moniz's Dinah, he took away most of Vanessa's voice and presence.

Wasn't Elvera Roussel's pregnancy written in?

Thank you to everyone for the flashbacks. @dc11786That Monica/Tracy scene is exquisite. It gets to the heart of what Tracy and Monica should have been - women who understood and respected each other, even if they didn't like each other. We would often get the bones of the idea over the years, but usually with insults - none of that here. Jane's work in that whole exit story is incredible any time I watch another glimpse. I'm actually glad I never saw any of this before I saw Tracy on The City as I would have been so disappointed. This is the best writing I've ever seen for Tracy and Jane's best work. We get this vulnerability with Tracy now, at times, but it took the decimation of much of the Q family to make it happen. This really sums it up. Most soap content tends to feel like filling up time, especially now that we've gone into years and years of territory where TPTB are probably surprised their shows are even still on. It's also a consequence of having to fill up 30+ minutes of time 5 days a week. That 92-96 period may be the last time GH was able to do so.

You were talking about what Blair did in 1998. For part of the year she had a romance with Sam (complete with guitar) until he dumped her for being a bad person (that was where I knew I'd never like him - sanctimonious ass). Blair was then shackled to Max for years.

@alwaysAMC Reading your last few summaries. Thanks. I'm reminded of how busy this period was. That was generally true of the B&E run - something was always happening. I had forgotten J left this soon as I thought his story with Drew ran a little longer. Michelle's story with Jesse is a repeat of a story Beth had with Lujack. A shame they didn't play into that during Beth's return. The man who played Jesse's father was a good actor - I remember him being on Oz in these years. Wish they'd done more with him. Reading your reviews reminds me of some moments I'd forgotten, like the Beth/Ben relationship. Ben had chemistry with a number of women, but his most was with Beth. Beth Chamberlin didn't have much spark with most of her leading men, but I thought she worked well with Hunt Block. It helped that Ben and Beth were both broken people. A lost opportunity with the Harley/Philip/Beth triangle was the class issue. Philip was born with a silver spoon, whereas Beth and Harley had both worked from an early age and had never felt accepted in the Spaulding world. By 1998, Beth and Harley had both lost that side (and Harley had already started to become so brittle). Rauch's era of the show never seemed to delve into these class issues. As mentioned at the time, it was smart writing to have Annie rescue Abby but leave Reva for dead. I never loved Reva's house, I'm not surprised Rauch didn't either (it was very metallic-tinged), but I prefer it to her moving into Vanessa's house. For the rest of the time Reva lived in that place (what was it - 5, 6 years?) I still saw it as Vanessa's house. I'd forgotten just how heavily they still had Annie in story. I guess they wanted to get every last penny out of Watros, but a part of me wonders if they should have just recast as soon as she left to properly finish the stories they were setting up. The robe story I appreciated mostly because the writing finally accepted that Dinah was a bitch to Vanessa instead of asking for pity parties. I'm not sure how much the show had planned for Matt and Dinah, but I believe this was another story the Matessa fans hit the roof over (I can't really blame them - if I'd been one I might have too).

I'd forgotten Fiona is back on in 1986. Fitting that she was tied to Henry relations or Henry himself in all her appearances. Looking at IMDB I see he (Damian Scheller) was also one of many Pauls on ATWT - presumably the one before Andrew Kavovit. He hasn't done any acting in some time but has a sister who is in the business. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2608141/?ref_=nmbio_re_1

I'd think she would have been better. The Buchanans would have been a natural fit for her, as would Renee, maybe Blair, etc.

Jeff Ryder wrote under Long or maybe was a co-writer for a time, I believe, although I'm not sure how much was from him in her first run. All those stories took place when Long was headwriting. Lisa was on for about a year and a half, maybe a little more, of Long's tenure. I'm not sure if they were trying to run out Lisa and Michael's contracts or if Long/Kobe just didn't have any real use for them. I might put more blame on Kobe. She also wrote the fishing trip story about the Springfield fathers (and Bill Bauer's final death), which Nola had a good role in. I may be mixing Quint up with Eugene from DAYS about a robot - if I'm wrong someone please let me know.

Long took over around the time Nola and Quint were getting married. She seemed to move them away from the adventure elements and toward more domestic stories, filler stories, having a baby (the child was named by viewers), Nolaerobics, Quint being a professor and Fiona Hutchinson throwing herself at him (this was not Jenna), Quint being a scientist, with a robot and taking in a precocious child (played, naturally, by a kid from Texas) for a time.

It's shockingly bad. I am not sure if they were trying to imitate Jane Wyman on Falcon Crest, but she was almost 20 years older than Beverlee! That period seemed to want to age Alex - maybe because of the pairing with HB. I don't like it.

I loved the big soapy look Lucas threw at Anna and Dante when he realized the man on the gurney was Nathan (as others have said, you wouldn't even really know who he was). Van Hansis still isn't who I would have chosen as Lucas, but I do enjoy how he throws himself into the melodrama. Luke was such a dour character most of the time, he didn't really have as many of those moments.

Thanks for letting us know @jam6242 one of my favorite theme songs of all time, especially the first season. I remember seeing Sonny sing that on some Nick at Nite special in the early '90s, before that channel became more pabulum. That CBS Morning interview is lovely. I've never cared a great deal for Mo Rocca due to my dislike for the Daily Show, but he's at his best in these interviews. "Walk Right Back" is a wonderful song. Never knew he did that.

Another rarely seen pilot was uploaded, shown once on CBS back in the day. Married to the Mob, with Suzie Plakson and Cynthia Stevenson, among others.

Thanks again @Maxim That's a very good scene between Lee Ann and Dorian. Elaine Princi plays it just right. You can tell what a low opinion Dorian has of Lee Ann, but she still feels some sympathy for her, as a mother or as a person. Lee Ann is generally just such a user and always makes life worse for herself, but you know it's not even that intentional on her part. The whole steam room near-death experience is best left to horror films. Last year, Neighbours had a story where a young pregnant woman was locked in the sauna by a rival, and she had a stillbirth as a result. A very harrowing, unpleasant moment that wasn't handled well and took you out of the fantasy of a "soapy" storyline.

You could argue no actor on GH (maybe on daytime) was given as kind of treatment as Geary.

Great find @SoapDope78

I don't know whether to respect or be annoyed that Drew remains such an [!@#$%^&*] even after getting plugged twice. I am sorry we never got any moments where Monica could react with disgust to who he has become.

Considering Rory had no scenes with Monica and no history with Leslie Charleson, I give him his flowers for managing to show Michael's guilt and mourning. I wish they could have shown some flashbacks with the other Michaels, even if he wasn't in the part at that time. I get why they didn't though. It helps that physically he does remind me of a young Alan, or Gerald Hopkins' version of AJ.

I don't think any would quit watching, but there are definitely a number of vocal fans who see Michael as Sonny's son and who don't want the show to get too far into him saying otherwise. I saw some tweets over the last few days blaming Alan and Edward more than anything with Sonny, Jason and Carly. The other issue is there's not a lot of story left in Michael rejecting Sonny or Carly, unless they bring AJ back again. This awkward middle ground is probably the best the show will get...which is a lot more than I thought they'd get based on my memories of the Guza years.

Thanks @YTG

The show was apparently a mess for a few years before the end. It's tough for me to say, as Deborah Farentino stayed to the end and had a decent career, but generally I'd say soap actors are better served if they leave after a few years. I do wonder what they would have done with Julie without Hickland - if they still would have had a doppelganger for Julie. Maybe some who know more about the show than I do could help.

I probably haven't seen enough to give a full opinion. Physically she was a good fit for the part, but Hickland was probably a better actress.

Thanks. I never knew those extra details. @Vee This may interest you too.

It's inevitable. Sonny is not seen as any pariah or corrupt figure. He's seen by many characters and viewers as an icon.