DRW50

There was also a lot of backlash from fans, which I don't think "Cartini" had expected. He was then killed (again) off not that long after.

Thanks @Paul Raven Erika's talent was obviously evident from early on. Gregory Abels would go on to a big role on Where the Heart Is (producing one of my favorite soap magazine covers). I've only ever seen in his few Ryan's Hope appearances.

Thanks as always @Maxim Based on Tonja's forceful personality, I can easily see a director asking her to tone it down and Tonja saying, "NO!" The Dorian and Sloan clip (I almost typed Suede - he was probably more up Dorian's alley) is interesting. Flirtation, but she's also trying to sniff out info. I was trying to figure out if Renee had feelings for him and was getting jealous. Imagine a Renee/Asa pairing. Asa and Sloan, pistols at dawn.

Thanks @slick jones I had no idea Jones was on that many soaps.

Taylor also had a confused, ill-fated return to AMC where she reunited with Cliff (again) only for him to be "killed," then he came back, but she was with Matt, then he left again, and she left again. The story is very drab, and Taylor lacks chemistry with Michael Tylo (as many did aside from Lisa Brown), although from what I saw Taylor did her best. I remember reading somewhere that when Taylor was asked back in 1989, she was disappointed to learn it was just for Cliff's rushed exit. And other than various guest appearances, that was it for the character. It seemed like the show just gave up on Nina after using her so heavily in the '80s, instead starting over from scratch with Palmer and Opal. I think if they'd tried, they could have found a new chapter for her without Cliff, but I guess they felt she was used up.

I didn't remember them being too close either but I thought I may have missed something early on. Either that or Monica was counted because by the end I think the only characters in all of Port Charles who ever had a bad word to say about Brenda were Carly and Skye.

I saw someone saying Brenda was like a daughter to Monica. Others are more fully versed on Brenda's history than I am so I just figured, sure. That would have been a nice touch. I don't even know if we got any flashbacks of AJ. I guess that is always going to be a sore subject after the horrible way he was treated under Frank (not even counting pre-Frank).

That's right - Skye and Robin were the two I kept reading about. Robin I get (although it's clear Kimberly is not returning aside from, maybe, Tristan's memorial), but even with the Alan tie, I don't know if Monica and Skye had a close enough relationship when Skye has been so forgotten by the show. Mac or Anna being there would have been nice. At least Lois got that moment with Brook Lynn.

It was a standalone show. There are several episodes on Youtube.

The show seems to have a romance problem, period - the most the younger set gets is Joss' bed romps, and the very twee or sparse material with Cody/Molly or Emma/Gio. I think it's more noticeable with the older women because they are more compelling so you should expect this to be showcased. I saw a lot of complaints about the funeral - why wasn't this person there, why weren't the flashbacks truer to Monica's character, why weren't the kids there, and so on. I can see some of the complaints, especially in the inevitable need to sanitize a character and their history or focus on the wrong element, but overall I thought they got it right. Yes it would have been nice to, as I saw suggested, have Brenda or the Wards and so on there, but that was never happening. I'm glad the kids weren't there. And some of the flashbacks were a fun surprise, especially getting to see a moment with Lucy and Monica. I'm also glad, as someone mentioned earlier in the thread, we got a few mentions of Dawn, presumably for the first time in decades. I'm just, as already mentioned, so grateful Jane Elliot is there, as she just exquisitely translated material that could have been boilerplate. And she allowed for a more nuanced goodbye for Monica than just the manpain and leather jacketed angst we would have had in the peak Q slaughtering years. I never expected Jason and Tracy to be the two heads of the Q family, but it works much better than it ever should have. That is probably a big factor. He's getting older, he has less to prove, the whole badass Sopranos world Frons and Guza enabled is long gone (imagine Guza's reaction to Heart & Home - bullets flying, I would guess). There's also much more natural drama in exploring what's left with Jason and the Quartermaines. I imagine that will wane now with Monica gone, but even though Jason will never be Jason Quartermaine again, I hope they will keep those ties. The regret and years of lost chances are very poignant. I think in some ways it's more poignant now because he is just in the middle of two worlds (the Qs and the waning Sonny/Carly nexus) he's a part of but also not really a part of anymore - people move on but he can't because of so much time he has lost, not just with the Qs, but his kids, the women he loved, what have you. There's also a role for Jake in all this but good luck with that. While so many Bensonhurst people are on the canvas and Ellen Travolta still with us, maybe they should do some type of Bensonhurst-based mystery to help explain her years away and behavior in that time.

The people who took over the show at this time seemed to just want to slaughter anyone and everyone who was being written out.

Thanks. That episode was originally uploaded 14 years ago, but in parts.

That's where I would cut. I keep forgetting MCE is still on that show. And any time I see Jason Thompson he looks very depressed.

I think MTS had more than one protracted battle with Sony over contracts, so you're likely right. MTS is one of the few I'd say should get that level of salary as she's one of the few who ever almost makes me want to see Y&R again.

I think Rory had some advantages Duell didn't, as they let him join the show with a bang, making a move against Willow and Drew that many had wanted to see for months. There's also the freshness of a new hire. With that said, while I didn't mind Duell (admittedly I was not watching on a frequent basis for...well, a very long time), I do think Rory brings more maturity to the part (even though he's almost a decade younger), and makes sense for a new era - Duell, to me, was Carly's son, while Rory is more of his own man, or has the potential to be. Physically he's also a good match for a young Alan, and a young Jason and AJ. There are many paths the show could take with Rory's Michael, if they try. I really hope they try.

Thank you for finding that @YTG

I wrote a lot of that while in a haze, so you're right. Thanks. I'll delete it. At least I got the Keith part right.

On paper, Olivia and Lois are very similar, and even in performance as I think in both cases it was the performer who made the character what it was, but onscreen they aren't as similar as they could be, especially after the Gio reveal. I'd be glad to see Lois on more often, if the show can figure out what to do with her.

Thanks. I never knew of this. Too bad for Kate it didn't go anywhere.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/john-christopher-jones-dead-broadway-actor-1236386977/ RIP John Christopher Jones (who had a brief role on ATWT).

Thanks for the details on why Patti was let go (one of the reasons, anyway). I missed a lot of the GL fan hysteria of these years so your recounting always amuses me. I actually did like Selena and Buzz as a couple but they weren't anything special, and much as I think Patti herself was an interesting presence, I could never imagine sending her and her family gifts. (is that type of thing still done with soap actors now?) I do think that Moniz could have played some of the same ambiguity in the writing that Gina Tognoni did, but I still enjoyed her playing of Dinah as a complete bitch by the end. The only thing that I wish they had added, beyond a stronger Vanessa, was a rivalry with someone who gave as good as they got. International soaps would have had her against a truly malicious figure and she would have been in for a real fight.

An extremely rare episode without Russian dubbing has been made available on Youtube! @dc11786 @Chris B @Paul Raven @slick jones @soapfan770

Marland seemed to believe Lucinda always had to be hungry, always had to be punished for her sins. This probably did work for her, because viewers still sympathized with her even as she behaved horribly, but I do think we missed out on much more time with Lucinda and John as a proper couple. John was the one who really suffered from the breakup. He was left moribund for years. IIRC, he and Lisa Brown wanted to be paired together, so I can't blame Marland there (other than saying yes), but that was just a pairing all about plot, about the reactions of other people, no chemistry, just kind of depressing. And while I am glad Iva got to raise a child (even if the whole "replacement child" aspect is a little gross), John did not need another child. (and by the time MJ was old enough for story, they were no longer using John). Something that most writers loved with John, but Marland seemed hesitant about, was his existence as a finger in the eye to Oakdale establishment. And I think that's what fans enjoyed too. We still got that with Marland, to a point, but there was a certain muzzle on John from about 87/88-93 or so which would have rendered the character a back number without Larry Bryggman.

I thought he did say she reminded him of Tracy. Maybe I misunderstood.