DRW50

I can understand why she is bitter about the show's final years, but I have to laugh at this about not giving them the satisfaction of quitting. She stayed for the money. No one else was going to be hiring her (not personal against Kim - most older soap actors don't work a lot in movies and TV after their shows end), and no one else did aside from a short OLTL run, web soaps, and small parts here and there. That's also why she wouldn't take a pay cut. You'd think she could have just admitted this. And they gave her a good amount of material in those years - it wasn't quality, but she'd had much worse, as most of Reva's material was never quality. In spite of her unhappiness, she does some of her better work, maybe because the pressure was off. Thanks for taking the time to type up these summaries as I will likely never be reading the book myself. The description of Ehlers (likely Ehlers) having a dark energy seems all too true. I loved Beth's work as Harley in her first run, but her second run is very difficult to get through, to the point where I actually preferred the temporary recast of an actress I did not care for on ATWT (Hayley Sparks). I disagree with Kim that Harley's exit hurt the canvas. By that point Harley was completely burnt out and her stories involved which man she was going to [!@#$%^&*], which was never the point of the character. I am sorry she wasn't on for GL's final episodes, but she chose to leave, and she...well, she sure made her choice with that one.

I don't know why people think the show would recast Monica. Say what you will about Frank, we all have, but he seemed to have a lot of respect for Leslie Charleson, and I don't believe he would recast the role.

I wonder if that Claudette character will be back...

I saw some fans tweeting about that Hope and Marlena scene, suggesting it was in character because of Princess Gina. Maybe, but it did seem real. I'm just sorry everything with Deidre and Suzanne meant Maggie couldn't be at the funeral supporting Marlena as they had such a lovely friendship years ago.

https://deadline.com/2025/06/terry-louise-fisher-dies-79-1236432626/ Fisher created 2000 Malibu Road.

Thanks. A very moving article, especially Jennifer talking about having to grieve with the world, and the advice Isabella gave her. I have seen pathetic people claim over the years that Lynch was a Trump supporter. I hope they read that article.

That's very true. And then even when they do commit the writing is so hesitant and strung out it's difficult to care (like Trina/Kai). I felt the same way about Cody and Lulu for months, but they did bring them back together for the Gio reveal.

I think so. I never can remember.

I wouldn't either (your Sly idea makes a lot of sense - the character should never have been gone this long anyway), I just have a feeling the show might go that route. I do like this Molly but the show will probably only ever see her as a third-string character. De-aging Aiden would be a good idea. It's not like we're going to be seeing him anyway.

How much do we know about her early life? Gail was her foster mother or was she just a mentor? At first, I thought they might be bringing Erika on as a recast of Monica's cousin Lorena Sharpe. I might take a retcon sister over that just for more story potential.

I always feel like I overrate Sasha or Chase by thinking they should stay - I think I like the idea of them more than the real them (although I do think Sofia Mattsson has a good rapport with Rory Gibson). Now that Sasha has finally had a positive moment with her baby surviving, I could see her being killed off. I could see your version of what to do with Chase and Willow being good drama. I keep wondering when the truth will be out about Drew and Nina. It must be coming, as Willow is already at a breaking point and has been talking about how much Nina has meant to her...but the impact may not be the same now. I thought Cody/Lulu was going to happen. It still might, if they are not going around and around with Cody and other women. Molly falling for Cody and then blaming Kristina for him moving elsewhere might be more interesting than the C-pairing they'd be otherwise. Cody/Liz could work, even if Twitter would devour him. This is where I wish they hadn't aged up Aidan so much as seeing Cody helping her with a teenager might have been interesting. Ava/Cody would probably just end up like a less defined Mac/Katherine, but Ava is one of those characters I don't really even know what I would do with. I think Kristina is a more dangerous figure than Ava is these days. I keep wondering how much of that is intended.

I could see that being a good story, especially as he likely already feels inferior in the marriage.

Thanks for all you do.

You're right about Swickard. I think he could handle that material as most wouldn't really be about him but I can see where one might wonder why bother. I swear Jason used to wear suits in court. Maybe the judge loves his coffee.

@slick jones Carrying over from my post in the AW thread on Scripts and Scruples: They list some of the performers involved on their site, although I guess the actual episodes are mostly gone. We Love Soaps TV — welovesoaps.tv I wasn't going to list the cast members who were just on that show or its sister shows (Rockland County and Eye of the Storm) as I wasn't sure if you'd want to count them onto your cast lists but if you do I'll try to find them all on the pages. Some soap alum they mention include Tom Baran (ex-Tony, ATWT) as Casey, Tristan Rogers (ex-Scorpio, GH) as Garfield Merriweather, Colleen Broomall (ex-Dani, ATWT) as Kennedy Armbruster, Anne Sayre (ex-Mitzi, ATWT) as Teri Dean, Sara Maraffino (Planner, DAYS) as Angie, Derrell Whitt (Will, The Bay) as Lucas, Don Money (ex-Rob, ATWT) as Brian, Josh Folen (ex-Josh, AMC) as Joe, Brody Hutzler (ex-Days, GL, etc.) as Joseph, and: SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES has featured a number of guest stars lately. That continues on Monday's episode. Mark Arnold (ex-Rob, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Joe, SANTA BARBARA; ex-Steve, RITUALS; ex-Gavin, THE EDGE OF NIGHT) debuts as Robert Tucker, Bobby's very religious and uptight father from Erie, Pennsylvania. Robert is in New York visiting his son, but does he have an ulterior motive for being in town? Meanwhile, Gerald Hopkins (ex-A.J., GENERAL HOSPITAL) continues his role as Richard Gamage, Stacey's father. On Monday's show, he reveals the real reason he wanted her to visit him in jail. Also on Monday's episode, Lisa Wilcox (ex-Kay, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Ellen, KNOTS LANDING) debuts as Rosalyn Gamage, Stacey's mother. When it rains, it pours for Stacey. Recent guest stars have included Anna Holbrook (ex-Sharlene, ANOTHER WORLD), Kale Browne (ex-Michael, ANOTHER WORLD), Tristan Rogers (Robert, NIGHT SHIFT) and Jill Larson (Opal, ALL MY CHILDREN). Up next: Sean Kanan (ex-Deacon, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, ex-A.J., GENERAL HOSPITAL) debuts as Pierre, a man involved with Rosalyn.

I could see Erika coming and going if the role is good enough - just short stints each time.

@Vee I know you're going to see this anyway of course... I know it will likely be a waste of Erika's talents but I'm just glad to see her working with the tragedy she's faced. I complain a lot about Frank, but a number of actors have spoken of his kindness to them, and clearly Erika is another.

Thanks for taking the time for the more detailed recap.

I would keep Chase for the time being partly because of the purpose I think he could serve rather than his current role, as he is of no real use as Brook Lynn's hand-holder. They missed so many beats by having her tell Chase everything. I think he could serve as something of a Joe Kelly (I am not comparing the actors) as the "nice guy" for various neurotic female characters to be with while they are looking elsewhere, and also as a foil for Michael once the Willow/Drew story is finally over. A Willow/Chase/Sasha/Michael quad could go on for a while. Maybe Chase cheats with Willow and that helps break up his marriage to Brook Lyn (who by that point would probably be falling for Dante anyway, leading her to scheme when Dante starts reconciling with Lulu). Michael having the ideal family life with Sasha and their daughter but deeply resenting the perfect man being with Willow and being another father to their kids, which would just trigger more of his self-loathing. His feelings for Willow would be unresolved, and you'd wonder if Willow is using Chase to get a reaction out of him. You could play the old Sasha/Chase relationship beats too. It would be a messy quad - maybe a little dull at times, but it could be the type of interlocked relationship story GH doesn't have enough of now. I do like Cody, even though I had no use for Kelly on OLTL. It didn't help that I was very bitter about the show by that point. If they could come up with some plan - any plan - for him, that would help. Hell, maybe they could actually pair him with Ava. I see that her fans are upset at the idea, some of them anyway, but it's a chance for something different with the character - seeing Maxie, Felicia and Mac interacting with her would give Maura a chance at comedy, which she's always been underrated at. And he would be there to help with her schemes (and probably make them worse as he's not the brightest guy). Then, if Molly is falling for Cody and feels betrayed (again) by Kristina I could see her siding with Ric in his money schemes rather than going along with Kristina and Alexis, which would lead to more isolation for Alexis and might spin her off into a darker and more interesting place.

I think there's story for Cody and Chase, but it would mean not being fear-based in the writing and not just throwing darts instead of telling stories. They should think of how much they've gotten out of Willow/Drew, which likely never would have happened if not for Mulcahey's brief return, instead of all this bitty, cautious writing (the whole Trina/Kai relationship is another example).

I wouldn't be surprised if Ava figures out what is going on and turns the tables, especially if all this is meant to be some kind of angst for Cody and Molly. They seem completely at a loss on whether to take the Cody character. It seemed like they had gone back to his relationship with Lulu and now we have this. I did see the clip where Cody thought Kristina wanted him to hook up with Alexis, which was amusing (and would probably make more sense given Kristina's mental state these days). I don't have any idea what they have planned with Natalia, unless they just have appearances to burn off for her.

Cat Hickland and HBS on The View, talking about Live Week. Starts at 37 minutes.

The old We Love Soaps Youtube channel randomly uploaded an episode of Scripts and Scruples, with Anna Holbrook and Kale Brown playing the parents of one of the characters. This was an indie radio soap. Looking at the new WLS site (I hadn't realized they had relocated - glad their material is still up), this originally aired in September 2008. @slick jones Not sure if this counts for soap hoppers but wanted to tag you anyway. (apologies if you already knew of this)

I should also mention "Guess I'm Dumb" which Brian gave to Glen Campbell. A gorgeous song, aching, and like many of Brian's songs from those years, startingly ahead of its time. Tatsuro Yamashita had a lovely cover on his Big Wave soundtrack album, which is in many ways just an extended Beach Boys tribute album. That includes this ditty, Jody, which is one of my favorite songs of all time.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ananda-lewis-dead-mtv-vj-1236263206/ Been a sad story over the last few years. Ananda was one of the few MTV VJs I had any respect for. Hard to even know what to say about Brian Wilson, whose work was timeless. When I was growing up, I often just thought of the cheesy beach songs, I didn't listen to Pet Sounds until I checked it out from a library and was enthralled, but even then, when I was a kid, I remember "When I Grow Up to be a Man" being in Look Who's Talking? and I was so affected by the song. Few could ever combine melancholy, a deep inner life, and nuance the way he could. And those harmonies. Few artists can make me cry the way the Beach Boys can. If the Beach Boys ever were America's band, they were because of Brian, who exemplified so many complexities and scars of this country in a way that few of us can ever understand, and I am not sure he ever fully did either. My favorite Brian song: