DRW50

Caryn Richman Live in The Locher Room – Texas, Gidget & Brady Memories on Nov 25 – Don’t Miss It! Airing right now.

Thanks! At first, I was going to say there's an episode dated 6 10 91 but that is a different episode, so someone's date was wrong.

They've definitely taken good care of themselves (with any cosmetic work modest).

Spring 1995. Their feud really starts to build in late 1996 and lasts until spring 1998.

Kassie DePaiva on X: "Had a great night reuniting with Roger in Staten Island and now on to ⁦@UNCLEVINNIESCC⁩ #tnb #oltl https://t.co/gPFo6BkzSM" / X

I'd agree if this was the Laura of the '80s or even when she first returned, but she had a very lengthy mental breakdown in the '00s. I've never really been wowed by Genie as a dramatic actress, but I guess she's had so little to do for long enough now to where she is chomping at the bit.

Malone's favorite sexy rapist is probably a big factor, but even before that Jason had been steadily siloed. I wonder how much is down to Jason not being a character he created. The 1994 crop of men brought in is also remarkably bland, so that may be down to network mandates deciding Jason was not "hot" enough. I still wish he'd stayed around, but maybe he was better off leaving before some of the bad years arrived.

Sorry, just realized Lasell died a year ago.

I find Vigard fascinating to watch, as much as Brown, but once she's gone, there's nothing left. Jennifer Cooke only finds her voice in the role post-Marland, post-booting Kelly and acting her age. I can't help comparing Morgan vs. Nola to Lily vs. Meg. They started out very similar, and early on, Marland allowed Lily to be portrayed as bratty and get called out. Along the way he seemed to begin seeing her as much more sympathetic and was reluctant to criticize her, and the rivalry with Meg faded as Meg was isolated and had to learn some very ugly lessons. If Meg/Dusty/Lily had continued, instead of Holden/Lily taking off, then he may have kept playing some of those old beats a second time around.

You're right that it was a very antiquated idea about female characters. Alex may have come the closest to having loved ones but still going to dark places. I have wondered if any '80s powers that be may have wanted to make Alex darker, but Beverlee and the fans didn't want to see her go dark. I imagine Alan's departure for several years was one reason (as Alan brought out her worst, along with Roger). Another was that the Alexis Carrington offshoots on '80s soaps were often given layers which started to fade by the '90s. The attempts from '90s writers to make Alex into a darker character were generally unpopular all around and just ended up making her a buffoon by Marj's era - if only more skillful writing and casting had been in place, but I think Amanda could have easily filled that void instead of Alex, especially since Alex grew up with some love...Amanda only ever had pain. You make a good point about Morgan. Under Kristen Vigard, I do think we were meant to see her at least in part as immature, trying to pretend she was the woman she was not. (note that we were never supposed to question Kelly getting involved with a woman ten years his junior and trying to make her a woman). I always question where the part would be that makes Kelly fall in love with Nola. Maybe that would entail Stacey being very sick and Kelly seeing how much Nola loved her.

Thanks. I always thought it was the show's choice as they seemed to just have him there to be mistreated by Carl and the tease with Donna that never went anywhere. I always forget they brought in a son of Kevin's (was this meant to be a son from before Kevin went to prison)?

GL had so many generic heroines over those last decades it can be easy for me to forget they had some very interesting female characters, even toward the end. I am not too sorry the canvas wasn't littered with hams like Julia on ATWT.

Thanks for the rundown. I still don't know why they needed to get rid of Ben (or soon, Perry) just because of Jake. The McKinnons could have used Ben, especially as Jake never was a central part of the family. I guess if he had stayed he would have been murdered in 1986 or 1987, so maybe he was better off. I know they brought in a nephew for Jake in the show's last months, but I don't know if they ever said who his parents were.

You're right. I do think Nola hurt more people. She was malevolent and we got to see her cruelty, whereas Vanessa was treated more like a gnat. That scene where Nola starts raging about how much she hates Morgan and can't even bear hearing her name is astonishingly good at showing just how dark Lisa Brown could have gone with Nola. I think Gina's Dinah and Olivia were closer to anti-heroines than villains, although they toed the line with Olivia in her first few years. She could have easily gone all the way when she was there to keep Josh/Reva apart, but either someone at the show liked her or she had a lot of fans, so she was pivoted toward Alan instead. If they'd done a better job recasting and writing for Annie, she may have been the only real female villain in the show's last years. GL tended to focus more on psychologically broken women it seemed.

@VelekaCarruthers Thanks so much for going into all this detail on EON, including your brother's memories. Really appreciate it as I have still not watched most of the last few years.

It sucks, but given her history with them, Brook Lynn is the only one that really put me off. Tracy adores her and has done a lot for her. The story definitely was pointless and a somewhat sour coda to Monica's funeral. At the very least I might have had Erika pre-tape a few scenes, if she was able - maybe on her way out of town she sees "Nathan" killing someone, he walks toward her, we don't see her again, and everyone in PC just assumes she's started her new life. Then eventually we find out she was held somewhere; she leaves some clues behind and is freed at the end of the story.

@Maxim That makes me laugh. I imagine whoever wrote it did have some experience with soaps. I always roll my eyes at the "there must be something better" mentality when it comes to panning soaps. Susan would have made for a good OLTL psycho in the Rauch years.

Yes, I think Holly would have been there mostly to react to Ed's love life and to Andy's destruction. I can't see her having any real story of her own. I think it might have been interesting seeing her paired with someone like Tony, whose roughness might remind her of Roger, but whose kind heart might remind her of Ed (even if I didn't see much of that kind heart, he was meant to have one). And then we'd see someone who was immature and brash helping to raise a traumatized little girl. Then if Ed was still paired with Maureen, you'd have the conflict of ex-spouses, and co-parents to Christina, dating siblings. Marland's writing for women on GL is generally disappointing to me - aside from Nola and Vanessa (and I don't think Vanessa was well-written), one wan, noble figure after another, all in a row. I don't think he would have done anything with Holly. I think Maureen Garrett also benefited from the life experience of another decade. She's good in what I've seen of her first run, and she does what she can with her poor run on Ryan's Hope, but she is luminous by the time of her return to Springfield. I haven't watched Nadine's early run very closely but by the time she is scheming to keep Billy I think she is too sad and pathetic to be a villain. India started out as a bitch, but the show pulled back with her. Jenna also started out as a colder schemer but was significantly weakened throughout 1993.

Thanks. I'm not surprised either. I've always gotten some iffy vibes from him.

That would have made sense (even with the inevitable moment where Burt was invited on as a guest). Carol & Company is probably where I first saw Carol. I need to go back and rewatch. I remember liking the show. I can definitely see where it was too much to keep doing.

Dorian has a very interesting journey through the early to mid '80s - she schemes and her schemes backfire, as always, but as time passes, she does mellow and becomes more respected. I think when she leaves, she is even on good terms with Viki. They replay a lot of the beats with Dorian in later years that were originated in those years, but they're difficult to replicate.

I'd forgotten about that lawsuit. Bones was a huge moneymaker for FOX. Emily and David deserved every penny. I think Robert was also on that much-too-late Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice show.

Regarding Loni and Burt, both she and Burt were hurt with the constant tabloid frenzy, but I think, as @DaytimeFan and @Khan among others mentioned, what hurt her most of all was never really finding a real role after WKRP. At her career peak, she did a number of TV-movies that were focused on her sex appeal, when Jennifer worked because it was about her being more than just a sex symbol. Then she had a short-lived sitcom or two to finish out the '80s. After that was the divorce, and many of her roles just seemed like ways to earn money, rather than showcases. There was a very cruel Mad TV sketch I watched recently, from fall 2001, that was mainly just taking shots at celebrities pretending they were on the Weakest Link, and they had Mo Collins as Loni devastated by plastic surgery. It made me feel sad because I know she was more than that, but she never really got the chance to show that by this point.

Others will know better than me but yes this would probably be Sam Hall/Henry Slesar.

One Life to Live promo, 1982