DRW50

@Paul Raven Thanks again. I guess this is the "demon fetus" story I remember reading about. I wonder if the dream plays out any better onscreen. And of course Tom Baldwin is back for more Steve/Audrey misery. I wonder if Lee returns in time to interact with him again. Mellie - I was going to ask if Shonda Rhimes was watching but she would have been 6 around this time. You never know...I probably started soaps around then. Speaking of Lee:

I put that down more to how badly written that period was than anything else, similar to how the only ideas for Rachel were blindness and amnesia.

Kristina needs a long break, so that would just leave Alexis. I think she works well enough in a supporting part, although they have written her into a corner over the years. Tracy has the best of both worlds as she can have tender moments with the people she cares about, then gets to throw all her trademark venom at Drew. I'm just glad the show was willing to knock the halo off his head.

It could have been interesting, given that she and Alex were friends. I imagine he would have ended up bringing out her Solita personality. For all the talk of crazy fans, for a long time fans did seem willing to embrace the rivals of...well, Reva's rivals. (no wonder Kim felt insecure as it happened three times with her) You don't seem to get as much of the tribalism until the "Manny" era. I guess some might say "Matessa" too, but as I could not stand Dinah in those years, I am not one to talk about their fans if they managed to repeatedly put the kibosh on a Matt/Dinah pairing. And at least that did not seem to involve death threats.

This was late 1993, right before Roger is shot.

That could be it too. I just remember a slap at some point. That would have been around when she was made at Holly for "ruining" her one-sided relationship with Alan Michael. I don't know if you will be getting to 2000 (if you do - buckle up!) but there's a character who was intended to be Stacy.

When written correctly or played correctly the antagonist will often have a sizable following, although this can go too far. It's why having a balance and allowing your heroes to be called out by other characters is so important. Speaking of that, I did not realize Sonni got a lengthy montage when Michelle Forbes left, or that Pam Long was willing to showcase Sonni/Josh so much for her farewell. The care taken reminds me of when Anne Heche left AW a few years later. Given that Sonni was brought in an as interloper, it shows just how much respect the show had for Michelle's talents and how much she captivated viewers in those two years. Oh I think Holly gives Blake a smack in the mouth. I think it was during Liz's early days as Blake as that is when they become estranged for a good while, although I may be wrong.

I was going to put this Lisa Brenner interview in the AW thread but I'm not sure she says much about AW in it. I admittedly skipped around a lot as the interviewer's style annoyed me.

I do think Zane could have been a decent long-term addition if they hadn't disposed of him - up to Lucas' arrival, at least.

I would consider recasting Nikolas again just for the sake of those around him, but you may be right.

Watching this longer clip I truly am impressed with the effects but also the direction - the moments of fear in the ballroom before the blast are wonderful. What I appreciate most here is the lack of a montage and the lack of aggressive editing. This all looks better than quite a bit you could find elsewhere at the time, let alone now. Julia should have avoided weddings.

@alwaysAMC Glad you made it to the soft rock theme. I share your disgust for the Gilly story, as many viewers did. Gilly was never a big character, but she was a part of why the early '90s feel real and different for GL, and she deserved a much better exit. This was also the last worthwhile role Amelia Marshall had on daytime (I don't even know if Passions fans would disagree). This was also Petronia Paley's only major chance at story and as someone who always appreciated her work, I'm sorry it did not go better for her. And I liked Charles Ewing a great deal on Loving, so I was even more unhappy with how they treated Griffin. It's a deeply offensive role, in many ways. As for slapping, you may enjoy this, if you are able to find anything onscreen underneath all the ham. It really goes into hysteria in the second clip. As a bonus, you also get a quick glimpse of why the Billy and Mindy recasts were not accepted by viewers. One positive I will say about this clip is that it's one of the few times I remember the show making clear that Roger was able to defend himself if he had to do so.

My favorite moments are with Erika and then Robin and Tim Stickney around 7/8 minutes. There are also little yellow bumper moments with the crew, which I enjoy more than the real ones. There's also a music video at the end to I Will Survive, with Linda Dano and JFP having a cameo (they certainly do know how to survive). Also a fun bit with a frazzled crew member showing cards with the names of every EP she presumably worked for at the show (or maybe just every EP, period).

I think in the long run they can probably get more out of Gio, even though I know GM probably won't be around long enough for it to matter. The show has a real problem on how to handle Nik in future, which affected Spencer. Laura is moribund and her role in Spencer's story didn't do her many favors. They would have kept Esme around even longer. A lot of Sprina fans would have hated GM as he was replacing NAC. And even the fans who did accept him wouldn't have mattered because Frank likely would have split that relationship up ASAP. There's a good chance we'd get a Spencer/Emma pairing, only with Emma and the actress playing her getting dragged on social media every day and with people calling her a racist.

For me she just doesn't really work on Y&R, in part because of the performers around her and the style of the show. Her second run as Tina did not utilize her in the best way much of the time but I think they did still find some of those softer moments, or Andrea did, and she just fit better with the performers around her.

Unless they cut him, I'd think he would stay. Surely, he didn't choose to return because he expected high quality. I figure he gets to work when he wants and spend a lot of time doing his own thing and being with his family.

You're right, but that also sums up why the show is so unwatchable these days. Any character could go on a Postal-style rampage and it would generate a shrug.

I do think she's been pretty wrecked, having tried to kill someone in cold blood, letting her whole family (including the woman pregnant with her great-grandchild) get charged or questioned, and having no remorse, but it doesn't matter as much because Kathy has not existed as a character since Gillian's return anyway. There are reasons to bring Max back, like Lauren and his not knowing he had a child with Linda, but he is exhausted, with Jake Wood phoning it in years before he left. I am a little surprised about Zoe because Michelle Ryan said for years she didn't want to return, to the point of even asking the show to recast the role, but I guess this may only be a short stint. I wouldn't be shocked if they kill Zoe off.

Melanie Smith was very difficult to replace, but as KMH did last for a long time, she clearly managed to do so. I preferred Melanie, but the main issue with Kelley is I just think she was horribly written for most of the time. Initially the writing wasn't horrible, it's more she was not the right choice, but over time the writing genuinely became awful, and unplayable, with a few exceptions (I think her pairings with Chris and Hal worked and got to take her in some new directions).

Wonder if any of the Beyond the Gates people were asked. Admittedly, the show hasn't been on long enough for any of those actors to get much interest.

Oh I agree that they erred in not showing her bonding more with her family and not having this examined more closely. I think if I cared about Lucky or Laura I'd be more agitated. I think the material they have given her (aside from chasing after Charlotte, which was hurt by not focusing more on Rocco's response and just by Charlotte never having a reason to exist) has been OK but certainly not what it could have been.

It's tough for me because I feel like this has always been Lulu. She used to be even worse, slut-shaming, verbally abusing other women, and always being written as being in the right. They should let Brook Lynn get dirtier, but I think the material of Lulu digging and being self-righteous, making everything worse even while not intending to do so, but also not being as in the wrong as Dante thinks she is, all makes sense for her. But I don't have as much experience with Lulu as a lot of fans as I just could never stomach her beyond the time she was a mute kid, so I don't have much right to speak.

I don't think Lulu is written that badly. Lucky they do seem to have no real interest in. I wonder if this is another story they have decided to wrap up abruptly as it makes zero sense to have what would have clearly been serious conflict between Liz and Lucky just get shrugged off by her. Maybe the intense viewer negativity toward Kristina got through to them.