DRW50

In the long run it may have been worth it to just appease Frank and keep stringing along the way they did with Julian for ages, but I can see why Mulcahey would find the character past any expiration date.

I think ATWT and AMC were probably the two soaps that had the most mainstream mentions over the years (although with ATWT it was further in the past than AMC). AMC did keep name recognition to the end, which is why I wish the TV movie deal was going through. OLTL is still in a place where you could bring the show back, maybe have Erika and Robin (if they are willing) in some capacity, but OLTL was always treated as the unwanted stepchild by ABC. I'd take GL back, gladly, but I am not expecting it. Edge of Night is just a very cool soap name, and you could easily bring back the show's format for a new era, with a few small ties to the past if you want. That's why I'd bring the show back...just make sure it's with a strong mystery writer, even if no one can replace Henry Slesar.

I don't think Mulcahey could have pried JPS out of Frank's grasp. I do think Ava was on the chopping block though. The whole "I have no money" story feels very thrown together even by the show's standards.

Thanks. That seems like a parody name...or someone who would have conspired with Angela Channing for about 3 weeks in 1986.

That would have made sense. I could have seen him with Luna too. A shame he didn't even get an exit.

I think he went in on Kim partly because when he arrived, she was one of the only characters involved in a strong storyline and partly because Kim always put in the work, even when the stories weren't good. He did tame the roughness of the character too much (Reva never should have been an island queen), but Kim sold every moment. I remember Tangie coming in with Josh, and they had the stolen money story (I didn't remember her taking off her clothes in a fountain), but it did feel like they gave up after that. One of the problems is how much of Tangie's existence was down to confusing backstory. I know that's true for many characters, but you need to center them. Reva came in and was nothing but backstory for the Lewises, but they centered her (for better or worse). Tangie was often just on the side, shoehorned into the lives of others. I remember all kinds of monologues with Roger and Tangie about her parents and I remember being confused as to whether they were going to say he was her biological father. Nothing ever happened. Beyond some well-acted scenes, I am not sure if she had any impact on Roger or his storylines in those two years. Did she have any impact on any characters? I can't remember if Alan-Michael or Alan even cared after their relationships ended. Was his monologue the same episode where Josh rescued some kids and Vanessa and Matt had their big romantic moment running into each other's arms? I didn't care for that whole set piece but at least they did put a number of their cast in the midst of drama. Amazing to learn even that was out of JFP's control.

I don't know if you've ever seen Carrington Garland on Santa Barbara, but IIRC she auditioned, and she would have been a good fit. I have a feeling Barbara was only cast because she was well-received on Y&R. I know I had some good will for her for that reason. Unfortunately, she was not a good fit...but even if Kim Simms had stayed, it was clear JFP had no use for Mindy. Nice to see someone knew in here. I remember Michael O'Leary or Grant Aleksander "joking" about some homoerotic scenes in this era. I could easily see Alex having some kind of complicated emotional attachment to another woman in that timeframe, similar to Katherine on Y&R before that story was aborted. Marland's soap world was going, going, gone by the late '90s, but I could see him going back to GL instead of the Labines. Or OLTL. Very classy. She was too much of a potential star to stay long - at least she did have some strong moments in 1992 and 1993.

Nice to see that sneering anti-soap attitude remains...even with CNN's ratings in the toilet, the elitism dies last. That could make sense. I wonder if she's ever spoken about her reasons for leaving. I am trying to remember if they built Debbie up before Tess left. Sad to say, Debbie was nowhere near as interesting.

Is Patricia Mauceri still acting?

I'm sure they are to a point, but I think if there were real concerns, ABC would have made more changes instead of half-heartedly trying a bit last year before continuing to let Frank wait out the clock. CBS clearly cares to some point as they were willing to create a brand-new soap, but if they do the caring seems somewhat one-sided.

I never thought there'd be a big competition between GH and BtG and I still don't. They will each have their own audiences (and GH has made it clear they know most of their audience is not interested in diversity). They will both be lucky to stay on the air another few years with the state of TV. I was reading about yet another late night show (After Midnight) ending, and they are just giving the time back to affiliates. It reminds me how close to the end we are for pretty much all of network TV.

Michele Lee really goes hogwild in the first promo.

Thanks. So he should appear on Eddie's YT page soon.

Just Rosanna was a hoot. I had also forgotten they used that very loud hair metal music cue with Carly. I do remember the fiddle cue they use right as they're about to kiss. The idea of looking for more reasons to prove how wicked Carly was feels like something Lisa would have been doing in the '00s.

I don't think I could ever get past that either, even if the show pretends it never happen (or doesn't even remember the scene). With Jason not as involved in the mob, Jason/Liz could be a more natural pairing these days, but the show's lack of interest in Jake tells you how little interest the show has in the relationship. They still see Jason as a "star" character while Liz is lucky to be there. The three of them have ascended to some absurdly high plane where almost nothing can register for them - viable stories, love interests, nothing. This is the end result of writing that is too slanted in your favor (and I don't count characters who pay lip service to being anti-Sonny - that's an old shell game going back 30 years).

That could have been some good conflict for everyone involved - maybe he'd have some issue with Mack and Karen, and Val would be torn given that Cathy was married to her brother. (not sure if Ben/Cathy would still be a thing here)

That makes sense too. They were so tragic (as was Ruth Roman).

A 1995 episode has been uploaded - I don't think it was already up. @P.J. it's a Carly episode. I had forgotten she used to call Rosanna "Rosebud" - not in a kind way. So did I - not in a kind way. Mike/Rosanna always suck the life out of scenes. @DramatistDreamer This might be a little late for your ATWT enjoyment era but tagging anyway just in case. I had also forgotten there was a redesign of the Mona Lisa, which does not look good (and it seems like the camera angles are trying to hide that). How long did the Mona Lisa last anyway? I think people were still going there in the late '90s but I can't remember after that. Some good Kim/John scenes here. It's a shame Jeremy left (I know it was the actor's choice) as he was more natural and compelling than the usual generic models like those we got in 1996 (Ryder, Paul, etc.). It might have made more sense to bring him back for Margo/Tom conflict than that weird story with Eddie and his being fixated on Margo.

I think Brooke could be overhated (when I got into AMC in the '90s, she was often loathed online), although the material for her for from the mid '90s to 2000 (the last year she was written for) is genuinely terrible much of time. Even a story that should have worked (adopting Laura) never really pans out, due to a number of factors (like Laura being so bitter they even had a story where she hated Santa Claus...). None of that is Julia Barr's fault, and she did give excellent performances when given the chance (like the Jim Thomasen mess).

Thanks for the article. AWHP lists Mapa as appearing in 1992. I looked in the synopses and didn't see mention of a psychic, but I may have missed it. I'd guess he was in the first half of the year as that's when Frankie and Cass were slowly reconciling. Needless to say, Nicholson, Beatty, and Mapa were not cast in M Butterfly (and I have my doubts the first two were ever interested). The film was a big flop anyway.

Thanks @Maxim . I did generally like Cecily (no comment on her return). Again Dixie and Adam are effective with a minimalist touch. You could have told this story in the '60s. I wonder if Agnes has taken over by this time.

This was intended as a short-term return. Jill Farren Phelps did not want Kim back and the previous year had turned down any return as she felt the show had moved on from Reva. She only did this because she knew her job was in huge danger. After she was fired, Kim was signed up for a permanent return. Barbara Crampton had announced her exit around this time, as did Marcy Walker, so both pairings (which had their share of fans) never went anywhere. In 1994 JFP was asked in SOD about a Tangie/Cutter pairing, and she made it clear she wasn't interested. She had clearly expected Marcy to click with some of her bigger names, not a supporting player cop. Everything you're seeing with Tangie is Marcy just working out the rest of her contract. She felt used by JFP, as there was no real story in place for Tangie and she was only brought in because Marcy had been a star on Santa Barbara (also produced by JFP). I don't know if you watched the episode with Buzz on a roof yelling about Fifth Street, but that was JFP's attempt at staving off cancelation rumors. She thought a big Emmy showcase for Deas would do it. They never left their soaps, so we will never know, but Susan was on AMC from the start and Erika only a few years into the show's run. Kim wasn't on GL for 30 years (not even counting radio). I do think Kim was popular, but JFP wasn't wrong that the show had moved on. The problem is that thanks in large part to JFP's actions, the show was hollowed out by 1995, so that argument didn't really work anymore. You can't say there's no room for Kim when you made devastating changes to the show to make room for your BFFs.

I like that. Maybe in that scenario Jill could stay around and have some other story (develop her bond with Mack or have her befriend Abby and Olivia while plotting revenge).

Six hours of December 1987 episodes. Picture and sound quality not great. NBC WCHS Portland Maine ( Mid December 1987) Santa Barbra Soap Six Straight Episodes Woc : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Thanks as always for all your hard work @slick jones and paying tribute to the many daytime losses. The name Hauser used for his album makes me laugh.