DRW50

It makes me feel old but also feels like no time has passed until I remember it's been almost 15 years for OLTL and AMC. I am not sure why it still feels more sudden for them compared to ATWT and GL - maybe because the ABC cancelations still felt like more of a surprise, as ATWT and GL had been left for dead (especially GL).

I wonder if she was trying to be nice about Zimmer as she didn't want to ruin her chances of Zimmer plugging her book. I didn't think her writing for Reva was bad, but I'm not sure what Kim ever said about that period of time. I'd love to know her thoughts about the disgusting story with Gilly, not to mention having Griffin stage his own assassination. Then again, maybe I wouldn't... If any of the stuff with Torchin and Garrett is true, then I don't blame her for speaking up about it, as using a soap magazine to try to strongarm a writer is never a great idea (and reminds me of how much Torchin's run started to crater in the late '90s), but I just don't know if it is true. Contrasting this with the glee she took in murdering Nadine just because Carol went to SOD to try to pressure her a bit gives a window into just how aggressive she was in pushing back, above what suited her shows or characters.

The story continued with an actor named Marc Wolf, who did a good job, especially given the circumstances. Beaty returned to finish the story. In those last months, they had brought in a sister for Brent and revealed that he had been abused as a child, so all the groundwork was there for them to keep him if things had worked out differently.

She doesn't say anything about Long. The biggest problem with the Meg story on a soap is any story Holly would have had in future, you'd wonder why the focus isn't on her daughter. It is possible for a soap to have a parent of a Down's child in heavy story - Emmerdale has for the last fifteen years with two of their characters - but it would have been much harder for GL, and with Holly, given the huge baggage she already had as a mother. The story also took away most of the spark Holly had, and it never really came back.

She did mention that she had acted for years and always just put up with the writing, no matter what, which is why she thought other actors should do the same. (of course those actors were bigger than she ever was) I think the story with Fletcher and Holly made sense initially, as she was going for the complete opposite of her relationship with Roger, but they never should have had a child. The initial story was powerful, but there was zero future for Holly with Meg.

I'm not able to see videos today either. Maybe it's my adblock. I don't know.

Ross wasn't involved in that story. His main story was based on the return of his wayward daughter, Dinah, who had a lot of conflict with his new wife, Blake. And his ex, Amanda Spaulding, returning to win him back. You can see the reel that won him that Emmy here: Yes. There was an uproar when Jerry beat Michael. To me Michael was not a supporting actor, although that rarely matters with awards shows (as shown with the Oscars yet again this year). I assume Jerry won because he was so respected in the industry, had won the year before, and also just beaten cancer in those few years. Either way, I was glad he won. He could have won ten Emmies and I would have been happy for him. They burned through good will ASAP with that hideous mess and Allyson Rice-Taylor's firing at ATWT (I am not comparing the two in severity). A shame because many were initially very glad for the changes. And that was the last time P&G even tried.

I tend to agree. Looking back now, I can see that reading. I didn't at the time. This was also a time where very transphobic material was at center stage - the same year the story took place, one of the highest grossing comedies had the lead character vomiting after realizing he'd slept with a transwoman. I don't say that to excuse the story. If people see it as transphobic, especially given the current climate, I understand why.

I think it's because the soap world she speaks of started dying 25-30 years ago and entered what seemed to be a final stage 15 years ago. Other than a few names, most of that era are long gone. It is a very angry letter from the past, somehow washing up on our shores.

Yes. I don't know if Marj ever really found another part so suited to her, although she was good on AMC.

Thanks. I'd agree. I think Michael Catlin and Todd Curtis were decent too (even if Curtis didn't remind me of any of the other Cleggs to the point where a switched at birth story wouldn't have surprised me). It's a shame Tyler and Brenda were never really properly cast (I know Leslie Graves had some problems). Conboy just seemed to be yet another producer who was incapable of working with a writer he couldn't steamroll. I guess Bill Bell left him with scars.

There are a few other tidbits, mostly about Maureen Garrett and Jean Carol, but not much.

She speaks of AMC being canceled. I'd guess it was written between that time and Agnes Nixon passing away.

Her comments about Michael Zaslow.

I do think the Brent/Marian story garnered some interest. The ratings went up - the show was very close to being canceled up to that point - and Frank Beaty was widely praised. I thought the story was very compelling to watch on a day-to-day basis. Ugly, and yes, a ripoff of various films, but entertaining. I hated that they killed Nadine but I was still watching and enjoying the story. I think the inherent ugliness of the plot and the one-note treatment given to the "good" characters was masked by the pacing and the drive and by Beaty. And Rick Heart and Sonia Satra did well, even though I never cared for Lucy. I knew they were making us feel sorry for Lucy, but in this case, it worked, as she was put through hell, instead of just endless "poor Lucy has a crush on Alan Michael," stuff. The woman who played Susan, Nick's girlfriend, also did very well with a thankless part. I imagine someone at the show might have agreed because I was pretty sure they had planned for her to be killed by Brent but she survived and then just left with Nick (Vincent was fired, right?). I do wonder what would have been if they had tried to keep Brent on the show, as they seemed to be planning before Frank Beaty's breakdown made it impossible. I can't see it working, but it still would have been better than the other stories on display. That was the biggest problem - there was absolutely nothing else to care about, maybe other than Annie's spiral into pill addiction. You had "A. Spaulding" and "Save Fifth Street," and the incredibly grotesque Lonitrat stuff with Roger/Dinah/Hart. I tend to agree. Nixon did come from P&G soaps, and GL was the P&G soap of all P&G soaps. The writing team in general at GL had so much upheaval and there was no one of value running P&G at that time. Maybe McTavish and MADD could have worked better together, but then MADD pissed all over any viewer goodwill almost immediately.

Never published.

Thanks again @Maxim . I knew of Trevor starting out bad but didn't know about the coercion with Marissa (although I imagine many would have said it was no big deal...). He looks so grimy there - Kiberd does play up all the slime. I wonder who saw in him the chance of playing a more heroic version of the character. He was on AW playing a psycho (a more cleaned up version) not long before this.

Thanks. That does sound familiar. She was very green on Loving but very likeable. Thanks. I wouldn't be surprised if Eva just joined the show because of the promise of sharing material with Maurice Benard and didn't follow most of the rest.

Who would you say the good younger actors were? It seems like Conboy repeated many of his mistakes at GL (I haven't seen enough of his Santa Barbara to know if he did there too). Tells you how much Bill Bell must have had a strong voice at Y&R. Do you think things would have been better if the Karpfs had stayed?

Maybe they were going for more Hollywood names who hadn't been on soaps (Cypher had been on ATWT a few years earlier). He would have been a good choice. Thank you. This is a worthy read. Having all the anecdotes from cast and crew adds a touch of genuine historical coverage. @Vee The mention Tonja Walker gives about Carolyn Jones teaching her how to do "eye acting" makes me realize that some of the big/crazy eyes Tonja could do as Alex Olanov does remind me of Carolyn. Do fans feel the Sloan and Ali story was a mistake? Did they break Trey and Sloan up for that story or had they already split? On the one hand, it is far-fetched (although the mid '80s was the peak of vague Middle Eastern adventures in TV and movies intertwined with DC...Goldie Hawn and Buck Henry even made a movie about it), but I do think Farantino and the guy who played Ali have good chemistry and there are some compelling dramatic moments. She's certainly selling it for all she can. I do wonder why they went through such a spinning wheel with characters like Kelly and Trey - I am not sure why the show split them up. Peggy Sloane is a better writer than Lipton, although she was mostly a "just there" type of writer, especially at OLTL. Her most praised work was probably at AW. I'm sure it's already been answered, but did Conboy ever say what plans he might have had for the characters if the show had been given a reprieve? I'd say Sloan would have lived, but if Farantino was leaving the show, maybe not.

I was never a big fan (I think I liked him most as Desi Arnaz), but many did see Maurice as sexy at the time she wanted him back on AMC. I remember her being married to a guy in a band (Shandenoah?), which was a factor in her leaving. I liked Gloria too. Teresa Blake was such a unique presence.

Thanks. So I guess the previous team may have had plans for Kelly but Ellis didn't. I'm still not sure why the show gave up so easily on Lorna. There was some talk about this on the Loving blog post for Colby Cantrell, but the huge turnover in the young female cast led to so much being on Trisha's shoulders (and Stacey's). I may have seen Kirsten, I'm not sure. I don't know if I ever saw Rob. Dave was the longest lasting of them, vanishing somewhere in 1990 or 1991.

You give me a lot of insight into Nancy. Thanks. I haven't watched tons of the Bible story, but it seems like something that was never suited to the show, and maybe only could have worked if GH or DAYS of that era were involved (I can see Alice, Caroline, Shawn and Tom being drawn into a Bible mystery. I wish they'd taken your approaches with Jeff. If he had stayed maybe he could have become jealous of Dave, who was so accepted by everyone. I do think the cast changes played a part. Miriam is also written out around that time. And most of the newer people aren't as compelling - the younger female cast (and the Lori recast) in particular.

Thanks for reminding me I never posted that mention here. It's at about 55 minutes and goes on for longer than usual. I guess ABC/Capital Cities wanted their money's worth. One of the most interesting parts about '80s Loving and up to about '91 is you will find completely random characters who will be in one or two videos and then I never see them again and have never heard of them. In this episode, it's Ava's beau, Tony (whom I briefly thought was the Tony that Stacey and Lorna were involved with - odd to re-use that name so quickly), and this girl Kelly who is talking with Shana and Jim. I can't find anything on her. Considering she was staying with the Aldens you'd think they had bigger plans for her.