DRW50

Melissa Fumero has a new NBC show, Grosse Point Garden Society. Looks like it started a few weeks ago. Kim Zimmer is going to be appearing in a Raleigh production of A Trip to Bountiful. I posted the interview in the GL thread.

Thank you so much @slick jones

This helps with the date of that last clip. What a silly story this must have been for viewers at the time. I do enjoy hearing Peter Simon do a "mwahaha" laugh.

I wouldn't even say it's the dumbest thing they've done this year. Anything with Joss is a failure anyway. They could have her go to clown school like Maggie on OLTL and it wouldn't matter. Very good work from both ladies. Alexa has been a big gift to the show in terms of performances. Even after all the years out of daytime, she hasn't missed a beat. She reminded me a lot of Bobbie in her argument with Brook Lyn - she will admit to her faults and not care if she's self-righteous, she is still going to say what she thinks. She lacks Bobbie's warmth, but that's what happens when your father is a rapist and a deadbeat and your mother isn't there most of the time. Of any Spencers left on the canvas she's the only one who channels the old Spencer vibes. I've seen some fans say this isn't who Lulu is and it's ruined her, etc. but this is very familiar to me. Maybe they were just big Emme Rylan fans?

Thanks @TheyStartedOnSoaps it's nice to see all those promos together. That first promo is odd if it is meant to introduce new viewers to the show - they seem to imply Curtis is also a Donovan, Roger too, and they don't identify several of the men featured. Seeing Bryan Cranston doing his wacky dancing shows you why he would go on to spend so many years in sitcoms.

I love how thrilled the male host is.

Thanks. I think a copy of that episode is on Youtube, but of course that has a watermark and doesn't have the ads, so someone may prefer to buy the original (if this is the same episode).

@Maxim Not sure you'd be interested (if you haven't already seen this) as you are well into 1989, but it's much of May 24, 1988. Starts at about 50 minutes in.

It's hard to imagine Stu not being there from almost the start, but I guess it would make sense if the earliest episodes were all about Jo's marriage and in-laws and they had to shift focus once her husband died.

Thanks @Maxim I was trying to remember if those scenes were in the WeLoveSoaps uploads. I think these might be a bit before the WLS clips. I liked Deborah Hobart on AW (she was the only Holloway I cared about, even including Judith McConnell and Kit's studs), but she had no business playing Bob's girlfriend. I can already sketch out Dee looking depressed somewhere offcamera during that Peter Simon scene. I think I remember the twinky guy talking to Jay from some other clips, and the actor is familiar too. I guess I should try to look back to remember if he ever had any story. They have a bit of chemistry... Poor Carol. Easily the highlight there.

Thanks! You're right.

I often see people who say this praised for being honest and noble, but most of the time they have also lost any ability to produce. And ATWT wasn't even one of the shows with the crazier fanbases.

I do think Alex wasn't Mike's type - he always seemed to go for more modest women, not someone who was dominant. Lillian makes more sense for Mike. With that said, I don't think a Mike/Lillian pairing would have brought a great deal of storyline. If anything, RVV's Ed not working should have made the show more likely to recast Mike, but by that point they seemed to want to try to move in a new direction, doubling down on "their" families, like the Shaynes and Lewises and Spauldings. I wonder if another reason is ageism, if Mike was just too old for them. If they had brought him back, it might have been interesting to have Hope get drunk and fall and hit her head while home alone with Alan-Michael. She'd end up in a coma and Mike would have to raise Alan-Michael for a while, which would be a struggle for him and also make him realize how little time he spent with Hope when she was a child. Then when Hope woke up, they could have brought back Elvera or recast the part and shown her recovery, maybe even a custody battle between father and daughter.

Thanks. You're right. Turns out I had seen it. I knew nothing of those characters, so it didn't have an effect on me. Now that I know, the scenes of her struggling and begging forgiveness are more effective. Interesting that they didn't intentionally (?) have Jeff kill her. I guess this was the end of that Dale character. The actor is cute. Whoever cast Loving often seemed to have an eye for attractive men.

If they'd done a better job with Johnny's sister and parents it might have made a difference, but I think the main problem was Ed was not a strong enough anchor for a wider family. Giving Mike a son could have worked. I might have brought Meta or Trudy back with some family - Trudy would have been a blank slate.

Very sorry to hear of his passing. I didn't know a great deal of his work, so I appreciate all the links. I was too young to ever see the best of DAYS. When I read the comments about it from those who were there at the time I see how much I missed.

I can see Bert and Henry more than Bert and H.B. It would have been interesting to see if she started to go back to her meddling ways with his messy kids. Vanessa's history with Ed could have gone into play. It's hard to say what Pam might have done as by 1985 she was already leaving the show, but other than keeping Johnny around she didn't really do much for the Bauers in her second stint.

So much of those last years with Goutman reeked of spite. That's why I don't really care how "good" the show may have looked at the end.

I felt like we were meant to sympathize with Greenlee even then (weren't we already getting the poor Greenlee's parents don't love her routine then?), which I know I should appreciate as Liza also got that type of writing when she was in the same story, but Budig is no Marcy Walker for me. I do respect that many loved her. I do appreciate that Nixon was trying to give the show its old identity back as best she could with the class element. He was the last Charlie. The story was panned - I think SOD named it as one of the worst of 1995. It didn't help that McTavish brought Cecily back and was fired not long after, so they likely had no real plans for her. And beyond Charlie I am not sure if she even interacted much anyone else most of the time.

Thanks. I don't remember them. I wonder if the show had any more plans for them. They seem to be building something for Jolie. Just read about Jolie's end on the wonderful Loving blog. Geez. Truly haunting. I wonder if it plays onscreen the way it does on the page.

I'm not sure how many viewers were bothered. Greenlee was bitterly anti-gay and some fans sure loved her. I think Becca was just a copy of a copy of a copy of Nixon tropes, and she had no real chemistry with Scott. Once that pairing tanked, the show lost interest. The biggest failing was that the whole class structure Nixon had in mind just didn't feel organic to 2000. There were still class struggles, but focusing on the country club set and garden parties just didn't pack the same punch it would have in the '70s and '80s. The spark was gone. That's so nice. Thanks for letting us know. Always glad to hear about Jill - so underrated.

I could swear I recognized everyone in those scenes, but especially the lady doctor and nurse.

@Forever8 Thanks so much. I deeply appreciate the time you take finding these episodes. We have a ton of some periods (mainly starting around 1991) but this one was not around that I can remember. It sure is something I could use with everything going on now. Smart to give Kate a roommate to remind us that she wasn't one of the Corinth elite...especially contrasted with Ava and Clay on a private plane. That shot of them on the floor was well done. As Clay talks about his background I'm reminded again of how much James Horan brought to Clay, but above all else, what a strong yet quiet presence he had. Nice to hear Ava talk about her father, briefly. I had forgotten until watching this that the real Clay genuinely would not know anything about Ava's background. I briefly thought that was Paul in the wheelchair until I remembered that isn't the right timeline. I guess the show got a lot of use out of that thing. Jeff is so mustache-twirling to the point of hilarity, with the foot-wiggling and the dramatic collapse. Who is the man and woman talking about Jeff? The guy looks familiar to me. The scenes with the doctors talking to Kate about her surgery have such a touch of reality to them thanks to Nada Rowand and some tender writing. And does anyone know who is playing the nurse? She looks familiar too. And the lady doctor too. @slick jones @dc11786 @Kane @Vee @Franko @Contessa Donatella @Melroser @Paul Raven @Khan @chrisml @Joseph @Sapounopera

Just this tiny bit.