DRW50

Another ad about 50 minutes in.

I remember thinking when I read those magazines and books that she hung around for quite a while - she was recast halfway through. I thought she was gone by this time but she did run The Chateau, and they mentioned catering, so I assume this is that Claudette.

GH promo about 49 minutes in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9QfLGyXFMI

So that woman with the black headscarf is Claudette. I thought it was when they mentioned catering. She's also the only one with the girls on show. So was Eddie Dorrance still around at this time? I thought Claudette was sent to prison for killing him. James Mitchell is so OTT in these scenes. I just love it. How ridiculous. Louis Edmonds played Marc Anthony in college; I wonder if that's why he was dressed as Marc Anthony (I said that in the other thread too).

The episode I posted above has another OLTL promo, at about 49 minutes. Pat laying the smackdown on Dorian. Jacquie Courtney was so tough - I wish they'd let Pat be nastier and bitchier. It's crazy how much she reminds me of Brenda Brock.

Kate to Charlie: "You're going to be that [Tad's] age soon, too..." He'll leapfrog past that and straight into social security. This Tad looked a lot like Glenn Scarpelli.

Michael Storm said when he started on OLTL he had to tend to Victor, who had just been shot. Who'd shot him? I don't remember what the history stuff said.

Yes. They married for the sake of the child, and she saw him as a burden. I think eventually she learned to love him, but didn't they split up again before she had the story with Donna Pescow? Can't remember if she went back to him. I wonder how much James Mitchell was cracking up in those scenes where he had to wander around outside, yelling. It's just nuts. Frank seemed like such a part of the community...kind of sad he was casually killed off a few years later. I thought Phil had been killed in a shootout or something along those lines. I didn't know his second exit was also going missing. Donna seems a little like a young Daisy in these episodes. I wonder if that's why Palmer fell for her. Tara is just played out.

In the scenes where Cliff and Nina tell Frank and Betsy about their engagement, the band is playing that song "Just to Dance With You." I wonder if Nina was a huge Beatles fan. I think I hear "All My Loving" too.

Another OLTL ad at about 34 minutes. Is that Philip Casnoff with Tina? I know he was on the show around 1990, working with Dorian, but didn't know he was here then. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9QfLGyXFMI

Watching the second episode, the first time I can remember seeing Devon or Wally (I may have seen Devon but it was a long time ago). Wow, they are both so drab and malnourished. I think soaps have often felt like in order for characters to be "good", they must be very wan, but it's such a contrast to Ellen, who has such a sense of life and wit even in everyday scenes. These "ACTING IS AN EXPERIENCE" scenes with Devon make me hate her a little. I'm kind of amazed Devon lasted as long as she did.

When I first started watching AMC people used to talk about how awful the Kennicotts were (I think the only one who had fans was Mary). I wonder why they kept going back to that family. I said this in the other thread but I just love how gothic the Cortlandts are here. I know that's a cliche but what the hell. I especially love how Daisy is a little mad, like Quentin's crazy wife Jenny on Dark Shadows. And the way Myra skulks around, trying and failing to control these people. The chases through corridors, the scene where Myra is eavesdropping and realizes Daisy crashed the party... I already mentioned this too but I LOVE the way Palmer gets so furious and practically spits fire through "Happy Birthday."

I loved that cheesy muzak Something. What did you think of that Kennicott girl? She seemed like she was doing some Little Orphan Annie routine? Her speech patterns were annoying, along with her dialogue. And Sybil is like Betty Boop. I think if there had been boards back then they would have lit up over her and Sybil Thorne.

It's too bad AW was such a mess. Then when she went back to AMC after that it was usually for short stints. I wish they'd done more with her in her 90's appearances.

I think Taylor just wanted to try new things. I have that article somewhere, no idea where though. I'm watching the second 1980 episode (slowly!) and smiled when Brooke said she had become a cub reporter, and hey, maybe she'll be a journalist. With all the career changes on soaps, at least they kept that consistent with Brooke. I wish they'd had it where Janet was a better mother than Natalie, and this caused angst for Natalie when she went back to her life.

Apparently he flashed his bottom during a rehearsal, although Emmerdale viewers have already seen that. Emmerdale is a great example of what is killing the British soaps, as it previously did US soaps - sensationalism all the time, random destruction. It's a shame.

I didn't have a problem with so much Niki as much as I had a problem with Niki being so OTT and everyone being so stupid. It seems like after the big DID story in 1995 they just made Niki this grab bag of insanity and made her into a monster. One of the pet peeves I have with soap returns is that they have to matter. For me, it's fine to have people just show up for a few scenes to remember old times. I would have loved a scene like that for Larry and Wanda, just to remind people that OLTL actually did exist before 1986.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mWXvrkjd_0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDcz_dTJXRM

It didn't bother me too much with some of them (for instance, I thought Greenlee was always a mess, I thought Marian was always a very insecure woman and that kind of stayed even when she was with Stuart, along with her lewd comments and one-liners), but you have a point. I guess it jumps out at me more with Natalie because she was so very sleek and ethereal and aloof with Collins in the role - seeing her not just domesticated, but subjugated to just some fantasy figure for Trevor.

I've mostly only watched that time with clips, not full episodes. In the clips I'd say Wanda still fit in, as Marilyn Chris had a great presence and Wanda's Place was a regular spot for most of the characters. There are scenes towards the end like her dealing with Dorian when Dorian comes in, etc. She did have a few minor stories, most of which don't seem to be available (like her being ripped off by one of her boyfriends, or the brief return of Anthony Ponzini, or her relationship with Gilbert).

I wish more were available online. On WOST years ago I watched the episode where Mary was killed, which started with Julie and Doug in a Sherlock Holmes type getup (she was dressed as some type of dragon lady I think). I guess they were ahead of their time. When was the last time the show mentioned the Julie/Marlena friendship?

What bothers me with Natalie/Trevor is that beyond being nice, her entire identity seemed to disappear. She was just his "doll." Last night I was watching the episode when she was close to death, and Trevor was going on about losing his "doll," he was yelling in her ear as she was wheeled to surgery...it was like she was a toy.

I was so amazed Maeve came back at all. For her (many) failings, Ellen Wheeler seemed to be able to keep a lot of cast around who normally never would have been seen again. Vanessa deserved more airtime but I'm glad she at least got the happy ending I wanted for her. I was going to ask if anyone knows what story Darcy Dekker had in late 1987 or early 1988? SOD lists her as being a recurring character, and returning. Watching some of the 1982 clips, I was confused at seeing yet another Tim McIntire, played by an actor who looked about 35. Reading Soapcentral, apparently he had some romance with Trudy (Morgan's friend) before leaving town. I wonder why they didn't try to keep the character around, appropriately aged, since he'd been around so long and would have been a good fit for the group coming in (only a few years older than Mindy/Phillip/et al).

I was thinking of stuff like her licking the glass window and all the campy scenes with Natalie and Todd. It became just about impossible for me to see her as a genuine threat.

To me a lot of the story felt like a joke, as did the Teen Jess stuff a few years later. I got the feeling they patterned most of those stories on that mess in 2002 when Niki came back. The 2009 story at least had some decent wrapup but everything after that mostly relied on some weird exploitation which I never understood. Tess had a lot of fans but not for the reasons the show seemed to think.