DRW50

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.

I'm sure he's going to have them - ideally not in a way that is rushed or perfunctory.

I haven't heard anything of Tanya or Shirley returning. It's hard to believe Shirley returning anytime soon, if ever.

Just more RTD ego trips, seemingly his main reason for coming back.

Thanks @Paul Raven That's a lovely writeup. Do fans feel it was warranted?

Durkin was awful. The writing did her no favors, but she was all wrong for the part, lacking the mix of mystery, steeliness, sorrow and hesitancy that defined Victoria. I still have the awful memory of Adam lugging her around like a rag doll. She looked much more like one of the Blue Whale dancing extras than Victoria. And her voice... Maybe I am too harsh. With that said, Curtis didn't seem as bothered. I see from a fan review mentioning Barnabas & Company that Durkin was asked to return for Victoria's final episodes and declined as she had a Christmas trip to Europe with her husband planned and wasn't interested in just a few appearances. I refuse to believe Victoria actually died during the Leviathan storyline. If Barnabas and Angelique could come back 8 times, she could come back a few.

I'm not even sure why Zoe would care, even if they know each other offcamera. I can't see Jean going, but if she is - good riddance at this point.

I have to admit Annie exhausted me somewhat before she went nuts. So much anxiety. She and Robert were OK I guess. Didn't ever stick out much one way or the other.

Unfortunately, that period of the show would likely just put you to sleep. A part of me agrees, as I do think Robert is a good actor (better than I gave him credit for at the time), but I'm not sure, aside from Harley, how much he ever clicked with other ladies. He did have some spark with Crystal Chappell. I know there were claims they didn't get along either, although I remember reading somewhere (I think) a story about how Michelle was panicking when they had to film the rope ladder scenes in Venezuela, and Kim had to help her through...and Kim had also had a bit to drink. (I hope I have the details right)

Oh I knew it was common (I did not realize Muenker's channel was gone - I'm glad I saved all those videos). I just didn't realize it was the case with the rape episode. I never really felt like she dominated the show in her second stint either, although I can see where she probably did. I can feel it more in some of her first run, because the show was much different before she came in and suddenly a woman we'd seen for a year was [!@#$%^&*] and marrying an entire family. In that sense Reva is more like Babe than Erica Kane. One of the more infamous AMC lines was, "Babe is love." You just know HB would have said that line about Reva at some point.