DRW50

I do wish that they'd had Timmy (now Tim) come home from college and get to meet Laurie Ann. They could have even had him say he wanted to become a lawyer, like Mike. I guess they figured bringing back two long lost Karr kids would be too much...

You're right - probably is the script-writer. I imagine Alex would have reverted if Marj had stayed. I sometimes feel bad for being critical of Marj's Alex as she seems like such a wonderful person and I do think she was a fascinating, charismatic presence. I'm glad she got a few moments at least...and that she stuck it out to the end of the show because for all my disappointments with what she had to do as Alex, it would have felt wrong for me if Alex had not been there at the end.

This is one of the reasons I never quite connect with Dallas the way I do some of the other primetime soaps...I know nothing changes on most of them, but Dallas in particular, the central characters never get to progress.

This is beautifully said. I'm so grateful to all of you here who share your memories of the show. Edge was such a unique show and seemed to be of high quality for such a lengthy period of time. I'm sorry so little of the show is available from those golden years.

That was one of Ken's best performances. I wish they'd done more with that story instead of him being such a caricature.

I was joking about Aiden, but they aged up that character so much, presumably due to panic after making him gay, that I wouldn't care anymore. Jane's worked with her share of iffy actors so I think he'd be OK...but I don't see them adding any more Qs at the moment. I could see him being yet another Noah on Y&R.

That sounds more interesting than the stories Lucy had.

I might have brought back the gay man Lucy nearly married. I know that wasn't likely for late '80s TV but she could have had a bit of comedy with him and maybe moved away with him when they wrote Lucy out a second time. A few years later it might have been interesting to see them appear on Knots and we learn that they decided to raise a child together (through artificial insemination or what have you).

I have seen some comparisons to Michael and Willow with Alan and Monica, but I can't see Drew, even if he's Alan's son. Drew is more like a DL Brock for the '20s. I think they just had the shooting for the sake of an umbrella plot, a whodunit, and heightening already explosive relationships. But, as you said, I'm not sure the aftermath will be enough. I don't know if you can even redeem Drew (I don't know if he's worth the effort), but they should have tried to add some nuance to him through the shooting.

There's Ross' sister, Lainie. She was last seen in 1982, pregnant (due to the actress being pregnant). 1982 is probably too late but you know how soaps are. I didn't remember that they were thinking of bringing in Lucy's mother. Sarah would be a huge stretch but it would make more sense of Reva/Buzz (beyond the show just wanting to pair off two of their most acclaimed/highest-voltage cast members). I don't know who else it could be. Maybe Holly, but there'd be no story. @alwaysAMC You're right. I'd never thought of it but there was a lot of Vanessa in Marj's performance for that confrontation. Sometimes I forget just intertwined Alan-Michael and Blake were. I think it's because for much of Sherry's last year, Alan-Michael has no use for her, beyond schemes. He clearly thinks he's better than her. Sherry is so vulnerable and fragile that I felt sorry for her. It helped that I didn't know the history, didn't know just how awful she'd been to him during their marriage. I hadn't heard Liz's comments about struggling for fan acceptance. I wonder how long that was. It took me about 3-4 years, partly because I just lost a lot of interest in the show anyway during some of those periods, but mostly down to feeling she lacked the spark and ready chemistry with co-stars that Sherry had. I do think Liz had a good rapport with Jerry, and by the time of the woeful "twins by two fathers" story, I warmed to her as she did her best to sell that nonsense. Still, even today, if I go back and watch Blake/Roger or Blake/Holly scenes, Sherry is still the one I miss.

I just can't get past trashing the Hortons and expecting us to see her as the victim. I wonder if she even speaks to Jack now. The last I remember was when we were meant to cheer her stealing his paper.

@alwaysAMC Glad you got up to the Alex v Annie scene. That must have been one of Marj's last scenes in this run, if not the last. It's a hell of a scene - one of her best as Alex, if not the best. I'm sure if she had stayed, they would have lost their way with the character (again), but I credit B&E for understanding Alex more than most others who wrote for her in Marj's runs. You are right that not having Ed in the story with Michelle and the mob was a very dumb mistake.

I agree. They just have Nicola, who is more like Shirley than a Mitchell (if Shirley wasn't so broken). I know some want Honey to be a Mitchell matriarch but that's never going to happen.

Thanks for finding these @SoapDope78 So sad about the actor from Hazel. I didn't realize he died so young.

Thanks. I'd forgotten all that mess. What a pointless and ugly exercise, especially involving someone who didn't even work at GH.

I wonder if they worked that into any of the movies - her saying she'd played an abused woman. I can't get past how needlessly sneering that blurb is (very typical of the era). I also don't remember any TV-movies talking about female circumcision. Several years ago, EastEnders did a story about it (naturally with two short-term characters).

I know JER passed not too long after Passions ended, but did he ever say what plans he had if the show had not been canceled? I am curious mostly because of their killing off some of their long-running characters like Fox and Chad in the show's last year, after getting rid of quite a few others before then for budget reasons. Were there plans to bring Fox or Chad back? Or was JER already done with Whitney by this point? I get the sense that the Fox recast was also unpopular with viewers so that may have been another reason.

Thanks. I see that Christopher Norris was the last to play her so she would have been a teenager or young woman at the time.

Someone else will know better than me but I think she was very upset by how fans treated her.

Based on the recent casting for that role, they may as well make him Aidan.

I don't think Jen would ever return. That was an ugly experience. I do wonder whether they will revert soon. I've seen a lot of fan anger about Willow being acquitted and how this is terrible and wrong and so on....lots of anger over Drew too. I don't believe Sonny can be at the center of the show now, I don't think Maurice is capable, but if Frank hits the panic button I would not see it as out of character.

Thanks @Skylover Kim is so wonderful. I wish the story was getting more time and that she could return permanently, but I'm just glad she's back, and that Sam has material beyond getting abuse hurled at her.

I was hesitant to name those I had never actually seen as they started their roles so thank you for sharing some. I might also say Barbara Rodell, as she seemed to be very popular with Don Stewart, but I didn't want to as I've only ever seen bits of her in the part.

At the end there we see an example of finding a way to wring life out of every line of dialogue... Not a bad promo, considering how lifeless the stories are. Are we meant to feel bad for Gwen? Are Javi and Leo dressed that way because one of Ron's remaining acolytes decided all gay men love the Bob Newhart Show?

@vetsoapfan The scene has finally arrived. The specific scene is around 9-10 minutes in. There are a few other scenes throughout the episode. Did Sara Louise die or did she just leave town? I couldn't tell from Laurie's phrasing. I wish they hadn't taken several weeks to get Laurie Ann back in the house and with her family, but these are beautiful moments, and I'm glad the show honored its history to some degree amidst this very jumbled end run. I could swear Forrest Compton is genuinely near tears at one point.