DRW50

Thanks @slick jones I should mention that someone on the comments for the Ryan's Hope video with Susan Marie Snyder said the episode must have aired in July 1985. Those photos of Denise Alexander are lovely. The one with Denise, Leslie Charleson and Susan Brown got me emotional. We were so lucky to have them for so long.

I agree in a sense, but I think in some cases that was down to the actors. When some of those actors, like Kate Mulgrew, left, some of the issues with the writing came to the fore. There were complex characters who were well-written and acted, like Jill, but many times we would end up with "good" characters I wanted to kick off a cliff. It's one of the reasons I was so protective toward Delia when Randall Edwards played her.

There was tension between Alan-Michael and Philip because Alan-Michael was sympathetic to Blake (and married her) after Philip left her to chase after an amnesiac Beth, but the show exaggerated that tension when Philip returned. Meredith was Fletcher's sister. She was a doctor. Rick was married to her. Philip slept with her. She got pregnant with his child. When the truth came out, Meredith lost the baby, and she and Rick split up. I think Philip had faked his death to escape murder charges (with Rick stealing a corpse to help him). Someone else will remember more.

Angela Bassett was also on somewhere in 1985 wasn't she. The NY soaps did so much for struggling actors. That's one of the reasons I will never stop hoping we get more of them.

Thanks. I had wondered why he never went back with Claire Labine for RH's last years. Given how well-liked Sonny was with fans and how much Sonny fit the template of an '80s lady for soaps I am not sure why they took a hatchet to her.

Thanks for sharing.

@VelekaCarruthers As someone who struggles to tell apart the changes in Search's NBC years I am so appreciative of your insights. I wanted to ask (you or anyone else) - what did you think of the whole circus story in 1985? I was watching bits and pieces on that channel and was kind of surprised how much focus the place was getting. Usually on soaps if they had a circus it was just briefly or if characters were on the run, rather than their ingenue being in the thick of it. It would be like if Lily Walsh had worked at the circus with Holden and Dusty.

Oh you may have been watching the Teresa/Tom storyline...or "Terry the tumor" as she was called.

I think she would have been fine, although Beth was a thankless part. She probably was seen as aging out of the genre after AW. I forgot she was on Sunset Beach.

I assume not as we would have probably heard, but she could have been a good fit. I could see her being a good Leslie Brooks recast, although by that point the show had fully moved on from Leslie. I'm not sure who she could have been on B&B, although I could see her playing yet another Beth Logan recast.

I had forgotten this. I guess it must have been for Peter, unless it was for Hart's abs.

Does Jack ever dress in drag during that early '00s period where he was trying to get Jennifer back...or does he just fake being gay around then?

I think Kevin's 1996 Emmy was fair enough. He barely appeared for his second. I don't think anyone else on the list is that deserving but I might have gone with Moore as he did try with the whole Keesha AIDS story. @alwaysAMC Thanks to slick jones' cast list I was able to see that Nikki Rene played Tina. Not much on her, as you mentioned. Tap and a few Broadway listings (it doesn't help that a younger actress with a similar name is in a lot of roles). Nikki Rene: Credits, Bio, News & More | Broadway World https://onceonthisisland.fandom.com/wiki/Nikki_Rene Nikki Rene - IMDb

Thanks. So they really had to work under a cloud. I'm glad they got a chance for more.

I can probably believe the Spauldings reacting that way, as Alan barely cares about anyone but himself and maybe his family, while Amanda only had that one experience with the Coopers, but I see your point. I do think 1997 was a better year than the last 3-4 before it, for whatever that's worth. You are right about Marcus. Kevin Mambo winning two Emmies (the latter during periods where he had nothing to do) helped.

That's a lovely way to put it. I know, similar to Neighbours, a two-year plan may have been there all along, but it's still good to see them picking up a second year. I hope this is just the start, but with the state of soaps and TV now I'm still just amazed a new soap got on the air.

I remember this getting a lot of criticism at the time.

A very very brief excerpt from a CBS special is up. That's it. @jam6242 Thank you for the lovely Susan article. I adore that photo of her with Denise - such strong yet different personalities on display. I remember seeing that photo of Denise, Bill and Susan on soap magazines like Afternoon TV. I wonder if they took it or if DAYS did.

I think the first 4-5 years have many strong spots, some beautiful writing, and I didn't find it that hard to watch, but one of the main issues with the show for me - and this just gets worse - is many of the characters we are told to root for I find extremely unlikeable.

I don't see the people who were brought into AW around 1986 as being that different from JFP, but I don't feel like going back and forth either.

I can see both sides here. I don't believe that everything in that period was intended as comedy, but I think John Considine played the part in a very mustache-twirling way, as did Marcus Smythe as Peter until near the end, and that did come across as the material not being taken seriously. And I think the same is true of some of the treatment of other stories. The Sin Stalker, for instance, has that incredibly batshit material with Crystal Gayle being attacked. It's pure WTF, and something that, if done in more recent decades, would probably end up having the part played by a Drag Race queen or a Real Housewife. The main takeaway I have from that period is how little those running the show cared. There's just a callousness. And that leads to a real cynicism onscreen.

I liked the actress who played Tina. She was not the typical soap hire. I hadn't thought of her in many years until I saw a Spauldingfield video of her. It makes sense if they were planning to make her Frank's daughter as she was tied to the Coopers and nothing else was done with her beyond singing and the relationship with Marcus that Rauch never cared about. David was hurt by Monti Sharp leaving the role. I don't blame Monti for leaving, as he was getting less and less to do, but Russell Curry was a very generic actor was too old for the part. Yes, black don't crack, but he was nearly 40. When David returns at the end of the decade they cast an actor who was a little too young, which just shows how little interest the show had in the character or black characters in general (and random recasting would return with the Boudreauxs). Marcus is a character who got a lot of buzz early on and then the show lost interest (again). Anyway, if you stay watching, be warned that the Hart/Dinah/Roger stuff gets worse and worse. Luckily you don't have the same lengthy ties to the show so it may be OK for you. It made me feel a bit sick at the time. Thanks for giving more info. And to @DeeVee and @P.J. as well. I suppose there were tiers of people who were seen as disposable, and Eve was shielded for a time due to that tier. Once they were clearly getting rid of characters like Justin or Amanda, then she was also on that list (I know she left before they did but it wasn't that long before). Characters like Eve, quiet, able to be used in many avenues, are important for community, or they should be, although she had clearly reached a natural end. The problem is no one really replaced her - all the characters who were likely seen as dull were shipped out from 83-85, and we were left with an unbalanced canvas (and characters who were meant to be exciting but were still dull, like Calla, Simon, et al).

I don't really think Loving is worse than most of what I've seen from RH starting around 1980, although I know the show picks up again around 1987 and has a few spots here and there in between. I think it is easier to ignore RH's mistakes in that final decade if Loving gets the blame.

Thanks for sharing. Always nice to see more of Lois. I wasn't sure if she was meant to be French or Dutch. Reminds me of when Grayson Hall would do French on Dark Shadows.