DRW50

Based on some of my past Fairman readings, this had a good balance of positive and negative, even if it's a bit generous to some Bell soap cast members. I appreciate that he praised Finn's exit without wanting Finn back, as SOD or someone did. I am happy to agree Michael Easton did a very good job in his final days on the show but let Finn stay gone. I get the feeling he isn't a Drew fan...

Sorry, I forgot about the original pill story. I was thinking of when she and Alan had a fender bender - he was on pills at the time and as she had hurt her neck, gave her pills too to keep everything a secret. Then it was never mentioned again.

Scott always tapped into the emotions more than Robert did - even when Craig is bad he's an overwrought mess, while Josh as a baddie is slick and smarmy. I think it would have changed paths for both characters very quickly - Josh might have reformer more quickly while Craig may not have ever reformed. So much of what helped Scott as Craig early on was his connection with the other actors in the Montgomery family too.

I didn't even remember that Tony was possibly a suspect until some of these posts, so I can't imagine he was ever really in contention of being Liz's rapist. That period did have some clearly dropped stories, like Emily's pill habit, but that one is new to me.

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/audition.html Robin Strasser mentions having auditioned for Dark Shadows and ATWT before being cast as Rachel. Does anyone know if she has ever spoken about who she auditioned to play? I would have said Angelique but she would have started on AW around February 1967 which was a half a year before Angelique's debut. I suppose she tried for Maggie, Laura, Victoria or Carolyn?

@victorlord75 I'm with you all the way on the Guza era...I do get why people miss that period, of course. I also really liked Jennifer Hetrick's work as Veronica, and I thought it was one of Brenda's stronger stories in that time period. I do think a lot of the criticisms of the story are valid, especially as it was Brenda's exit storyline for several years.

@dc11786 I wonder if it could have been Brenda's mother, Veronica? She is in the right age range and the character was dying.

The worst family in EE history, no matter how much the show tries, and tries, and tries.

Helen Gallagher is remembered in the segment that starts around ten minutes in.

Rather than trying over and over with some characters who just feel lifeless to me (like Belle and Shawn), I would say bring back Nathan (and he could easily be recast), with appearances from Melissa, but I suppose they aren't tied enough to anyone on the canvas now. @JAS0N47 Thank you for those story details. Another reminder of how different '70s DAYS was to '80s - it's so hard to imagine Mike berating his grandparents, let alone the image of them intruding on him as he and Linda are half-dressed. And the image of Brooke telling Alice and Tom all about their grandson not being able to perform is eye-popping.

I remember hearing that too (intending to never have the rapist caught). I think they may have said they changed their minds because of fans. You're right that they would probably avoid much of anything with the character. I do wonder what might be if they tried.

Happy New Year, everyone. I'm glad we all still have this place and keep finding ways to laugh or think in this dark world and finding new discoveries. I'm very glad to know you.

Joking aside or taking another long-lost kid out of the story, Brenda returning and being on trial for somehow injuring Kristina would have been some juicy drama, maybe the only Sonny drama that could interest me right now.

Happy New Year to everyone. May you all receive your Bay City charity ball invitations to start the year right.

Maybe they'll bring her back with another Dante child and she, Brooklyn and Lulu will form a club. Or Kristina will rage at them as she lost her child and then falls out another window.

If they were going to go there with Gary a part of me wishes it had been with Olivia, to show how far gone he was without Val and to make viewers question whether or not Olivia was genuine or scheming. And when Val returned, she would have been repulsed. There was so much they could have done and should have done with Pat. Maybe I should be surprised lily-white Knots even brought Frank and Pat in. I don't mind Frank just being friends with Val. They had a nice bond and anything that meant less Karen/Val was good for me.

@dc11786 I thought Lark was an interesting good/bad girl. I wonder if, beyond Livvie and whoever else, the reason they didn't bring her back is because she was mostly a reminder of when Frank was a terrible person instead of a reformed character. Chris/Eve would have been such a great pairing. The show's choice to make Eve a heroine, rather than an anti-heroine, took away most of her potential. Julie Pinson has never been that great at playing heroines. The schemes with Lucy and Scott might have been interesting if they had wanted to write them that way but instead it just became a lot of misery over VD, Christina, and so on.

That's wonderful.

I was going through some of the old pages and had forgotten about how many articles I scanned for a few years. The stuff I wrote down from Mary Noble to Mary Hartman (the story projections and then the November 29, 1962, breakdown) - they're on pages 7 and 8. The December 1954, January 1955 and October 1955 Radio TV Mirror summary is on page 12, as well as a Daytime TV Stars review of the show from April 1975. On page 13 a July 1956 TV Radio Mirror photo story. A July 1956 Jean McBride Radio TV Mirror interview on page 14 and an SOD fashion page with Tudi Wiggins also on page 14. Pages 15/16 have a RTVM interview with Steven Gethers (Hal Craig). 16 also has a Daytime TV feature on Sammy Davis Jr having a cameo. On page 17, a Bill and Tess wedding spread in Afternoon TV June 1971; also on that page, a July 1979 SOD about a play the cast and former producer were doing, a November 1965 TVRM goodbye interview with Lee Lawson and a September 1959 interview with Audrey Peters. On page 18, an October 1976 TVM anniversary feature and interview with Ron Tomme and a June 1975 goodbye with Sally Stark. Page 19 an October 1978 welcome to Christain Marlowe. Page 20 has September 1976 SOD fashion with Deborah Courtney, July 1973 TVRM with Stark, an October 1976 TVM with Richard K Weber, an August 1952 story feature written from Vanessa's POV. Page 21 has a 1973-1974 Daily TV Serials cast list and 1973 recap. Page 22 a May 1973 TV Radio Talk interview with Zina Bethune. September 1979 Daytimres cover with Chandler Hill Harben, Veleka Gray and Margo McKenna. December 1977 interview with Peters. A number of pages from the special LoL magazine on page 23, including a cast photo. Page 24 has a Daily TV Serials look at the prison rape storyline. Page 25 has a TVRM McBride interview from September 1954 and December 1969 Afternoon TV Show in Progress. Page 28 TVRM March 1974 Tomme/Peters, March 1975 Jerry Lacy, July 1961 Peters hair tutorial. Page 29 has a November 1961 TVRM Lawson eye tutorial. Page 30, February 1975 DTS, backstage. Page 31, April 1969 Afternoon TV interview with decorator Robert Galli. TV Star Parade May 1973 welcome to Brian Brownlee. Page 32 TV Dawn to Dusk February 1971 - Serial of the Month (cast bios and photos). Page 34 Ann McCarthy interview. Page 35 October 1978 SOD Marlowe/K.T. Stevens interview. Page 37 TVRM January 1954 Peggy McCay interview. Page 38 a 1969 TV Yearbook with cast list/photos. Page 39 a February 1971 interview with the Buas and winter 1970 interview with Gene in Daytime TV. I was going through because I wanted to see if this episode had ever been shared. @Mattmentioned it in a post from over a decade ago as existing, so it's clearly not a new find, but I'd never seen it before. Apologies if I'm tagging anyone who has, but I am going to just in case you also haven't. I think I've seen more of 1953 Love of Life than any other period of the show... I've said this several times now but I appreciate how much personality Peggy McCay gives Vanessa to hide how bland the character may have been on paper. This is the first time I've ever seen Paul Raven and Matt Slocum interact. It's nice to see them in some lighthearted triangle material. Reading through earlier pages I see that there was another episode with Evans online at one point that I must have watched, but I don't remember it. He's a very fun figure here, shutting Meg down and reminding us she was not the campest person on the show. Very Gale Gordon-esque. I laughed when she said "Evans" and he sarcastically asked if she meant, "Heavens." This also seems to end with whatever caused Meg's paralysis (it's not shown what happened to her but Vanessa gets a phone call). @dc11786 @Paul Raven @te. @Vee @slick jones @FrenchFan @Contessa Donatella @soapfan770 @Soaplovers @jam6242 @j swift @will81 @TEdgeofNight @Joseph @robbwolff @vetsoapfan @antmunoz @All My Shadows @Khan @Bright Eyes @Mona Kane Croft @TVFAN1144

Thanks for the details. A shame they weren't so worried about age when they paired Gary with Kate.

Thanks. Never saw those photos. I appreciate it. I meant mature compared to Kevin/Lucy, sorry for the mixup.

Thanks again @dc11786 . I think your idea of a Lucy/Eve rivalry makes sense. I don't believe the show executed it well as the result seemed to me as if it was written in Eve's favor, having Lucy behave in ways that were extremely difficult to come back from. I know some fans did support Kevin/Eve and felt they were mature compared to Lucy/Scott. I just never cared about them, and I thought Eve lost any edge they had.

The comparisons between James and Valentin would suggest the show sees Valentin as villainous in the way ATWT did with James, I don't think they do. To be honest, beyond Anthony Herrera's intensity and good looks, I also don't think James was much as a character. But he did serve for some good story here and there in the '80s, which I can't say about Valentin.

One of the twins was dying. Carl had a big speech, although I can't remember the exact wording, where he said he would sell his soul. The baby then recovered. I think afterward Carl had a reaction at the christening when the priest asked them to renounce Satan. After that it was dropped.