DRW50

I think Amy is a good actress who was probably best served by her work in her primetime procedurals. Josie was such an aimless character and then they decided to just make her into cop Harley. Not really a fan of Gary/Josie either - AW is probably Tim Gibbs' best soap work, but the stories are all a slog.

I actually did think Olivia was compelling, although that may be more down to Allison Hossack than the writing. She was mostly just used as an obstacle for Sam/Amanda rather than a character in her own right. I think that Russ was important as a character in his own right, especially if they knew another important character in his age range (Mitch) was going. They would repeatedly try to find more men in this age range and none stuck, due to actors leaving or story issues. The most successful was Carl, who had tried to kill much of the canvas. If they had found a strong actor for Russ and rooted him to the canvas, it would have been good for present day, good for Rachel, Iris, etc. not just because he was a Matthews.

I think what hurts that version of Drew is Cameron doesn't really have the same charm he had in those early years (to me, anyway). He has a darker vibe and has ever since his later AMC days. It still could have worked, with time and care, but the character is so vocally hated by a number of fans, I don't know if it ever would have clicked with the viewer base. I don't even know if the people who are saying it want it to happen, they just think there are clues (like where he lives, his fixation on Willow, his change in demeanor, etc.). I do wonder if it may happen just because the show could then use this to bring back the "good" Drew, last seen...I don't know when. Maybe they would say before he dumped Carly, given Korte's fondness for Carly.

If it were up to me, Kristen would go as well, but I think if they are keeping her, then Rachel could have been a logical way to give her story now. She was shaped by Stefano's manipulations and by her not having Rachel in her life. And she is a mother herself, with her kids mired in the same world of lies and manipulations. Rachel was originally meant to be the antithesis of all these lies, a good person horribly mistreated. If they had stuck to that premise, then it could have led somewhere today, with Kristen questioning her life, and her choices as a parent. As it is, we just got another psycho. I would agree there was no reason for Megan to return. I don't have a lot of hope for new writers to know what to do with past characters or future characters, but the past will always be there, tempting. It just depends on whether they have talent and have creative freedom. Ron had the latter, never the former.

I don't know if a few characters are enough to make someone tune into a show daily, but I do think the Horton family unit is still a strong enough framework that it can benefit the show if they don't let it rot away. Julie, for instance, even if she isn't always given the greatest material, is a bridge to the past who works with the present canvas. I'd like to see that type of framework continue if the show goes on for more than another year or two. I don't really know why characters like Melissa weren't woven in the same way, even just for guest appearances. It may be too late now, but you never know. I don't believe bringing in members of the show's core family is regression. Regression is just bringing someone back if their story has already been told and they have nothing new to offer. I don't even think bringing Rachel back in of itself was a horrible idea, if they were going to keep Kristen around. They just, as often happens, made a wretched mess of the whole thing.

I don't think there's a need to bring back a Horton just to fill a quota but it can be done in a way that honors the past and plans for the future. It makes more sense to me than, say, bringing back Nancy and Craig's daughter just for a brief, cheap stint.

Thanks @chrisml . I appreciate seeing some of the behind-the-scenes aspects. For some reason I thought Amelia Marshall started in 1989. Any time I try to watch Hilary's funeral, I am stuck on how alienating and cold the tone is - not helped by giving so much focus to new actors not giving their best work - but Charita Bauer is tremendously moving, even with trite dialogue. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for her to be saying some of what Bert has to say when she knew how seriously ill she was. Bert was always more emotional than a number of soap matriarchs, but Charita, in the available '70s or early '80s footage, still plays her with a certain reserve. By this point, she had let go, and every moment she has feels like she is reaching through the screen and taking us by the hand. It's heartbreaking but heartwarming.

Thanks. I hope to see some of these someday, unlikely as it is. We do at least have some audio of Nancy, which was fine, but it's tough to compare to Audra Lindley (I'd love to see her too). I do wonder what their plans even were with Margie Impert. I can only assume she impressed someone at P&G with her work on GL.

Sorry, that's what I meant - people who enjoy the show but can't admit to just enjoying something, so it has to be the best ever.

The ER ripoff is why I am hesitant to watch (I ran hot and cold with the show but it didn't deserve this type of treatment), but I appreciate seeing your review. And I'm not surprised some elitists are trying to do anything to just not say they enjoy the show. Reminds me of the critics who said Everybody Loves Raymond would be remembered as one of the best sitcoms of all time.

That so often is the case... Beyond the Alices who would you say was the least compelling AW recast?

That would have worked, with a different writer and actor. I wonder how much Ron ever knew of Loving as he didn't do a lot with it when he was on GH. Probably for the best, although if it had somehow gotten Christine Tudor or Lisa Peluso back on TV I would have watched. Speaking of Peluso, I looked at her Instagram and see that on her Stories she's using Soul II Soul to sell houses. I approve.

Thanks. I remember Stuart speaking of the role a bit in SOD long ago but can't remember what she said. Stuart is one of those rare actors who seemed to have four popular or fairly popular soap parts but I don't hear a lot about Gina so I don't ever know how fans felt.

Speaking of Donna - I asked this in the classic GH thread but it may have gotten lost. Did any of you see Anna Stuart as Gina Dante on GH? What did you think of her?

Thanks. I can't remember if there was ever an Our Private World thread here. I'm still amazed at how poorly they handled what should have been a success, although it would have made more sense as a daytime soap, not primetime.

Parkers = Powers, although maybe Monique is waiting for Tyler Perry to bury the hatchet with her and revive The Doctors for the greatest sitcom-soap crossover ever.

It's more an anomaly when that type of product isn't among the top TV shows, although if Angela wasn't watching Three's Company, I don't blame her.

I'm not sure why they set all that up and did little with it, beyond tension between Olivia and Josie. They were right to not try to go back with Russ/Sharlene, but they could have done something with him - maybe paired him with Donna when she split with Michael. I would have recast Russ rather than bringing back Bailey. At least Liz had a few good scenes with Olivia over that run, but they never did anything to build a relationship with Josie. Josie always should have been a more compelling character than she was - consistently flat writing and iffy casting.

I still wonder if Sheffer just drew an old name out of a hat. They never even bothered, beyond claiming Mike was a deadbeat or abusive. There are still Hortons who should have returned, like Sandy...and then there was Bill, although that has likely long passed (I can't remember if he's dead). Such a waste all around.

A very dramatic promo around 15 minutes. "The untold horrors of King's Crossing," did give me a laugh.

IQ was there at least to Lujack's memorial. Not sure after that. For however reliable Soapcentral is, they say she fell when running away after seeing Ben embrace Hope. This all tied into the Georgene Granger story which reads as kind of hilarious. I wonder how those watching at the time felt about it.

The Quartermaines started out as toxic, then became much lighter, then became very toxic again, then became lighter again. It seemed to all go one way with the Capwells, probably due to some of the unpleasant and unnecessary retcons like Eden's DID.

Thanks for sharing. The triangle that never was ends in a way no one predicted. With Knots I'd say it's down to most of them having been in the industry for a long time before the show, but I know that isn't always the case.

Thank you @slick jones @jam6242 What a find. And what a fascinating life for a woman who mostly just showed up on ATWT for a few scenes to play cute.

I am seeing people on Twitter who believe he is Shiloh...