DRW50

Neither have I. Kamar was very beautiful then. If only he and Doug Wert could have translated viewers based on pretty points, but that was not a CBS audience...

I thought Rex epitomized all the failings of men on soaps for the '00s (and the '90s). Nasty, self-righteous, cold, lacking chemistry with anyone. The only difference was his being an aged out twink.

I don't think Luna was disliked by the audience, although she was likely never as popular with them as she was with Michael Malone. Even he stopped writing for her long before Susan Batten left. I think Luna would have worked best in a mode similar to Sally Gracie's character. Max wasn't even that special for her to be degraded over, especially as she was a second choice. It would be like if Jackson on AMC had dumped Erica for Opal.

The funniest part of Korte's issues, real, alleged, what have you, is that Carly is pretty much useless to the canvas these days. Even Sonny has more connections thanks to his many kids and grandkids and Laura's adoration.

Turn your volume down before you watch these. Blown out.

I think Sasha had much more interesting relationships on the canvas than Jacinda does. If the actress didn't want to leave, then I guess this was just a salary dump as Jacinda has little to offer. I saw someone talking about how another soap has started having lengthy recaps and they think it's down to "second screen syndrome" with people busy doing something else. I'm not sure if that's the case with GH or just endless filler because this is a show that doesn't justify five episodes a week of 35 minutes with their current programming. The comparison between Carly and Britt is interesting in that they both do tend to bulldoze through scenes. At her best Carly had an inner life. Britt never has, although I think KT is a little better now than she was in her early years.

The final three episodes.

His shooting Carly in the head or his shooting Dante.

I am trying to remember if she even has an oncamera exit or if she is just written out.

That's a great way of putting it. You'd think Portia repeating her mistakes with her latest pregnancy would cause huge ructions with Trina when the truth comes out, but even if the baby survives, we'll probably get a shrug.

This must be around May, June or July 1989. I think many actors don't want to rock the boat. On Coronation Street, a character said he didn't know what it was like to lose a child. Many viewers complained, as he had lost a child to a stillbirth. The actor said he tried to speak up but they told him to just read the line. I do respect the likes of Liz Hubbard who ad-libbed that she had "three daughters" over a decade after the show forgot one of her daughters had ever existed, but most of the time that isn't allowed or just doesn't happen.

Thanks. I didn't realize Cenedella was back. I can see where he may have wanted to go back to basics. Beyond Jingles, the story of the servant trying to ruin the heroine was also a story he did with Pat and Rue McLanahan.

This is where I get confused. Marcy, Stuart, Frank and Maggie all went early in his run as headwriter. Were they already being written out when he arrived? He never even mentioned Maggie during his whole run as headwriter, which always makes me wonder if something went on behind the scenes.

I'd argue one reason is because there are fewer and fewer A-list actors. After that point you have performers along the lines of Amanda Seyfried, who has never been a huge star, but a very steady success. NAC went from GH to various big primetime star roles. Not movie stardom but the most recent transition I can think of.

I can't remember if this was under McTavish or B&E but this was also the era when Reva told Marah that she was her first born child.

Much as Pam Long could be more honest about Reva she still had to shield her too, I suppose. I tend to think that Billy only has strong feelings for Reva when he can't have Vanessa.

Thank you @watson71 ! How timely, not only for the superb Franz, but I also see Ilsa, after @Paul Raven and @Xanthe talking about her and Gwyda DonHowe. Geez, I didn't realize she actually did dress in that full body Raggedy Ann costume. No wonder some fans were disturbed. I wonder if Jacker or whoever wrote this saw the Jingles the Clown story on Somerset. @vetsoapfan this is another that may interest you.

Thanks @cody_1990 I'm so glad her last episode is still around. A fitting tribute. She had been on AW not that long before in a thankless part. Kudos to them for seeing what they had in her and bringing her back so quickly.

That has always annoyed me too. The parodies of soaps that used organ music for decades after soaps used them. And in more recent years, just soap parodies which give the impression of someone watching B&B (and not the better B&B) and thinking that was the whole genre. There's always been a contempt for soaps for being a woman's format, even as the genre became so shockingly misogynist. I think many now are just surprised to learn there are any soaps still on. I'm not sure which is worse. At least there are places like this which circulate the good times (and can laugh at the bad times). And I'd guess some of those people secretly enjoyed soaps. As the old TV Guide critic said after trashing Dark Shadows - after he moved on he realized he missed watching it.

I did not ever know Reva was meant to be unable to carry another child at this time - for some reason I thought Reva was already pregnant with Shayne when Dylan arrived. I hope Reva and Josh got that doctor blacklisted as she went on to have three more children! I was never a big fan of Reva and Josh but there's a certain natural quality to them in the first scene that I think many of the show's relationships began losing by the mid/late '90s. The scene with Dylan and Reva is nice too, once I get past the contrivance of long-lost parent and child getting clashing before they learn they are related. Morgun Englund was never the best actor, but he had a certain earnestness and likeability which carried him through.

I do wonder if Marland had plans for Heather. (however long Jay was there under his pen, I don't believe he had plans for him - I only remember seeing him fleetingly in what is available of that time) Heather had been more involved in a friendship with Betsy and was then moved toward Frannie at the same time Frannie was becoming heavier in story. Her relationship with Roy did get a steady build as a B or C plot, and we saw her conflicts with his sister Nella as his family was introduced. She very abruptly exited around summer 1986. IIRC, Tonya Pinkins mentioned some issue with Calhoun, but I may be wrong.

You aren't wrong, but then I think of the horrible Dasha (of the Red Scare podcast, and most recently, fawning over Nick Fuentes fame), one of the most untalented "actors" I've ever seen, who was given a recurring part on Succession, one of the best-acted shows I've ever seen. So that reminds me even in the most prestigious shows, connections get you work you don't deserve. At least with soaps, I can cut more slack due to the compressed schedule and lack of rehearsal time. I do think that the bad acting issue is a reason many in the industry will never get past soaps as being unworthy. If any reading has changed I think it's less because of people having an improved opinion of soaps and more because they aren't as big culturally now, they're just sort of in their little corner. And actors can't afford to be as snobbish when more and more work is drying up...now with AI in the wings to replace them.

https://deadline.com/2025/11/ted-hartley-dead-actor-rko-pictures-chairman-was-100-1236617613/

That's how I felt about Harley. I loved Harley from when I first started watching and she was the nanny for Josh and Reva. Looking back I can see some of the changes began in her dreary pairing with Mallet, but she still had her old warmth. Soon after her return, that warmth is gone, and the coldness just gets worse and worse to where I find Harley outright unlikeable. Beth was such a mess of a character for her whole last stint. I was never a huge devotee, but I give Beth Chamberlin credit for making it work as well as she did.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/elizabeth-franz-dead-death-of-a-salesman-1236427898/ When I saw Franz's photo I thought she looked so familiar, then saw the mention of AW. She was terrifying as Alma Rudder. That performance really supercharged a moribund show.