DRW50

There was so much potential with what she set up (and Rauch somehow allowed compared to his later soap choices). Quinn and Henrietta are both compelling characters played by very charismatic actresses. Michele Shay is one of the most unique actresses I've seen on a soap. (has she ever been asked about her time on AW?) @chrisml Thank you for the article. I did laugh at Robert Christian being called an AW mainstay. I guess at that point being on the show for a year did make you a mainstay.

Thanks. I never have known why they didn't bring Cathy back sometime in the late '70s or early '80s - I guess with Tony, Joe, and Jim gone, they didn't think there was a point. I did a double take at Tony looking so much like Jim Jones with those glasses. I remember some talk of the state of Reinholt's performances by the time he left (unless that was just AW), but so little of his run is around. It's hard to imagine this Vince wooing Niki Smith. He seems like he got lost on the way to a Gary Marshall sitcom.

I also love that all three episodes have beauty shots. I would say I wish they'd come back but we don't even have proper closing credits now. There's something unique about a soap and a beauty shot. In this one you have the wide shot of Joe and Viki's living room (starting with the painting), characters sleeping, and my favorite, Matt stewing, flouncing and boozing in the Lord living room.

Breech and Glass are probably what Erica Hope or Patsy Rahn probably were on Y&R and GH - competent actors who would today hang around and hang around, doing decent, not memorable work in not memorable stories. Thayer and Light both brought so many shadings to their parts and made Karen and Jenny feel like people you know and can care about. Watching the Jenny and Karen scenes here seem more like sitcom cuties than the layered, at times heartrending bond they had in later years, where Karen sacrificed in ways Jenny never would have wanted her to do. I agree about Glass' voice. She sounds like Almonzo's sister on Little House. This is the same Peter Jenny later married, right? When exactly does he lose the ve-hav-vays-of-making-you-talk accent? You're very right about Dorian. That scene in the August 7th episode (the type of scene you never get now) where Matt essentially reads Dorian to filth - it says so much about who Dorian would remain for much of the '80s, as Dorian always wanted more and would never be satisfied. Her antics when Herb ran for governor, her wanting David when she was happily married to Herb and had reunited with Cassie, etc. And this is who Dorian always should have remained, as it's the classic anti-heroine motif. The flashback where Viki warned Dorian she was on to her games - is this the oldest Viki/Dorian confrontation we've ever seen? Amazing how in 40 years, Erika's acting style never changes. No sudden British accent, no suddenly trying to act or talk younger than she was, etc. As @titan1978 said, hard to believe just how long-lasting this material would be, even as the other part of the story (Tony) would be long forgotten. When the show started, Cathy was about 16 or 17, wasn't she? I wonder just when the biggest age jump was.

I never can remember just when Pinkerton and Belack left. Was the former in 1976 and the latter in 1977, or both in 1977? OLTL always benefited so much from vibrant female characters, it must have been a jolt for fans. Luckily, they still had Viki, and maybe Pat, and soon Judith Light on the way... I wonder when it is that they finally start to style Viki in a more glamorous way. Erika's hair is very '60s here and her clothes are more along the lines of a very unflattering bedcover.

This old soap tumblr account has an interview with Vance from maybe the best soap magazine (Daily TV Serials). https://www.tumblr.com/vintagesoaparchives/173904963968/daily-tv-serials-october-1975-vance-jefferis I had forgotten Vance passed in 2023. In motion he reminds me of a somewhat more flaming Howard Hesseman.

I'd think it must have. I wonder what discussions were about no longer doing crossovers. Lemay/Rauch likely had no interest, but still, imagine India popping up as a frenemy of Iris'. And there were characters who never got a lot to do in Bay City who could have moved to Somerset - that Dave Gilchrist character who mostly seemed to hop between Bay City ladies who didn't want him. Or Michael Randolph could have been one of Ellen Grant's toyboys.

Thanks for sharing. Really appreciate it. I couldn't remember how long Marie worked under Slesar's writing. Wasn't Robert Cenedella the HW for most of her time on the show?

I always forget that Lars character was tied to him. I wonder if they had further plans for Kent or if he was always just meant to get killed by Erica. I know there were claims Godart and Lucci didn't get on. Weren't they also thinking of pairing Liza/Greg up again, maybe after the recasts? I can't remember. That whole age set seemed to implode around 84/85.

Yes. I understand why they both said no, especially as Loving was a much smaller show and it would have been seen as a degradation. I am glad Debbi and then Darnell were willing to take the chance, and I think it paid off for them. Speaking of Lillian, I don't really understand why this is in her IMDB. Maybe they will delete it: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4426708/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_eps_tt_9 Sometimes I wish I could go through the various stories Jesse and Angie had in their first AMC run as some seem much better than others, not that that was exclusive to them (the "fake Jenny" for Greg was a terrible idea, whether it was meant to make him move on from her or not).

Loving did not do anywhere near enough with black characters in the '80s, but Minnie was not the first black character on Loving. Art Hindman was recurring through the decade, and we also saw his kids, Dave and Tally. I have a feeling that if AMC had not already had a number of black characters at the time, they might have brought her back. Of course, many of those characters began filing out and/or were given poor material starting in 1994 (I remember Dondre Whitfield complaining about Mimi and Derek getting married in the Chicken Shack), which never improved (I think most of the material with Noah and Julia veers between boring and unwatchable, not to mention the desecration of Taylor as a character). In contrast, I think Loving, and to a lesser degree The City, had some genuinely good material for their black characters, rather than voodoo princesses and poor Leslie Uggams and Randy Brooks being stuck in something that felt vaguely lifted from 1972.

Storm brews over Byron Allen Media's plan to consolidate TV weather Local Meteorologists Give Emotional Farewells After Nationwide Layoffs Bit by bit the money men are making sure local news is decimated.

You won't be surprised to learn that the brain dead leftists out there like Ken Klippenstein have been leading people to care more about Schumer's statements and how inadequate they are meant to be than about this crisis itself. Meanwhile, that piece of [!@#$%^&*] Jon Stewart has been working hard to minimize what Trump is doing and telling us we shouldn't care as no one even knows how many federal attorneys there are. This is why Trump gets away with whatever he does. So many are bought and paid for, waiting to play mind games and make sure everyone else is made to take the blame.

So we're still waiting. I hope I'm wrong, but I do think this is it.

@Vee Thank you! What a wonder. The uploader mentioned that he got them from Matt McAllister himself. I remember reading some articles about him and maybe asking @vetsoapfan about him before but had never seen him. This is amazing. We've all talked about how many soap actors may have had some of their footage saved. Some, like Jacquie Courtney or Laurie Heineman, we may never know, but I'm glad some like Matt are making this stuff available while they can.

I suppose you could say Genie and Alexa haven't really had the chance yet, but I agree. I just don't think there's anything especially compelling in the Laura/Lulu relationship and I don't think Genie has much of a spark with those around her (she did when she was younger, but I don't think her work has ever been the same since she was forced to return to the show in 1998). On paper, there's a story to tell about Lulu not being very close to Laura compared to Tracy because Tracy was there for her in the years Laura could not be, the years that made Lulu who she now is. Unfortunately, that story is probably never going to be told. Not really an NAC fan, but I do wonder if it's all that uncommon for someone to not attend their former onscreen love interest's birthday party. I just hope Tabyana gets more respect from the show. If not then I hope she leaves, if she is able to do so.

Thanks.

@dc11786 Thanks. Always enjoy reading these updates. And yes, the idea of Michael Storm and Charita Bauer as partners is a jolt.

I think she has only stayed on due to being the last Sugden.

This is Marcus Smythe, isn't it? I couldn't find credits. He's also in part two - not sure if that one is on Youtube.

I imagine some is spite toward Genie from the show, but Laura has also been such a dead character for a long time now. She just feels isolated, even as the mayor. There could have been some story to play with the return of her kids, especially Lucky, but I'm not even that sure how compelling it would have been. Admittedly I just don't think a lot of actress or character.

I suppose they may feel the only audience they have left are old conservative white people. I would like to say they are wrong...

Nothing against MVJ, it's just when two people who work with/for you took over longtime shows and ruined them beyond recognition, I'm going to be wary. I think ABC is somewhat concerned, but if they were really concerned, they'd have made more changes. Instead, they seem to have only marginalized their black characters further.

I've heard that a lot too. Given this show I am expecting it.

It was. Even though they made a poor choice with Frankie on The City B&E also gave focus to Jacob, Angie and Lorraine. They also tried to use black characters on GL, which never went anywhere (a number of writers tried after them too but someone repeatedly shut that down).