DRW50

They didn't. I do wonder if they could have considered asking them for brief returns, but there wasn't much story or purpose - Nick was never very popular with viewers, so the most you could have gotten was him checking up on Alex. Alan-Michael's return with the too-young recast had been a flop. A shame how so many of these errors get through.

That was just kind of typical Josh to me, but you are right. I'd forgotten they did that with Matt. I don't think I remember any of the ball aside from that one moment. Looking back, they had so many balls and parties in those few years - amazing when you think of the budget by the last years. Speaking of the end, it reminds me of the mention in the article chrisml posted of Santa Barbara having an ending involving friendship and family at a wedding. Didn't that ending also involve Kirsta Tesreau (there's our GL connection) about to gun one of them down? Odd choice to include for a happy ending. Or maybe she was stopped at the last minute. I don't remember.

She also got called out a fair amount during the first few years of her return, sometimes to an offputting degree, like when she went to a New Year's Ball with Alan and Josh decided to shame her for selling herself to boys for "a piece of pie," or something along those lines. I was horrified. I don't want to go back and rewatch the scenes to remember them better.

I wasn't watching by then but there was so much involving Jonathan and Reva that people were seemingly supposed to handwave just because of who they were. You're right. It didn't come out until after they had gotten married. IIRC, they tried to make sure we knew he didn't actually have sex with any women and instead just gave them drinks by the pool while wearing a Speedo, or whatever, which I always thought was an odd choice, presumably someone chickening out behind the scenes. Either way, I think Vanessa would have had more of a problem just because it would be a reminder of what different worlds they were from. @chrisml Thanks for the articles. I could swear that was Grant, not O'Leary, bare-chested in the photo. The MADD interview from 2002 is interesting, like her saying she wanted to establish a teen set similar to what she believed was a hit on ATWT - did she mean Aaron and Alison and whoever else? I can't say I was bothering to sit through the show by that point, although I know Jessica Dunphy's Alison had some fans. GL had already been trying the same for several years with Marah. Then Marina. The journalist's mother being upset over Bradley Cole's exit is a great example of why they brought him back (although I wonder if any of those fans actually liked Jeffrey).

Welcome. I'm always glad to see new people here. Some fascinating ideas. I did like Toby Poser but I would have brought Kathleen Cullen back too - and Frank Beaty playing a Spaulding would have been a great addition to the family.

I was also not really watching by this point, but that's also what I remember. I want to agree, but this is a case where I don't really care. It seems more character-driven than many stories by that point - once you get past all the generic fantasy land material Vanessa and Matt had in the late '90s, you have two very incompatible people, one of them being a woman who wanted to be in control after being hurt by men, another a construction worker and prostitute (even if the show tried to clean that up, he was a prostitute - no shame in it, he needed the money, etc.) who was thrust into a world of wealth far beyond his imagining. Then you have the weird vibes Dinah/Matt always had.

I haven't watched this since the first 4-5 Bravo seasons. Time changes, but I did feel bad for Tim Gunn over not being asked back, beyond a brief cameo.

Sorry - just saw I hadn't tagged you. I tried to remember everybody I thought might be interested but I knew there was someone... Anyway, it felt like they were trying to hide the actor playing Phil in this (Martin West), but I see he had already been on the show for a while, so I guess that wasn't the case. Maybe it just looks that way because this print is B&W.

Moviecraft has put up March 11, 1968 - earlier this year they put up March 12th, so now you can watch them back-to-back if you wish. @FrenchFan @Vee @vetsoapfan @depboy @Contessa Donatella @GymnastGuy @carolineg @janea4old @Maxim @dragonflies @Dion @Khan @Liberty City @titan1978 @AdelaideCate007 @jam6242 @cassadine1991 @dc11786 @Soaplovers Nice to see a bit of Sharon, proto-Amy and probably the only somewhat upbeat character around.

I'm glad they haven't killed the character off yet. Somehow after years away Ric returns to some of the only complex relationships on the show, all with women he has real chemistry with (and he also works well with Molly).

When I saw Kyle Lowder, I thought he was playing Brady again. I had forgotten he was brought back as Rex, for whatever reason they did that.

And Josie was at a real low then - her baby had recently died, her marriage had ended, Sharlene was not in town. Rachel was also alone. Plenty for him to do, even just for one episode.

Soapcentral claims late December 1981. I suppose that could fit. I know the paternity story must have been mentioned, but by the time I first really saw Philip (when he returned in 1996 - I had "seen" him when I started watching GL around '90 but didn't pay a great deal of attention), I felt like most of the angst over that part of their history had passed. And when I go back to the '80s, I know the tension is there, like Philip taking over the company and booting Alan, but due to many factors (Grant leaving and returning, Chris leaving and returning, Justin never being around aside from his ill-fated 90-91 stint after Alan was already gone), I don't feel the impact as much as I think the revelation and buildup warranted. Joan was also capable of playing some softer moments on Dynasty. Elizabeth was fragile but also had some distance, some steel. Not off Joan's persona. Block was a fascinating presence on GL, but other than fighting over Blake, nothing was done with his Marler ties. Nothing with Justin or Lainie (I was surprised she was even mentioned - not sure she or Justin ever were again after that). Having him as the Spaulding heir could have been more compelling, at least if the Spauldings had been in stronger shape. I would have had proper Alan and Alex recasts around this time, an Alan-Michael recast, the Vicky story much stronger (hell, even at the level of Dominique on Dynasty - never strong as a story, but a compelling presence and balance to the other dynamics). Philip might have felt left behind with the changing dynamics, especially with Harley not wanting to be a part of the Spaulding world again. I might have done a story similar to Clay and Alex on Loving where the "real" heir arrives, but Philip believes he is an imposter. Similar to when he was sure Beth was alive, no one believes him. Maybe even have Beth get involved with him, partly to hurt Philip and partly because she is genuinely enchanted by him. Then it's a real "be careful what you wish for" moment as the "real" heir, when found by Philip, has a very hard edge, only a handful of people able to see past that edge, similar to Roger in many ways. And his arrival knocks the family completely off balance, along with his simmering resentment at the family preferring the con artist heir to him. Meanwhile, Philip would, yet again, cut ties with the family and try for a normal life, maybe this even being a reason to bring in Sam, Lainie, or Justin as he reconnects with his Marler roots (maybe Lainie or Sam are dying, Justin is doing all he can to save her, and Philip ensnares Rick and Ross into taking career-ending risks to save her life). But he will always go back to Spaulding, especially as both of the new/old/true/false heirs lurch to a place of mutual destruction. You could also work Elizabeth, or a Jackie return from the dead storyline into the midst. Another Alan/Jackie marriage, this one more based on honesty and a twisted acceptance.

Thanks. The end did make me wonder if it was a pilot.

Starting at about 8 minutes you get a story on the Elvira pilot not being picked up by CBS (it is available in full on Youtube - I love Elvira and Katherine Helmond, but it's nothing special, with some elements already done better in Mistress of the Dark), then they go into the new CBS fall shows, ending in a terrifying photo of Tom Arnold. One of those sitcoms (The Trouble with Larry) was actually premiered early, and did so badly it got yanked after three episodes, replaced by another short-lived sitcom by the same producers (It Had to Be You) - so short it only ran one more episode than Larry. Anyone know if that's a record for a production team? Then there was a pilot for the aftermath of that show with Dunaway's character having died (I think), which I put in the pilot thread last year. Only The Nanny would have legs. Earlier in the episode there's also an extended preview for Frasier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_with_Larry#Reception

I couldn't find a thread for just movies of the week rather than miniseries and I didn't want to start one without seeing if others thought one should be started, so I'll just put this here for the moment. A TV movie with Ben Masters, Morgan Fairchild, John Hillerman. Someone put it up yesterday and I don't see another version on Youtube (just a promo). This aired October 7, 1988. After all the buffoonery of Julian Crane it's always interesting to see Ben in these straighter roles.

I'm not entirely sure where to put this, but Robert S Woods is being interviewed by Judy Norton about his guest stint on The Waltons.

I was thinking of the issues Melanie Smith said she had with Gregory Beecroft on ATWT, but I don't know what Harley has ever said about him.

Thanks. Hadn't heard of his passing. Poetry in Motion is such a dippy, sweet song. The "whoa...whoa whoa whoa whoa..." stayed with me. "It Keeps Right On A Hurtin'" may be the song I liked most of his (of the few I heard). Very effective melody and vocal performance.

I imagine he was involved in the Philip recast as Philip had been a central character until they wrote him out. Not hiring Grant, but the choice to recast him at that time. I sometimes think it was a mistake to not have the reveal while Jarrod Ross was still in the role. Grant was excellent in the reveal, but it was all done with so quickly, zero long-term impact. Of course, Marland would never have known that - who'd expect the show to just barely bother. Today maybe...but in 1983 it wasn't as common. GL, breaking ground in some not great ways. Rick seemed like he was barely seen anyway. I do think O'Leary was decent recasting, but the first "adult" Rick, Macgregor, was not bad at all in the few clips of him which showed up. @chrisml Thanks. I'd heard O'Leary talk about being a Dr. Death, but never heard about the cake. I'm glad that GL never took the ER-ification as seriously as JFP did with AW around this time. And then GL would only outlive ER by a few months... I can just imagine, especially given her main co-star.

That's a nice idea - how it should be.

I sometimes do just to save time, but I see what you mean.

Thanks. I am surprised at how decent the show still looks by that point (I don't say that to go into more Peapack rehashing). I was also impressed by the work there. I know Michael could do good work, but I don't think Yvonna ever got credit, partly because she was immediately rushed into a marriage and a baby storyline and never felt like a character. I also appreciate Mel calling out the romanticization of the whole Four Musketeers era, even if the show, like all the soaps, fell back on the same nostalgia too many times (there and with Josh/Reva). I still can't believe how fast they aged Leah. Irna would have been proud.

I assume they meant the only successful transition, which is what I often read with GL - maybe they just missed a world. I am probably nitpicking. Brighter Day might come second. It didn't help that was when they gave up on any logical story for him. Who decided he needed a child with Harley? Was someone a big fan of the Philip/Meredith plotline? I couldn't remember who the guy was. Thanks. That was the closest Ethan came to having a storyline.

This is a very in-depth take on what the Bauers could have been. I like your idea. I think the Bauers, even by the mid '80s, had become too dismantled for the complexity they should have had, as you've shown here. In that more dismantled state, I think O'Leary worked, as he had a spark and good comic timing. I also think he was a very good contrast to Grant Aleksander, and that aspect probably clicked more than him as a Bauer - I can't really remember appreciating any of his scenes with his family. I think @Mitch64 is right that they may have been better off recasting when they brought him back - I think he works well enough the first few years, even through the Abby pairing, but after that, they start taking Rick in a lot of directions which weren't the best use of the actor. Then again, I don't know who could have made sense of most of those stories, which were all rushed and tired tropes (the Mel stuff) or incomprehensible (Philip's death and the Beth affair). I know he used to talk in interviews about the pranks he and some of the other guys in the cast would pull, especially the one about convincing new guys that they were going to go to Italy to play a gay love story with a soccer player. I always wondered if any of the new guys actually believed that.