DRW50

That would make sense. He was too likeable for that era of the male cast. He would have been a fun host. I guess he falls into that too famous/not famous enough middle ground which stops many from hosting.

If he meant an older man preying on a troubled younger woman, he's not far off. Is that what he meant? I agree that there's nuanced material with Lucky and Cam they could have tried, but that would mean making an effort.

@vetsoapfan You're right - I did like the glimpses of Holly/Ed (not so much her talking about Otalia, but I suppose we can take that as an homage to her scrapped lesbian storyline). I remember the AW story a little, due to some controversy over fans voting over which characters should be killed off. Every once in a while, I see a Twitter account that in the bio says they used to be part of a GL roleplaying experience and now they are mostly politics oriented. That always makes me feel sad because it reminds me that somehow even 2009, 2010, 2011 was a calmer world than what we have now, even if it didn't feel that way at the time.

Whatever your reasons were, I'd mostly just wanted to let you know I appreciated the post as I hadn't heard of some of these.

You may be right. I couldn't remember if that was promotional.

I think Another World and Texas from 80/81 were also briefly repeated on the old AOL P&G channel or whatever it was called.

Maybe it was Gio and Trina arguing about Sonny vs Ava at the time. The connection to Sonny does make me think there were some plans from early in his arrival to make him Dante's son...wasn't this when all the babymaking stuff with Brooklyn and Chase started too?

Wasn't he mentioning some kind of anger toward Sonny early in his run? I remember people speculating at the time about where that would go.

Mainly the returns, some of which were not what the actors deserved (like Holly), but I still appreciated that they were done, and some I found oddly touching, especially now (like Nola). And Vanessa and Billy getting back together. Even Frank and Blake, which was obviously just a filler and part of needing to pair everyone off at the end, I appreciated, as I loved their relationship when Sherry was in the role. There's certainly plenty I could pan, but I suppose I just appreciated that someone still seemed to care, which I was missing in ATWT's last year. And I didn't feel as repulsed by the show in ways I often did in the mid '90s or much of the '00s. I think expanding to an hour was a bad idea for most of the soaps. It's a punishing expansion. I notice no international soaps, even as they have made many of the same mistakes that killed the American soap genre, never made that mistake. Only Josie was there for the Matthews, and she barely ever interacted with them. She was also in a very bad state (frankly she never had a good state...), similar to the Bauers in their last years. I agree AW surviving so long was the bigger miracle. I don't really blame Wheeler for GL's death. By all rights GL should have been canceled after Conboy busted the budget. She kept the show going for 4-5 years. That whole period was a mad dash to cancel soaps and bring in shiny new saviors - four soaps gone, bam bam bam bam. (five if you count Passions) Moonves also had a clear contempt for soaps. I wish the show had survived but I don't think there was any way out. I just wish there was some sort of alternative out there now, so the show won't completely fade for people. I never really read it but I appreciated them having a followup show on Twitter for a few years after GL ended. I hope Beyond the Gates has a few mentions of Springfield, even if many viewers will think they are talking about The Simpsons.

I posted about this briefly yesterday but forgot to update (for a time the first video went on private). Thanks for sharing. They are also available in the US. This is a smart idea, especially with the show going on break for a few weeks. I know some are upset at the lack of credits or recaps/previews. I suppose this must be some rights issue.

I love Nell. One of my favorite soap characters and such a great story arc. Ed's not bad but I mostly just notice his wig. I wonder if Faith Catlin was ever asked if she played up any incestuous undertones in her relationship with Ed.

I saw the scene where Sasha told Tracy apologizing wasn't enough at this point. I was impressed by the work from Sofia Mattsson. I think she has a likeable presence and is a good actress - she just lacks a lot of spark.

@dc11786 I'd never thought of early '90s GH as being similar to Loving, but I can see it now. I think Crystal is now an acting coach, so she's not entirely out of the business.

Thanks for reminding us of all the losses this year. I knew Diane best for Northern Exposure; I'm impressed with just how much else she did.

I wonder if someone was trying to drop a hint with that line... Ric is slimy, yes, but Rick Hearst is so charming, and the canvas is so amoral that I am not sure newer viewers are going to root against him as much as some with memories of the panic room era might.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who had to retire from Congress due to being diagnosed with PSP, gave her farewell speech today.

That's a good idea, especially given her crush on Daniel St. John.

She later worked in NJ government, I believe. Some of those claims about GL's last years backstage were wild. More than anything onscreen. GL did make many poor choices and was lucky to last as long as it did. The last year did still at times feel "my" GL, at least, and in an era of soulless soaps, I'm glad for that small comfort. That and their lovely 70th anniversary episode.

The other thing that concerns me is due to JLC being in Knives Out, they will try to turn MSW into one of those oh-so-clever, sneering Rian Johnson films that already feel so dated after only a few years.

Lisa Brown could have made guest appearances. I suppose they could have brought back Quint when Michael Tylo's ill-fated AMC stint ended. But I do agree bringing Beth in as a new character was a good idea. Something the show excelled at with Harley until JFP made her generic the way JFP made everyone generic, was to reinforce that Harley wasn't like anyone else in Springfield. That was helped by her not being related to anyone outside of Frank and Pops.

They have, but it's rare, and given that they were both brand new characters to many viewers, aside from Alan Michael being on briefly as a baby, it would have stood out more as they'd both have many of their establishing scenes with the other Bauers.

Lacey and Alan-Michael being cousins would have prevented the pairing that seemed to be one of the reasons for Harley's creation. I don't think it helped that Lacey seemed to not get a very positive response from viewers, although she was barely on long enough for that to matter. From what I've seen of her she seems a bit like a vaguely evil version of a robot from an '80s sitcom. It's always dicey when trying to revive a mostly defunct core family. ATWT managed with Jack (and to a much lesser degree) Brad Snyder, but GL had had so much loss and turnover that there was no one like Emma around to help bridge the gap. There was just Maureen, who wasn't written as matriarchal at the time. This is where bringing back Meta or Trudy would have made sense to me, maybe with an adopted daughter or ward. And bringing back a recast Hope, along with some appearances by Don Stewart as Mike.

I think Jane is also just better at these moments, which has helped make Tracy's evolution believable.

That's great news. I hope he doesn't have to prop Carly Jr, but I imagine that's the main purpose.