DRW50

I used to say that JFP's best technical work as a producer was gone by the time she was at OLTL and GH, but posts like this remind me that wasn't entirely true. She did work hard on the technical aspects of GH. Valentini just doesn't care (and doesn't have the budget anyway).

Thanks! Beyond the wonderful interviews, there are also three clips from '60s GL I have NEVER seen before. I don't even know if they are around anymore (I don't want to rehash the "is the whole archive destroyed" stuff yet again), but I hope they are. I laughed at them misspelling her name and Marland's name too. The part with the original SOD editor was worth watching, especially her admitting she'd never watched soaps, but her insistence that viewers would always want to see young and beautiful people over real life is a great example of why the genre ended up being so hurt as the decades went along. The comment from the guy who played Joe saying people would still keep watching as long as they needed background noise also annoyed me. There were some people who only watched as background noise, but many were genuinely hooked on the shows until they were pushed away. I also enjoyed seeing the Harley Vinton interview, wearing a Derek T-shirt no less. GL just threw him away.

In the '50s and '60s, soaps often had the same mission of just catering to what viewers they had, being seen as the slums of TV, and there was still a level of care which just isn't around now. There's just so much bloat, too many longtime names who ran out of story long ago and are strangling any new characters or actors who could contribute if given the chance.

Just watching this now. There's such an odd but potent sexual chemistry with Chase and Dex, especially in the first scene.

It's many of the same figures who tried to insist Rogan would help Bernie win in 2020.

The training which brought many of those writers up is gone now.

Paulina had already become a vixen with a heart of gold under Timmins, which was another reason the recast felt unnecessary (beyond trying to help the ratings).

Someone, maybe one of the Pod Save America guys, mentioned that these young men will end up being more and more important in voting as they get older. And in a number of cases it's not just young white men - a lot of young men are being indoctrinated into levels of bigotry and misogyny not seen in a long time. You can see it in polling and on social media. Trump and his sycophants encourage this at all levels. I saw that he retweeted a video from two young Hispanic men where they do nothing but "rap" about Harris in crude sexual terms. I'm not sure what can be done. Harris going on the shows won't make any difference. Going on Rogan is worthless (just ask Bernie) and many other bro podcast shows are going to just be a variation of the same. Walz won't be much better. This is something that will take years of time and money, and the voices of young men in the party. The junk polls and whispers from the Beltway beloves like Hotline Josh (who claims bigwigs in the party are now upset Harris didn't choose Shapiro) I am wary of, but other claims, like declining enthusiasm, I wouldn't be surprised. Harris has made a conscious choice to run as a straightforward candidate rather than banking on vibes, verve, or identity. That's probably the right choice, but means Trump gets all the hype of one who is worshiped by millions and has complete control of the press. There's also the narrative of Harris being endorsed by warmongers while Trump is the "peace candidate" (which is BS but the narrative is still easily spread). And the economy remains a struggle for many. It's going to be very close. I just hope Harris can win, and that all the rigged election boards allow her to win.

Thanks as always @slick jones

This was already well covered above but the side-by-side is sobering:

Thanks as always @Huntress

I would guess a recast will be announced about a month after Trina leaves.

I think most of his material is made more for women who fetishize than gay men. His shows have been virulently homophobic for decades. And there is such a hollowness to his work it renders any man unattractive immediately. I remember when he had Teddy Sears and Zachary Quinto in fetish gear, and it was about as hot as Wilfred Brimley on Our House.

I think what hurt Donna was a lack of respect for the character. The show begins degrading her in the late '80s and aside from a few periods that never improves.

I had pretty much stopped Sisters by the time they brought Kelley in but what I saw did not have any of the strengths Anderson brought to the part - she had a subtlety and quiet strength the show needed by that point. I haven't watched QAF in a long time but for me it was the opposite of Sisters in that I thought the beginning of the show was rough as hell and weird and it improved from that point on, other than the stories for the lesbians, which were never good. (I still remember the odd choice to have Justin, in between chasing every older man in every toilet stall he could, being way way too eager to help his BFF lose her virginity, which I refuse to believe happens in real life)

That's right. Thanks. A relationship that does have good value - I like that they stay close even after they are both involved with the same man. Then again, I think I like Eve more than just about anyone else out there.

I can't think of any others either. Weird. It shows how unimportant female relationships became, although now that I think of it this was not new (Holly, for instance, had two brothers). Other than Reva I'm trying to remember how many women we saw on the show with active sister relationships. Amanda and Morgan did interact, but it doesn't seem like they had a very memorable or important relationship. I guess there was Nola and Maureen. (I know you were talking about last two decades - I was just trying to remember further back)

Jensen's gotten quite a lot of criticism here over the years. She was more popular in the day, but even at the time SOD named her worst recast. She did seem to just transfer Marley onto Vicky. The main period where I felt like she was actually playing Vicky again, briefly, was around the time Richard Culliton came back as headwriter in early 1998 and returned Vicky to pariah status along with her having the rivalry with Lila.

It would have been interesting to me if Meg started becoming closer to Greg (Paige would have left Greg at this time and he'd be lonely and full of regrets so he'd decide to be more a part of her life), and at the same time we got the story you mentioned. St. Elsewhere had a story where Mark Craig's son died and his pregnant wife was left comatose. Mark and his wife Ellen began raising the baby and Ellen became overly attached, leading her to break down when the wife woke up and the baby eventually was given back to her. I didn't care for the story on St. Elsewhere but I could see it working with Mack and Karen.

It's not odd. We are actually agreeing.

We've been talking about him having low view counts for years, so I guess them falling further isn't a surprise. I think he had a brief buzz during the pandemic but frankly I'm surprised and somewhat impressed he is even still hanging on. At least one positive of needing viewer engagement is he used that hot photo of Scott Bryce as bait. (Steven too but he's never really done anything for me, although he was fun on Wings, at times)

I wouldn't be surprised if Georgie Stone only agreed to return to wrap up Mackenzie's story. She was planning to leave before the show was canceled. I think they got a lot wrong with Toadie and Mackenzie in the revival (and so much of Haz's story was terrible - a misuse of a cute actor).

Thanks as always @slick jones