DRW50

Charlotte had been scheming for about 5-6 years up to that point. They may have felt there was nothing left for her, given that she had no long-term love interest and no child. Melinda O'Fee also seems limited as a presence to me. I agree that they caused conflict, but I think the mistake was not bringing in anyone else who could cause believable conflict. Don Stewart was a very handsome man, but I've always found Mike a little dreary. As others have said, I'd probably go with Mart Hulswit's Ed of the guys in that era. I had the same thought about comics. It's even worse in comics. Given Kim's hostility toward Pam Long and alleged feuds with a number of her female co-stars, it's difficult for me to have full weight in her opinion. I also rolled my eyes a bit when she was talking about all the new actors who were just happy to have new apartments and didn't understand the history of the show, given her also coming into GL and being thrust into the central role in a way that helped throw away much of the show's history. Much more than any new hires did in Kim's last years at GL. The irony is for all her disdain for Wheeler, Wheeler was probably the only producer in Kim's second run who gave her material that tapped into her best as an actress. I wish I knew what others said about this whole idea of wiping out all history. It's a crazy idea and would have been doomed to failure, but then, GL was ending anyway, no matter what. It could never be as narcissistic to me as the likes of JFP who made horrible decisions, hired all her friends, then spent decades going "lil ol me?" to all her soap journo pals. I wouldn't have seen a complete clean slate as an atrocity any more than I saw Dark Shadows choosing to end on 1841 Parallel Time as an atrocity. Still, I don't know just how far the plans would have gone. The Soap Opera Weekly letter reminds me of how intelligent many of their letters were, and the good quality of the magazine up to the mid '90s. I also agree that Maureen's death had no real followthrough or purpose, which was the biggest failure. Thanks for the photo @chrisml

This is a wonderful idea. I appreciate you laying out every step.

It's gone beyond giving the far-right attention at this point, unfortunately, as that type of bigotry what now runs our dying country, but hopefully there are still enough daytime viewers with any sense of decency to give the show a chance.

I really like the idea of her starting a business and trying to help younger women. I could have seen her being close to Amanda.

Thanks. Cute photo.

@Jonathan Great ideas! Thanks. An entanglement with Ross would be fascinating given the history of the characters. And I always thought it was a mistake to not bring Mark back one last time, especially when Mark LaMura was still looking so vibrant in his 2005 return.

I was about to ask why she was named Donna. I guess this tells you how much attention I pay to Sonny and Carly stories when I dip in now.

What would you have done with Erica in the show's last years?

@Vee That's a great idea for a story climax. Guza-era style but not a ripoff of clink boom. I did not even remember that Sonny and Carly have another child (was this meant to somehow be an apology from the show for killing off Morgan?). I'd also forgotten Ava already lost a child. RIP Kukla... I thought about waiting on another long-lost adult child story due to all the retcons with Sasha and Cody, but I figured why not.

Thanks @janea4old I didn't know that. Glad they gave him a little moment for the 50th.

I keep hearing people talk about how poor B&B's ratings are. I'm glad if that's still enough to help BTG.

I think there's a gulf between a more mature Erica and what Mona and Myrtle represented. The show never letting her move on meant we got Erica and Ryan, Erica as a showgirl, etc. and I felt like they had no idea who the character was meant to be by that point.

Clarence. He announced for the CBS soaps in the late '80s and early '90s, and again with B&B about 10-15 years ago.

I think BTG is mostly going to struggle from a new soap being introduced in 2025 and likely being seen as "DEI" by bigots at a time when they run every part of our media and government. It's a shame they can't provide better lead-ins in terms of ratings but ideally, they can still scrape through.

I hate almost all custody battle stories on soaps, so the aversion sounds good to me, although you're right they spent a lot of time on nothing (the perils of being made up as you go along). I do wonder what they will do with Ava, as that character always seems to be at a loose end. If they have to keep Ava, I would give her the whole long-lost child she has a love/hate relationship with storyline, only unlike most soap versions of this story, a man instead of a woman. I'd probably kill off Avery, maybe accidentally by Kristina's hand (causing her to have a full breakdown and a lengthy break from the canvas), with Ava's son severely injured trying to save Avery. There would always be tension with Ava and her son because she'd be unable to shake the belief that if he had tried harder, he could have saved her. Lucas would also be torn between them. For added angst, he might have a fling with Nina. Jason always has that halo.

I think what held Erica back was the show never letting her mature. Resetting her in her 40s, 50s, and 60s just became increasingly empty as a gesture. I think she and Jack were fine enough when they had them get back together in the mid '00s. It's just the show - yet again - did a reset, and I don't think they did anything especially good with Erica from that point on.

I would have been curious to see what would happen - probably nothing great, to be honest, but seeing her try a brand new show, maybe even have the actors as new characters, could have been interesting. The idea of going back to episode #1 is something comics like to do. I'm not a fan. Is Wheeler a big comic fan? Russell T. Davies also did that with Doctor Who last year, which did nothing for the show whatsoever.

It's hard for me to judge that period because we only have two episodes - I do think Charlotte's "suicide" aftermath episode is decent. The other is not great, in part because of everyone narrating, as you mention. Based on all the panning of Cenedella from Lemay's book (admittedly not the best source), and the issues with Lipton as a writer, some of the problems don't surprise me. I don't have a problem believing these three women would want Joe. One was crazy, one was a desperate schemer, and Sara didn't exactly have great taste in men (Joe was one of her better choices). I think Call was able to show his quiet charisma on OLTL. He's not playing much of a character here. The parts about Leslie's mother are clunkier to me.

As someone who read comics and watched soaps for many years, I think the idea of a one-off episode being tied into a comic isn't a bad idea. GL wasted years on stories involving mind control, magic mirrors, clones. An episode that gets some free publicity and a few new viewers I can see the appeal of. But the long term I agree it doesn't lead up to much. I will say I am one of the lapsed fans who did come back to watch that episode. (just not much else) I wonder if the Inside the Light episodes may have also been for some kind of budget reason. I know they would also use those to for some reason wrap up certain stories - didn't the Blake episode cover like a year of storyline for her?

Oh wow - I had no idea Sonni was mentioned that late in GL's run. I liked the idea of those episodes but I was not really watching by that point...I think I tried one about Blake because I read Holly was in it.

That's good to hear. I hope they can work in a little tribute to Wayne.

It doesn't. That's why I wanted you to know I didn't think you were coming across that way.

I just don't care about anything with Cindy and the tedious Knights or Ruby's poor return and the umpteenth tease about Stacey/Martin or the woeful Reiss storyline or the cynical vote-in for Denise that combines one relationship the show destroyed beyond repair and one relationship the show ignored until this vote began. I also can't watch Nigel's story because dementia stories are just too much for me as time passes. There are other stories, I guess - are we still meant to remember that Tommy beat the hell out of Kat...are we still meant to care about the dull new Mitchells and Harry's dead girlfriend or whatever she was? The show is so plot-driven and hollow to me and I think many stories just get by based on how great we're meant to think they are rather than what they actually are. I get what you mean about Letitia, but I mostly just worry for her health (I'm not saying you aren't either, if it comes across that way).

I don't think most of the actual stories have been very good, maybe aside from the Phil stuff. I also struggle to care about most of the characters and their relationships.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/14/what-the-lord-established-elon-musk-is-camouflaging-a-christian-nationalist-takeover/ Apparently, thousands are being fired from HHS today...as we face down another pandemic. If you have any way of leaving this country, do so while you can.