DRW50

I think she would have been better off trying her own soap, which I know she wanted at one time. Santa Barbara probably wouldn't have worked out but the show was in such dire straits by then and she couldn't have been much worse than what they had. Curlee was very producer-dependent so I'm not sure what would have happened with her at GH.

I try to be that way but it's more difficult with shows now because the two have become more and more intertwined to the point where some have these "choose your own adventure" endings to avoid alienating anyone, where actors have to beg viewers to leave their family or friends alone and steadily retreat from social media, or what have you. It was a good thing for GH to have the injection of more vocal and passionate fans that Sprina brought, and I don't think they ever went to extremes, but the genre is so tired and fearful now and I think a vocal fan response is just too much for them.

I'm sure that may be intent, and that is probably true for some fans, but I have just seen this happen before, especially the patterns of the obsessive fans who within about a year will probably be sending myriad threats to the cast and producers and calling everyone involved homophobic. These shows just end up being minefields, which is one of the reasons I think soaps have pulled back (not the only reason but probably one of them).

I think a lot of the response to Heated Rivalry is about viewers fetishizing gay men, rather than romance, but I agree shows like that or Bridgerton show the audience can still be there. I'm not sure how many of them go near soaps, but when they try they are promptly minimized and run off, like Sprina. One of the problems is many fan groups are toxic and abusive beyond belief, which has long been true for soaps, but seems to be at even more of a fever pitch now (I read about some Love Island fans and I think they were putting hexes on contestants or thinking of hiring a hit man to kill one of them). Soap producers may just not want the hassle.

Abigail Spencer (ex-AMC) is the female lead on Best Medicine, FOX's remake of the British show Doc Martin.

She was cast as Maggie, mother of teenager Jessica (Maitland Ward). She probably was too young but it didn't really matter.

@alwaysAMC Glad you are still doing your detailed reviews. They are still bringing back memories for me. I did not remember Meta popping up so often in the Ben story. I guess this is the point when they are trying to redeem him somewhat. I do think Hunt Block made the transition work but they had taken him very far earlier in the year so I can see why many didn't buy it. I don't know if the show ever quite finds a good story for Brittany Snow in her time as Daisy/Susan, but I remember thinking immediately that she had a real star quality. The casting director at that time was able to find many gems. I do remember being touched by Jenna's goodbye scenes/dreams, especially with Vanessa. That was nicer than most of her second run. Beth being put into Spaulding with zero training and acting cracked out for a year was nonsense, but that's what soaps were becoming by this point. Spaulding did have a lot of potential at this time with Alex back and so many characters moving in, but it doesn't quite come to plan. I felt like B&E were trying to write Alex a little more like how she should have been written. I totally get why Marj left, she 100% made the right choice, but I do wonder what might have been. It's interesting you mention Mindy's exit as being low-key because while it was it was also one of the only exits of that era I appreciated. IIRC, she left because she didn't want to testify against Rick for his role in Eve's death. Those were some of the only Barbara Crampton Mindy scenes I appreciated. The Annie material reads worse than it plays. Signy Coleman's hard edge made me more involved. Looking back, beyond the impossible task of replacing Cynthia Watros, I think she was a little bit too hard for GL, which was a very vibrant show.

Hard to believe. I'm glad they at least got to have a 40th. Of all the canceled soaps AMC is still the one I'm really surprised isn't here, in spite of those last years.

After season 8 or so I never felt it...maybe because other parts of the show always annoyed me more. That's how I felt about garbage like Danny Woleska, which just never seemed to end.

We know she wouldn't have been smoking a cigar and stamping it out for the final scene.

She wouldn't have been my choice, but she would have to be better...and she did have some chemistry with Vincent Irizarry on AMC.

@dc11786 Thanks for the rundown about Lucy and her family. From what you've said it sounds like Charlene was the only loss to Lucy's story. I am reminded of when Santa Barbara gave Gina relatives around the same time, which also didn't last long. I had no idea Monty almost produced Santa Barbara. She would have been better than Rauch.

It was all Nancy. I don't know how he would have fared as I never thought he was the most dynamic of leading men, but it would have to be better than Grandma Moses.

Not a fan of this era but if any of you are you may enjoy the full episodes with ads: As The World Turns - (March 25,1998) As The World Turns - (July 14,1998)

No wonder Beverlee left. They went out of their way to make her a gorgon under JFP. Considering how much JFP did to keep Rick Hearst on GH as often as she could, I'm still surprised at how much she wasted him on GL. He pined after Eleni for years and years and was yet more Tangie fodder, and the way Alan-Michael/Lucy was framed under her watch put me off. I don't think it was about relying solely on Reva. She was a heavy presence, but a great deal of the show wasn't about her at that time. The issue was Kobe seemed so high on her own supply and must have assumed anything she created could easily replace the foundations of the show.

Thanks @jam6242 .

Thanks again @dc11786 Is this Eyde Byrde? @YTG 1983 Pampers commercial #2

That's the one I was trying to link - it's hard to figure the new system out.

Found an old short Donna Mills interview from the start of season 3. As always, I love how she explains Abby's appeal and believability. I also clipped a Knots promo I don't think was available on its own. It reminded me of just how unintentionally hilarious and stupid so much of that Ben spy past story was. Simon & Simon/Knots Landing promo (1987)

David would have been a good choice, as long as they didn't make him a psycho. Good spot. The NYC soaps were so important for actors in bit parts.

If that was very early, I can cut a little slack, but no wonder she didn't last long. She also doesn't have the right vibe for the Forbes family - that rich, jagged, beautiful suffering. Oh right. I have a vague memory of those Lorna clips. I am hoping that channel will put up some of their Loving clips which are gone now - if not I may put some up that I saved. The Dolly story, like Edy before and Lotty and April afterward, all just seem to be women in peril and very dated for the time. Reading about the scenes of Dolly getting to see her daughter from afar is very Stella Dallas. I wonder how they play out onscreen. Carly is such a heavy character and it adds a great deal of heaviness to Ava, but Colleen Quinn was a good actress. I guess in the long run it was worth the tradeoff for Casey/Steffi/Cooper.

I haven't seen a lot of him as Duke on GH...I think his best work in what I've seen was as Brock on ATWT, although that's a little tarnished knowing Melanie Smith disliked working with him. I would guess his work as tortured mobster Brock on ATWT is why he was cast.

Capitol - (August 1,1986)(Partial)