DRW50

A few new Loving clips - it's been a while. Loving - (August 6,1991?) (Clip) Loving - (1987?)(Clip) That's 1986. This may be the first I've ever seen of O'Hara Parker. She is very perky for a woman in prison... Geez Jeff Trachta is so intense even just in one scene. Hard to believe he'd go on to play nice guy Thorne for years. As @dc11786 and @Kane and others have mentioned, this period of Loving can often seem like the "lost years." Nothing that matters in the long run.

I don't think I'd seen this before. Probably the last scene of note with Cecile and Blaine. Another World - (May 30,1984)(Clip) @slick jones This has a cast crawl that may help you.

@titan1978 Really appreciate your insights. There's so much I've read in fan magazines (like what you mentioned about the response to Duke's second death) but it doesn't beat hearing from someone who watched at the time. I am surprised they did keep Olivia on so long after she caused Anna to have a miscarriage. Tonja Walker was so dynamic, but that's a lot.

@BadBoy93 Yeah that is eerie. At least you are using it for decent purposes. @DoreenJacksonDupree Clearly it sensed how many want Olivia and Dru back.

Is that Marah test story also around the time Alex and Alan have flashbacks of when he protected Alex from Brandon's abuse by saying he broke a vase, rather than her cat? I think it was you or @P.J. who mentioned how various regimes would change how Alex and Alan felt about Brandon, sometimes in the space of months or a year. The Spauldings had such an unnecessarily convoluted backstory and sometimes I'm surprised they lasted to the end. I guess bringing Alan back is what cemented their longevity, as you could always have him around to twirl a mustache.

Great catch @MissPalmer

Sad to think some of the longest-running rivalries in GL history were with the Coopers and the Spauldings.

Thanks @dc11786 . I always mean to watch more of that period, but your summaries are often more compelling than what is onscreen for these shows. I agree that PC has more GH ties than given credit for. They seemed to try to revive them around 99-00 before stopping once and for all when the "books" begin. I remember reading about the Colton/Olivia story. It sounded interesting. Is Olivia another of those characters who held on longer than she should have? I didn't realize Lucy was gone when her entire family was written out. Maybe that was for the best as it would have been depressing to see her taken fully back to nothing. I don't respect producers who dump any character they didn't create. Dominic Treadwell Collins at EastEnders is another who did that, IIRC.

Not to be judgmental, but with a few exceptions I don't remember B&B ever having a knockout younger cast. The best you can hope for is if they can read some lines and if their faces are not a dead sea of Botox and filler. He doesn't really look like Brooke or TK Ridge to me, although if they ever want some sexy shots of him looking in a mirror or smoking, he can qualify. Instagram

I found Scott Thompson Baker likeable when he was on B&B in a very thankless part, so I can see where he would have been the same as Colton. I guess it worked out for him as he got a juicy part on AMC. Lynn's DAYS run is one of those which the soap press used to treat as a cautionary tale. I'm glad she was able to return to GH as that second run was the making of the character, even if I know Michael Logan always said her first run was much better and he couldn't take her in the '90s.

I know soaps, especially in recent years, might seem very different year to year, but when I was watching some of Epiphany's funeral, I was struck by just how much has changed in 3 years. Beyond three of the cast members involved since passing away, there is also now-dead Sam, and then there was the jarring glimpse of Willow as town saint (braving Epiphany's service even as she is about to have a cancer treatment), wheeled around by Carly.

I got the impression both had their fans but Monty seemed to be so focused on cleaning house. Maybe she thought Colton was at a dead end once the Felicia and Frisco story was over (and had been for a year or two or however long). Was this when Lynn was leaving for DAYS or is all of this what led her to go to DAYS?

That could be a fun idea (I know they already did the Kinder-esque story with Ava several months ago but that seems to have been forgotten anyway).

It would be nice to see the character one last time. Maybe they could bring her back to help get Lucy away from Sidwell.

A few promos I clipped. Bold & the Beautiful promo (1989) Bold & the Beautiful promo (1996)

As the World Turns promo (1996)

Guiding Light promo (1996)

Sam didn't look like any of the actors who played her biological relatives, other than John Bolger. At a push, Cindy Pickett.

@safe Love your insights. I never thought about the jewelry and the different actresses and what they did or didn't wear.

Neither have I. It looked crazy. Must have been something to choreograph.

Is that the best take they had for Javi's boo hoo? I know soaps are often behind, but nice as it is to see Julie, how many want to see New Year's a week late? Do you think this is a hint of an upcoming Passions crossover?

About 30 years ago I remember an SOD feature on roles soap actors had before they had bigger parts and I saw a photo of "Mouse" and Frisco, I think in fishing gear.

I think the whole episode is a dream. They do that again around 2002, but the show wasn't as ugly at this point. The 1996 Thanksgiving is one of the more entertaining "special episodes" soaps were doing in the '90s and '00s.

I really liked Julia and she did have her own existence outside of Brenda. I'd be happy to see her again, unlikely as that is.

Thanks. Never heard of the book. I was very fond of Jupiter Moon. A silly show but becomes more serious and the characters all actually develop. I can't believe I managed to watch the whole show on Netflix back when they had discs. I know some fans blamed that domestic violence story Sean O'Connor did before he went on to run roughshod at EE.