DRW50

Thanks. I meant to type 3, not 4.

You're right - Mulcahey did what he could to add some flavors to the whole Pikeman mess and the longstanding issue of how spent and confused characters like Sonny and Ava feel. I do get why viewers weren't thrilled, especially as Mulcahey was likely being sabotaged, but the lack of patience from a lot of people seemed to doom any real change from the outset. And now we're just back to what people said they disliked before he got there.

That's it exactly. I was spoiled watching ATWT growing up as there was a sense of history and a realism in everyday - not just bringing back old characters for visits, but also letting us see many characters react to news. That's why all the changes forced on the show in 1995 stung me so much, and I don't know if I ever really forgave them for it.

It may be a bad choice, but anytime someone leaves a Ryan Murphy project I say good for them.

Mike Farrell pops up at around 10 minutes, 23 minutes and 32 minutes in this - no dialogue. He has a bit of dialogue around 26 minutes.

You said it! It can never be said enough. ATWT, at its best, used history in a way that made viewers feel like they were a part of Oakdale. In the long run this probably hurt the show more, because it was harder to just say, "Oh it's a soap," when important character traits were dropped, but it also caused brand loyalty that kept the show about 15+ more years on the air than it would have otherwise.

I know that a hack like Carlivati would have done all kinds of callbacks to A Summer Place, camp sogging and clogging up the screen. I'm glad AW never did. The whole Pat/John breakup confuses me a bit too as I am not sure if he still expected to go back to Pat after sleeping with Barbara. He seemed to take Pat for granted. This story is so rich in layered drama - I wish we could see all of it. Speaking of Dave Gilchrest, I notice that he was on for 4 years, which is longer than many Lemay introductions. Did David Ackroyd want to leave or was he let go? That's a long time for a character to not have any real stories or pairings. The number of women he hung out with or dated or was hot for is extremely varied - few men would date Pat and fall for Rachel. I wish we could see some clip of him. The most I've seen is that tilted camera Paley episode where he is at Iris' pool and is wearing a tight black Speedo.

Taggert seems to have been completely forgotten. I hope it's not due to Real's health. The show has moved away from the black characters in general. The Pikeman story feels like one of those plots they just stall out to eat up time with having to churn out 5 episodes a week. I don't think anyone involved knows or cares what's going on. And being stuck in the quagmire of the story is probably a big reason why Mulcahey never even got a proper chance.

The whole question for me is why they even brought Jagger back in the first place. I don't think it was necessary. Now that he's there, I say keep him around as the actor is decent and at least Jagger does have some old ties to GH but get him out of this plotline and try something different with him. Hell, they may as well bring Karen back from the dead while Kin Shriner is still there.

Another benefit of seeing a little more of this period is seeing that shift with John and Lucinda as I mostly remember the fighting and tension before their marriage. You're absolutely right about how chilling the portrayal of Tonio's control and abuse was (and how much they used the inherent lack of self-worth in Meg and Emily to drive their part of the story). I had my issues with later aspects of the Tonio story, but everything with his ugly marriages to Sierra and Meg made sense and was well mapped-out. (the Meg/Josh aspect probably shouldn't have but the actors sold it for me)

It's like anti-soap. The only interesting part in such a fast reveal is if they end up like Rae and Michael and Kimberley on Ryan's Hope and Willow guns him down leading Nina to take the blame. I would use that to start turning to an evil Willow arc where she decides she's justified in killing Drew and letting Nina rot.

This story also has one of my all time favorite Erika line reads - I can't remember it exactly, but something like, "Am I making myself clear, DuAnn, honey?"

The image of Kim firing back at Susan while in domestic bliss is such a great contrast, especially to Susan, whom we are reminded has no real home or life, crashing into the Hughes house for a fight. I've always thought your idea for Sabrina as not putting up with the expectations of Oakdale would have been fun. I can imagine her saying "oh piss off" to Barbara. Tonio is one of the worst husbands in the history of soap, so I appreciated getting to see her snap at him. Finn Carter always did well with those grittier moments of Sierra. One of the reasons I had no real use for the fights Kim and Susan had in the Sheffer era is because they lost any awareness of what made Kim so strong as a character. She could spar with people, but she kept her dignity. She never let them see her struggle, and if we did, then we knew it was a moment where we should be concerned for her. As has already been mentioned, the show had so many underrated rivalries for a long time. I think because many of the actresses in the cast were able to demonstrate vulnerability alongside fire. I wish more of that 56-81 period could pop up (I suppose we will get a bit more with Ariana Muenker's clips, and hopefully something earlier will show up again while we're still on this planet...).

@DramatistDreamer @Mitch64 @Soapsuds @soapfan770 @Paul Raven @slick jones @MarlandFan @j swift @Forever8 @Khan @FrenchFan @OzFrog @All My Shadows @Vee @vetsoapfan @Reverend Ruthledge @Matt @jam6242 @P.J. @Liberty City @Xanthe A very rare (partial) February 1987 episode has been uploaded, possibly most notable for an absolutely vicious Susan/Kim confrontation. They wrote Susan very differently in her brief return compared to when she became a permanent cast member again, and that may never be more apparent than it is here where she gleefully trashes Kim (and Bob in absentia) as hypocrites. My favorite part is when Susan says she did a lot of things but never slept with her sister's husband, to which Kim replies, without missing a beat, "Only because you didn't have a sister."

Barbara Berjer later appeared on AW and GL at the same time, briefly, so it was possible. If they had asked Lisa I wonder if she might have returned. (speaking of Barbara, do any of you know if they mentioned Holly moving to Europe to be with her in the mid '00s or her dying in 2006 or is that more Soapcentral fancruft?)

I think the biggest problem is just how his voice sounds, from his age, but he can't really do anything about that.

I heard about this pathetic article but had no idea who wrote it. https://www.theroot.com/forbes-removes-ridiculous-article-that-asked-if-trump-s-1851593439 I don't care for Isaac Chotiner and his lazy "gotcha" interviews but kudos to him for calling out just how awful moments like this are. Not that I expect better from a longtime registered Republican at NBC.

Trump is so mentally decayed I am not sure. This was heavily pushed by Trump's son, who shares Vance's hatred of America as well as his lack of chin. In past years Trump might have had the instincts to see that an incredibly unattractive (I'm sorry, I'm going to say it), smarmy, dead-eyed, extremely uncharismatic figure who was dragged over the line in a Senate race built for him would not be the best choice. But Trump's backers, like Peter Thiel, have built Vance from the ground up and know there's a strong chance he will be President and do the decimating of this country that they so crave. The Beltway has already gushed over how well Vance will do in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. I have my doubts. Everything about Vance stinks of the type of man many of those people know would spit on their corpses. He wrote a book explicitly detailing how much he hates them and that any suffering they go through is their own fault. He trashed his own family for profit and clout. Any votes Trump wins will be in spite of him. This is just naked agenda-making from the so called "nerdy new right" that those at Politico and Axios want to name their children after. One thing I will credit scumbags and hatemongers like Matt Walsh for is they don't play the GOP games - they stick by their opinions. The Democrats who are wringing their hands or like Jared Golden saying maybe Trump winning won't be so bad should consider the same. Amber Rose, a dubious grifter of the highest order, being put on national TV for the most cynical attempt at getting the black vote should have been more called out than it was.

This is very nicely made by the fan, but the scene itself is also touching. Kudos to Guy Pearce for being willing to return for brief appearances and allowing the Jane and Mike love story to wrap up with dignity. @Vee I know you are not on current episodes, but you may enjoy watching this scene.

I know the actor who played Cam wanted to leave but then he was barely used and was just fodder for the flop of Joss/Dex. The lack of interest in bringing the character back says it all. That's a shame as long scenes are what soaps excel at, or should excel at, compared to other genres. Felicia and Cody would certainly be "soapy," but I think it would destroy what is left of her (even if I didn't need her to reunite with Mac). You're probably right. It's kind of funny because as much as we hear about how Korte loves Carly - and I'm sure it's true - the character is in a huge corner, maybe more than ever. At least they don't seem to be putting her back with Drew.

That's such a no-brainer you'd think they would continue, but if Korte only wants Jason/Carly I guess they might deemphasize his kids for a while.

That's one of the reasons I was sad they changed it, although at least it lasted for a very long time.

The loathsome Tlaib, yes. I do think AOC has mostly moved away from that group in the last few years - she is still part of a little club with them and campaigns with them but is probably the most "normie" of the set, along with Ayanna Presley (if she's still part of that group). The dead end left hates AOC and sees her as the great Satan.

Have they done much with Danny either? I know they had the scenes where he wore Jason's jacket and fought with Jake. I know some fans think Korte hates Liz so you may be right. I would think if he's going it's the actor's choice, but then you never know with soaps, they often make the wrong decisions. At least we are, presumably, past the days they would just recast him with a 25 year old underwear model, as P&G loved to do.

I saw someone on Twitter claiming that the actress who plays Charlotte had to leave because of health reasons plus schooling and that's why she's back. No idea if that's true but I guess it would be one explanation. I don't see Jake being gone for too long as he's old enough to play out story with Jason and they will want to take advantage of that while Burton is still around. I do wonder if they are recasting.