DRW50

I don't really know whether they have dementia - many love to diagnose for their own agenda. I remember people claiming Hillary was going to die at any moment in 2016. I do think there's a case for Trump having it, but clearly that doesn't matter to the public. Many on the left love Trump because he says what many of them feel (especially the racism), and they can claim he's "funny" and "real." They spent his first term insisting he'd win in a landslide if Bernie wasn't the nominee and spilling all of his talking points. 10/7 is just the excuse they needed. There's nothing that would ever make me vote for Trump, but unfortunately so many are either amnesiac or just so pumped with self-loathing they are willing to destroy this country because of prefab lines about "I'll take mean tweets for cheap gas."

Stewart has always been the king of "both sides...but Democrats are worse." I'm seeing a lot of oh he was so honest and brave and people were mean to him. There's nothing brave about that level of nihilism. It's the most basic of viewpoints.

I've been worried for a while and I was hoping Biden wouldn't debate as while he has moments of strength, he is often (in my opinion) frail and even when you can see he knows what to say, he doesn't quite know how to say it. He has the type of aging that makes people concerned, whereas Trump's own decline (which I'd say is worse than Biden's and is progressing much more quickly) is masked because he has always been a smug moron and his current behavior can be passed off as "fun" or "high energy." I don't think debates sway elections. I've always thought this would be close. I don't know if this debate will prove me wrong. I don't believe Biden will drop out because I don't think anyone else in the party wants to face Trump, who is the toughest opponent the GOP can give them due to his celebrity, Teflon persona, and his media control. I think they are using Biden as a fall guy and hoping they can run in 4 years. So it's likely going to be what we have now. Whether it's still razor-thin either way, or a Trump blowout...the latter is certainly what the press wants and will do their best to get. Hopefully they will fail, as they did in 2020 and again in 2022. I just hope any people who can afford to leave this country do so while they still can. I'm sorry to hear about your illness. There's so much cruelty and callousness on social media, especially against easy targets. I'm not going to act like Biden is a saint, he has made his share of mistakes and failures, but the glee of some on the left in going the smugbot Jon Stewart route is demoralizing and a good reminder of why they ultimately get so little in life beyond "likes."

Oh I thought he was like a family friend. Thanks.

That would make sense. He seems like a case of an actor someone at the show liked and they just dumped him on the canvas. Joss is busy elsewhere and they don't care about Trina. I would say they might have Brook Lyn cheat with him but the way the character is written now, she would probably be struck by lightning or turned into salt at the mere thought.

Doesn't that usually mean he had more important scenes that got cut?

I don't even remember if Vivien was mentioned later on. I'm tempted to write a story where Iris gets out of jail in the late '90s, buys a penthouse, and within a week Vivien knocks on her door. I'd forgotten the anniversary book talked about Susan and Bill in that way. Sounds a bit like the Soapcentral fancruft. Sadly, you're right about Brooks and Louise. I do wonder how they would have interacted with Carl... I can definitely see that working, right down to Felicia suggesting she live and giving her a makeover and this causing her to get pregnant (maybe with someone surprising, like Evan Frame).

When I see mid-late '70s AW I notice so much talk about the gardens, the gardens, the gardens at the Cory mansion. I'm trying to remember if there was much talk about them after that point. It is a shame that Louise and Brooks never returned after being terrified away by Alma Rudder. I don't even know if they were mentioned. It feels like they deserved more, especially Louise, after so long on the show. I guess they at least had an exit, unlike Vivien. It's ironic that just as AW truly embraced glitz and glamour with Felicia they phased out the servants (and Vivien probably would have not even returned without Lemay's brief comeback). Felicia with a maid might have been entertaining. I don't see any mention of him on AWHP. I really appreciate how much these Lemay-era episodes work in characters we don't see and make it natural, along with all these interconnections (I never would have thought Sally and Angie were sharing phone calls).

It's nice to see her responding to fans and to see memories of people who were watching back then. I can imagine cost saving was a factor, especially given the quality of some of the recasts (Alice, for one). This second one has a moment with Bill Roerick, which was a lovely surprise. I was watching one of the Paley recordings Eddie Drueding has up, which near the end has Vic and Carole. Hopefully more will show up.

The main reason Tonio doesn't work for me, beyond PB just not being that compelling (although he has his moments) is I feel like he reached a natural end after the relationship with Sierra ended. If you want to push, then yes, I can also see the purpose of the Meg/Tonio relationship - the naive schemer who gets everything she wants only to realize it is her worst nightmare. After that, he should have left. Instead, he stayed on for 2-3 years, getting ass and businesses (didn't he own WOAK at some point or am I just making that up?) before the whole wan Sabrina thing. Maybe if I watch those in closer detail, I will have a better impression, I don't know. They just kept him on because he'd already been there and to move the plot along. Marx and Smith do feel like a natural continuation of Deas and Colin until after they break up and Margo loses the baby. If Marx had stayed then he and Smith might have gotten their old vibe back but it never feels the same. I did like Dolan and Holmes at the time I first started watching (89/90) as the couple who balanced family and friends and work, but by the mid '90s it's all just gone.

Thank you @jam6242 for all those wonderful articles. So important to have this history being documented. I wish the episodes were available. That's definitely the Frances Foster who played Vera on GL.

That's definitely never going to happen, sadly, but with his kids and with Liz and Sam still being on the canvas, along with the Qs being more active (or their house is, anyway), I might be able to see the argument, even if I would still cut him. I just don't with Sonny. He is so painfully inert and the show is clearly flummoxed over what to do with him.

Thanks! @Vee @SFK

The "liberal media" already sharting out their bothsidesbothsides takes.

@jam6242 The reopened thread.

Thanks!

I think I mostly just tuned him out - that seems to be a default of his.

@Soapsuds Thanks for the link. I'm glad I was able to make that interview. Maeve is as lovely and wonderful as ever. Her comments about Jordan Clarke and Jerry ver Dorn were moving. She also shares some funny stories about working with Kathleen Widdoes.

They have an out with Jason because they can say if they had immediately focused on the consequences of his return for his kids, Liz and Sam, instead of just Carly and his hiding out at a coffee warehouse, the ratings might have improved. Still, I have my doubts as to how true that is. Jason wasn't even on the show that long ago to where viewers were going to flock to see him back, and the emphasis on the aspects of his character that were never that popular or are played out can't help. I could probably agree with those who feel Jason should be a major part of the show, even if I have never cared about him, but there really is no reason for Sonny. His time has passed. No one out there is asking to see him date Maria Santos.

There are so many characters on the show now who don't work, so when they choose to write out a number who happen to not be white, it does stand out more.

I think it should be obvious, but then when I look at GH back in the day, if someone had told me that a hammy rapist and thug would be what pushed the show all the way into huge pop culture status, I wouldn't have believed them.

@janea4old Thanks. That's even worse than I thought. Eesh.

That was one of the fan names for them, IIRC.

Thanks @jam6242 I keep forgetting about threads I created, and that so many are locked up. I might ask a mod about opening it up again so you can post this clip there. And thanks for the Another Life article. I can't imagine the mail Mulvey got as Nancy was one of the most wicked soap characters. @Toups @Errol could the thread be reopened? Here is the link:

Thanks. I always get confused over that. I'll add a note in the comments.