DRW50

When she kept saying she couldn't remember his name but it was a strange name I kept wondering why that sequence hadn't shown up in any "shade throwing" compilations.

I was reading the Rialto Report interview with Juliet Graham from about 7 years ago. I would link the article but that site is very NSFW as it focuses on the "golden era" of adult film. Juliet, under the name Chris MacLeod, went on to host a few NY talk shows, and do acting work. The talk shows were apparently enough to get her this ad for her AMC run:

@DeliaIrisFan Oddly the show has since Frank came in painted the Nurses Ball as a huge PC-wide, or even national, event. I know Lucy can be frustrating, but similar to when the character was trashed on PC to try to prop up others like Eve, I just can't sit through any of that. I do think, from the clips I've seen, PM is improving some elements of GH, but the core is just too rotten to be worked on, and we see the inevitable result of that.

Sorry to hear of her passing. All I've seen of Meg's work as Julia seemed to be another example of the more nuanced and multi-faceted level of performance that helped shift Y&R's female characters into a new era. I wish her Search work was available (beyond one short clip).

Great to hear your thoughts. I have had mixed feelings on the revival, which is inevitable for any soap, but I do think the quad and the decisions made with Haz have hurt the show. The quad is just so hollowed out and feels so unbalanced to me - Toadie and Melanie were dragged through the mud to the point where I find them both very difficult to watch (Melanie's only solo story being Karl shitting all over Erinsborough kind of says it all - what a great use of Alan Fletcher when there was a perfectly fine plot in place about Susan's absences and their affect on him), while Terese and Paul are written as good and right. Somehow Paul throwing a thug at a pregnant woman got him about two or three weeks of backlash (all of which was framed as us needing to feel sorry for him) followed by all kinds of material about how wonderful he is, complete with singing "This Little Light of Mine" and leading funeral services. I just don't buy it. I get the feeling this story is written on the old Agnes Nixon "make 'em wait" idea for Paul and Terese. I don't know how their fans feel, as frankly I don't really care about either of them, but how many times have they done this with Paul and Terese? 4? 5? If we are also meant to want Mel and Toadie back together, I think that ship has sailed for many fans, who at best just went along with the pairing because Sonya was gone and Dee was never coming back. Chelsea is such an unpleasant plot device, and on top of that, a complete idiot, which just makes her getting away with things more of a suspension of disbelief. I don't mind suspensions of disbelief, but that's in a story I actually care about. They also missed an opportunity to actually write a real relationship with Chelsea and her sister. I would agree the only scenes that have any real value are some of her interactions with Krista. Krista is also pure plot device, she doesn't seem to have a personality beyond graciously suffering, but the actress who plays her has done a great job. I actually did like Haz at first, when he was the sweet guy who was pining for Mackenzie, but that started to change when he just started using women and treating them badly, and this was never properly addressed. We were meant to feel somewhat sorry for Holly, but she got over the whole thing quickly because she too is basically a plot device. His other girlfriend, who was introduced as a kind person, suddenly became so horrible that she let his dog out at night and later came back to try to sabotage him in a competition. That pattern returned with this hacker story, where the emphasis is not on the terrible things he did to people, but on how the person he hurt is in the wrong (along with Mackenzie, who is, as is often the case, just there to suffer from Haz's behavior rather than have much of a life or voice of her own). It doesn't help that (to me) the actor who plays Haz just isn't suited for this type of material. He comes across as a kids' show host put into a soap opera. I think the show has done well with the Varga-Murphys/Rodwells, but I feel like that story has been rushed through compared to everything else. Maybe they thought - understandably given the increasing levels of homophobia out there - viewers wouldn't accept the family or their stories. I do like that recent episodes have been mixing up characters more often, and had some side plots that I can feel a little more invested in (like Byron/Sadie [even if that doesn't feel like it's going to go beyond support material] and having Byron there for counsel Dex), but I wish the show's main stories were not so hard to get through.

When Daily TV Serials announced Ted Danson's casting for Somerset, they mentioned that months earlier he had filled in for Jerry O'Sullivan for a few days, due to illness.

For many years the thought process among executives was that you had to pivot to programming catered to their idea of a young person because young people would grow up to be rich and would then rely on all the products they saw advertised from that early age. That isn't as important to the powers that be now, because they know that isn't how things worked out (thanks to the crippling economy, many young people are lucky if they even have their own place to live).

She also had raging anti-chemistry with most of her leading men. I never got the hype beyond "oh she's a young Luke." Yay...

I hope that isn't the reason (Sony losing interest), but then you'd think they would have moved to save Y&R or DAYS earlier on. Maybe this is just him finally losing the wrong person behind the scenes. I think beyond the reasons you've mentioned, this is also a byproduct of the powers that be going back to relying on older viewers as the fantasy of a mega-rich 16 year old who is there for them to try to revolve their whole schedule around fades.

Kimberly still looks so similar to when she was on GL (no wonder it felt odd when she returned a few times in the late '00s - still wouldn't have minded seeing her come back for the finale). I did not know how popular those films were until Debbie Reynolds died.

I had the same thought - wondering if this is just more shutting up shop. Still, even in today's depleted times, you'd think CBS/Sony would have more care for Y&R, especially with a new soap on the way to attempt to build a lineup for the network.

Thanks @FrenchFan This is good use of Meta as a character. There's so much left with this Bauer setup - losing Bill and Meta by the end of the decade hobbles them. Did Ed Bryce want to leave or did the show write Bill out? I had wondered if the show had deliberately made so many parallels with Kathy and Robin in death. I guess I have my answer. There is something so unbearable about the idea that Robin was just damned, with no possibility of ever having her own happiness. A good reminder of the stark tones that many live their lives by even today, and which helped soaps connect with so many viewers. This period of GL seemed to be doubling down on these heavy emotional moods. I wonder if the shift to being more plot-driven in the early '70s, with the characters mostly being whirled around by one baddie after another, is what led viewers to move away from the show.

@j swift It definitely had a sense of tradition respecting tradition. The end of GL felt like the death knell for daytime - not because GL had been a big hitter in recent decades, but just the opposite. The show finally going was the blood in the water. DAYS was seen as likely to go soon, we knew it was just a matter of time for the ABC lineup, and ATWT was already canceled by this point (or all but canceled). I'm surprised Les Moonves even allowed it. Sad to say 60 Minutes cared more than the [!@#$%^&*] Daytime Emmys that year. @FrenchFan Thanks for the synopses for Robin's last days. I had never known if viewers actually saw her throwing herself into traffic or not. It's all so bleak. I'm surprised they had her mention her mother Kathy, but it's very fitting - Kathy too was so plagued by mental problems, and Robin's death closed the circle. I don't know if Irna had any ties to GL by this point but I'm sure she was proud. Ed's involvement feels ominous as some of the details (the cabin, the adultery, death by car) remind me of Maureen's death. There are also some hints of instability in Maureen's last days. I'm just glad they didn't try to suggest she killed herself. I wonder how viewers felt about any of this, or about Robin in general. She sounds so exhausting. I wonder if Gillian Spencer parlayed any of this into Viki.

I haven't watched very much 911 but I did see the coming out clips and I appreciate how Oliver Stark has handled the matter, from shutting down bigots in his comments to being hesitant to avoid the topic when the show wasn't going there with his character being bi because he didn't want to queerbait. It was interesting to read that they were originally going to give the male romance to his partner/friend on the show, Eddie. If they bring that back it might be one of the first times these m/m fanon ships really become canon.

That definitely seems like an idea that writing team might have come up with.

I remember cancelation rumors around early 1995 AND fall 1996. I'm glad the show didn't end then (especially fall 1996, which was just a miserable time for the show), even if it probably would have been fitting, but they were extremely lucky. I know those last decades the show was kept on just through malaise and blind luck, but that sheer force of will always makes me wonder what might have been if they'd ever had a sustained period of quality in those years...and why a part of me will always wish the show could somehow be revived.

When I got into GL around 1990 or so I didn't even notice as much that there was such a lack of a core family compared to other soaps (like ATWT) because there were several dynamic characters or actors who helped keep the canvas vibrant. Unfortunately, when most of those actors filed out in the early '90s, it did expose how hollow the show's core was, especially Maureen's death, as Alex and Mindy had been so poorly written by the time Beverlee and Kimberley left that they weren't at their strongest anyway. Maureen still felt more central. That JFP did this solely because she assumed viewers wouldn't care otherwise if Maureen died says a lot about how she approached soaps.

As someone who grew up watching Dark Shadows reruns, I don't mind soap gothic at all, but I just don't remember finding anything especially gothic about their setup, beyond Stefan brooding and wearing black. I did want to be involved, at least with Stefan (never cared a great deal about Nik), but I didn't think the show felt the same way. I've admitted before late '90s GH isn't my cup of tea, so I respect that others enjoyed it.

Thanks. That's very interesting. Sexual exploration is all very difficult, even today, let alone in the '60s. Kudos to him for being so open (although I hope he gave Robin a head's up).

I think the idea of the Cassadines was more interesting than the reality. They were effectively used as villains in the early '80s, but once Guza brought them back, they were caught in the inevitability of tedium you get with brooding or "mysterious" figures year after year. Just how mysterious could it be seeing Stefan wander around his island muttering about "Lasha" or Nik staring off into space yet again? Guza didn't even seem to care about either of them that much compared to Luke or JJ Lucky. There was also the lack of compelling romantic relationships for either of them. Stefan/Bobbie were great but they were nixed in favor of pairings that we were told were meant to be compelling rather than ever being shown (Laura, Katherine). And I don't believe Nik ever had an interesting romance. At least not when I was a regular viewer. At least they did manage to put Spencer in a romantic pairing that worked and had fan support...only about a year or less before he left, but that's an improvement, at least.

That was more of a time of experimentation in film, I suppose - some of the films that were mainstream successes at that time would cause jaws to drop today (I was just rewatching They Shoot Horses, Don't They not long ago), but when I first heard of/saw the movie I was surprised. And so much of it has held up today, no matter how much we think we've progressed. I avoided the Ryan Murphy adaptation at all costs.

And if this was for Ron, they can't even say they're the least awful.

I think Dick Van Dyke will win, but I'd be happy for Guy, to reward his loyalty to the show.

I think in this case the nomination is what really matters anyway as it helps get the show attention.

This helps explain just why his performance of the bi guy who left his wife for another man in Boys in the Band felt so real. That's still the main place I know him from - wonderful work. He, Keith Prentice and Peter White were so enthralling to watch. Reading a bit about it on DL it reads as if he might blame his brief flings with men on being groomed when he was a teenager, so I guess he may not see himself as bi anyway. Also seems to be some revelations about more tense moments with Lucille Ball...sadly, that's not a surprise.