DRW50

It was a strong episode, and an episode very unique to EE, which you don't get with soaps now - they always seem like different shades of Hollyoaks. There was that specific EE mix of heavy self-awareness, digging up the past, poignancy, melancholy, raw honesty. Pat and Barry were such clear fan service but the way they were presented made this more along the lines of the show being aware of what they were doing and tweaking the concept. I think many fans needed those moments with Pat, even if she wasn't quite like Pat. That last moment where she said goodbye to us was especially transparent, but even as someone who was OK with Pat's death, I understand why many want this final moment. In the behind the scenes you can see how grateful Shaun Williamson was to be asked back, and he expresses that well in his work onscreen. The casting for young Phil and Grant, especially Phil, is uncanny. You can see Phil go from Nigel's boyhood chum to the Phil we know in just a few minutes. Clenshaw did well finding them. Karen Henthorn, Steve McFadden and Paul Bradley were superb, especially Karen and Paul. I assume Julie will leave when this is over, but I hope Karen gets some strong work out of this stint as she was never even a real character the last time around and this time, she's been consistently terrific for months on end. The moment with Debbie and Nigel was gorgeously staged - sad, sweet, and yet not too sentimental, as we knew Nigel was not in a good place. The show's refusal to sugarcoat Nigel's decline is something Julia Smith would have been proud of.

That reminds me - the original upload I saw of that, from nearly a decade ago, said July 1st. Then the one put up earlier this year said July 11th. I wonder which is accurate.

Rudy was seen as something of a model for a Republican by the media due to his being moderate on social issues and tough on crime. He hosted SNL a year or two before he was on GL. I think if he didn't love being on TV he may not have been on GL, although another factor may have been helping his wife, Judith, who appeared on all the NYC-based soaps. IIRC, their marriage ending in a very public, ugly manner hurt his approval and that only turned around due to 9/11.

It's very close as Cindy is still Jackie in the 5/28/80 episode (I can't remember if she is much further into 1980 - I know Carrie Mowery is there by late July) and if a quick search is any indication (may not be) Vanessa arrives in early June.

I do agree with that - you never quite knew where she was going to go in her performances, which is a good thing with soaps (unless you're watching Charity Rahmer). I also agree they should have waited. If they had she may not have become defined by Todd, or by Brown Penny.

I will never understand who The View is meant to appeal to anymore and I say that as someone who is in line with the views of several people there, compared to the old days where it seemed like Meredith Viera was the only one who didn't behave as if she just got pushed from a great height. If it does help GH, I'm glad, but the show's success makes me wary for BtG because of some claim I read that Bari Weiss wants to have her own version of The View for CBS.

I disliked most of what GL did with him (he was given some shocking stories, including beating up Patti D'Arbanville and the notorious scene where Marah begged him to rape her) but I did think he had some charisma. I wish him well on BtG. He isn't who I would have chosen among daytime alum for a new part but I can't say he's any kind of drag or demerit.

I see even with Rory in the role they still have Michael as decent enough to try to help Brook Lynn keep her marriage together. I'm glad they aren't painting him as a devil but I wish he'd just put a foot in Chase's ass. The scene where Chase was in full delusional mode and accused Dante of trying to protect Michael out of guilt, followed by Dante suspended him, was very good. You can have "good" characters who are still deeply flawed. I hope they keep taking Chase out on that ledge.

The scenes between Ava and Nina were very well-acted and had some emotional weight to them, which isn't often the case with relationships on soap these days. I did want to see where Mulcahey was taking Nina (I assumed he was taking Ava into a body bag). It's clear Korte does not care. I know all soaps do this, but I don't know why GH in particular has now a decades-long history of head writers who are allowed to have such apathy and hostility toward characters they don't like. This isn't a dollhouse, it's a job. I don't know if Korte has ever written much of worth for the characters she does like...

Dorian will definitely be adding a menacing presence. I do think it's been too easy splitting up Clint and Viki, as the emphasis is entirely on her falling for Sloan and what a boar and a bore Clint is. Maybe that would have changed. I'm not sure. Marty is a difficult character to figure out as I think until later in 1993 they just kept her around because they thought highly of Susan Haskell and also just because they thought the canvas needed wildness and an unknown. For me it's more interesting than what she gets later on but some of it is very thrown together.

That would have been fun in some shows, but on here I think they would have just degraded Trina and made her the third wheel.

Thanks @Maxim Fitting to have so many of these encounters in the dying days of their marriage take place in the office rather than their home. I do think, as you said, Viki is looking for an excuse to move on, but she's right about his behavior and about Cord's return. It's not out of character for Cord to be controlling or cold toward Tina, but Malone seemed to ramp that up as I don't think he had much use for Cord (or anyone involved in this). As "free" as Cain may be, he is in many ways not that far off from Cord in mostly wanting one side of her and nothing more.

Thanks @slick jones I'd never looked for those Bright Promise stills. I hope those episodes that are supposedly saved show up while we still have a chance to see them.

If we reduce Aidan's role any more we would probably just erase him from existence... I do think that Jake would be interesting as a bi character, if bi men exist in Port Charles (I guess he could talk with Kristina). I wasn't paying tons of attention but for a bit they seemed to be showing more about why she felt forced to do what she was doing or being in Sidwell's lair, rather than just being the Britch. That was just awful. Sometimes I wonder if it would fly today but Ron did the same with Leo for years and no one cared. It tells you a lot about how the general public sees gay men.

I hope they won't have the old cliche of Portia having a miscarriage on the witness stand.

Jeffrey married Edmund and they lived happily ever after.

Thanks again @slick jones I never knew CLB did any thirst trap photos, although he did appear on Red Shoe Diaries, so I guess it's not entirely far off. Kudos to him for having a good body.

Thanks again @dc11786 . You have done a great job finding the heart and nuances in this storyline. When I watch the story in full, I'm going to have more understanding now. Chandler Hill Harben had several roles in daytime, but I wonder if this was his biggest test. Has he ever spoken about being on AL?

I think the trajectory for Reva could have been similar to Erica in that anything she got wouldn't have been enough. As others have said, I think the grimy feel of GL's last years did suit Reva. Living in a rundown house and driving out of Springfield in a pickup truck felt like Reva connecting to her roots and remaking them to fit the woman she had become. She'd been in the poor house, she'd had the penthouse, and now she could be she wanted.

I would also give Dinah blame, a good chunk of the blame, but I think it started with Matt and this led her to some stories I thought were generic and just put her in some noble/suffering roles. I don't think anyone in Springfield liked Vanessa those first few years (even Ross eventually moved on), so I could see Justin changing his opinion of her. Thanks for telling me what interaction Philip and Vanessa had.

Thanks @Paul Raven And she never did get married. I wonder if they knew the show was ending and never wanted to have her marry or if they were caught by surprise.

Probably not, although BBG would have made the lines work (with a wry smile). I can't see her writing a book either, but I would have preferred that over two different doppelgangers of her dead husband.

He was excellent in It 2. I know some fans thought he de-gayed Eddie or took away from the Richie/Eddie relationship or what have you (I doubt he had that much power) but I thought he really embodied much of what Eddie was when I read through the book, and I thought he gave a strong and emotive performance. It was obvious that he had a lot of struggles with how he had to deal with the aftermath of the film and some fan interactions, which seemed to lead to him retreating from the public eye. There was clearly so much else going on too. I'm very sorry to hear that he's gone.

Thanks for letting us know @YRfan23 . Julianna was one of the best actors on Y&R, or any soap, and has had so many other wonderful performances on everything from Dark Shadows to Starship Troopers. I am sorry to hear about her struggles.