DRW50

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.

8 minutes ago, John said:

So Heather's Cobalt poisned Hip was Chris Van Etten's idea and according to Alley Mills CVE is still on the writing team. AM is also happy that Patrick Mulcahey is HWing GH now

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

36 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

It should have been laid to rest before Peapack, honestly.

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.

2 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

Over the decades, I have lamented many times about how crushing a blow the 1983-84 Massacre of TGL was, and how it seriously crippled the series. I don't need to regurgitate my personal complaints in extended detail...AGAIN, lol.

I will say, however, that it's gratifying to see other posters, who had been watching prior to the Gail Kobe/Pamela Long era, acknowledge how abrupt, extensive and damaging the massive structural changes were.

The show gutted its core family who had been essential since 1948, changed the style, focus and tone, and chopped off most of the soaps' memorable history. 

In exchange, we got saddled with the Shaynes, the Coppers, the Lewises, the Santos mob, the Winslow royals, and a seemingly endless revolving door of irrelevant and pointless newbies. 

For me, 1982 was the last, great year of "The Guiding Light That Was."

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.

4 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Idk. I liked it. Broody and gothic before I knew what gothic was. 

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.

2 minutes ago, j swift said:

I was inspired to read it because of DL, and it was a bit more nuanced.  He questioned his sexuality because of his experiences during his adolescence and the times, which didn't allow for any discussion of the impact.  Then he fell for a fellow actor.  But he realized that drugs and alcohol, as well as dissatisfaction in his marriage, affected his decision.  So, he never sought male companionship afterward.  However, he credited Boys in the Band with helping understand the difference between men in a consensual relationship and the grooming he experienced in his youth, thus there was no “blame” implied or inferred.

He regrets how he made Robin Strasser feel by leaving their marriage.  But, it was very volatile, and he often felt neglected by her commitment to her career advancement.  Which is an interesting insight into some of the characters that she played. 

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).

17 minutes ago, Khan said:

I don't, lol!  If I had my druthers, the "mob element" AND the Cassadines would have been phased out a long time ago (along with things like Crimson, Deception, the Metro Court, etc.) in favor of a renewed focus on the hospital and the complex and all-too-human personal lives of its' staff.*  Claire Labine and Wendy Riche worked so hard to turn GH into a grounded, relatable show again after a decade or more of OTT supervillains and action/adventure storylines.  To me, Bob Guza's decision to reactivate the Cassadines was a real step backward.

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.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

I recently re-watched 1970's Boys in the Band, and realized how well-acted and written it really was. Soap actors for the win! (Keith Prentice from Dark Shadows, Peter White from AMC, Reuben Greene from AMC Robert La Tourneaux from The Doctors, Laurence Luckinbill from The Secret Storm).

I can only imagine the avalanche of hysteria that the film must have engendered among hyperventilating, pearl-clutching conservatives 50+ years ago.

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.

1 minute ago, vetsoapfan said:

Cringe.

When awards are handed out for being "the least awful among our potential choices," this is what you get.

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

5 minutes ago, John said:

Guy Pearce could win the Guest performer Emmy

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

3 hours ago, Bright Eyes said:

Unfortunately, looking at the actor nominees, they clearly have no chance of winning when they should objectively win all the awards in a landslide.

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

1 hour ago, j swift said:

Speaking of the Luckinbill family and AW.

Thad's uncle Laurence Luckinbill (Where the Heart Is and The Secret Storm) recently published a juicy memoir where he admitted to cheating on Robin Strasser (OG Rachel) during their marriage with both men and women.

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.

Those scenes with Dex remind me of those deeply embarrassing scenes on Ryan's Hope with Ann Gillespie training for the force by running around cones to wacky music. At least he doesn't look like he's on his way back to his Dreamhouse, I guess.

8 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I understand that point of view, and the value of those kind of connections. But in this specific case, Roger really was doing villainous things, and Maureen never got the full tea. Granted, I don't think they really ever did much other than have Maureen occasionally give the occasional grace to Roger or try to reel someone back from obsessing over him. But when she comes back from the country club and says "I feel dirty", yadda yadda---all I can think is that she's never had Roger screw with her life for his own gain.

I think you have a fair point. Maureen was essentially just used to make Roger look better. Ellen Parker and Michael Zaslow and the scripting team made it work. If Maureen had lived I think she probably would have ended up changing her views considering how much Roger was regressed as a character by the mid-90s.

On 4/12/2024 at 4:08 PM, Huntress said:

Yes, Deniz is still on AWZ. He's been working as a figure skating coach for the Steinkamps for quite some time, and at some point he got married to Imani, but I'm not sure if they are still together 

Thank you. Just saw your reply. I appreciate it.

11 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Does he know that so much of his run as Jamie is available to watch on YouTube? 

That was addressed near the end of the interview. He didn't until a few people in the comments mentioned it and Locher read them (for instance Locher didn't know that a lot of 80-81 episodes were put out by P&G back in the late '00s). Locher did mention the Youtube episodes that are available.

4 minutes ago, Khan said:

OMG, yes!  Yes, yes, a thousand times, YES!!  IDK where Bekins would fit on the current GH canvas, but if I were Elizabeth Korte, Patrick Mulcahey, Frank Valentini or Nathan Varni, I'd make the room!

I could see him being a good partner for Laura, or Tracy, or Alexis. Or another Jeff Webber recast. 

Oh he did also talk briefly about Paul Rauch - just that he was someone that had a big reputation or people were afraid of, in so many words. (paraphrasing)

And he said for favorite TV, he mostly likes to watch TCM.

 I did get to watch most of the Richard Bekins Locher Room today. 

He still looks great for being a few months from 70.

He mentioned being from California and said he wasn't sure why he was hired for a New York show, but he stayed in New York from then on, and still lives there. 

He talked about Maude as one of his first TV roles. He said he was intimidated by Bea Arthur, but Rue McClanahan was very nice. 

He screen tested for the Hardy Boys and lost out to Parker Stevenson. 

He didn't screen test for AW, they just hired him after his audition.

His first scene was with Constance Ford in Ada's kitchen and had a lot of props. He said she was a wonderful mentor and so helpful to him. He also spoke highly of Nancy Frangione and Chris Rich. (Locher said Chris played Blaine - wrong) He also mentioned Rick Porter. He was asked about Kyra Sedgwick and just said she was great and fun. 

He said he could never read the crawl/teleprompter as he's nearsighted, so he had to memorize his lines. He mentioned that he and others changed their lines if they didn't like something, but Beverlee McKinsey and Douglass Watson never did. He also talked about the heavy tape schedule during that year when Jamie was on constantly, as scenes were shot continuously then. He said after he finished his brief role on GL, Beverlee called him, and she called him again a few other times after she moved to Santa Barbara. 

He said he'd still be glad to do a soap (he mentioned GH).

He said he isn't really in touch with anyone he worked with at AW, as many have died, or they didn't stay in New York.

He mentioned working with Meryl Streep in a film, and more about his theater and primetime career. He said his favorite primetime roles were on shows like L&O. 

He said he didn't really know how popular he was as Jamie until the response he got in an airport. He mentioned how popular the show was in Canada. 

They joked about how often he would be shirtless or in his underwear as Jamie.

He talked about putting a lot of his insecurities into Jamie, and how he would have dreams as Jamie, in the Cory living room set.  

He said his favorite story, of what he remembered, was the dynamic between Jamie, Rachel and Mac. He knows people enjoyed his scenes with Rachel.

He mentioned being gay and how it just wasn't talked about. He never opened up to anyone about being gay. He regrets it but just wasn't ready. 

He said he left AW because he wanted to do other things. He said Constance Ford and Paul Stevens encouraged him to leave and told him if he didn't, he'd be stuck there forever like they were.  He had saved all his money at AW so was able to just go into residential theater for a long time. 

He didn't really say much about his ATWT or OLTL roles (he mentioned possibly being a love interest for Robin Strasser on OLTL).

He lived in the same apartment from ages 25-65 and then moved to the West Village. 

He said he's not sure if he will be able to go to AW's 60th anniversary or not.

Nothing that detailed, but even with the usual issues with the Locher format it was nice to see him, and I got the feeling he was surprised to even still have fans after all this time.

11 minutes ago, Vee said:

I think Cal Dodd is still the greatest Wolverine VA of all time. People have just been imitating him since.

He sounds decent (maybe just not the right use in that clip) - it's more comic characters don't age, so when the voice actors do, you notice more.

Watching this "Washington is broken" Today Show segment from 32 years ago (it's about 11 minutes in) reminds me of just how much nothing changes, other than getting worse. Now the GOP are such rabid dogs they are trying to take out a speaker over foreign aid.

14 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

We've just had a misunderstanding. I think it is criminal that Dan & Chris didn't write Trina's grief. She wasn't on for 3 consecutive weeks. And, even if they didn't write her mourning, she didn't just disappear! There was a great deal they could have written for her. Now, last week PM/EK had her back onscreen, 3 days, with Joss, with Stella, again with Joss & finally at graveside. So, what I was saying is if they are looking for more than that, then, it is more than she's been given, in general. 4 scenes over 2-3 days is substantial & FINALLY the new team had Trina back! I was literally told D&C had no idea what to write for her in the absence of Spencer. I have contempt for thinking like that, so impoverished is their imaginations, thought processes, ... I don't really have words for what I think of that. Sorry I wasn't clear before. 

This is a nitpick but technically I don't believe we have supercouples anymore. But that is a whole 'nother discussion. And, it doesn't take anything away from my considerable Sprina fandom.

It's fine, don't worry about it.

I do appreciate the handful of strong scenes with Stella and at the grave - not with Joss as I don't believe having Trina call herself a bitch for not holding Joss' hand is done in service to the character, just as her returning to try to prop Joss/Dex this week is in service to her (as some of her fans said on Twitter, she barely even knows Dex, yet she has to act like they are close friends). I do think that PM would write more for Trina if he could. Unfortunately, I think that Frank and ABC do not see that as worthwhile, similar to Mulcahey's GL run where JFP and P&G never let David or Gilly be too prominent or in pairings with white characters. 

I am not saying that being paired with a white character should be treated the ideal. I'm just saying the show saw it as the ideal and saw black characters as unworthy. As we likely have on GH now. 

I don't think that Trina and Spencer were a supercouple compared to L&L, or any of the big GH couples for a few decades after, but I do think they were the most talked about couple on the show since Patrick and Robin. All in spite of the show's best efforts.

21 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

If you mean more than last week, that would be more than she ever had. 

I'd have to respectfully disagree there. Compared to what many would have had in that position, one half of a supercouple dying, it felt like the bare minimum. I guess I could praise the show for at least doing that...

20 minutes ago, Vee said:

I'm going to wait and see on Trina. I think a lot of what is going on there now is typical FV guarantee shuffling and her mourning period getting caught up in the HW change. I'd be very surprised if PM doesn't end up making good use of her, if he has any control. But we'll see. Her grave scenes were very good.

I'm sure PM would want to do more, but, for the reasons you've mentioned, I don't think Frank will go very far. GH has never had a history of being interested in black women anyway - I think the most successful subversion was Mary Mae, who could fill a matriarchal role without seeming solely like a matriarchal character due to Rosalind Cash.