DRW50

I hadn't thought of that. Good spot.

I'm very sorry...

IIRC, he began appearing on AMC in late 1997 for a guest run, then was popular so returned full time later on that year until the mid '00s.

@Lujack4Ever I appreciate hearing your thoughts. You're right, killing Lujack was very short-sighted, likely a spite move, and produced little story value unless you are a big fan of Alex's decimation with Nick. I hadn't even thought of the lost story potential in Nick not meeting Philip. Do you think Lujack would have worked with another actress playing Beth?

That's a good point. The red dress speaks for itself, which Mia rocked. Mia wasn't who Malone had in mind when he conceived of Blair, IIRC, and I think some of this material, knowing Mia is on the way out, is shifting her more toward he had intended Blair to be - it's a credit to Mia that she makes it work. And you're right about the choices with Max's hair. A gay story with Andrew could have been interesting, although given Billy I know it would have been too much for a soap at the time (or now).

Thanks @Maxim . I like the setup of the peanut gallery commenting on Blair's big arrival and her roasting Asa (the "Scarlett O'Daimler" line, not so much). Asa won, of course, as it's not a huge surprise the Blair we saw as having every base covered early on was never able to play in the true nest of vipers of people like Asa or Dorian. I love Phil Carey's delivery of the "horns in hell" line. Mia Korf did a good job of keeping dignity as Blair was humiliated. I didn't care for the Max scenes as I don't think Max was any prize worthy of degradation and I did not feel some warm moment for Luna "winning" either. I would have been much happier if Luna had seen how much Max is still hung up on Blair and walked away. I think Max's hair kind of sucks here too, which just makes him an even more dubious prize. The best I can say is the wardrobe department managed to make Luna look lovely while still being true to her roots.

Wade always seemed like a nice guy (I know abusers can start out that way but we wouldn't have had the buildup) but Mari Lynn returning with a new, abusive husband would have made sense to me, especially as she was friendly with Megan. Brad Vernon and whichever O'Neill he was with (Connie?) also would have made sense. I don't think Steve Fletcher had started on AW at that time. I know it could have "ruined" his redemption, but the character was a rapist and horrible to multiple women for years.

With the talk some pages back of the Morgan storyline, here is how CBS was marketing it:

I think McTavish just wanted a clear-out of the younger set. If not for Reggie's ties to Jack, someone McTavish tended to write for, I think he may have gone too.

I can't believe she actually name-checked Megan McTavish! 25 years later! That lady sure leaves a lasting impression.

I'm not sorry they've moved away from the meals being destroyed, even if I agree they could have given the hospital more food. It was strange seeing such a wholesome Quartermaine Thanksgiving but I guess the mood did fit where they are now (especially with Tracy away) and avoided the self-parody feel. Gio and Emma are a lovely couple, even if they seem like they're from the '40s. I think of how Jason, Brenda and AJ were around their age and it's night and day.

Oh I forgot about Joey. A waste. Thanks.

Robin threw herself in front of a car around 1966 or 1967. They'd wiped out everyone around Meta, but they had never mentioned the husband she left Springfield with in the early '70s - they could have easily adopted a child.

I think the Spencers still act like Spencers, but it doesn't have as much impact because of what they are involved with. The Webbers are mostly long gone, as are the Cassadines. I'd bring some Webbers in, but I'm good with the Cassadines staying dormant.

Thanks to everyone who fills this thread up. I didn't know if we'd ever see Kevin on the show again while Jon remains on BtG so I'm glad Valentini was able to work around his schedule. I haven't seen much of his BtG work, but it must be something fantastic if he thinks it's better than anything he had as Kevin.

Thank you. Debbi Morgan is a treasure and still has such a joy about her. I'd never heard the story about Henry Fonda. I'm glad they acknowledged Angie.

I still associate him with his China Beach role - he's always been a good brooder.

Brittany Allen and Jeff Kober will be on The Pitt. https://deadline.com/2025/12/the-pitt-recurring-cast-season-2-1236632155/

Don Stewart as Mike Bauer on Guiding Light. I'm not sure if Mike ever had a big fan favorite before him (Gary Pilar may be closest) but Don seemed to define the character very quickly - he's already getting major coverage in soap magazines around 1969 and 1970.

Maybe the timing, or Lily Tomlin was too much of a clash. There seemed to be behind the scenes issues too: https://deadline.com/2012/10/kevin-abbott-checks-into-rehab-takes-a-leave-from-abc-comedy-malibu-country-350886/ and from the show's Wiki: On April 23, 2013, it was announced that Nastaran Dibai, who took over as writer and producer after Kevin Abbott left in October 2012, had departed as well from the show

I can see some of the worst sides of her Mindy in her Tina, but none of the best. And she was also a decade older, which hurts when you are trying to play a dumb character. The whole thing is just sad. I think someone once said she didn't even audition. If that is true, then it shows they weren't taking Tina seriously. I'd give most of the credit to Karen - on paper I don't think most of her material is up to much.

Connor was never an iconic character, but she did have fans. I was one of them. I think it was easy to take her for granted, which is why FMB and MADD felt so comfortable firing Allyson Rice Taylor to give a friend a job. Taylor was a very thoughtful, intelligent actress who did a lot with what she was given (although even then I couldn't sit through her last year of stories). She wasn't. The material was bad, and she struggled to play it. Malone's disdain for Tina was also very clear, as it was through his whole run. Inexplicably SOD named her best recast of 1994.

Laura also learned from her mistakes, and she was never babied or deified in the writing. The show was never the same without her but a part of me is glad she escaped the fate of Karen and Valene.

Chuckie was Meta's son, only there in the radio years. I'm sure someone else will know the story better than I do, but Meta had given him up for adoption. She married his biological father, Ted White, to be a part of his life, but she was very unhappy and full of neuroses. Ted was obsessed with the idea that Chuckie wasn't manly enough, and took him camping, made him take boxing lessons. Chuckie died during one of the boxing lessons, I think (I'm not sure). Meta lost her mind and shot and killed Ted. Viewers got to decide Meta's fate - they found her not guilty via temporary insanity. I think this is also how Meta met her next husband, Joe Roberts.

I'd add the third Pat Ryan, Robert Finnocolli. He always seemed like he wanted to rip somebody's head off.