DRW50

@JAS0N47 Thank you for answering my questions. I'm glad this one was new to you, and that you could give us more info.

Interesting. I hadn't heard about that. I didn't realize Meg was into business.

Thank you for finding these interviews. It's a shame they don't ever bring Melissa back now. Not that I'd necessarily want to see how it would go but I'd think Ron Carlivati would find the histories of Mary, Linda, and Brooke to be catnip, and Melissa is tied to all of those.

That's very true. It's also down to soaps losing interest in generational dynamics or writing age-appropriate material. That's how you end up with Belle and Marlena, mother and daughter, being written and performed in a way that would at times make you think there is not much difference between them.

I've known some older people who become much angrier as they age, for various reasons (it's also what leads to radicalization in some older people), and which soaps rarely delved into. I can see why they did want to focus more on the kinder side of Alice, as Frances played this well and it was a tonic for viewers with all the upheaval on the rest of the canvas starting in the late '70s. Still, I hope we get to see more of this type of material for her in more '60s or '70s episodes that pop up.

If you're wondering how Dave Rubin is doing after most of the people he has staked his reputation and financial future on blasted him to hell (literally) for having children with his husband:

That's very true, although I feel like this side of Alice is toned down somewhat later on. Definitely. And we all share the same opinions over and over anyway. I always admire how eloquent some of you are at getting those points across in a way I never could.

No problem. I always appreciate your thoughts on these years for soaps.

I had the same thought about Alice and Marie. Then I remembered "get over it" and "you're too pretty to be upset" are mindsets very common at the time (and still now). It's interesting to see this stage in Marie's long mental breakdown. I wish they'd explored that more than just sending her to a convent, but I wonder how much longer Maree wanted to stay in the role. Oh I forgot to tag @slick jones for potential updates to your cast lists. Sorry.

Sonny and Gabi?? Years ago, I actually wrote out a story idea where Sonny did question his sexuality, which led Will to a very dark place of anger and betrayal before he connected with the old Horton tenets of being a good person and forgiving and so on (and I might have had him fall for a priest, given all the priest kink in his family history), but it's not something I would ever trust these writers with. And if it does happen, I would also wonder if they only care about pairing Sonny with a woman because a "hot" actor is now in the role. Sad to say I think I still might prefer Sonny and Gabi to pathetic Leo, the face of Ron Carlivati's deep-seated issues regarding gay men, and Craig, a shameful, unnecessary retcon that seems to have belly flopped with the remaining viewer base.

Sorry if this was already posted, but I couldn't remembering seeing it. Last April, TCM uploaded material of a Jane interview from 1995.

I don't know if I ever saw this..

I might have misread something - I was so horrified by the whole thing even though I know it's now "normal." Another example of this callousness.

I didn't know she did either. I guess it must have been somewhere else in this week of episodes.

Looks like someone found the date. I left a comment - hopefully people will get to see the episode before it goes down.

@will81 Sorry I didn't tag you too. I always associate you with Y&R. Yes, this channel is a great resource. Hopefully they know you shouldn't upload DAYS content, but if this is rare then I'm glad to see it. And yes, this is much better visual and sound quality than a lot of soap episodes of this period passed around.

@JAS0N47 @victoria foxton @Paul Raven @vetsoapfan @jam6242 I never got around to watching the early episodes before they were taken off Youtube, so I don't know if this is another of those or if it's "new." Someone else may be able to pin down an exact date. Seeing these reminds me of how Marie resonates with me. There is something especially relevant to modern times seeing someone who is clearly so unwell mentally trying to "get over" their depression because it's what they are supposed to do.

I saw that people were upset with Chuck Todd for ruining the MSNBC coverage on KBJ's ceremony. I'm not sure why anyone even bothers with that network now. Speaking of media figures who have too much power and influence, Matt Taibbi becomes even more of a self-parody.

They were bragging about this missile strike until it became evident the carnage it caused. Then suddenly they were claiming Ukraine did it as a false flag. And of course, so many of their puppets online and in the media are going along.

ATWT is one of the shows that I started in my grandmother's living room, enthralled by what was often background noise to her. It's attached to so many memories. You don't really have those connections with shows now, or if you do, they are spoilt by online experiences and the general cynicism and emptiness of so much culture now.

Oh I thought it was funny (Lillimae often worked my last nerve, although this season gave her some of her best material with Olivia's drug addiction storyline), it just felt so away from the show I loved. I think Cathy probably should have left immediately after the Joshua storyline concluded, although later on I could have seen her returning as Greg's latest wife, harder now, and clashing with Paige. I would have believed that more with the Greg/Anne saga.

Abby was never just a rich bitch, even though by the end she was getting close (which is likely one of the reasons Donna Mills quit). The early years were expert at showing her layers. One of the first episodes I saw was Silver Shadows, and it made me love Abby, because she had spent the entire episode trying to con an old man out of his money by pretending to be his long ago love. He signed the papers and passed away, and she thought she had it made...until she realized he had signed his dead love's name, not hers. This was the moment where we could have, and often would have, had a scene of her throwing vases around, screaming, glaring, maybe even saying, "Burn in hell!!!" with nostril-flaring closeup. On another show, we would have. Instead, Abby, after her initial shock, regrouped, looked in the mirror (as she was still dressed as his old love), and smiled, fondly, because she actually had grown fond of him, and was clearly not going to let this ruin all the rest, or knock her back. There was a nuance which the other primetime soaps just lacked. As for Diana. To be honest the main problem was Claudia Lonow's nasal voice. She was just incredibly irritating in a way you could not salvage. They had the right idea when, many years later, they brought Diana back briefly when Karen went to stay with her during yet another marital spat with Mac. She was fine as a talk-to, and it reconnected Karen to her pre-Mack roots, which, by that point, she desperately needed. One of my favorite soap scenes of all time is when Eric slapped her. Good stuff.

The espionage story had its moments but I thought it was a very bad fit for Knots, and the woman - Jean Hackney or whatever her name was - was very irritating. She felt like she was airlifted in from Falcon Crest. There were also ludicrous scenes, unintentionally hilarious, like Ben putting Lillimae in a headlock. The worst was the affair with Cathy, which I did not believe Ben would do, and was lacking in any chemistry. So did I. I never cared for the Gary/Val relationship. They got together when they were very young. They grew up to be very different people. When they were around each other they both regressed emotionally and intellectually. I don't think Ben had much more of a future on the show. They were undergoing massive budget cuts, and if talents like Julie Harris and Constance McCashin were fired, I don't see him being spared if he had not decided to leave. He got another network show not too long after leaving Knots. It lasted a few seasons, and then he just slowly wound down the way many do in the industry until he presumably retired.

I agree. As they are in clip form it's difficult to feel the full impact as originally intended, but I greatly appreciate getting to see Kim's grieving, and John hovering, and Kathryn's wonderful rapport with Suzanne Davidson.

Thank you @Soapsuds. Still a great scene (with a very tender performance, as always, from Steve Basset). These episodes tend to vanish so I'm glad the clip was saved.