DRW50

@alwaysAMC Reading your last few summaries. Thanks. I'm reminded of how busy this period was. That was generally true of the B&E run - something was always happening. I had forgotten J left this soon as I thought his story with Drew ran a little longer. Michelle's story with Jesse is a repeat of a story Beth had with Lujack. A shame they didn't play into that during Beth's return. The man who played Jesse's father was a good actor - I remember him being on Oz in these years. Wish they'd done more with him. Reading your reviews reminds me of some moments I'd forgotten, like the Beth/Ben relationship. Ben had chemistry with a number of women, but his most was with Beth. Beth Chamberlin didn't have much spark with most of her leading men, but I thought she worked well with Hunt Block. It helped that Ben and Beth were both broken people. A lost opportunity with the Harley/Philip/Beth triangle was the class issue. Philip was born with a silver spoon, whereas Beth and Harley had both worked from an early age and had never felt accepted in the Spaulding world. By 1998, Beth and Harley had both lost that side (and Harley had already started to become so brittle). Rauch's era of the show never seemed to delve into these class issues. As mentioned at the time, it was smart writing to have Annie rescue Abby but leave Reva for dead. I never loved Reva's house, I'm not surprised Rauch didn't either (it was very metallic-tinged), but I prefer it to her moving into Vanessa's house. For the rest of the time Reva lived in that place (what was it - 5, 6 years?) I still saw it as Vanessa's house. I'd forgotten just how heavily they still had Annie in story. I guess they wanted to get every last penny out of Watros, but a part of me wonders if they should have just recast as soon as she left to properly finish the stories they were setting up. The robe story I appreciated mostly because the writing finally accepted that Dinah was a bitch to Vanessa instead of asking for pity parties. I'm not sure how much the show had planned for Matt and Dinah, but I believe this was another story the Matessa fans hit the roof over (I can't really blame them - if I'd been one I might have too).

I'd forgotten Fiona is back on in 1986. Fitting that she was tied to Henry relations or Henry himself in all her appearances. Looking at IMDB I see he (Damian Scheller) was also one of many Pauls on ATWT - presumably the one before Andrew Kavovit. He hasn't done any acting in some time but has a sister who is in the business. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2608141/?ref_=nmbio_re_1

I'd think she would have been better. The Buchanans would have been a natural fit for her, as would Renee, maybe Blair, etc.

Jeff Ryder wrote under Long or maybe was a co-writer for a time, I believe, although I'm not sure how much was from him in her first run. All those stories took place when Long was headwriting. Lisa was on for about a year and a half, maybe a little more, of Long's tenure. I'm not sure if they were trying to run out Lisa and Michael's contracts or if Long/Kobe just didn't have any real use for them. I might put more blame on Kobe. She also wrote the fishing trip story about the Springfield fathers (and Bill Bauer's final death), which Nola had a good role in. I may be mixing Quint up with Eugene from DAYS about a robot - if I'm wrong someone please let me know.

Long took over around the time Nola and Quint were getting married. She seemed to move them away from the adventure elements and toward more domestic stories, filler stories, having a baby (the child was named by viewers), Nolaerobics, Quint being a professor and Fiona Hutchinson throwing herself at him (this was not Jenna), Quint being a scientist, with a robot and taking in a precocious child (played, naturally, by a kid from Texas) for a time.

It's shockingly bad. I am not sure if they were trying to imitate Jane Wyman on Falcon Crest, but she was almost 20 years older than Beverlee! That period seemed to want to age Alex - maybe because of the pairing with HB. I don't like it.

I loved the big soapy look Lucas threw at Anna and Dante when he realized the man on the gurney was Nathan (as others have said, you wouldn't even really know who he was). Van Hansis still isn't who I would have chosen as Lucas, but I do enjoy how he throws himself into the melodrama. Luke was such a dour character most of the time, he didn't really have as many of those moments.

Thanks for letting us know @jam6242 one of my favorite theme songs of all time, especially the first season. I remember seeing Sonny sing that on some Nick at Nite special in the early '90s, before that channel became more pabulum. That CBS Morning interview is lovely. I've never cared a great deal for Mo Rocca due to my dislike for the Daily Show, but he's at his best in these interviews. "Walk Right Back" is a wonderful song. Never knew he did that.

Another rarely seen pilot was uploaded, shown once on CBS back in the day. Married to the Mob, with Suzie Plakson and Cynthia Stevenson, among others.

Thanks again @Maxim That's a very good scene between Lee Ann and Dorian. Elaine Princi plays it just right. You can tell what a low opinion Dorian has of Lee Ann, but she still feels some sympathy for her, as a mother or as a person. Lee Ann is generally just such a user and always makes life worse for herself, but you know it's not even that intentional on her part. The whole steam room near-death experience is best left to horror films. Last year, Neighbours had a story where a young pregnant woman was locked in the sauna by a rival, and she had a stillbirth as a result. A very harrowing, unpleasant moment that wasn't handled well and took you out of the fantasy of a "soapy" storyline.

You could argue no actor on GH (maybe on daytime) was given as kind of treatment as Geary.

Great find @SoapDope78

I don't know whether to respect or be annoyed that Drew remains such an [!@#$%^&*] even after getting plugged twice. I am sorry we never got any moments where Monica could react with disgust to who he has become.

Considering Rory had no scenes with Monica and no history with Leslie Charleson, I give him his flowers for managing to show Michael's guilt and mourning. I wish they could have shown some flashbacks with the other Michaels, even if he wasn't in the part at that time. I get why they didn't though. It helps that physically he does remind me of a young Alan, or Gerald Hopkins' version of AJ.

I don't think any would quit watching, but there are definitely a number of vocal fans who see Michael as Sonny's son and who don't want the show to get too far into him saying otherwise. I saw some tweets over the last few days blaming Alan and Edward more than anything with Sonny, Jason and Carly. The other issue is there's not a lot of story left in Michael rejecting Sonny or Carly, unless they bring AJ back again. This awkward middle ground is probably the best the show will get...which is a lot more than I thought they'd get based on my memories of the Guza years.

Thanks @YTG

The show was apparently a mess for a few years before the end. It's tough for me to say, as Deborah Farentino stayed to the end and had a decent career, but generally I'd say soap actors are better served if they leave after a few years. I do wonder what they would have done with Julie without Hickland - if they still would have had a doppelganger for Julie. Maybe some who know more about the show than I do could help.

I probably haven't seen enough to give a full opinion. Physically she was a good fit for the part, but Hickland was probably a better actress.

Thanks. I never knew those extra details. @Vee This may interest you too.

It's inevitable. Sonny is not seen as any pariah or corrupt figure. He's seen by many characters and viewers as an icon.

No problem. I didn't even know if that article was still up.

@Maxim Thanks again. That Marty and Suede scene is definitely trying for the heat and the atmosphere. Whether it does or not is another matter, but this is an interesting transition period for Marty. I was amused at her response to the ludicrous sequence of him writing "trouble" on her body ("at least you know the alphabet"). @Vee Thanks. I knew NLG was on OLTL but didn't realize it was for that long. And that story about Joe Stuart - so many horrors with him.

IIRC, Abby is very isolated after she marries Rick. I think the friendship issue is across all soaps, to the point where I didn't even think about it as much with GL until pointed out here the last few days. Now I do wish that we got more. I don't think it helped that a number of friendships did seem superficial - for instance, I never really believe in a Hilary and Katie bond, no matter how many scenes they share. I suppose that's one of the reasons viewers connected to the Philip/Beth/Mindy/Rick quad, as they did seem real, at least in those early moments. Long, at her best, brought a certain reality alongside the wealth and discount Tennessee Williams.

Thanks @slick jones Such a long and steady career for Pat Crowley. Tanzini seemingly will always be known for that Demi moment.