DRW50

Someone asked me to upload a July 2004 episode and I'm watching it as it goes up and there's this story where Sarah is enraged over Martin continuing to be with Katy Harris after she knew about Todd sleeping with Karl and kept quiet. And yeah, that's a bad thing, but her reaction is so OTT, and the scene she has alone with Martin before she finds out is so odd, I really do wonder if the rumors are true that they were going to have Martin and Sarah hook up and Sean Wilson refused to do it. (I think the other rumor is that after Katy, Martin was going to fall for an underage girl, like Rosie)

His AW efforts were probably his most successful, in that the characters stayed the longest of any he created (until Mel and Remy on GL, even if they were never all that well used). I know Petronia Paley praised him in an interview. Beyond Quinn, I think Henrietta was a good character too, played by an interesting actress. Of course casting is one thing, writing is another. Valerie Pettiford was brilliant casting and really added to OLTL, but I don't think anyone ever knew how to properly showcase her, not even the way AMC did with Tonya Pinkins in a similar period. I, too, am baffled as to why OLTL went so long without an official HW. I know Pam Long didn't work out as the network had hoped, but you mean to tell me they couldn't find anyone to replace her right away? Either no one was jumping at the chance to head-write the show, or the network was waiting until Megan McTavish (or another writer they really wanted) was available. The quoting system is an abombination... Anyway, there was some spec at the time that JFP didn't even really want a headwriter and that she also basically served as HW when McTavish was there. I wouldn't be shocked.

Here's another good clip, which also references Carla.

(re: Max) Did they really do the Max/Asa potential father son crap twice? It was implied in the episode above and we all know that Asa believed that Max was his son in the late 90s too. Why would the same idiotic story be told again when it was debunked. Unless Asa assumed Max was his son up until about 98/99. IDK b/c I didn't start watching OLTL habitually till about summer '02. And how cliche for Paul Rauch to bring on black characters in a rap story. From the looks of it, of course it didn't take off b/c it wasn't believable. How could the audience believe Kerry to be a rapper when he came from an upper-middle class background. Especially when rap was derived from the streets. Especially when gangsta rap was taking over. If Rauch was gonna sell it, he should've made Kerry lower class. Watching Alex slice into her hand was so stupid. But seeing Cassie sit there and cry like a drip over Bo was even more stupid. Like Khan said, I'd guess McTavish and JFP didn't even know about the last version of this, although it may have been mentioned vaguely. JFP also used that story to stretch material during the many months that OLTL had no headwriter and she was basically doing the show herself. I can't remember if the '90/'91 version tried to convince viewers that Max was Asa's son, or if we knew it was a con all along. I have an episode somewhere (it's probably on Youtube as well most likely) with Gabrielle in Sweetwater learning the "truth" from DuAnn. I think whether with JDP or Walker, Max was just too flashy to really fit into the Buchanan group. Agreed about the rap story (I think their big story was rapping at a Gulf War gathering or something - I can't remember but I think there was an SOD article about it). Here's a bit more of Sheila, in a Gottlieb "very special episode" type mini-story, with some singing and racism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=796XuUqO2L8

That's great. I guess B&B must still be popular there.

Here we go again - well put. I wonder if Gabrielle ever mentioned Julia or Debra in her return. Julia just had a bizarre last year on the show in general. I don't remember her exit, if she had one. Speaking of DuAnn, who knew Bindi Irwin was a fan? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3332989/Thank-changing-life-Bindi-Irwin-fights-tears-wins-coveted-Mirrorball-Trophy-Dancing-Stars.html

IDK why, Carl, but you cracked me up here. I mean, couldn't you just imagine OLTL going there? Perhaps it was because I was getting older and becoming more aware of BTS doings, but Cain's storyline was the first time I took notice of the transition that occurs between head-writing regimes. Under Craig Carlson and Margaret DePriest, Cain (or Hudson King, as I think he was known then) seemed like another short-term, badly accented OLTL villain, ready to be disposed of as soon as the storyline with Cord and Tina was done. However, when Michael Malone's work began, there was a shift on-screen (IIRC, a WTF, last-minute-seeming twist that Cord and Tina had, in fact, out-conned the con, thus setting him up to be nabbed by the Llanview P.D.) that was hard to miss. IIRC, too, Malone was the one who "outed" the British-seeming Hudson King as the very-much-American Cain Rogan (although, knowing my Splenda-addled memory, that probably happened before) and had Tina experiencing sudden and unexpected pangs of ambivalence after helping to expose his misdeeds. Yes, I can... I think he also had a German alter ego. It's interesting to hear your memories, as I can imagine how jarring the tonal changes in the show must have been to viewers. Of course Rauch's OLTL was also OTT, but seemed more hollowed out by the end (see: those gruesome scenes of drugged-Viki-as-Niki, or anything with Marjorie Main's evil twin DuAnn, mostly treasured for Erika Slezak's "DuAnn, HONEY..."), whereas Gottlieb's felt more like a cocaine frenzy, mixed with social "awareness" that reminded me of a Facts of Life episode. Of all the times Erika hammed it up in questionable material, this really is one of my favorites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb4nhBZPsF0

Yes. Vanita Harbour. Rika was Sheila (the superb Valerie Pettiford)'s kid sister. She began dating Kerry, son of Troy (the guy with Sheila there). Troy was a top cop. Kerry had a rap group (with guest appearances by Kurtis Blow), in Rauch's attempts to, presumably, address years of deserved criticism for racist writing. There used to be clips of Sheila gospel singing and Kerry rapping (not together...), but I'm not sure they are still around. Linda Gottlieb dumped most of these characters as soon as she could, which was in the process of happening in that episode. I think the Cassie/Bo/Alex material in that is heading up to "Loon Lake," which was panned by soap magazines at the time IIRC, and rightfully so, as it was just dumb trash. All of those scenes make me cringe, especially the way Cassie was written and portrayed. Only Elaine Princi salvages any of it. She was such a vital part of those two years Gottlieb and Malone got their act together, even if she was then canned right after. I liked Cain but I still have absolutely no idea how he was supposed to be a master of disguise... The Max and LeAnn scenes were super awkward no matter who played Max.

Ha ha. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/christie-denies-political-entry-gun-control

Pathetically naked pandering just in time for Thanksgiving. Watch the media swoon on cue. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rubio-gods-rules-trump-supreme-court

Office party! I'm not entirely sure Lucy would approve.

A lot of that was based on the reported issues between Shonda, TR Knight, and Katherine Heigl.

I'm not sure. I know he was working at Walsh for a while. I think it's because Hogan thought "men with balls" had to be thugs and criminals.

I think there was plenty of room to improve Dusty, as he spent Marland's run worrying about Lily and looking hot. Sadly they miscast him and gave him years of crap, although he was never anywhere near as ruined as the likes of Craig were.

He would have made an ideal return when she was married to Craig.

He really was just a plot device in the second stint. Barbara's lying brother, I think he was involved in perving on Emily and James to try to get blackmail info or something. Blackmailing John. When the truth came out I think he fuc!ed off and was rarely heard from again. I think he had potential for more, but Marland also seemed somewhat reluctant to use past characters that often. I can't say he was a big loss. Never saw much of Gary Hudson's run.

Yes. If I ever find that episode I downloaded from a now dead channel, you can see a brief scene of him in a lab. They were pairing him up with someone. He wasn't bad, but just sort of there. I mostly remember him for that male stripper movie with Thomas Calabro and Marilu Henner. (I really loved Calabro in that...)

Yes, he mostly just came back to set up the Frannie/Sabrina story, as he was one of those who knew what John had done.

That's Sebastian Roche.

Con Roche returned to the role in 1986. He'd played Rick in the early '70s.

I never really understood why "movies made right here" was a theme on ATWT and AW in 1981. There isn't much of that story around (Natalie is in the 1981 episode on Oakdalian, and there used to be a clip on a dead channel of Lisa in wardrobe), but I can't say it thrills me.

Absolutely. The show is getting better lately but this is the best story - it's how to do an "affair" story right. It's also the type of complex emotional material that suits Bernice far more than just comedy capers. Seeing a glimpse of Andy's ass makes it all the better.

I didn't know she was still alive. As mentioned a few times in the article (albeit not about Crossroads), she wrote a lot of groundbreaking work. She did that on Crossroads too, especially with Sandy. I wish that were remembered more, instead of focus on wobbly sets.