MichaelGL

I hated the San Christobal crap, reminded me of the dreaded Mendora stuff from OLTL Not sure but was Rauch EP of OLTL then ?

He was ineed the EP of OLTL at the time.

Didn't Rauch work at Santa Barbara with Pamela K. Long in the early 90s? I wonder if he even contemplated the idea of possibly bringing her back to the show. Under him the show saw an eclectic mix of Head Writers, mostly a bunch of writers that didn't mesh well with the show.

When they first brought her on I really thought they were going to make her a hellion, and what fun could that have been? Giving Reva a sister that was not only a vixen, but sometimes outright nasty (which Reva never was.) But LW's Cassie outlook and the way she acted never matched her backstory!. The chick grew up in foster homes and had a kid with a drug dealer, but she ran around acting like she was an entitled cheerleader. I blame that on LW's ego...and the fact that she was friends with the headwriters and that Rauch had them on site, so that LW had easy access to them (and could take them to the bar across the street.) Its too bad, as I think she has the talent and the hard edge to bring an edgy character to life.

Exactly, the character of Cassie, on paper had the background of someone who was raw, gritty, had street smarts. LW played her as some entitled valley girl, who could often be holier thou.

I was always indifferent towards the character of Cassie Layne. I hated how the show made her some heroine, and at the expense of Dinah Marler. Funny considering that just years before Cassie entered the picture, the character of Bridget Reardon was sacrificed for Dinah.

However, if the show had simply written Cassie as a vixen, like a Carly Spencer/GH, Carly Tenney/ATWT, or a Sami Brady/DAYS, I probably would have liked the character more(For a long time the show was lacking a 30s something vixen until Dinah returned in the form of GT). Instead they tried to make her Reva-lite. Imagine Reva having to deal with a half sister who goes around town stirring up trouble, rather than a sister who just happened to find herself in peril every nine months?

I did like Cassie's pairing with Danny though, and for me it was the only pairing the character had been in that made sense. How so much potential was squandered on this show after the Taggart/Culliton era is baffling.

Towards the end of her run, Nicole Forester wasn't that bad as a slightly unbalanced Cassie. In some ways she was leaps and bounds over Laura Wright.

Glenn Corbett was the only actor to play Jason. He has 2 stints on the show. I don't know if the actor wanted to leave but a recast should have happened.

Iagree with Michael that Mona /Jason/Nola had a lot more story to tell. I like his idea of Mona and Nola fighting over a man. Perhaps Mona's ex Winston Croft could have returned and Nola make a play for him just to annoy Mona (and because he was rich). Then Nola might actually develop feelings for the old guy because he treats her so well. Maybe she marries him on the spur of the moment, devastating Mona. Mona retaliates by hiring a young guy to seduce Nola.

Great minds think alike Paul. In my post above I too would have had Mona hire a guy to seduce Nola, playing on Nola's fears of the past, like her one night stand with Colin Wakefield all those years ago.

I think it's safe to assume that not only Marland had something to do with Court's casting on GL, but the EP at the time Allen Potter as well. Potter had also worked with Court when he was EP of The Doctors during Court's first stint as Ann.

What would you have done with Jason?

In one of your recaps from 1981, Nola and Jason were seemingly finding their way to back to each other after Jessica’s custody dispute and were falling in love again. I would have continued that story with them eventually remarrying. However, with Mona up to her old schemes again, I would have split them up, and for much of the early/mid 80s have them work their way back together through some tough obstacles, much like DAYS had done with tortured couple Julie and Doug in the 70s. Sprinkle in Nola’s rivalry with Mona, it would have been a very engrossing tale.

For example, along the way I would have had Nola and Mona involved in a triangle with a man, a rich business mogul, in which the business mogul falls for Nola while he’s married to Mona. Such a story would have Mona reeling as she tries to hold together her marriage. Eventually when Nola and the man do end up together, Jason and Nola start to have feelings for one another again; and you have Jason going up against his former father in-law. In a pivotal moment, I would have had a now pregnant Nola (uncertain as to who the father of her baby is), go up against Mona in a heated argument. Nola ends up losing the baby, which is later revealed to be either Jason’s or Nola’s husband. Nola’s hatred of Mona is fueled even further, and she fights tooth and nail to get back at her for the miscarriage. Nola’s marriage to Jason’s former stepfather slowly disintegrates after the miscarriage and the pair eventually go their separate ways, thus reuniting Jason and Nola. However even with Nola and Jason reunited you still have Nola who’s very bitter about Mona causing her miscarriage, which would beg the question, to what lengths would Nola go to get back at her rival, would she sacrifice her relationship with Jason? That’s where Billy would likely come in, where in much of the recaps you’ve posted from early 82, you have Billy and Nola working together to take down Mona.

Looking back, I remembered that Maggie had a sister back in the 60's.I hate when characters are forgotten.Even if she wasn't brought back,she could be mentioned eg Maggie going to visit her etc

Same with Carolee's mother and MJ's siblings.

I agree. I think much of those characters, most notably Carolee's mother, Emma could have been brought onto the show in later years.

Thanks for responding! So what do you think was wrong in the Catherine story?

I do like the sound of Althea/Jeff. I liked that actor from what I've seen of him on GL.

I have another February 1982 Digest, February 16, right before the March 2, so I'll post that soon. Sorry for the dates being all muddled up.

No problem, finally had a break from school and etc. today lol

The Catherine story seemed too inconsistent, too clichéd and drawn out for my taste. Most importantly it resulted in the pointless murder of Jason Aldrich.

Thanks so much for scanning and posting these Carl.

I find both the recaps from May 1982 quite an interesting read. Even after the ridiculousness of the Catherine storyline/Jason's death, some of the stories after such a turbulent period seem interesting; most notably Greta's divorce from Billy/determination to reconnect with LeAnn, Katy/Danny/Natalie/Luke seems interesting, as does Jeff vs. Mike with Althea thrown in as well.

If I'm correct Carl, some of the early 1982/late 1981 stuff of The Doctors might be from Harding Lemay's lesser known tenure on the show. So these help alot in shedding some light on what he wrote on the show.

Thanks again Carl for these scans, they help to shed some light on TD's lesser known years.

To my knowledge the following months have been posted in this thread (I've copied and pasted much of it and saved it to my computer.): July, Oct. Sept., and Dec. 1982 have all been posted in this thread. So if you have any of the other months, I would greatly appreciate it if you scanned a few of them, and posted them when you're able to. So far, I've read half of the ones you posted yesterday, so I'll let you know when I've been able to read all the ones you've posted.

For some reason I thought Weiss killed Sara off. I guess now it makes more sense if so many others also went, as it seems like Sara should have been a major character, especially to balance Nola.

You're right, Weiss did kill off Sara. Which is puzzling bc Sara had been one of the show's most engrossing characters from the Mike/Sara/Colin triangle. Yes, for GL fans, Sara was in a way the Maureen Reardon to Nola's well...Nola Reardon. Hell, she could have even ended up as a tent pole character like Maureen was if they hadn't killed her off.

Did you get to read the ones from 1976 or were those ones you'd already read? I don't have any more from then. I do have some from 1977, 78, 79, and 80, so if you are looking for any specific time let me know and I'll try to find it. In a few minutes I'm going to put up some more from 1981-1982.

I have read most of 76 actually, much of the tail end of DePriest's tenure/start of Marland's tenure is saved on my computer. But I appreciate the scans though, the pictures that come along with the synopsis are equally interesting to see, as the recaps I have on my computer were all typed up.

My apologies - I don't have a lot of 81-82. Through the day I'll print what I have.

Here is the recap from the March 31, 1981 Digest.

Some points I'd like to make from that very interesting scan Carl. Thanks again.

-If I'm correct, much of this stuff is from Doris Quinlan's time on the show as EP(former OLTL EP), with Ralph Ellis and Eugenie Hunt as head scribes, former Head Writers of ATWT when it was #1. With such big hirings, it seems like it was a honest and conscious effort to save the show by NBC. (I can't really figure out when NBC gave up on the show, my guess would be sometime after they briefly hired Harding Lemay to revive the show.)

-Having read many recaps from Doris's predecessor, Chuck Weiss, time as EP on the show, I didn't really like the way Quinlan seemingly got rid of various characters and brought on new ones. It was quite abrupt and jarring seemingly. Jason went missing in South America. Kim and Sweeny left town. Luke's romantic interest, Missy died. Colin died. I'm sure a few more characters left as well, and equally, at the same time a variety of new characters came onto the show such as Darcy, Alan, Brad, Jack, etc.

However I do have to admit, while the transition was far from pretty, Quinlan did seemingly make the show better than it was before, IMO (Though I'm a avid fan of the kind of show The Doctors was under Weiss; racy, not afraid to tackle social issues.) Seems as if she brought more focus on the inner workings at the hospital, with the introduction of interns like Darcy, Brad, and Jack. I enjoyed reading much of that that SOD recap from 1981.

It doesn't surprise me though that even with the good storytelling, the show continued to flounder. Like I had stated earlier, the transition sucked horribly, and this was the last thing a show like The Doctors needed at the time. Viewers had already been through enough jarring transformations with their show. Killing off/writing off certain characters while you introduced your own new batch of characters was not the best idea for an EP to make at the time, as it was something viewers had seen many, many times before.

Tim Pawlenty, who helped preside over a very divisive Minnesota GOP for years and is often hyped as some sort of thoughtful or intelligent alternative to hard right conservatives, panders once again by pledging to repeal DADT.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/pawlenty-to-bryan-fischer-id-support-reinstating-dadt.php?ref=fpblg

I actually thought out of all the possible Republican Presidential candidates, he was the most reasonable, I must have thought wrong. Very disappointed by this.

You should watch his interview with Jon Stewart on Wednesday. Like most political figures that appear on the show, he was put on the spot and even rendered speechless a couple of times.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-12-2011/exclusive---tim-pawlenty-extended-interview

It sounds very dated and generic, it's not even that much fun to be honest. A bit of a stilted attempt. It sounds like something a one hit wonder Eurotrash dance act would've produced in 2005.

Apparently, she'll be working with Xenomania on the new album. They've worked with Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, and Cher in the past. There's reports she's going for a more "British dance-pop influence" on the new album. Xenomania haven't been that great in recent years to be honest, but they SHOULD be a perfect match for Britney if things are done right.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3321812/Britney-Spears-teams-up-with-Xenomania-for-new-album.html

Talk about hitting the nail on the head.

Is it too much to ask that we hear Brtitney's true voice in one of her songs? And I'm referring to her last few albums.

I think some are up in arms over the fact that they see the show portraying all those who have lost a child to "cot death" as people who would actually go to the lengths of stealing a newborn.

What they don't understand however, IMO, is that this not what the show was getting at. This was a act done completely in character for Ronnie Mitchell.

You know, they could still potentially continue the baby switch plot with Womack out of the picture. Ronnie could lose her marbles, get sectioned, thus leaving Jack all alone to raise James. Perhaps have another woman enter the picture, and eventually have a bitter Ronnie return and spill the beans that James is really Tommy.

She produced East of Eden? Isn't that the racy cable soap Douglas Marland penned?

Ronnie as character has always been all hype and no substance. There is nothing to this character other than tragic plot points. She's never had a fully developed personality.

This is true from what I've seen on YouTube.

However if the show wasn't so keen on treating Ronnie/Rack fans with kid gloves, they'd write Ronnie true to what she should be, and that is a mentally unstable conniving little beyotch who is more her father's daughter than anything else. Instead they seemingly insist on portraying her as some heroine of the show. That is what I mostly hope that this baby switch succeeds at doing, finally showing viewers and those of Walford, Ronnie's true colors, but I'm not sure it will.

Carol spoiler:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/tv/2010/12/31/eastenders-carol-jackson-faces-jail-after-her-lover-is-hit-with-an-iron-bar-115875-22816462/#ixzz19eBncR58

EastEnders' Carol Jackson faces jail after her lover is hit with an iron bar

by Mark Jefferies, Daily Mirror 31/12/2010

EastEnders’ gran Carol Jackson faces jail in the new year when secret lover Connor Stanley is beaten to a pulp with an iron bar.

Guilt-ridden Carol, played by Lindsey Coulson, 49, falsely confesses to the attack on her granddaughter Whitney’s two-timing boyfriend when the love triangle goes horribly wrong.

She is covering up for someone else and states: “The whole situation’s my fault. Only right I take the blame.”

A show source said: “This affair could tear the entire Jackson family apart. No one will forget Connor in a hurry.”

I wonder if she's protecting Bianca or something...

Could be, interesting if it was to turn out that Bianca didn't do it, and Carol had done it all in vain. Like oh...say the real culprit is Ben. (Shocker...not.)

Janine was a prostitute and Ian was her client.

Laura was a weak and pathetic character. She was Ian's nanny that he slept with, but never really loved, and only really married her for her father's money. She's Bobby Beale's mother, Ian's youngest son.

Laura died after she tripped on one of Bobby's toys and fell down a flight of stairs after an argument with Janine. Janine was arrested and charged with her murder, even though she didn't do it, and Pat knew she didn't do it (Janine was with Pat at the time Laura died), but let Janine rot in prison for a while until Frank came back and got Pat to change her mind. That story happened when Charlie Brooks left the show in 2004.

Thanks for the info.

Wow. looking at some of the past stuff on the show, did not know Janine had once slept with Ian. That kind of makes me sick to my stomach. Who's Laura, and why don't we hear much about her these days? Laura seems to be similar to Jane these days.

Lonatrat...

It still pisses me off how the Hart/Dinah/Roger story played out, how Roger was turned into a blithering fool at the expense of the oh so amazing Hart and Dinah.

Actually when I think of McTavish's entire tenure, I get this bad taste in my mouth because the show centered itself around some disgusting qualities of its female cast. Holly, Dinah, Reva, hell even Gilly and Vanessa "schtumping" around town, their lives going to hell all of a sudden their lives seemingly revolved around the males in their lives.

Caught both Monday and Tuesday's episodes, and while I actually loved the x-mas episode, I've found these past two episodes more entertaining; mostly due to the simple drawn out character moments like the ones with Jean, Ronnie, and Kat.

The cast is pretty strong right now, they seemingly have a flawless female cast. Gillian Wright has been excellent ever since the x-mas episodes.

I'm so anticipating the start of Dot's new story, I rather liked her scenes with the choir director. I see loads of potential there. I'm simply happy to see Dot truly interacting with someone again, and enjoying herself.

I'm going on a limb here and say that I saw plenty of foreshadowing between Ronnie and Jean today, perhaps on more than just one level. Somehow I think that when Jean does come back she will somehow factor heavily into the upcoming storyline with Ronnie and Kat.

Lindsey Graham just seriously needs to STFU.

He and DeMint really make me ashamed to be from South Carolina.

That house has apparently been empty for some time - this summer Lucas kept Denise prisoner in there when the family assumed she was alive.

Charlie Brooks was so good in Monday's episode. Whether Pat would still support her, I don't know, but I really loved all those scenes. Even Neil McDermott was OK.

This is probably the only story I'm enjoying on any of the soaps at the moment, for Janine more than any of the Ryan/Stacey stuff.

Thanks for the clarification Carl. I missed out on that storyline.

I am in awe of Brooks and St. Clements, even though the ladder is in a supporting role in the story, she's still hitting all the right beats.