titan1978

I had no idea Monica caused Lesley to loose a child.  What a great rivalry the show eventually wasted.  They should have been rivals like Jill and Katherine.  Dormant and then back at it again every few years.

I do sometimes wonder if Monty hadn’t decided to get rid of Lesley (well her and the network, when all Denise wanted was time off before a new contract), what would have happened with the show. Would later regimes have kept Rick and her and kept up the focus?  I think she still had potential as a character and could have easily stayed without Rick.  But Rick without Lesley- i see why they wrote him out.

This is hard for me to quantify.

I think Phelps produced a better looking and acted show.  And Guza’s team of writers wrote way stronger material.  The individual scripts and storylines had more depth, more drama, higher stakes and made bold decisions.

But I absolutely hated their interpretation and destruction of the characters they inherited.  I liked a lot of the ones they added though- Ric, Johnny and Claudia, Faith, Patrick, Alcazar, Dante etc.  I can’t say the same for Valentini’s era under any writers.  But I hated the show.  Stopped watching it.  Bob Guza needed someone that checked some of his impulses, and Phelps didn’t (even if she wanted to, I believe he got a producer credit when Frons brought him back).

The Cassadine returns arc was fantastic when it started.  I think Helena should have been disposed of in some dramatic fashion once the brainwashed Lucky story came to a conclusion (that whole story should have been better), and that was it.

She skulked around for way too long making idle threats and never being the actual threat.  Lucky didn’t die in the fire (which was Faison working for her anyway), Laura went crazy but she had nothing to do with it.  Emily died but again- not by Helena’s hand.  Alexis’ sister Kristina was killed by the mob- not Helena.  Courtney was killed by the virus, not Helena.  Hell the virus and the Metro Court hostage situation were not her.

Love the actress, but Luke or (preferably) Laura should have done her in ages ago and been done with it.

I wonder if she will pull an Arianne Zucker and stand by her man all the way out the door?

The writing was so on the wall for his tenure being up.  No love interest.  Kid killed off.  They didn’t even play up his connection that they established with Shiloh.  He was done the second they killed Oscar.

I used to love when music was used on soaps.  Not just a super couple theme, but when they picked a song that added to the scene.  GH used a couple of Chris Isaak songs for Sonny/Brenda montages and they were perfect.  Back when I actually cared about Sonny.

Primetime and streaming shows have totally stolen the multiple character montage at the end of an episode with music playing over it.  They can afford the music.  This used to be a soap staple.

Guza eventually used all the ideas that the 1990’s writing team came up with, even if he just mapped them onto other characters.  The Miranda backstory went to Alexis.  Sam became her secret daughter.  The transplant story that brought Nikolas on was originally a non-Cassadine storyline for the return of Luke and Laura, deemed not big enough (which I think was the correct decision for that return).

Plus the bones of the Nikolas storyline came from ideas Genie Francis shared with Guza and Riche about a story for Laura.  She wanted to play a secret, and thought there was fertile ground for and about her character from when she was kidnapped by the Cassadines.

On 8/2/2019 at 9:05 AM, DRW50 said:

 

To me the main time Ryan worked was his early relationship with Victoria. He furthered her story. After that point, he became an oppressive character who dragged women down. The only time this was properly used in the writing was when they had him drive Tricia around the bend. 

 

I think Kay Alden tried her best to write for everyone. I will say I don't think she did Ashley any favors. 

I so agree about Ryan.  The missed opportunity was him and Jill, because she might have been able to bring out the ambitious side that could have led to something.  Like Brad 2.0.

But Don has more smarmy charm than Scott.

3 hours ago, Gray Bunny said:

 

Agreed that Hart as written while played by Grillo was a dumb-dumb, but Grillo himself was capable of doing more. 

Who wasn’t a dumb dumb by that point on GL?  I thought that stellar cast they had was absolutely wasted by the revolving door of hackish writers and Rauch.

Even the Annie/Reva thing and Beth being a bitch were entertaining, but seemed like they didn’t belong on this show.  Poor Holly too.

AMC’s Greg is a perfect example.  I liked him just fine.  But without Jenny and Liza? Nothing.

He was my least favorite Lucky.  I would love it if Greg came back.  Or Jackson (which is highly unlikely).

He would make a great Phillip on DAYS though.  If they write to his strengths.  He and Nadia would make a very attractive couple onscreen.

Griffith had one good HW stint, and it was when he was with Malone (first time).  I can’t say he has been enjoyable since, even when paired with another writer.

Reminds me of McTavish repeatedly being rehired at AMC, and of course Dena at DAYS.

The only time one of these rehires worked out as far as ratings increases was Guza at GH.  And each time he had maybe one good year and then two bad ones.  Better than Griffith, Higley, and McTavish.  But still a mess.

There is no way Kelly would leave too.  We could never be so lucky.

I loved that period of Melrose Place.  She was great in the role, and looked great.  I was so happy when she came back as Hope shortly after this.

6 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

I was hoping Paul would realize how hot Andy was and they'd become a couple. 

What happened is that he gained weight and started wearing a toupee. 

Yeah, it’s not the body change.  He changed.  He used to be hot as hell but was also temperamental and sweet and had a lot of great qualities for a soap leading man.  He was a neutered version of Holden by the mid 1990’s.

Victor Webster and Matt Cedeno and most of the men on DAYS in that period covered that bland department.  I agree that Jason Cooke and Jensen were more than that.

As for Paul Williams and Brad Carleton- I don’t think they quite qualify.  Compare them to Andy or Dylan or the like.  Paul and Brad had stories where they were central, as opposed to always being in the third tier storylines or always in a love triangle (where their costar was  more important than them).  Both had an edge (although Paul had none by the time he was paired with Christine, and had lost most of it with Lauren).  Brad was a hunk, but he wasn’t a bland one in my eyes.  He’s no Terry Lester by any stretch, but more vital than Andy.

Do we know if this was his choice, or a decision made for him?

He so clearly kept Y&R on their toes about his contract outs, and was often working to be off daytime.  Then he got to GH and it seemed like he sort of stopped the trying to get off thing, or stopped booking as much stuff off the show.

As far as the show goes- he is not in a romantic storyline, they killed his kid off, and the Quartermaines are few and far between.

But- I would take him and his fake Q ties over Franco any day.

3 hours ago, All My Shadows said:

ATWT's Holden Snyder after the 80s

Right?  What happened to this guy?

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Had that post left my name out of it, I most likely would've simply ignored but quote-tagging me ensured that I would make it my business to report it. 

Yeah, I reported it too.  And I usually just move on or ignore.  But it was especially gross.

That post is probably the most disgusting thing I have ever seen on this board.

3 minutes ago, Darn said:

 

Yep and every story they had was a love triangle with one "good girl" and one "bad girl". My god was Passions paint by the numbers.

It’s like Reilly left DAYS and decided the only things he wanted to replicate were supernatural elements, and the Carrie/Austin/Sami template.  Good girl, idiot, schemer that talks about her plans out loud all the time.

At least Billie/Bo/Hope and Roman/Marlena/John has some nuance and depth.  Plus those men were not all brainless like Peck’s Austin.  But I did love to see him with his shirt off.

35 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Y&R

Scott Grainger 

Andy Richards

2 minutes ago, Darn said:

My first thought was Austin Reed (as played by Austin Peck) on Days. Definition of bland hunk.

All great picks!  Austin is a prime example of another trope of this type of hunk on daytime- complete stupidity.

13 minutes ago, xtr said:

I thought that Tom and Livia were great together and I liked his friendship with Brooke. I enjoyed the way he supported her after she gave birth to Jamie and was having a hard time dealing with Tad during her marriage to him. And the stuff he was doing to her, when she was pregnant with his second child.

 

I am thinking about who I could put on this list. I'm going to say Aidan Devane, from AMC. He was a handsome, sexy man and wasn't the strongest actor but I thought his acting was serviceable.

 

Tom was a great character, just kind of bland and attractive, and overshadowed by the women in his life- Erica, Brooke, Barbara and Livia.

Aidan is an excellent example!

Just now, vetsoapfan said:

 

The first batch of vintage magazines I found consisted mainly of the mega History of the Soaps-type publications, which featured extensive storyline synopses and facts about the shows. I, too, enjoy reading critical analyses and interviews from periods when the soaps were undergoing massive structural changes, so if and when I find such material, I will make sure to share it. What are your favorite serials? So far, I've been attempting to post material on many different ones, but if 30 SON members suddenly beg me for more stuff on, say, Y&R, I'll at least try to oblige.  

Like a lot of people here, I’m a fan of the genre most of all.  My show was always GH, although I have sampled them all and even watched some for years.  But GH is the one I keep tabs on, even if I can’t stand it.

I absolutely love The Edge of Night though.

Just seeing the photos of the stuff you post has been fun!

Every soap had them!  The acting was usually serviceable, the charisma was fine, the body was great.  Not an edge to be found, but plenty of shirtless scenes.  Almost always in a romantic storyline, usually the good guy.  On contract for years!  Who are some of your favorites?

Off the top of my head-

Guiding Light- Dylan (as played by Morgan England).  Often out acted by his female co-stars.  I still loved him though.

GH- Steve Burton’s Jason was absolutely stuck there in his sweaters before the accident that made him Jason Morgan.  Even though his body was fantastic, I remember only really being interested in Jagger when they were stuck on that island with Karen.

OLTL- David Fumero’s Christian.  Just sweet, hot, loyal and bland.  Same for Rafe Garretson and Dylan Moody (although Dylan wasn’t on longer than a few years).  I liked them all even though they were often bland af, and again, outshined by their love interests.  Rafe was on the show 10 years!

AMC- Tom Cudahay.  Maybe he wasn’t always that way, but I bet he was.  Cute, solid guy but not meant to be the center of the show.

Thank you for all these great posts!

I hope you manage to come across articles during intense times of transitions. Like Marland arriving on GL and ATWT, Monty on GH, etc.  I would love to read some critical reactions to what was changing on screen in real time for them, just how noticeable it was at the time as opposed to hindsight.

On 7/22/2019 at 7:50 PM, ironlion said:

Y&R was on fire during this era! 

 

The clip and a few episodes recently posted really go back to the previous discussion of how separated the characters are on the show. Phyllis who'd been in town since '94 apparently meets Jill for the first time in 2000. Likewise during the Kay/Jill attic fight episode, I believe Victor learns Michael sexually harassed Christine a whole five years after the fact. Even in a 2005 episode uploaded, Michael was just finding out about Lauren & Sheila even though he was in town during major portions of those story lines. The separation element was cool and unique though. 

 

I also loved that aspect of Y&R.  It was part of the identity of the show.

It made it seem like it wasn’t a small town, unlike every other soap on the air.

And that is not a knock on those shows.  GH works best for me when the character connections are close, and there is a main umbrella plot going on.  Guiding Light worked best as a community that crosses paths.  All My Children worked best as a gossipy small town.  But Y&R works best for me as a place where not everybody interacts with Victor Newman or Katherine Chancellor.