titan1978

I still prefer her with Wayne, and I prefer him as Roman. I know John/Marlena are the endgame, but I will always just root for original Roman.

Marlena figuring out Sami was bulimic and that leading to Sami revealing she knew about the affair was just excellent soap opera, and she used her background as a psychologist to put it all together. These were not the stupid people/caricatures they became later in his run. Marlena loved to hypnotize people back then lol. She did it all the time! I also loved Adair’s Kate- calculating but not the quasi-vixen she becomes later on. Her whole story with Victor, Vivian, Phillip, Lucas, Curtis, and Austin/Billie was just awesome. I preferred her back then and now she just isn’t even the same character. Hasn’t been since Adair left. When Billie was on trial for killing Curtis, I forgot how many people were tied to this. At one point in court we had Roman, Bo, Marlena, Victor, Billie, Austin, Carrie, Vivian, Ivan, Laura, Jennifer…and Stefano not present but tying it all together by being the actual killer. And Laura just flat out wanting revenge in Kate and Bill, and Lucas being the fallout was so great. I also love how Marlena is the only one willing to comment on who John used to be. When people bring up their closeness and the affair and any feelings she may have had she is the first one to say he was my husband, I believe he was the man I loved.

I’ve been binging Reilly’s first DAYS run on YouTube, mostly the Marlena stuff but a lot of other stories have been featured too (Carly buried alive, Curtis Reed, etc), and I had truly forgotten how balanced and really good the show was under him during those first couple of years. When I used to think of Reilly and DAYS, I remembered more of the later original era- over the top, stories/characters in their own bubbles, everyone talking to themselves all the time, the constant triangles with the same people. But that earlier run is more like what he was doing with Demorest and Curlee at GL (which I binged during the earlier part of the pandemic). It really is an ensemble show- all the A and B storyline lead characters have their own stories and crossover with others. There is a lot of emotional stakes, the characters have believable differences in income levels, the younger characters have a point of view, they have working/school lives and home lives. Yes, Carly buried alive was gothic and over the top like the whole show became, but it didn’t feel the same as it does just a couple of years later. Look at Kate- it is a master stroke to make that family the way they did- Horrible Curtis, Austin tied to the Bradys with Carrie and Sami/Billie with Bo. Laura’s return and the eventual reveal about Lucas. Sami- she’s been the insufferable Sami for so long it is hard to remember all the steps that got us there. The affair, her complicated relationship with John before and after her witnessing him with Marlena. Her over devotion to Roman. Bulimia, closeness and then also intense rivalry with Carrie, her rape by Alan, faking Belle’s paternity, the kidnapping with plans to sell her! She has many more layers before the affair/baby reveal. Once that happens she is pretty much the Sami she would be for the rest of Reilly’s run, especially towards Carrie and Marlena. Eric not being there really does stand out though. The affair- it all makes sense. Even Roman’s stubborn refusal to forgive is rooted in his character. I wonder if Wayne had stayed if they would have eventually gotten back together. I know in hindsight it seemed like the show was shipping John/Marlena, but she is so miserable and longing for Roman to take her back. Soaps just don’t take chances like this with their major leads anymore. And Drake still had a lot of charm and personality that just kind of evaporates once his past as a priest is revealed. Once possessed Marlena floats for the first time, it’s like the whole show is different from that point on. The community and crossover effect was greatly diminished, replaced by people mostly staying inside their own story bubbles. And MarDevil was for sure the beginning of constant talking to yourself and almost being overheard. I know the later era and Passions has lots of fans, it just wasn’t for me. But that earlier period I could watch anytime and find something to sink my teeth into.

I really love when the newer talent has so much respect for their show, especially for a scene that I consider to be the single most heartbreaking scene in GH history. Something about watching Stone’s decline in real time, and this love story really hit me back then and it still brings me to tears now.

I think that is entirely possible. The timing of Genie’s return makes me think she did the same for her “vacation”.

I remember thinking Casey looked adorable when I would see him in soap mags with Ally. My local affiliate didn’t carry either Loving or The City. Thanks for posting this ep. Laura Wright was great even back then.

It was an odd time. The loss of huge characters didn’t help- Bo, Hope, Marlena all left and came back (Hope briefly) during that period. Michael T Weiss was also a great Mike, and he left too. At first Roman/John was paired with Diana, and while I liked her, she was ill defined and didn’t last very long. Also- as much as I loved people like Justin/Adrienne, and Jack/Jennifer, I think the supercouple formula had run it’s course. I loved Eve, and Nick, but many did not care for Nick, especially as a lead. There were also lots of starts and stops to stories due to talent leaving. And I loved Carly, but I remember thinking she and Marlena returning were two bright spots in an otherwise terrible era. RKK was a great recast when PR decided to leave again, but he had his own issues backstage and I was very happy when Peter came back. I also though Peter’s Bo had better chemistry with Carly.

It would be a great opportunity but Carly’s life is so hollow now. And over explored at the same time. Too many years have left nothing to grab hold of, and there are literally no avenues currently set up for her to change course. She owns the hotel already. We met her dad and that turned out not great. Everything was revealed about Nelle. Jason is gone so she doesn’t have a player to complain about Sonny with that has the same issues with him. No AJ to create another Monica/Alan dynamic and reinvigorate her. Michael is with a bland character with no conflict with Carly. It reminds me of the period of time Laura was just miserable between Lucky’s death and then Luke telling her he was alive. She was just there, grieving, while everyone else was involved in the motions of the story. Except she at least had better day to day writing to hold onto, even if there was no actual story for her. They have almost completely removed her from having a point of view that makes any sense and anywhere to go IMO. They could cast a new love interest, but they have to build it up somehow. For the first time in a long time, I feel there was/is natural story for Sonny and even Jason already there and set up. But not for Carly.

At the time I wondered if the GH writers were trolling him.

Well, I can’t say I won’t think of him from now on as the dirtbag of daytime. Thanks for the post, I never would have seen that otherwise.

She was one of those soap performers that I knew about even if I didn’t watch GL or ATWT when she was a main character. Obviously Marland knew how to use her talents. Truly sad news. What I have seen thanks to the internet has been so awesome, especially Nola. She is really good as Iva too, it’s just as other posters have said, she so rarely got to have long lasting joy or any fun.

How sad!

I thought they went up when Steve was gone. Coming out of the 50th and Robin is alive story culmination, the show had its best ratings in almost a decade. He’s certainly not driving ratings success right now. And yet, they went right back to Sonny overkill, killed off AJ again, and the mess with keeping the OLTL 3.

She was on SB and BA’s podcast, she pretty much glossed over/asked to not discuss the traumatic parts of her tenure. I think she prefers to not dwell on that, so I’m not sure she would be down. I watched that one too, because she has given off a I don’t give a f vibe for a few years when it comes to TPTB and GH. So I knew she would be honest. I remember being so happy when she publicly spoke out against Stuart Damon being fired and Alan killed off.

Michael Sutton is the next guest on MB’s YouTube series, and he just announced that after that one is Wendy Riche and Shelly Curtis. I might actually watch these!

Oh brother.

Oh I’m sure it’s his misguided beliefs. He has always seemed like someone that read Ayn Rand at a formative stage and never looked back. He just doesn’t make as public a show of it as Ingo does, which is the kind of thing these conservative media outlets are looking for in commentators. Exactly. How many people have to die before you stop ignoring it when talking about your personal freedom? I hate knowing so much about these soap stars. It is killing off whatever nostalgic joy I get out of watching soaps the rare times I actually do tune in consistently.

Of the two, Ingo seems to be angling for his shot with any conservative media connections. His posts and comments from more than the last year are right in line with attention seeking from conservative circles.

That’s the other thing all these personal freedom types that lean into how healthy they regularly are- we don’t know exactly what the long term effects of even a mild case are going to be down the line. This could very easily cause respiratory issues later, and who knows what else. Just because your case was mild doesn’t mean it won’t possibly have repercussions down the road. It took about a decade for it to be widely known and acted upon that exposure during 9/11 had been causing multiple health issues to survivors, first responders, even to search and rescue dogs. Personally I am just sick of this. Just try to do the best for you but also for those in your community! I’m not religious at all, but all these conservatives claiming Christianity really need to start believing the crap they hurl my way on many occasions.

What a ridiculous excuse- it’s about personal freedom. From the mask mandates to vaccination- everything has been about mitigating the illness for you, and even more about protecting those around you. You know- showing concern and care for the community both small and large. So your personal freedom is worth more than everyone else? Bye Steve, I hope they don’t just welcome you back. He for sure knew his last airdate, because he waited to comment until it happened. Which may have been mandated by his contract. I also love Nancy for reiterating these people choose their fate- GH didn’t just let them go. They chose to leave by not vaccinating. I wonder if anyone else is out too?

Already being immunocomopromised by other ailments or chronically, some patients undergoing cancer or bone marrow treatments, etc. There are a few actual issues that they have allowed medical exemptions. I also know people being treated for cancer that their doctors recommended the vaccine. So it also depends on what type of treatments you are on and your doctor’s risk assessment.

The dynamic changed quite a bit when they both teamed up against Nina when Jess was there. But I still enjoyed them, and Jess is a more versatile actress. They vacillated between being on the same side and then fighting with each other. Often with Rex trying to cool things off. The scene where they are both at Phillip’s grave, I think it was Memorial Day, and they have a civil but then ultimately angry discussion was one where I felt Brenda shined as Jill, showing those layers in their relationship.

It’s so interesting that they are both equally awful to each other. I really wish we could see the affair, death and aftermath. Katherine is so much fun when she is fighting Jill.

It’s also the only place I prefer Brenda’s Jill. When Brenda mentions Phillip, there is genuine emotion and sadness quite often. She plays how important that was to Jill and how haunted she is by what happened. Sometimes she also played like she had a tender spot for Katherine, even after everything that happened. By the time Brenda left she wasn’t doing anything subtle with Jill. But she still was at the point of the episode posted.

I wonder if they are still planning a Stuart Damon special episode or if that has fallen by the wayside, especially now with Steve more than likely out.