titan1978

I kind of lump him in with a certain type of soap writer- he keeps the trains moving on time. It’s not exciting, or interesting. But it’s words on paper with generic stories that just keep it moving. The type of writer that helps a show tread water between HW stints. I find him to be a lot like Passanante- boring, plodding soap opera without any real character. At DAYS though it felt like he and Higley were trying to out hack each other. It’s like he thought he was Guza all of a sudden. And I have plenty of complaints about Guza, but his dark and depressing material was at least well written. I may not have liked the stories or the characters he chose to focus on, but the scripts and most of the overall storytelling was strong. Griffin wanted the dark and shocking without the pathos and the drama. People like Richard Culliton and Passanante might be excellent in certain roles on a soap, but that doesn’t mean they should be the HW.

They are probably just relieved the calls are not coming from the news division or The View.

💀

When you say someone was miscast when they still have the job, it is a dig against the person too. I don’t disagree with what Tristan is saying, I just think there is a way to say it that doesn’t throw shade at a co-worker, especially since he doesn’t seem to have an issue with WR. He could easily say the story has gone on too long, it’s compromised Anna and the legacy of how menacing Faison was to the characters, and everyone has been scrambling to make sense of the story that should have ended long ago. The additions of Wes being miscast, etc is rude. I think his rambling response about what Tristan said was ridiculous, but I think if he is miffed he has cause.

He is just badly miscast. I almost think he could have made a decent Lucky- not great, but decent. I look back at someone like Stephen Nichols as Stefan- I knew him as Patch. He then blew me away as the cool, sophisticated, and calculating Stefan. And at any point in his run I could see him in a romantic storyline (especially with Laura), or turn into a true murderous Cassadine. That is what is missing here- someone with the versatility to play all sides, and then sell full psycho. If they let Cynthia Watros go full Annie, at least I know she has the chops to make the story work as it begins the clock ticking on her run concluding in a year max. Once she goes full vengeance, we need to know it’s headed for a climax. I love Tristan, but I do think it was kind of nasty to speak about a co-worker this way while the story is still airing, and the man still employed. I know he said it’s not his fault the story isn’t working, but still.

“He’s got no lips, no vocal chords! What do you want me to do?” ”They froze the head!” ”WHAT?!?” One of my favorite scenes!

Well, he didn’t cancel them so he’s not quite as bad. But he is close!

I agree to a point@Skin, but I think the writing and casting has gone hand in hand with successful soap characters from nearly the beginning. Due to the nature and constraints of the amount of material daytime has always covered, the actors either bring it to life or they don’t, and their characters either come to life or don’t because of it. Even iconic characters that were recast several times need the right performer to make the writing work- the Mindy’s on GL and all the Ashley’s on Y&R as examples. Yes, Bell and Pam Long/Nancy Curlee’s teams had strong writing, but even good characters need the actor to make the audience care about the writing. Do I think Leo, Greenlee, Babe, or Gillian could have worked being played by different people from the beginning? Maybe. It depends on who they found. Those actors were right, but soaps used to be able to cast to type what they needed really well for the most part. Would Lisa on ATWT have lasted as long as she did if Fulton didn’t bring so many layers to her performance? Same with Victoria Wyndham on AW. Would anyone else have had the kind of chemistry Genie Francis had with Denise Alexander, Kin Shriner, Jacklyn Zeman or Tony Geary to make her stories work enough to make Laura a centerpiece? I know when AMC had stronger writing in the earlier 1990’s, plenty of duds were onscreen.

I really wish the early writing teams on the show had given Jessie a family tie that survived. On both the show and in real life she was a tragic person. It’s funny to meet these characters long after their heyday, and yet still love them and find them vital. Lee Baldwin did not have a single story that I can remember where he was the lead when I was watching. Same with Gail. But I loved them! I wish I could see more of the old school GH. For folks that watched back then- when Peter and Diana were killed off, were you upset, or had the recast of Diana changed things so much that it wasn’t the same anymore to begin with? I like Brooke Bundy btw, but she seems very different as Diana.

I’ve seen the Doberman scene several times. Palmer can be so nasty!

What a couple of jerks. Maura West continues to make me a fan, no matter what the role she plays.

Thanks for all the feedback about Cliff and Nina. I loved Palmer and have watched everything I could find of him being menacing. And Nina is just a stunning lady. But I am immune to the charms of PB.

As Vee pointed out- Twin Parks was incredibly popular, has one of the strongest pilots I’ve ever seen, and created a cultural phenomenon. They should be so lucky. I have spent decades waiting for a show to fulfill the promise and sneaking dread that first season of Twin Peaks did. Which is not to say I want Pine Valley to be Twin Peaks. It’s going to be a fine line to walk- to not be so concerned with continuity that they are just strip mining the past for quick nods (like Ron Carlivati does), but it still needs to hit that AMC tone.

The Edge of a Night would be my first choice, although I would do a total reboot focused on the crime element. First season featuring a long-standing mystery about the wealthy Whitney family. Monticello itself would also play a part, a history of macabre crimes. You could easily do a mystery each season, with overlap in characters, setup of other mysteries as crossover. I would even just update that classic 1981 era theme. OLTL would also be easy to bring back, but that one I would not reboot. Victoria Lord and her son Kevin are trying to keep the integrity and vitality of the Banner while dealing with their community, their families, their rivals (The Sun, now owned by Tina Roberts who has leaned more into her shrewd, cunning side), and the current media landscape. I would also heavily feature Angel Square, and a current generation of the Grey family. As much as I loved them, Nora and Bo’s kids (especially Rachel) would be more involved in the show than they were.

And maybe I jumped to conclusions, so apologies for assuming! Lucci certainly had a good agent, and really put the Emmy controversy to good use for her personal brand, making her way more famous in popular culture than she ever was before that time. Unlike a lot of her peers that had similar deals, Lucci had the work ethic and ambition to take advantage of those opportunities.

It was rough. I’ve said it here many times- I thought Georgie, Maxie, Lulu, Dillon, Cooper, Logan, and Spinelli were a compelling set of younger characters (although severely lacking in diversity) with good ties to the other characters and a real shot at giving the show an entire generation of stories. Much like Brenda, Karen, Jason, AJ, Stone, and Robin did before. And after two years they had killed off half of them, Dillon was gone, and within a few months at the end of the Text Message Killer I pretty much quit the show. Even Brenda wasn’t enough to lure me back for longer than a few months.

Outside of SMG, I have never heard anyone speak badly about Lucci. Maybe you meant Erica Kane the character? I have heard plenty about Ruth though.

They both shined in daytime and prime time roles, although no woman on 90210 could have had a good working experience with Tori and Jennie there from what I have read. I hadn’t really see Josh in anything in years, and when he played the dad in Love, Simon I was really happy to see him and he still had that great presence.

My gateway to soaps was mid 1980’s era GH, still under Monty. They just didn’t recast on that show back then. They did it earlier in her run for sure, and after. But if a popular character left that show they just moved on. So when I would watch a show and fall in love, and then a year later several key parts were being played by new actors it was not my favorite. The only time it doesn’t bother me is when they are establishing a character and it is early days, or SORAS (which is another problem). I think in the time I watched soaps actively, from around 1983ish to 2009, there were only a handful of recasts of fully established characters that were worth it, let alone exceeded the previous actor. Jess as Jill was one for sure. Sherry Stringfield as Blake, Hearst as Alan-Michael. I prefer Kimberly Simms as Mindy too. GL had a really exceptional run of recasts. Sometimes I really like a recast- Brenda’s Ashley on Y&R, RKK’s Bo. But I welcomed their originals, and preferred them.

I know Cliff and Nina were popular. I find PB absolutely insufferable on Y&R, and have felt that way since the very early 1990’s. Was he as annoying on AMC?

I thought it was really special that she returned when the show was ending. Not just for fans or to acknowledge the importance of the show to her career. She also did it to tell those folks how important they had been in her life, as she commented at the time. Just a kind human on top of not being ashamed of her employment on a soap, if not thrilled with her younger self’s craft at that point. Chelsea Lately was the first time I had ever seen Robin Wright not slam her past on a soap. She was a guest and they had become friendly, and Chelsea told the audience how much she loved Santa Barbara and how she had told Robin that repeatedly. I remember her being much kinder about it than I had seen in the past, and I wonder if it was because Handler was a fan, not just looking to make fun of someone like what usually happens on talk shows when a soap clip is played. Chelsea even brought it up again while promoting Wright’s new project on her Instagram, that she had loved her since her days as Kelly and now they are friends. It was sweet.

It’s the Vanessa Marcil thing too. Right show, right time, some natural talent, beautiful to look at and a whole lot of charisma to cover their lack of craft at that point, and occasional spotty writing. Mot that Josh had the same kind of star power she eventually had on GH. @SkinI felt the same way about Ryan after they killed off Gillian.

Well maybe Georgie was a stretch for Pratt, but she never felt like Guza either to me. And if JFP did say that to her- I’m not surprised. And just another example of Jill speaking about her bias, not necessarily the audience of the show.

An attractive, charismatic newbie (especially a male, these are soaps) can forgive a lot of sins. Also, he was a bright spot when the show was becoming wildly uneven, and he got out before it fell off the rails. He has a more special place in my heart than some others of the same type because the show was better then.

This is so spot on! I know part of her characterization when she was younger was Bo considering her a spoiled princess. His Fancy Face. Her growing up to be a little on the chilly side to everyone but him made sense. I liked her in the action adventure stories when she was younger. But as an adult, that cool sophistication should have been used more in business stories (Basic Black, Countess Wilhelmina) rather than police work, or generic soap mom. She and Kate would have made fun rivals, or used that to create more reasons than just Bo for her and Billie to have conflict.