titan1978

Sometimes I think her throaty voice covered up the times she went over the top compared to others, because she never sounds shrill. But in her defense, it was rare I felt this way, and Tracy is not a quiet character. What amazes me is when they get it so right. I can’t think of a single scene in the BJ’s heart storyline that I felt anyone went too far. Even folks like Tony, Frisco, and Felicia, who were not challenged by grounded dramatic material very often, really did good work. The scene with Felicia and Bobbie, when she realizes it was BJ’s heart that saved Maxie, could have gone way off the rails. But both of them had dramatic reactions to each other that didn’t go over the top.

Yes it would, and if this was Guza it would happen. Because he always was in favor of blowing things up for maximum drama, and Steve Burton no longer fights the storylines like he used to.

The thing that kills me is on a GH post with the next episode trailer, almost all the comments were bring Sonny home. What do these people want to see? Sonny and Carly and Jason just talking to each other and standing around? This is not storytelling gold by any means, but it’s better than all the characters having no story at all, which is kind of where they were before this. A lot of treading water.

It was outrageous, and I’m really happy she went public with it. The show is only good with both of them in it. This genre is filled with this crap too. It’s the same thing at GH with Genie and Tony. She spent almost all of her 1990’s era return fighting for parity with him- wages, time off, terms. And she describes it as a battle, and when she left under JFP she was tired of fighting. The only time I remember a huge hit show that’s an ensemble offering a woman more was when Julianna Margulies left ER. Rumors were at the time they offered her more to stay than the deals Anthony Edwards and Eriq La Salle ended up with when they re-signed their contracts, as all three expired at the same time. A lot more! Heather should have been the highest paid. I think I Larry Hagman deserved the most money from Dallas too- they both brought significant audience to these shows and attention. Now considering how much money Melrose made in demos, I think the rest of the OG cast deserved more money too. Even if it was a FOX show. People forget 90210, Melrose, and then X-Files made FOX a real network on par with the big three.

Yeah, it is shocking and her reaction is justified. It’s still incredibly over the top compared to the two other actors in the scene. She was a teenager and that is heavy stuff so I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s just so stark especially because Lisa Brown is so understated as Iva.

Oh my god!!! That was great! AAAAACCKKK

It’s funny watching the show now. I watched the show live as a youngish teen when it was airing, and I was all about Jake. Broody, moody, hot as hell Jake. I thought Billy was cute and all, but not like I lusted after Jake. Now I would much rather have Billy! Or Matt! Thankfully I have gotten over bad boys!

Every episode I have seen with Carla in it you can’t take your eyes off her. I so wish she had not been so horribly treated.

Lots of soaps had characters that were larger than life, but the great ones knew how to walk that line. On GH both Lucy and Tiffany could go over the top and had characterizations that were larger than life. But I always felt they managed to reign it in. Tony Geary used to be able too as well, until he became miserable shouty Luke during the latter JFP era. Lucinda on ATWT was forgiven for sometimes hammy work. For example, I never saw Larry Bryggman go anywhere near the camp of Hubbard. I also think Kim Zimmer steps over the line on GL quite often. Susan Lucci owns this type of thing. It might have been in character, but that funeral was totally campy and lacking in grief completely. I didn’t think so back then as much, but in isolation it really does scream over the top in a soap way. It could have been an Emmy clip from Soapdish. The scenes with Lily and Iva where she learns her parentage are so over the top from Lily, and yet Iva is there barely emoting, which creates this strange scene to watch.

I can imagine Beverlee really got a kick out of it once it was all said and done. She had been in the business a long time, and as she said in one of those interviews they were just mad that someone got them at their own game. JFP should have listened to her, and truthfully the writers of the show should have moved Alex on from Nick and Mindy. The lesson JFP seemed to learn from GL was to double down on her instincts. In that recent interview, she finally admitted that the lesson she learned about Maureen was to never give a character a dramatic story like that when you are killing them off. That’s the lesson? Not to stop killing off characters that anchor your show?

I will forever hate ABC (Frons) for canceling AMC and OLTL, let alone at the same time. I truly wish they would have tried what many fans wants them to try- to make them both half hour shows and see if they could make a go on ABC in that format.

I liked the storyline I watched (before it was all pulled from YouTube) with Chelsea’s stalker. She really is stuck in soap ingenue role on GL from what I saw. Blair really gave her the chance to show what she was capable of as an actress.

I can imagine the Dark Shadows thing was the reason why that clause might have been in place for some talent with great agents. Even if it seemed crazy, I can imagine some agent adding that clause thinking that Dark Shadows crap is never happening to my talent again!!

I just don’t understand dates in soaps. Just don’t include it! A headstone could simply have the name and inscription, you could even wink at the audience with a plant or a vase filled with flowers covering the date born.

The infamous phone call luring Nina/Ryan/Victoria/Cole to the Colonnade Room. I even remember someone from the show being asked about that in soap mags and basically saying that’s not the story, just ignore this mystery element and focus on the quad.

When I watched the show again about a decade ago I felt differently about Blake than I had when I was a kid watching. I think there is ample evidence that Blake could be as ruthless as Alexis, and they probably had much more in common when they were married. I got the feeling that the children and Blake tiring of a home life as competitive as his business life did more to change the dynamic of what he wanted from a marriage. It even plays into how often he was shady and would repent because he needed to be a better man for Krystal. Alexis wanted to be an equal in all aspects of his life, and Krystal often deferred to him.

Thanks to the recent life in this thread, I just restarted from the beginning. I thought about starting when Jo arrives, but I want the whole experience again I think. Do any of us know how involved Aaron Spelling was in his shows? I have heard that on his classic shows- Mod Squad, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty, 90210 and Melrose that he was really involved in casting, especially the initial casts, tone, and the look of the shows. And not so much in storytelling, outside of basic recommendations (like adding an antagonist to boost ratings).

Zimmer left as Curlee’s more ensemble vision was just kind of starting to take hold. I wonder how Zimmer would have felt coming back to GL under those terms? I remember how cocky she was when the show started to go up in ratings as it focused on her, Josh, and Annie in the soap mags. In her absence Holly, Nadine, Vanessa, etc had become major story driving characters, and they were pretty amazing at it. Jill can take plenty of the blame for her career on soaps. Maybe AW wasn’t all her doing, but as someone that watched her work on OLTL, GH, and Y&R as it was happening- she deserves the heat she has gotten on many occasions.

In all my YouTube watching, I really like Susan Moore. I kind of wish she hadn’t been killed, but I don’t see her leaving Jason with the Q’s and coming and going over the years. I read an interview with Mary O’Brian and she said they tried to get her back but she declined, and then they hired Robin as Heather. Which makes me think even more that Heather was going to have killed Diana, because Monty hated Mary’s portrayal and would never have wanted her back long term.

I thought of another one- the mysterious man with a Cassadine signet ring that was seen on GH, right around the time Stephen Nichols was released from DAYS, and rumors were he was going to appear as Stefan again. Then nothing as far as I remember. And Spencer hacking the election was completely dropped. Wasn’t he even being blackmailed about it? Laura doesn’t know if I remember correctly.

I also feel the first season is essential viewing. Michael’s arc is important to understand how he relates to Jane and everybody else, and the same with Alison and Billy. I strongly feel that because I watched it as it was airing, I fell in love with most of the original characters, which made the insanity they went through matter more. I feel the same way about Knots Landing. I love the early seasons, but the show doesn’t become fire until Gary and Val’s marriage blows up, and Abby takes center stage in her quest for money and power. But I don’t know that you care so much, especially about Abby’s machinations if you haven’t seen those early stories.

On GH, after Miranda flopped, they just gave her backstory to Alexis instead. Does anyone remember what the story was that had Lucy having a vision of Kevin encased in ice? I don’t. I also don’t remember anything coming of Tom Hardy’s belief that Dr. Hardy died due to stress the Cassadines were placing on the hospital finances. It was his motivation in helping Luke and Laura and it pretty much just went away. Another one on GH was when Genie came back for the 50th, after the initial story, they were setting up a story for her and Lucy rebranding and relaunching Deception, which was dropped abruptly and never came up again when she came back.

Anything is possible! It sounds like her that’s for sure.

Ken Shriner says she used a storm to get rid of a bunch of characters she didn’t like, and put Laura and Scotty in the shed together to survive.

It was hard enough watching her deal with Stone and then also being HIV+, which is still one the times a soap went for realism and it was shocking, because they usually don’t take it that far. I also vaguely remember her thinking about jumping off the bridge. And about Brenda- one of the worst breakdown stories of all time. Just not in her wheelhouse. She does well with emotional material, it was shocking how bad that was at the time. Compare that to Genie Francis at least turning in a harrowing performance as she was entering her catatonic state after the debacle with Rick Webber. Both poorly written but at least one of them managed to pull it off.