titan1978

Agreed

Heightened human emotion has become a hallmark of almost all dramatic television, which was once the domain of soaps. I don’t have a problem with soaps sometimes going off into flights of fancy. But I also prefer them to be grounded in a sense of reality. When the whole show is outlandish I often loose interest. The change of pace can be thrilling, but you need to eventually get back to human emotion for me. The GH Riche/Labine team took the sense of realism almost deadly seriously, but not so far that they didn’t have romantic comedy going on with Lois/Ned, and attempts at humor with Kevin/Lucy/Mac. They had longer scenes that were often full of little things that added to relationships and character. The thing about the show at that time was it felt so real to me, the characters were all so well defined and had a purpose. Frisco even came back for the story with Maxie’s heart, which is what should happen. There was a sense of danger and action with Luke, but it was grounded by the mob instead of WSB spies (which I loved when I was a kid), and had real stakes. I watched a lot of Curlee’s GL when the lockdowns started, and I really appreciated how that show was realized during that time. Community, history, realistic relationships and all types of characters were featured all the time. As much as I have enjoyed Y&R, what I prefer is the almost more gritty realism I got from Riche’s first 6 years or so at GH with Labine and Guza, and the HW teams led by Curlee at GL. I like it real more than I like the Reilly type of storytelling. When you look at the best of Monty’s time in GH, my favorite periods often had the umbrella storyline that was the WSB/adventure stuff, and the other main story was balanced in more human affairs. Ice Princess and Diana’s Murder in the same period is a good example.

I can’t think of a character that didn’t encounter Ruby once she took over Kelly’s. She was always great for tough but very deep love. She was incredibly grounded as a performer, and I used to love her scenes with Jackie and Tony Geary. You could just tell the three of them really enjoyed those scenes.

He looks so much better! I think he would look quite handsome all grey! It’s fighting the aging that is doing him no favors. Jane looks incredible with her natural color! It suits her.

It used to be so easy to just be totally engrossed in these shows! The cliffhanger nature could be a dramatic reveal or moment, or even just someone waiting at another character’s door. The excitement could be just as great waiting one day (or until Monday) for something like Jill knocking on Katherine’s door. The original story of Katherine sending that cut up photo of Jack and Jill in bed was thrilling, and it was all a simple plot based on their characters. One thing I hated though was sometimes a story would be so good and maybe on a Tuesday or Wednesday the show would feature other characters. But that also upped the ante waiting for the story you were really into to be picked back up.

I will always love Robin’s Dorian, and I have seen so little of Nancy’s version. But from what I have seen, this is a perfect description. She always seems calculated and cunning, and very aware of everyone around her. She’s a really fascinating actor to watch. As a kid of the 1980’s soaps, it’s so great to see these classic episodes. Especially OLTL, because while a central figure the entire story doesn’t revolve around Viki or her relatives like it did when I first started watching. And as solid as the show was, just think with a few key recasts (Jenny, Karen), it really allows those characters to become incredible.

I have such fond memories of these shows going on location. GH did it so much back in the day, but could still make it special. I even loved the pocket story of Jason/Karen/Jagger stuck on that island. Again, another staple of GH back in the day. The characters and their relationships moved forward, but they had tons of umbrella stories that had an actual ending. Even something like Erica’s addiction on AMC had a two-ish year arc, from the accident to her leaving rehab, and while she was still an addict, that story was over. Reilly used to be really good at mini stories within the larger plot line- Even the Possession was at about John and Marlenabut still had a beginning, middle, and ending. Same with the Secret Room, Maison Blanche, etc. The better shows knew how to stretch one of these out to maximize potential, and or end it and spin out of it and get back in track.

I’m going to need you to post that link.

That was my issue with the Lucas/Brad/Wiley storyline! Hard to be invested in something that is so sporadic. I love seeing the recurring cast, but they should not be the main part of umbrella storylines. Without Nelle and Lucas that story had no emotional tie or jeopardy, and they were both not core cast members. So stupid.

Well part of that was also the collaborative efforts of their teams. You still had a dress rehearsal and folks running scenes back in those days. By the late 2000’s, you had mostly scenes with folks that knew how to bring something to the script almost on the fly, or not at all. I think even back in the day, the much more superior talent in front of the camera and behind added to even the best HW. Someone like Marland, who we know did not like ad-libs or changing his scripts had no issue with Jane cutting lines, in her words to give her room to act. I see it so much with younger actors. They say things out loud that their acting should cover. Not every line needs to be said if you have the chops and the guts to speak up and let it play out in your behavior. The greatest ability Monty had on GH was to cast folks that could bring character to what was a really thinly written show. Often totally plot driven, but still had so much texture and rich characters, and I credit a lot of that to the talent and Monty’s direction, as opposed to most of the writing. Norma Monty/etc were no Pat Falken Smith, yet the show was still watchable.

@DramatistDreamerbrings up an interesting idea. I wonder if that is why the Curlee/Demorest/Reilly and others era worked so well across so many characters. Because they each contributed to the overall, but I bet they also each focused on parts of the show they were the most into. As opposed to the one singular voice.

One of my favorites was Maria trying to help Erica, who was on the floor desperately picking up all her pills that had spilled out, and their ensuing argument. Now when there is any character n the dialogue I just assume the actors tweaked it, because the stuff coming out of the younger actor’s mouths is so generic. But some of those vets still bring some character to the scripts. It really annoys me, because plenty of soaps have been plot driven over the decades, and they used to still be able to write and act out good dialogue.

That was fun, thanks for posting it @Forever8! Which EP was mad at Hillary? JFP? I think that lines up with when she was there, and I know HBS has had no issue speaking about how she felt about the show during her reign as EP.

The feminist in me hated when it was done so much. But I also loved them. When Lesley slapped Monica on GH, it had weight behind it. Katherine and Jill had some of my all time favorites. I especially loved that one in the courthouses that was really only like two slaps but they had such visceral energy with each other, with Rex trying to break it up. Tracey and Lauren was a fun one too. When you watch clips of the earlier part of Monty’s GH, say 1981. BN- you’ve got such a mix of characters coming through the hospital. Bobbie, Lesley/Rick and Alan/Monica might have been the only ones in stories of their own, but we still saw more texture by having Ruby, Dan, Amy, Jessie, Steve and Audrey, Lee and Gail all milling about, talking to and about the characters. And those were every day stories and scenes. I also loved those huge events when stories culminated or launched- would Alexandra’s takedown of Roger be anywhere near as good if that room hadn’t been filled with those people? And Blake outside? Erica’s infamous Woman of the Year award? The Cruise of Deception was so much fun because it was like one of those parties lasted a couple of months.

They had the out with Dina, they could have had that guy causing her symptoms and made it into a story, allowing her to stay. Another staple I miss is the representation of the lower income parts of town/characters. It made the sense of community more rich and full. I miss people working at Kelly’s and living above it, Charles Street on GH and 5th Street on GL. The working class folks. People like Bobbie and Luke fighting their way out of rough backgrounds. Characters like the original Brady family- Roman was a cop, Kayla a nurse, Bo in the military, their parents ran the Fish Market- a sharp contrast to the professional and more glamorous Hortons. Characters often striving for a better life like Drucilla and Nikki, or like Nina, fighting against Katherine and Jill for her own piece of the pie and her son.

I was watching a bunch of old clips, and it occurred to me that there isn’t really a Grande Dame type on soaps currently. I used to love them! They didn’t always start out that way either, some of them became more that way as time went on, or they aged. They could be a nice character or a nasty one, or both, it all worked for me. Of the soaps I watched the most, they all had at least one- GH-Lila Quartermaine OLTL-Dorian Lord GL-Alexandra Spaulding Y&R- Katherine Chancellor AMC- Phoebe Wallingford I don’t think anyone on DAYS really qualifies, although Kate could easily be there. I loved the ones like Katherine and Dorian that could be incredibly self destructive and awful to some characters. There just isn’t anything like a Katherine befriending Jill and Nikki, or alone and drunk puttering around her large house decrying her lost loves. Lila Q having a soft spot for scoundrels. Phoebe being so classist. Alexandra owning the social status of Springfield. I know as soaps became so focused in youth, they stopped really writing for characters like this. I miss it.

When I watch episodes from that era I think it is remarkable just how much chemistry and possibilities there are in the characters you listed. There were sparks all over the place, and if many those actors had stayed, there could have been many years of potential pairings that could have worked. Everyone seemed to have chemistry on that show at that time.

Oh gross. I’ve never even thought of AT’s Emily with Sonny. Vomit. Say what you want about Reilly, but he absolutely invested in the Horton family as HW during his first round. We had Hope, Laura and Mike return, Jennifer was often in lead stories, and Lucas was revealed as a Horton. Plus we had visits from Bill, Doug and Julie. I also remember thinking Tom Horton’s memorial was one of the nicer ones.

After thinking about Liza and Marian over in the Awkward Returns thread, it occurred to me that in the time I watched soaps, AMC had the most storylines with mothers being heinous or doing something awful to their kids. Marian (although I was not watching during the affair with Tad storyline, they referenced it plenty while I was watching). Arlene Vanesssa Mary Smythe Charlotte Devane Those are just off the top of my head!

Add me to the list! I thought that first year or so of MW’s return was fantastic. She still had that snobbery, she directed it towards Dixie and Opal quite often in subtle and not so subtle ways. I also felt Marian fit right back in to the main action of the show. Both were so entertaining to watch. I knew of Liza and her storyline with her mother and Tad, but this was my first time seeing her. I loved Dixie but I absolutely adored Liza right away.

I enjoyed it. It culminated with Monica throwing the Quartermaines out and if I have my timeline correct, they moved into Kelly’s and Lila’s relish was born. Sean stole their money too if I remember correctly. It was fun.

I don’t remember Jamie having a personality at all. Except to tell Sami something she was doing was wrong. Mimi had a personality right away.

I loved Andrea, but I also really liked Karen Witter as well. I thought that ended up being a pretty good recast back then. Do you think Witter could have played the larger than life era of Tina? Andrea had the ability back then to go big, but still make it believable for Tina. Andrea always brought a lot of charm to Tina.

Agree 100%. Didn’t Marj’s version of Alexandra Spaulding become a drug kingpin? I cannot fathom Beverlee playing that. I also cannot imagine Liz Keifer playing out some of the more villainous turns from the earlier versions of Blake. The stuff with Phillip and even the earlier stuff with Eleni. Sherry would have had a hard time hiding her true feelings about having twins with different fathers. I can only imagine her trying to act that. I accepted a lot from Mark Valley that I never would have from Matt. He was a good actor and incredibly attractive, had a little of Matt’s sarcasm but was nothing like the OG Jack. But I liked him!

I can’t imagine Tamara Braun’s Carly seducing Tony. I can see Laura Wright’s version doing it, but not TB. I also cannot imagine David Lewis playing the 1990’s era Edward Quartermaine, especially the story with the Ward family. Ingle played the sorrow and romance side better. But I did love David Lewis.