titan1978

I loved Brenda’s Ashley, but Davidson’s has that extra spark, especially in regards to her family dynamics. Her Ashley has enough bite to take on either version of Jack, Nikki or Victor. And she was always so great in scenes with Dina, because the betrayal was always right there. Brenda’s was softer, possibly more mature and did not really have that mean side that Eileen’s could sometimes bring out. I did love her in the role too though!

I think that would have been an interesting pairing from what I have seen. Her GL is all big emotion and not very tight structurally, while his ATWT is very meticulous and thought out but lacks some of that heat. At least that is how it looks to a viewer like me, who watched after the fact and in spurts on YouTube.

I would be fine with that. I have wished for Robert Newman for years, and would prefer that actor. One of the reasons I don’t like the Laura Kevin marriage is that it has nowhere to go. He’s not on contract, they have some chemistry but not as much as either has had with other pairings and flirtations.

I always liked the issues Edward had with his kids. He wanted Alan to be a business man like he was, and didn’t respect his choice to be a doctor. And here is Tracy, every bit as scheming and even more ruthless than he was, but he didn’t respect her or trust her. I don’t really find the actress playing Alexandra that strong. Certainly not like Jane as Tracy. David Lewis is so much fun as Edward. I grew to love Ingle too.

In hindsight, it seems to be the kind of sea change that happened in 1981. They lost Peter, Diana, Jeff, and eventually Laura early in 1982. And Robert created his own set of storylines with his WSB background, ushering a new type of storyline in. Same with 1984- especially losing Lesley. In less than a year the whole show dynamic had shifted again, paving the way for Anna who becomes the dominant female lead for almost a decade.

You read about how awful some of these folks that were EP’s could be to the actors or the writers, and it’s always awful. But at least people like Paul Rauch, Gloria Monty, Conboy, Linda Gottleib, etc had the chops to produce the hell out of a soap opera. What did Goutman do? Maybe a handful of decent years(never ground breaking or as dramatically sound and powerful as anything when Marland was writing) as an EP? I hear he’s a good director, but again, not one of the greats...

Her Gloria had real potential to bring a sense of danger to the Abbotts that had been missing since Katherine was sending that cut up photo of Jack and Jill in bed together. She played her with a shrewd sense that Chapman made daffy and desperate. About Knots- if I was Joan coming off of seasons 3-6, I wouldn’t love their writing either. Valene/Gary/Abby was an engine that became an umbrella storyline that reached everyone’s stories through relationships, business, and politics. And as much as I love Abby and preferred Gary with her, I still rooted for Valene to have a good life.

I think the difference is the audience was larger and so the fans like many of us on this board that view these shows as a genre that has been maligned are the only voices left. Back then the audience was larger and so their feedback and commentary about their shows was different. Because I guarantee there were fans back then that noticed and complained about what you posted. But if that was less than 1/5th of your audience, why put so much focus or attention towards that segment of your audience? As someone that lurked a long time on soap boards before I became more active, you can see the trajectory here. When this board started there were many more participating members, the shows had more going on, there were more of them, and the commentary wasn’t always dominated by the things you mentioned.

OMG!! I am so excited to see Sherry Stringfield on one of these! I hope that opens the door for others with her participating! Also- a lovely tribute as well.

I agree with all this. Yes, there were issues with her and her husband on Knots- they didn’t know what to do properly with Valene, and I will always wish Laura had not been killed off. But the show was also modernized and yet still resembled itself. Y&R with Alden, LMM and Smith for a few years might have slowed the progression into what it is now, and made for a stronger show in the long term. I also thought the period when they were writing together was pretty good, and it was a mistake to gut the show.

Oh today’s soaps absolutely depend on the team. I personally think Gary Tomlin is near hack as an EP and as a HW. However, his time as HW on DAYS with Whitsell, when surrounded by the very strong writing team they had, was much better day to day than anything under Higley, Griffith, or Ron. The Cullitons especially wrote such great scripts the show was so much more watchable. I felt the same way about GH under Guza’s various terms there, even when he was co-head with Pratt.

I don’t know, some of the best ones did a lot of writing alone. Yes they had Irna to bounce off of, but Bell and Nixon had small staffs and drove story themselves at least through the 1970’s. Douglas Marland has also been described around here as not very collaborative, outside of scripts. And the quality was mostly the same no matter who the EP/network. I think the biggest issue is that as the genre changed to be more EP and network driven, the great head writers would rather not, and I don’t blame them. Who wants to be constantly defending your work- which might even be getting good enough ratings but the networks are corporations so they want the ratings to be going up, not just stable unless you were already #1. So we got the recycled hacks (Griffith, Higley, Passanante, etc). I think as time went on they continued to get hired because they didn’t fight network notes and could manage the job of HW on a soap (just producing the words, even if lackluster is a skill), and knew how to pitch stories they understand. Paternity twists, baby stories, generic violence.

I will never understand why they got rid of Kelsey, Bobby, and Kevin Sheffield. What a waste of three characters that were actually working and had story to tell.

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.

“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 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bold and the Beautiful. I’ve tried to get into it several times since the early 1990’s when Sheila arrived. I found a lot of hammy acting, bad acting, and it just wasn’t my thing. Susan Flannery could be excellent, Darlene as well. But McCook and Ronn Moss have no appeal for me, and KKL, especially back then, has the most flat line readings compared to her co-stars. Once Brad took total control it was even harder to get into.

Those images have popped up several times over the years. Unless there was a new one I am unaware of.