titan1978

Something from another thread reminded me of Bill Bell once saying he would love to just recast and restart the original Y&R all over again. Just update the scripts for contemporary pacing and language. I remember this from after he had left the show as hands on HW. That he felt it would still work, the show was that strong. What a fascinating idea if he had pulled it off. Also- he really loved the first version of this show. It is pretty clear in everything I have read that he was very proud of the show as it existed when he left, but he loved the original version.

There was a lot to like. Grant Putnam kidnapping Anna was a highlight, and the Jerome stories continued after Monty left, with added stakes and danger. I also remember enjoying seeing The Hardy family being utilized again. Alan and Lucy was a fun run of stories for the Q’s. Tracy returned, Ned arrived for Edward to manipulate and groom. I enjoyed a lot of that period. Even Casey the Alien gave us Faison, and a fascinating look at Anna’s time as a DVX Agent. Monty’s return did look great. She is an excellent producer and director. It was just a misfire of forced characters and fan favorites being sidelined. By the time her year was up a lot of that had been rectified, but it was too late. But I enjoyed Jenny, Paul, Mac and Julia Barrett who all arrived at that time. I also enjoyed a lot from the time before Labine after Riche took over. Brenda/Jason/Karen/Jagger being the highlight for me.

Bobbie and Lucy really did swim in the same pond quite a few times. I used to love just how much Lucy would bring out the worst in Bobbie.

I loved that island storyline back then. Jagger was so hot, and yet also insufferable. I wish GH had just ignored the last couple of years of PC and brought Karen back to life.

I remember being annoyed when Michael Logan interviewed JFP and Pratt at Y&R and she admitted killing Maureen was a mistake, claimed she learned from it and never did it again (she blames others for Frankie Frame). I wish someone had mentioned Alan and what she did to Anna Lee. Because she absolutely did do it again. By the time she left GH- Bobbie, Monica, Alan, Laura, Edward, Lila, Tony, Amy, Audrey (and I’m sure I’m forgetting some) were off contract and not allowed to return under contract. And yet, Carly, Sonny, and Jason were often on 3 to 4 shows a week for years. I’m not saying some of those characters were not played out (Tony), but she absolutely allowed the show to be decimated. I also know it is sexism to just always blame her. I blame Frons as well. And Guza. But at least Riche was open to the older actors.

Genie was truly robbed the year of Lucky’s death. I recall Kim Zimmer even saying so in one of those Emmy profiles that year.

Sherri Saum is on Locke & Key on Netflix. She still looks great.

I did love the scene where Laura tells Lucky he doesn’t own her. Not her history, or her feelings. I just wish Jonathan Jackson had played a few beats of not just the betrayal and anger but actual sadness. If we had seen him just once crying with Laura, or just after leaving fighting with her, it would have been better for me over all. The total anger was just not compelling after months. There were times I felt like the perspective of the writing and episodes were making it seem like we should all be mad at Laura for forgiving him. Like raping her was bad, but her loving him and forgiving him was worse. And I’m not saying that I think the choices of Monty and ABC and Falken-Smith were correct. Even Genie at 19 or 20 would not act the scenes where it was called a seduction. Luke reads a letter she wrote. But that is the history of these characters, and Laura should not have been made second to him again. I just think there is a place where they could have revisited that part of their history with all four corners of the story having the complexity and their points of view being equal.

I will never forget her crawling out from the bushes in the snow, and Lucky saying her name. Or the scene just before with the hand over her mouth on the bench, and then the empty shot of the park. Just really excellent writing and producing at that point on the show.

It had promise when it started. That flash of shade from Bobbie towards Luke after examining Liz was very reminiscent of the stuff I have seen on YouTube of what they were like in the early years of both characters. Under Labine I kind of felt like she was too under his spell, he was always right etc. Back in the day Bobbie had his number, and called him out. The initial scenes were scary, heartbreaking, and done with restraint and empathy. Sometimes rape on soaps is either after school special and all surface, or it is horribly gratuitous and so plot oriented (Emily and Nikolas lookalike). Everyone involved did incredible acting. But yes, it did mostly become about Lucky and Luke. And I think that was unfortunate.

Abby is one of my favorite characters of all time, and Donna Mills played every layer there was.

Thanks for posting that! Addie was onscreen so much less than her sister Marie or characters like Laura. And yet, by being Julie and Hope’s mother, she has such an important legacy on the show.

I read that great We Love Soaps interview with her, and she said they basically didn’t have an actual character. They created it after she agreed to the amazing contract they offered her.

Question for longtime fans- What was it like when Denise Alexander arrived as Lesley? She pretty much dominated story from the time she arrived until they killed her off. When you also think of her as Laura’s mother, that is a pretty significant 10 years for one character that was not there from the beginning. I know her character from DAYS drove story her entire time there. Although Lesley is not very similar to Susan from what I have read. Did fans resent her like we do new characters being shoved down our throats now? I have read people complained about the Webber arrival, even if they did end up liking Jeff, Rick, Heather and Monica. But I have heard they did take over the show in a major way that annoyed fans.

I think part of it had to be that era of the show was just so far removed from where they were in 1984. They were already not using Julie to the point that Susan left the show. She was in the age group they were underutilizing. I know she commanded a huge salary, even when she went to AW she was well paid. She was a big deal on GH, but not a “get” (to the network) like Genie Francis was a couple of years later. I wish Monty and the network people had let her take the extended vacation she wanted before starting her new contract. She said she didn’t want more money, she just needed a break. Lesley should have been vying for Chief of Staff against Alan and Monica for years. Rick could stay gone though! What I would love to know is if Bill Bell ever tried to get her for Y&R? He obviously loved writing for her.

I feel vindicated reading the last couple of pages and all the mentions of how dour Simon is as Ed. I’ve been watching a lot of the classic early 1990’s stuff this week, and he is really lifeless. I just keep thinking why would Holly, Maureen and Lilian want this drip? He’s dull and kind of a nasty passive aggressive jerk. Sanctimonious, smug, and boring all in one.

I just watched the Blackout storyline on YouTube. What a great set of culminations and jumping off of new storylines. Lots of what if’s as I watch. What if Sherry Stringfield had stayed? Would Blake have kept her edge? Was there a possibility that Maureen and Roger could have had an affair or become a couple, especially if she had survived the accident? I do have to laugh that in these circumstances they managed to find a way to get Dylan’s shirt mostly off. If I were in charge in let’s say 1996 or so, I would have begged Kimberly Simms and Beverlee McKinsey to return to the show, and convinced Curlee to come back and bring the show back from the edge it was dangling/had slipped off of. Vincent Irrizary was so hot back then.

I would absolutely love to see Flannery as Laura, Denise Alexander as Susan, etc. DAYS and Y&R have their entire library intact from what I have read over the years. GH would probably only give us Monty to today. They have such spotty access to things before 1979. This is an exciting possibility!

Yes! And the possibility that they also could have reunited again. The only real competition to John. I also think as an audience member, having a viable (Wayne’s) Roman gives John strength too. Something to prove, or react against. The depth of what he lost was more present when Roman was there too. John lost a family, his love again, his identity. Everything. Once Roman was gone, or back but played by a nonsense recast, John just existed as a version of the Roman he played. Roman Brady deserves better.

If that is true about NBC that is crazy. And anyone running the show would not agree. Because she cost a fortune. Corday gave her all the money to return to the show, which was in real trouble at the time. I do not know what kind of contract she had by mid Reilly, but it had to be at least as good if not better after he had centered a huge portion of the show around her. I hate these network fools. I was a teen back then, and I was way more invested in Marlena and Bo and Hope than I was Sami/Carrie/Lucas/Austin. I enjoyed that quad too, but not as much as Bo and Hope.

It is crazy to me that the show went all in on Heather and a murder storyline considering she was a recast and Diana, Jeff, and Steven Lars are all gone. That is a lot for Robin Mattsson to do, and she is pretty great at it. Did anyone like Anne? She has always been so boring to me. I had no idea Beechers Corners was still so important on the show after the Left Handed Boy. I love reading how much Laura talks with her parents but is decisive about heading into possible danger. I wish we had more of this version of Laura, instead of the one that was broken down all the time.

I think Alex and Tracy would have been Interetesting rivals. Imagine the Tracy of that time watching Alex and Edward work together. Edward certainly respects Alex more than he did Tracy. She is working side by side with him at ELQ, and he always dismissed Tracy. I really miss David Lewis. I loved John Ingle, and cannot imagine David Lewis playing out Labine’s Ward storyline. But Lewis was just so charming as Edward. A real rascal. He also gave the best side eye, and could be so funny while being mean as hell.

By the time they left though, I saw Marlena as part of the action storylines with Roman and less as a therapist. The show was trying to emulate Monty’s GH, and it sacrificed to make that fit. Doug and Julie had been moved into the parent storyline, and it seems SSH was especially not happy with that. Can’t say I blame her. Plus it seems to me that Doug was at least being used at that point, and Julie was just hand wringing. I think Kristian and Bill have wonderful chemistry as father and daughter. By the mid 1980’s we had a slew of Brady siblings and they each had a romantic storyline. When I think about the sheer amount of characters on this show at that point... it’s pretty crazy. It is a shame that Doug and Julie were sidelined, as I am sure people felt the same about Alex, Mickey and Maggie, Neil, Liz, etc. I didn’t really notice Julie when I was a kid, until she came back during the Cruise of Deception event. I loved her back then, still do. Wasn't there some friction between her and Alfonso at one point too? Yeah, there was never any doubt that Marlena was always in first position over Kristin. I loved Wayne the most as Roman. I just wish they had thought out better what they wanted for “John Black”. They scrambled and added so much nonsense that I still don’t know exactly who he is supposed to be. The period of time when he was a priest was particularly stupid, possession not withstanding. Especially because they didn’t write that well for Wayne, and he and DH didn’t have the same kind of chemistry she had with Drake.

I’m not sure Monty ever cared about an episode quota. Truthfully, until the 2000’s, I think almost every popular soap star went above their episode guarantees, especially if you were on as much as these people were. They just paid them the extra money. And those that didn’t work to their guarantees were paid for it too. This is such an interesting time on GH. They lost Diana, Jeff, Laura, and even people like Howard all in a short span of time. And they had one of the most outlandish stories coming up (David Gray), and yet they stayed at the top of the ratings.

Oh I have used pretty much all the major streaming services at one point or another. I’m just saying I would absolutely pay that much for monthly for a soap site that covered classic shows I really want to watch.