titan1978

Genie did have it good until right around the time she left at the end of feb sweeps. In my opinion, even by the end of Levinson (once the show really started seeming like Riche), through the first 6 months of Culliton, the show was overall very well written for her entire return. Labine didn’t always do great by her character, but the show as a whole was well written. She managed to leave as it was falling apart, and didn’t come back until Guza had officially back for like 5 or 6 months.

I have questions. I know from the credits and other sources Kay was very involved, a co-hw ( or Associate HW) for a long time. My question is for those that assume Bell was more hands off far earlier than before- I really do not see it. Maybe for periods of time. But when she was solo things were in the “Bell” style, but she and the team did have a different flavor, pace, and at times tone. The difference between his last year and then her first year solo are not that great as the couple of years before that, when the show was sometimes in a drought, and had gotten kind of bland. I also know from that interview with Bell and Labine, he talks about how important Alden was and is. A shared consciousness about the show. He doesn’t mention anyone else at the show but her by name. And he says he doesn’t write long term bibles. What I think is very possible, is that he put his polish on everything, even if they were actually generating the plots at certain periods of time. He probably tweaked everything. Because even when she was solo it had a different feel without him.

JY was a terrible Lucky recast, I don’t care how hot he was. I do think he got better as JR, but he did not fit in on GH to me. At least not as Lucky. Will Estes and Jensen would have both been much better.

Yes, Genie went on a maternity leave and then just didn’t come back to the show. I feel like she was almost gone a whole year. Guza tried to get her back when he returned from Sunset Beach, and it took months to convince her to come back. The realization, if I remember correctly, was that Stefan was in love with Laura, and was trying to turn Katherine into a version of her. Her hair, her dress. I think they even talk about it before she runs out and ends up dying.

What an exciting return to the show for Genie that was! Every part of Laura’s life was in distress.

I wonder if Passions would have even happened if Reilly had been allowed to run with that spin-off. I loved Matt as Jack, but I also grew to really love Mark too. He was definently more of a soap hunk version, but he was still great. He still had sparkling chemistry with Missy. Jason Brooks certainly had plenty of chemistry with her too. Allegedly. By the time we got to Cameron and Wilder that was like the bland of the bland.

Maison Blanche was my favorite. I loved Hope’s return, and Stefano was so much fun back then. And I agree, the Lady in White was just annoying. Was Melissa Reeves still there during Aremid? I know I cared very little for Jennifer storylines when she left.

I watched several of the classic Emmy telecasts that have been posted in the GL and ATWT threads in the cancelled soaps section, and in one of the early 1990’s telecasts she is listed as co-head writer during the list of nominees. During that great interview with Bell and Claire Labine, he mentions how distraught both he and Alden were about being basically forced to expand the show to an hour. So she was vitally important back then. I have been watching so much classic soap lately, my YouTube recommendations has led me to the Jill & John Abbott Divorce playlist. I have never seen John’s confrontation with TL’s Jack about the affair. They are both so great here. I miss John, and Terry will always be my preferred Jack.

I remember thinking at the time that he was not well suited to play a cop. Kristen Storms has her charms as Maxie- screwball comedy, bitchy rivalry, and she is capable of drama. Much like LC as Monica though- they have made her into a tragic character several times over the years, and stopped writing to their strengths. She is kind of like a modern Lucy, that unfortunately never was allowed to actually go as far into selfish or as fun as Lucy, and never got that one rival (Bobbie) or romantic pairing to carry her through (Scott). Genie Francis could play light and dark material equally well, although she excelled at emotional material. Kristen is being asked to play that kind of material often, and it just doesn’t sit as well. Oh the summer of sleaze! I was firmly in the Jason Liz camp, and have never understood why it didn’t happen. I recall rumors that it was yet again (SJB’s Carly) a pairing Steve did not want to happen. The only time I enjoyed Sam was when she went bad during this. I also had forgotten how involved Manny was in everything. Even though at the time I was mad Laura was gone and the vets except Luke and Tracy were all but gone, I did enjoy characters like Lorenzo, Patrick, Skye, Jesse, Ric, Georgie and Dillon, etc. I just needed more balance. Also, how typical of JFP and Guza- the majority of characters I liked that they created were the men. The women got such horrible writing.

Was he a cop? The only thing i remember for sure is that he was very cute, and ended up dead. The first of her dead partners.

I thought the train sweeps event was stupid at the time. Greg’s Lucky is really just a generic bland soap hunk. But I liked him better than JY in the role. I was still so into the show at that point, but a few months after this I had enough, and quit watching until the contagion sweeps event, or Laura waking up. I can’t remember which one was first. Too much Courtney, I hated Sam, I was sick of Sonny, Emily was a chore.

I finally got around to listening to the Brad Maule episode on Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson’s podcast. It gets incredibly moving when they talk about the BJ’s heart storyline. SB actually gets choked up and has a hard time speaking while remembering watching them film the scenes where Tony listens to BJ’s heart beating in Maxie. It’s kind of cool to hear how much it impacted the people making it. Especially since that and Stone dying are the two soap opera scenes I can’t watch without crying to this day.

The scenes after the main confrontation at the club, outside, are some of my favorites of Beverlee as Alex. ”Do you find daddy’s words comforting dear?” ”ooh I’m scared to death. Heh heh.” ”I’m ravenous.” She just brings so much with just her voice. Then you add almost impeccable choices as an actress and it’s just so great. The whole video is pretty great, but the outside portion starts around 25 minutes, with Blake and Frank. I know everyone has seen this a million times...😀

Preach. Especially when we have people willing to spill- Mulcahey seems eager, I bet a few pointed questions could get Martha to let loose too on Goutman and P&G. And add me to the list that think Marland’s writing is exceptional while also being dry. It lacks emotion. I wonder if he had spent less time micromanaging and more time mentoring what could have been. Nobody was as in-control as Bill Bell. And yet he also collaborated and trained successors- PFS on DAYS and Alden on Y&R. The older I have gotten, the more I notice the better scripted shows. I grew up watching GH in the 1980’s, and they had a cast that brought the scripts to life within a plot driven framework. They improvised, they reworked things with Monty- always to bring character to the mostly plot driven show. But when you watch something like the early 1990’s on GL, you really notice the dazzling scripts.

What a great clip @victoria foxton! I kind of wish the show had let Mickey keep having story like this as time went on. I only know him as uncle Mickey, a lawyer you often do not want on your side lol. Watching so much classic Y&R with Katherine, I am now imagining a Mickey that revisits the torment of his life over the decades, and what a missed opportunity. Ir should have been nearly impossible for him to see Mike with Bill and Laura. I imagine that Flannery leaving and getting rid of Bill didn’t help keep driving that story though.

They axed her, and fans went ballistic. It was also clear that the show stalled out right around the same time as I recall, because they had to switch gears away from things they had been building to. Classic interference. The network and Frank got a lot of heat. More than anticipated, not helped by Frank having done it to her twice (first time when she came back for the 50th, and they were building to a Deception story with Laura and Lucy that evaporated).

He had charisma. He had personality, and they didn’t make him perfect back then. He was really tough on Bo, he was too driven, and he and Marlena had both an exciting and passionate relationship, and it could also be light and flirty. They tried to strip all the fun stuff away from him when he came back in the 1990’s. I always found him incredibly attractive. Drake is too, just in a different, more soap hunk kind of way. I would take Wayne’s Roman any day though over Drake.

Wasn’t that on JFP’s OLTL? I’ve been watching a lot of 1980’s Guiding Light. Robert Calhoun really produces the hell out of that show. It looks so much more expensive once he gets there. Modern without loosing tradition. Expansive with diverse sets/locations. The new opening is very modern for the time, and the emphasis on the lighthouse really gives the show a signature logo. Great casting, excellent stories. JFP maybe inherited the most in shape show of her career, certainly from that point on. Does anyone know why he left? One thing I will give her credit for- the show does really dig deeper into emotion when Jill gets there. Something like Maureen’s death should not have happened. But it was beautifully done once they did it. It is deep and rich material for everyone.

Of all the hacks that have made daytime returns to HW, I wonder why Pam Long never really made a comeback? I think she is far less offensive, even with her mistakes, than Passanate, Griffin, McTavish, Higley, Pratt, and so many others.

I have been watching a ton of 1990 to 1994ish GL. I haven’t once found Maureen boring. I love her with Michelle, and Vanessa, and Bridget. I could watch an entire episode of just her and Vanessa and be happy. I love her friendship with Roger, and her complicated relationship with Holly. Focus groups should not be dictating story. If anyone is boring to me it’s Ed. I have just spent all night watching the YouTube compilation of her death, and he’s close to awful in a lot of it. Stoic and broken is absolutely a normal way to grieve for a lot of people. I don’t need him wailing. But he is just sour all the time. Way before this in the stuff I have seen he has the same look on his face and demeanor. I think JFP has produced a lot of excellent work over the years. But the carnage in her wake of fired or killed off fan favorites and her forcing bland characters down people’s throats has done more damage than any of the good she has done. Shockingly OLTL is the only show she didn’t decimate. Plenty of forced characters though.

Talk about a deserved win, and bittersweet. It is so clear to me watching the show after the fact what a huge mistake that was. I started watching as it was airing during the Annie storyline, then dropped in and out over the years. When you watch the stuff from before 1994, it has so many good elements. I watch soaps for both the exciting characters and the ones that are more normal and relatable. I love Maureen, and Parker is fantastic.

Was the issue with Rattray‘s Lily that she didn’t have the same chemistry with Holden? I seem to recall reading that somewhere. That it also led to the Holden has amnesia storyline.

In later years, for both her and Geary on GH, you could see them reaching more and more for their improv dialogue, and their scene partners just in a holding pattern waiting for them to get back to the script. I wonder how she would feel if she had been on a show like GH under Monty- where the actors brought the character quite often to plot driven storytelling, so the improvisation was welcomed. I can see the criticism of Marland. I sometimes find his ATWT stilted when I watch it on YouTube. I see why people loved it, but I also feel a disconnect to it. Especially the latter years, 1990 and beyond. When I started watching GL on YouTube from the same time period, I fell in love with almost every character. ATWT did not have the same effect on me.

Even 10 years ago this would have been easier to answer. But now I think big name stars are not always the highest paid on their shows. I doubt Deidre and Drake have the highest contracts anymore. But DAYS has a lot of stars in their range but no Sweeney there now. I assume the last 5 years of her contract she was the highest in salary and guarantee. Now maybe Alfonso? I know people like Geary made a ton, but he also stopped requesting larger salaries and wanted more time off instead. And his rewrite dialogue clause to stay intact. I am sure Maurice is the highest paid GH actor. Genie might be in the Steve Burton range. LW is probably up there too. Just below them Howarth. I seem to recall from things I have read over the years that when things were really at their peak, ABC paid really well, and so did DAYS. I bet Braeden is the highest paid right now. Maurice on GH next in line. KKL on B&B I would have placed up there, but I look at the counts and she isn’t always the leader like she used to be.

Yeah, when you compare her GH to her OLTL and GL runs, something was off. Even when her GH kind of unraveled (after Stone died, it kind of meandered for three or four months), she and her team had things back in place for more story (which Guza inherited when she left to sell her own show). Jax, Jason’s injury, and Bobbie’s dreams about a baby (which became Carly). All of that stuff was new and had legs. I think she just does not work well with constant interference and changing direction without seeing what is and is not working. OLTL should have been a good fit. Instead it was all over the place. I did like Mel and Dorian though.