titan1978

I noticed she was onscreen way less from Bobbie’s funeral through Mac’s return. Especially compared to how much we had been seeing her before.

I just watched an entire episode from August in 1993. I was watching back then, but haven’t seen anything from this era in a few years. It featured Felicia and Jagger looking for Crystal, who has just OD. And Sonny meets Karen for the first time. For me, using Felicia would have made this fake Jagger at least passable. Both before and after his Sonny obsession takes over and he crosses the line. And KW was there, on contract, barely being used waiting on Mac to come back. It could also have been interesting for her to look into who killed him, maybe have her see Kristina with the gun before Alexis takes it and throws it over the bridge, giving the PCPD two possible suspects besides Sonny.

He was pretty much a lead in the story with Blake/Eleni/Frank. But then again, the show was such an ensemble at that point that there were a lot of shared leads as various stories progressed. He was a lead in that story, but not in the same way lets say Zaslow or McKinsey was on the show overall at the same time.

I did think tying Tracy’s more mellowed state to her losses was a great way to move the character in a new direction. But I prefer her with bite. She was getting a little too Emma Snyder on the farm for me. There could be a happy medium. I think part of the issue is there is so little flow that things happen out of nowhere that involve character behavior. This is a soap, we should see the beats of any major evolutions. Once upon a time we would have seen her grow and struggle with it. We would see Kevin and Laura dealing with being late in life parents to a baby. We would see Sam doing anything.

Why does poor Lulu have to be subjected to Willow’s messy life?

I knew it was’t going to be a Laura story, because this is when she takes her annual vacation. Hopefully this isn’t dragged out too much longer. Claire Labine was the only one that seemed to really get Lois. It’s like somewhere down the line it was decided that her being a genuinely good person meant she was naive and or stupid. Lois is not naive, not stupid, and has always been very comfortable with herself.

I’m sad that it’s not for longer. PR seems game. I know Kristian had enough when she left contract status.

They had their chance with the marriage to Nikolas to have her be part of society and have those connections while still maintaining an edge. And Nikolas could have been conflicted as he also at times embraced his Cassadine side. Alan tried to kill Rick and Monica, more than once. They cheated on each other many times. Monica conspired with Sean Donnelly to take the Q fortune. Ava may be more awful than both of them, but they had a shot to recreate that kind of dynamic. Instead they went the trite direction of a damsel in distress finding her prince, like a fairytale. Ava is only isolated because they write the show in such a shortsighted way.

Agreed. I will never understand people wanting Ava defanged. And IMO her best scenes of the year were when she and Watros got to play out that confrontation in Nina’s office. That and the one at the art gallery with NLG. I thought Maura West was riveting

Of the women her age foisted upon us by ABC in the 2000’s, I actually enjoyed her. IIRC she does have more warmth than JMB (unlike many her I actually liked her Lulu). Huge upgrade from ER. Let’s see what she can do with Genie, JJ, Jane, Dom and Kirsten.

She should not have been sidelined to begin with. And again, when Alexis went to jail she “joked” online that Frank was punishing her. It was around the time Ingo was still there and there were some backstage issues. They should have used her at the paper much stronger, but again, she was mostly sidelined. Diane should have been caught in crossfire years ago.

It felt like we went straight to cokehead with a major problem there. I appreciate someone using it casually first, and not immediately going into an afterschool special. This!! Because this is going to be on CBS, after reading your post, I tried to think of my first months viewing Y&R. Everyone was so specific, even if they travelled similar lanes. Jabot/Newman had John, Jack, Ashley, Jill, Victor, Neil, Brad, etc. Every single one of them had a real character, with different wants, needs, backgrounds, and branches away from there into other stories. Hoping The Gates is given a chance to build its world out.

The real world has kept me from the last few episodes, but I did see a clip of Molly and Alexis and it was incredible. I wish it had gone on longer and had more use of history in the conversation, but it was still what I need from GH from now on. Messy and relatable conflict between characters. The only mistake the show is making right now in this storyline is we should be seeing more of Molly and TJ. More of Molly dealing with her family dynamics.

I love this for Cheryl. These descriptions we have seen so far are fantastic and make me want to tune in just to see the connections and the world they are building.

How was WL treated horribly? The show worked around his school schedule. IIRC he told them he was not going to be back for more at the time he made his last appearances. I don’t like they way the story went either, but that doesn’t mean he was treated badly.

Nobody said Monty had never employed a recast. There is also a huge difference in the show from her arrival in 1978-1981 when Jeff Webber leaves, before we get to Cassadine Island. The HW had more control over story before then. She stopped doing it during her first run after Rick and Heather. There were 3 Tom and Margos in 10 years on ATWT. Several Tina’s on OLTL. GH was very different. Her second run it was still limited, and Anna was only recast for a month of shows because Monty was pissed at Finola Hughes for trying to do GH and another show. Because she was petty, especially in her second run as EP. It also cost the show both Finola and Tristan Rogers. But it’s not like DAYS recasting Bo Brady. They didn’t try a new Laura out with Luke instead him being Bill. Everything is lit like the sun is in the room with them.

That is vile.

I read this too, she’s quite candid. I hate that they used to make fun of her for basically just being new to acting, even though she acknowledges the times were different. Soaps lost a lot when we lost people that deeply understood how to work within the medium. She has plenty of negatives, but Monty was a genius at directing and seeing something that sparks. Even though KW was very green, and Jack not much more seasoned, she wanted F&F to work and so they made it happen. I love that in what is considered a high point on these shows we still had Bill Bell doing it his way, meticulously scripted and developed over time, and Monty showing her way- creating right in the moment and letting the actors help her to get there. And Agnes in there making sure to always have a social story and some fun.

I just now watched and I agree with you, it’s so stupid.

I wonder if their wild shooting schedule has anything to do with stuff like this. Because they shoot way out of order, and it’s caused performers since OLTL to have to try to put together where they are in a story. HBS complained about it when Frank was running OLTL. I can’t remember if it was also her or someone else that said they were filming a funeral and they were having a hard time figuring out who it was, and what the story was. The bts scramble this year has added stuff being filmed just a couple of weeks before air, and that is not common now.

Fans saved Brad Maule’s job during one of his coma hospital stories when Monty was there. This might be the one! Tony had so many major medical issues.

I just wanted to add to this idea. It is not putting down the genre to have real world knowledge of how hard the work is. One of the reasons Vanessa Marcil only signs short term contracts is because the show is a grind, and her outside life is more important to her. Vegas paid her more money, and residuals, and took less time in the year to film. Working on these shows is more of a grind than ever before, and it was tough 10+ years ago when Landon was there the first time. The money also isn’t as good as it used to be. Stability has different meanings in the entertainment business. Even on streamers you can earn soap money, and do it with less actual time on set. And the time you do have it is encouraged to do the kind of work that is creatively fulfilling.

I never want to hear the name McConkey again. Also- Drew can talk about Alan all he wants, I will never buy it. Tristan Rogers looks his age. His spark as Robert was still there today though. One thing this year did right was put Alexis back into the mix of the major stories. She should never have been sidelined to begin with. In near panic mode with that gun about to make a mistake is classic Alexis and I am happy to see it. The fact that Ric and Liz saw her was fantastic. My only real quibble is they could have made this a whodunnit, and kept the audience in the dark for a couple of months. We have lost the smart and insightful dialogue, and any clear attempt at changing anything with Sonny. But today’s episode was mostly fun to watch. Stupid at times, but fun.

Tristan was burned out and pissed at Monty. Finola was too, and Monty kicking her off the show early made it all worse. Riche tried to get both of them back/to stay and they were done and declined. Other than appearances as ghosts when Robin was trying to decide if she should tell a near death Stone that she was also HIV+, they were not back on the show until much later. Robert has been a guest star for most of his time since 2006. They use him better at some times than others. I know he has been on FV’s shitlist a couple of times after speaking out about the show. Tristan publicly stated he was being punished during one of these periods. He really sparkled with Emma Samms during her last visit though. Without Robin I am fine with less Robert, and Anna still being a major player. Finola is more versatile and Anna has more layers.

Another murder on their grounds is nothing to lose sleep over!