Soaplovers

And all 14 seasons are on Tubi... at least in the states.

In regards to the Morgan/Kelly situation, we all have to remember that Luke and Laura were the craze in 1979/1980/1981 and Marland had wanted to tell the story he had intended to tell with Laura/Scotty with Morgan/Kelly. Genie Francis was 17 to 19 during the whole Luke/Laura courtship and wedding so I don't think people cared as much that a teen girl was marrying up with an adult male 30 and older at that period. I think the 1981 wedding situation was in part to use the footage that had been filmed months before and also to compete a little with Luke/Laura since they were the top draw of GH and Marland thought that Morgan/Kelly would be that same draw only for Nola to be the top drawer of the triangle. I remember Vigard said in the Locher Room that she had a two year deal and was going to leave when that was up so the show decided to recast Morgan right after the wedding and continue to tell the Kelly/Morgan marriage story with a new actress. Problem was that the audience didn't have an attachment/connection to the new actress so Kelly/Morgan were doomed and eventually the show did break them up and put Morgan eventually in Josh's orbit before briefly having her be a sort of older sister type in a brief friendship arc with Phillip/Rick before she was written off. Had the show known back in the fall of 1981 that the recast would have been a bust.. they probably would have stuck with Vigard for the rest of her contract till spring 1982 and then written her off and spun Kelly off into another orbit (I heard the rumor that Nola/Kelly were supposed to have ended up together down the line). Kelly seems to drift aimlessly after the Morgan story ends, and Long manages to pair him with Claire Ramsey in an older woman/younger man story for a bit until he leaves in early 1984. It's a shame because Kelly and Claire did have chemistry.

We also had days that were pre-empted/repeat days this month. With more episodes being picked up for season 2, hopefully there will be less repeats in 2026. In regards to the breakdown/script writer team up, I think it depends on the approach of each. Ron C is a very campy/over the top individual and the best script writers are those that are more about focusing on the smaller/more intimate moments would pair best with him. From what I can tell, Danielle Paige has a more over the top approach as well (her Dorothy Gale series is very intense and over the top) so her writing paired with an OTT breakdown writer would also reflect in the finished product. I'll be interested to see if there will be new script/breakdown writers replacing the ones departing. As far as I know... Chris Dunn and Ron C are leaving from the breakdown writing side.. and I think Lynn Martin is also leaving from the script writing side. So I'll be interested to see if newbies come on, or if there will be less breakdown/script writers in season 2

Speaking of Fran Drescher, her pre-The Nanny tv show career was interesting to me. Charmed Lives - A failed spin-off of Who's the Boss that starred her and Donna Dixon. Princesses - Basically a Who Wants to Marry A Millonaire type show about three women living in a New York Penthouse rent free and trying to live life/rebuild their lives. The backstage issues were more exciting than the product we saw onscreen.. but Drescher was the stand out (She played a more subdued Fran Fine type character). Of her post The Nanny tv shows, my favorite was Happily Divorced where she was the 'straight man' reacting to the craziness around her (And Rita Moreno was hilarious as her mom). I never saw Indebted though... can't imagine her and Steven Weber as a married couple LOL

Not in 2025... Large family gatherings are not a thing and I think it's a healthier thing for the Dupree's since they seem a tad too attached at the hip. And I never liked the patriarch giving a speech during the holidays.. it was always kind of cheesy when P & G soaps did that.

@Taoboi Per your request... my nine month report card (I can't wait till the 1st anniversary report card). Favorite Characters (who I never fast forward when they have a scene): Anita, Nicole, Eva, Jan, Mona, and Kat. Characters that I tolerate if in a scene with one of my favorites: SPS, Tomas, Dani, Hayley, Derek, Ashley Characters I fast forward if not in a scene with a favorite: Dani, Andre, Vernon, Martin, Smitty, Ted (recast), and June Favorite feud: Eva vs Kat Least Favorite Feud: Hayley vs Dani Character with the most potential that the writers are under utilizing: Chelsea Caroline Laura Carleton Favorite Plotline: Recently the Hayley conning Bill tale intrigues me, but I hate that the show has made Hayley lose IQ points with her careless mistakes. Joey: A one note character played by a talented actor that has made his scenes enjoyable to watch. I love when he meets a new character like Dani, Nicole, SPS, Hayley, Martin, Smitty, Elon, Vanessa, etc. Stalled Plotline: Vanessa/Joey: Since Guza left.. it seems to have stalled. Nicole: We hardly have seen Nicole since the whole Eva bombshell except as a talk to. Losing Patience Plotline: SPS: Let's see karma knock her down a notch or two.

Betty White was too one note and limited as an actress to have given Sue Ann Nivens layers. Even her one role that was against type (Rose on Golden Girls eventually became passive aggressive and not as innocent/sweet as she was at the start of the show). Betty White worked better as part of a cast of players and never as the sole lead. In fact, her Hot in Cleveland character was kind of the weak link on the show and I preferred the other three actresses over her (She was no Estelle Getty, who would have given Elka layers).

Sara Gilbert, like her big sister Melissa Gilbert, had an interesting attempt trying to get lightening to strike twice post Roseanne. Welcome To New York (2000) - She co-starred on a short live sitcom that starred Christine Baranski & Jim Gaffigan After that, she had two recurring roles on ER & 24 Twins (2005) - She and Molly Stanton (Charity Passions) were fraternal twins working at their dad's lingerie company with their parents being played by Melanie Griffith & Mark Linn Baker. Cute show, got the axe due to the WB & UPN merger Had two recurring roles on both Big Bang Theory & a short lived sitcom called The Class She co-created The Talk (talk show) Bad Teacher (2014) - Short lived tv version of the far superior 2011 classic Living Biblically - Short-lived sitcom where she had a recurring role as a smart aleck work associate Finally, she found long term success in the revival of Roseanne before it morphed into the inferior The Connors.

I always said Lauralee was the one to inherit her dad's vision, but sadly was dismissed for obvious reasons. She should be the one show-running B & B, not her brother.

I remember there was a casting call to recast Gilly, but I remember the show putting it on hold because they wanted the audience to get used to the new David before re-introducing Gilly.. and obviously things changed because viewers didn't accept this David at all. I remember the original Vicky started out as Michael's assistant who was somewhat kept in the dark about his cloning plans and eventually it was revealed that she was a Spaulding wanting to get a piece of the pie that her mother had denied back in the 80s. Just after that, her character vanished and then came back as a recast that always grinned and smiled all the time and didn't have the coldness of the original Vicky. I remember people thought the original Vicky was stiff and couldn't act.. but once the recast happened, people were wanting the original back on.

Hayley is messing up big time being unable to hide her thirst in public. I can't buy her being so successful being a con artist with such easy mistakes like we've been seeing.

Kimberley Simms as Melinda Sue Lewis was accepted as a recast right away, it was just that the character had to finish out story that was started by Krista T before being allowed to fully be her own Mindy. My late mom called her the sexy Mindy. Gina T as Phyllis on Y & R was a better Phyllis than Michelle Stafford (as we've seen since she's taken the part over again.)

Except he turned Jack into a wimp with all his crying all the time.

Betty White had a few missteps in between MTM & Golden Girls and in between Golden Girls & Hot in Cleveland (which she was the weak link in). The Betty White Show where she played a Sue Ann Nivens like character and it showed that she couldn't lead a show playing such a vile character. Mama's Family - Recurring character.. another Sue Ann Nivens type Maybe This Time - She and Marie Osmond were a good balance for each other, but bad timeslot killed the show. Hello George - Show set to go into production where she played Melanie Griffith's mom.. but it fell through. Ladies Man - Standard sitcom.. bad writing

Out of all the Turkey Day scenes, I think the one I would have gone to was Mona/Ashley/Jan's where they were dressed casual, cooking, and were plotting out Black Friday deals. It was the most relatable to me. Although, my family always went to a nice hotel for Thanksgiving weekend (checking in on Tuesday and staying through the next Monday.. .and we would always have Thanksgiving at the hotel where you had choice of turkey, ham, roast beef, fish.. and lots of different potatos, pies, and other goodies. It was the only splurge my working class parents did since my mom's also fell during that weekend usually. So I can relate to the location of the country club, but not the bougieness.

Ah the Ted and Shanice chemistry testing looks to be commencing next week.

I always thought that Guiding Light looked more fun to be in during the holidays while ATWT looked more like somewhere my grandparents would be for the holidays LOL.

Realistically the characters that have the potential to run their course are as follows: Tomas - After the Eva hook up, his airtime has decreased.. while Kat vs Eva has focused back on their dad Ted then on a guy. I could see Tomas being phased out after being dumped by Kat and perhaps fired by Bill. Hayley/Randy - She's poisoning her hubby Bill... so I could see her being carted off to prison and Randy being 'sent away' by Joey. Derek/Ashley - Normally I would say they are next on the chopping block.. but because they're the token white couple.. they might be spared until a more compelling white male and female are introduced. Chelsea - The show seems unable to consistently write for her character since day 1 and since there are numerous Dupree women on the show.. it would be best to phase her out and re-introduce her later.

The character of Morgan was just a typical naive teenager and didn't have a lot of layers... but Vigard was such a unique individual that she basically was the character of Morgan. Once she was let go and recast, the character basically was a plot point and not a real character. Marland was great with intricate plot, but his characters were basically paint by number unless there was a talented performer that breathed life into the character. Vanessa, Nola, Morgan (as played by Vigard), and to a lesser extent Maureen were basically paint by number characters that had strong performers that added texture and layers to the characters. Long, on the other hand, could really write a compelling character and was a pro at writing male friendships and characters... but her plots could be hit or miss and all over the place. A character like Holly is interesting to see because she was written by the Dobsons, Marland, Long, and Curlee... four well known head-writers that established totally distinct and unique eras of GL over an almost twenty year time frame. I saw notable differences on how Holly was written by Long in 1988-1990 vs how Curlee approached Holly in 1991 to 1993. If you watched episodes of Holly in 1989/1990, she appeared confident and decisive with little conflict over how she felt about Roger while Curlee seemed to focus more on her neurotic tendencies and her unhealthy attachment to Roger. It was still the same character, but each head-writer decided to highlight different facets of her personality. Also, Nadine had a visible change in how she was written by Long vs Curlee. Nadine was more a schemer and social climber hosting the Love Bug and having a fling with Billy under Long while Curlee presented a more desperate Nadine trying to keep a hold of Billy instead of cutting her losses and focusing on her next prospect/scheme.

I liked season 9 of OC, but I always have a soft spot for season 8 because it felt like a fitting finale for the original version of OC with season 9 the debut of the next phase of OC. Season 8 had Tamra being semi nice, Andales in full display, the women actually having fun events without toxic fighting, and lastly the last season where Tamra/Gretchen were friendly.

I like that there is a brother out there in Detroit and is on spare for when the time is right to introduce him onto the show. I also would like to see Darlene (Mama Hawthorne) cast and introduced to get her perspective as a woman surrounded by men.. as a true blue boy mom. She wouldn't be afraid to push back against Naomi and the other entitled Dupree women. Ted/Kat was a good scene.. and I liked that she tapped into her dark side in order to get Tomas wrapped around her little finger. SPS and Marcel had a nice rapport and I'm wondering if maybe he's sweet talking her in order to entrap her into saying something about Laura's accident. Bill acting awkward around Dani was such a let down. He left her for a very good reason and he should always remind himself of that.

Season 3 started off strong with the kidnapping of Little Blake with Claudia being a red herring.. and the scenes between Pamela Sue Martin and Pamela Bellwood on the rooftop were quite strong. And the bombshell that Alexis and Blake had a baby that was kidnapped helped explain why the two started to grow apart over the years because a loss of child is a hard thing to come back from. And Adam seemed promising when he was introduced. Also having Kirby coming on continued the Have Not element that had been a thing for the show since season 1 and she was played by a good actress. Sadly.. the show devolved into over the top plot drivel instead of maintaining the character study of the first two seasons as season 3 continued.

Most likely, Holly would have been used in a way where Ed was spending time with Holly and Blake for purely innocent reasons.. and Rita's insecurity would have driven her to be with Alan. That whole element did play out in the late 80s/early 90s between Ed/Maureen/Holly I had read weekly synopsis of this period, and the only thing I could have seen her doing in 1981 was being somewhat involved in the whole Andy Norris situation since he was her brother and probably in conflict with their mother Barbara because Barbara would be blind to Andy and his true nature. And there were some interactions in the weekly synopsis between her and Joe Bradley so I imagine perhaps she would have been occupied with that while the whole Ed/Hope/Rita/Alan story was going on in 1981

We barely get any videos from 1980 especially anything between summer and Christmas of 1980 so seeing Holly being on the verge of leaving town is a nice gift. From what I recall, the actress had only signed a 1 year contract in November 1979 and wanted to see how she felt at the end of that contract before deciding if she wanted to stay or not. Sadly, the timing of a regime change and Michael Zaslow leaving and being killed off basically made her character almost a background character through most of 1980 so I could see why she opted to leave. Someone a long time ago had posted an interview with the actress after she left where she stated that after Roger 'dying' that she hoped the writers would focus on Holly rebuilding her life, getting her strength back, and having more agency in her life. And she stated that most of what was written for her had her playing someone meek and almost defeated by life instead of someone rebuilding their life. Even this episode showed a worn out and zombie like Holly as she was preparing to leave.

In regards to the whole Delta Burke and Loni Anderson 'sexism' opinion, I was around when all of that went down. People were team Loni at the time, she and Burt mud slinging ended up costing both of them their sitcoms and their careers. So I think both got grief back in the day for the divorce, but nice try re-writing history. Delta, on the other hand, was constantly absent and/or late.. and while I do think mental health should be looked at... when it affects not only your job, but other people's jobs.. decisions have to be made.