Soaplovers

Nene was gone for 2 seasons..and Atlanta had 2 strong seasons...so Nene should have kept that in mind when she returned that the show could go on without her..but alas..she didn't recall this.

I would way the last year or so of AH's stint, Marley was given her own voice and pov again. At first, Jensen had an easier time playing Marley than Vicky..and than by 1992, that changed..and Marley became a background character by 1993.

Problem is too much interference..so we wouldn't be able to see what her true vision would be.

Iva of 1985 had long hair and wore very trendy clothes..the longer she was in the show..the more subdued her look became.

I did like where Brad admitted Traci was the one to get away and that he blew it just before he died..and he admitted it to Traci..who seemed happy and content with her life by than. Speaking of which, I loved when Traci put her finger in Victor's face when he wouldn't listen to her about Ashley's fragile state. I liked as adults, Traci seemed to become more confident while Ashley became less so.

The problem with the final few years of SFT was the constant regime changes. One cant fully invest if the tone and stories change so much. Who knows what Pam Long/Addie Walsh would have done with the show had it not gotten canceled a few months into their stint. It seemed like they were tying up previous stories and the best part was Jo/Stu had a lot of focus in those final months.

And a hiatus for housewives will not be good..already the franchise has taken a dip in ratings and quality. I think the franchise will need to change in some fashion

Mindy went with Mallet to New York to stop his ex flames wedding..and than poof..both characters went in separate directions. Before that, I figured Mallet and Mindy were end game. Had Beverlee not quit (since orginally she had 1 more year on her contract). I wonder what her Alex would have done during that time.

The Hughes family seemed more repressed and steeped in high expectations..same as the Lowell family in the early years..and even in the 80s, the show seemed more muted even with the glam turned up. I think it was @Khanwho said a Pam long/douglas Marland team up would have worked..and I kind of agree. And Marland's 1st year at ATWT was strong due to him carrying on the plots started by Bledsoe Horgan. She had a more energetic pace to her writing and plotting than he did. And I do think I see why Hubbard didn't think Marland wrote for her. He seemed to prop his Snyder family pets at the expense of Lucinda. His writing tended to slant Lucinda as 'bad' and the Snyder's as 'good' in terms of Lily. Pre Marland, Lucinda/Lily had a realistic mother and daughter relationship...fought but loved one another. During the Marland era, Lily was written as barely tolerating Lucinda with her idealized version of the Snyder's as the perfect family. Later writers did make Lily and Lucinda more realistic as mom/daughter..imho

He should have left after 1988 and gone to a different soap. Didn't P & G use to rotate writers to avoid burnout?

I think Rick and Abby had somewhat filled the void of a tentpole esque couple..and kept the Bauer kitchen in focus. If the writers had written for them past 1998, I think the actress playing Abby would have stayed. Sadly the show put all their eggs into one basket (i.e. Cynthia Watros) and didnt think that she'd leave.

I remember Deborah Shelton in the Pam Ewing role as the daughter of the main heavy plus was a love interest for David Soul..and it was dropped like the story with Jane Russell as Sam Elliot's mom. Shame.

GL: Holly was in rare form, it's interesting that Andy seems more of a grey character in 1975 than he was in 1980. LOL: sounds interesting and a shame episodes weren't available of the Labine and Depriest period. The bigamy plot has taken several twists and turns. It's a shame the good and bad sibling element didn't carry onto the next generation for long. Cal as the good sibling and Ben as the bad sibling could have carried the show along with the Meg and Van story. Y & R- wish I could see this play out. Lorie was the definition of an anti heroine..and she sounds fascinating

It's interesting how different the vibes were bts on P & G soaps. It seemed like GL was a fun place to work with fun character types, ATWT seemed more stuffy, while AW seemed close knit (they were isolated out in Brooklyn so that could be why).

The way Camille on ATWT was let go confused me because we only just scratched the surface of her character..imho

I've noticed that for ATWT..while GL has had several African American and Latino performers on so far (still waiting for Nia Long and Amelia Marshall )

I dont think Marland would have been able to write Maggie so it's for the best. She probably would have sung the praises of those annoying Snyder's. I notice Alan seems to shut up if he doesn't know the stars...and both Duncan and Shannon were gone before he arrived. To me, most of the GL ones have been fun..and I wonder if perhaps the stars of GL were more animated and fun?

It was nice to finally have a good ATWT reunion

I said the same thing about Crampton. In her last few months as Mindy, she had finally felt like Mindy once she and Nick broke up. In fact, she was the only Mindy who had chemistry with Rick.

Oddly I liked the last Frannie better than Julianne Moore.

Till the day my mom passed, she was a Marlena/Don fan... moreso than a Marlena/John or Marlena/Roman fan. She spoke of Tracey Bregman as Donna.. and it's nice to see just one scene of her as Donna.. and understand just a little bit the appeal of Don and Donna. Plus, seeing Marlena in therapist mode in 1979 explains why the audience took to her back in the day.

Of the P & G soaps, GL seemed the most energetic and less stuffy of their soaps in the 80s and early 90s.

I remember back when Nina and Philip were about to marry that Cricket had suggested inviting Nina's mom..and Nina vetoed that saying her.mom.kicked her out probably due to a man her mom was dating not liking Nina, etc. Bam 2 years later we met her mom. I liked that about Bell..he would drop a mention of something and follow up on it years later

I had thought maybe Taylor was an oncologist but a counselor to help patients and loved ones cope with cancer, etc. I had no idea she was actually originally an oncologist