Soaplovers

I was excited for Simon and Katie because I thought two grey characters coming together...the anti hero and hwroine...but both kind of got declared. It's why I liked when the actress joined OLTL after ATWT and got to play a fun con artist...that I realized she was good at playing shifty con artist characters. The Endicott awards was a great exposure for Katie...and I also liked when Lyla visited one Christmas after Katie eloped with Simon where Katie' s lies about how horrible her mother was to her was exposed.

So I read the final dossier and I think I'm satisfied with the show even if it doesn't come back again. The questions I had from the original shows finale were answered (a shame a season 3 didn't happen back in the early 90s to see the hayward/horne fallout as described in the final dossier...but so sad about Annie though it makes sense).

I'm sorry... still like Shannon...shes fascinating to watch. She's an interesting case study and has interesting quirks. She is almost too real..if that makes sense. At the same time, Lydia is fascinating in a different way. I actually think she and Shannon are more alike..hence the discord. Both are from money, isolated from real-life, and are k8nd of entitled. But I like both of them...and at least Lydia is saying all this to Shannons face as opposed to behind her back.

Yeah, Marland wasn't great with consistently writing quirky humor... even his character Nola and Quint on GL had a gothic undertone.. and they became more comical/slapstick when Pam Long wrote them. On ATWT, I do think he did the talky talk and gossip moreso here then on his previous shows. It just fit better on ATWT then it did on other shows that he wrote, and I'm sure he recognized that.. hence why his GL was more light and not as dark as his ATWT was (thought the first year or two wasn't so dark.. but probably due more to the tone set forth by SBH... who if you've ever seen in interviews reminds me so much of early Shannon O'hara in terms of quirkiness.).

At least Nikki was consistent with being a bored housewife....she was bored when married to Greg Foster...and how she would con Los foster into doing her housework for her...and Chris Brooks trying to explain to Nikki how she could be a good wife lol In a weird way, I think tying Nikki to Victor limited her character in the long run.

Andrea Evans wasn't bad as Patty... but the shooting of Jack, etc.. lost some impact with Lilibeth departing right before the climax. Interesting change to Jill's character with Deborah Adair leaving and BD returning as Jill. I had no idea the Williams family were so prominent in the early 80s.. and that Mary Williams could get involved in a fight.

I never sympthasize with someone that cheats on a spouse..no matter how neurotic the spouse is. What was the actual reason for the change in the actress that played Nancy? It was like the character changed 100 percent with the change in actresses

Don't forget James Lipton was also writing with the Pollacks during the Morrison thing. I kind of noticed a tone adjustment once Lipton was removed from the credits.

I wouldn't have killed Philip.. I would have done a runaway groom situation where Nina is left at the altar with Jill/Katherine gloating. I think having Nina inherit all the money kind of hindered her character.. she no longer had drive that she had in the first few years of her stint.

I've actually liked some of the Pollack's work on the Doctors... they could write a climax and fall out quite well.. though they sometimes lacked the character moment touch that Rita Lakin had. Though I doubt Rita would have stayed more then 2 years.. she seemed like she was burnt out and the show sold her a bill of goods. Seeing her take on creating the Rookies, Flamingo Road, and Nightingales.. the same things happened.. so I'm wondering if maybe she was at fault just as much as the other person. A shame that the 1988 writers strike basically ended her writing career because she was too pricey even though she had the talent. I actually was disappointed on the resolution of the 'murder mystery'... I think it would have been better if Penny did accidently shoot and kill John Morrison. Even if the police ruled it an accident, she still would have felt guilt over killing a man even if it was in self-defense. Plus, the Pollack's were masters of fall out (i.e. Penny's crush on Mike and the effects of that are still shown in the November 1974 episodes). I'm actually interested to see how Depriest and Marland fare when head-writing.. since this type of show isn't one that would be a good fit for either of them.

This episode goes to show that Marland inherited a fairly strong show that he didn't have to fix, all he did was expand on what SBH set up. I did notice his first year or so as head writer that he kept some of the light camp undertone that SBH had established before it became more serious and darker as the 80s wore on. Shannon close relationship with John/Dusty, feud with Barbara, and the start of her friendship with Lisa were all done under SBH.. and Marland was wise to not damper her quirkiness when he took over as head-writer.. in fact, adding Duncan in a kilt only enhanced the eccentric nature of her character. Though didn't Shannon's character get less quirky/eccentric by the time she left the first time?

It's so weird to think that soaps were a thriving backbone for the acting scene in New York City back in the day.. and now there is no soap presence whatsoever in New York City. It's kinda sad.

Now that the reruns are into November 1974, I noticed that the filming is different then it previously was. It seems clearer and the colors are more vivid, and it shows how colorless the sets kind of were so I can imagine that changes to the sets will be coming soon to show more color/personality. With that said, I don't get the appeal of the Alan character. and what either Margo or Toni see in him. Both women can do so much better then him. I wish Toni had stuck to her guns in regards to Alan instead of just accepting his proposal. And Nick is leaving soon? I hope so because he is an example of a character that worked back in the 60s/early 70s.. but would so not work in the modern day world.. he wouldn't be allowed to practice medicine with his attitude and general sexual harassment interaction between him and any of the female characters. Why Althea is in love with him, I'll never understand. Ann/Nick don't work as a couple, but I hope the reruns continue to see the transformation of Ann's character in late 1975/early 1976.

Actually the actor quit due to family issues. If I recall, his brother killed either their mom or dad...and the actor had to leave the show suddenly...hence why Bill bell killed him off. It did kick off Nina vs jill/Kay in full force.....and Chase/Nina seemed more end game then the stupid bug.

I was happy the show remember Andy and Diane were previously together...but i could see why they didnt resume since she was still hing up on Jack when Andy was visiting again...there was a spark, but storywise I could see Andy opting to not go down that road again. Lauren/Traci had some ceasefire periods...the late 80s was one of those periods especially during the Lisa kidnapping Brad era.

You know you do have the option of not watching those episodes if you can't emotionally handle watching a fictional character in a wheel chair.

A 10 episode season would have been better for OC this year along with a 1 part reunion like in the old days.

Do you think Abby would have fit in at the Sumner Group? She wouldn't have had the interesting history/dynamics of working with both Gary/Karen... but her and Sumner would have been interesting in a different way.. plus her and Paige as well.

Nina Webster was pretty fiesty as the girl from the wrong side of the tracks

So had Lynde stayed on as Leslie.. would the show have ventured to do the Lori/Leslie/Lance triangle... or would Leslie have stayed with Brad, do you think?

Starting the October 1974 episodes on Retro, Penny is kind of a demon child with the low blow of bringing up her late brother Buddy to Althea. Plus, we are seeing Toni moving on slowly while persumed dead Mike is in the hospital in Asia with bandages on his face. That particular story is an example of long term fallout and how modern soaps don't employ that technique. The Toni/Mike/Alan/Margo story as it stands now became possible because of Penny's crush and scheming to get Mike back in the summer of 1973. One action by one character causing a domino affect that's being felt over a year later on the show. Modern day soaps can do this, but modify the pace to fit in with modern day viewers.

Riverdale last season got those ratings...and crazy ex girlfriend gets even lower ratings..yet both lived to see another week/season.

That last sentence is why I think Bethenny has to go. If she weren't on, we would see more equal focus on all the women. This is an ensemble, not the Bethenny show. Why the show caters to her demands, I'll never know.

Sadly, I think Stacy H could have been a good Patty.. but the show decided to make the character into a redeemable caricature instead of a fully 3D character struggling to maintain balance. Her first few months as Mary Jane/Patty before the character went caricature.. she was conflicted about going along with Victor's plan before devolving fully into mental illness. There was one scene where she was angry about not being able to comfort her brother Paul after Nikki broke off their engagement and how she blamed Victor. I do agree that LS quitting affected the long term potential of Patty especially since she quit a short time before the Patty shooting Jack story took place. I didn't think Andrea Evans was horrible as Patty and maybe if she'd played Patty from the start, it would have been different... but there is one youtube out there where she was playing Patty doing the divorce talk with Jack and she did a good job, I thought.

I agree with that assessment of Jill. I do recall when Jess Walton first took over permanently as Jill, she played Jill more like how Brenda had played her for at least the first year or two before gradually making Jill her own. I don't think I could have bought Jess playing Jill in the 70s at least in the context of how the character was written back then. She would have played a more gritty Jill, not the more demure version of early Jill..imho. Years ago, there were episodes on youtube from Deborah's last days as Jill and Brenda's first day as Jill back.. from what I recall.. it was like night and day the portrayals.. that is. Just like I bet on Ryan's Hope when Edwards left and IK came back as Delia (since Edwards was more venerable and elegant as Delia.. while IK (love her) was more like a bull in a china shop)... that there would have been a huge adjustment. 1982 was a year of transition for the show. While the Brooks and Fosters (save for Jill) all departed in 1982, at least there was the Williams, Nikki/Victor, Kay/Jill, and Jack/John there to stabilize things to an extent.