Soaplovers

I read somewhere that Catherine Hicks (3rd Faith RH) tested for Holly on GL the same week she went out for Faith.

In regards to Loving's identity... I remember my mom tell me that when the show first premiered, the first thing she thought of when she saw the show was an 80's version of Love of Life (since the last few years of that soap had strong ties to the university, etc). Loving should have been conceived as a Twin Peaks based around a university with lots of curruption, drugs, rape, etc amongst the students, faculty, and the families of said students.

Not sure if this was mentioned before or not but Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe Y & R) tried out for Michelle in the mid 90's but lost out to Rebecca Budig. Also, Eric Martsolf (Brady DAYS) tried out for Rafe but was cast as Brady

I had heard Iris became nicer when she went on Texas. Did she have the 'daddy' issues on Texas that she had on AW? Do you think when Iris came back from 1988-1994 that she gradually got rid of the 'daddy' thing? Do you think Mac's death caused Iris to evolve since daddy wasn't around anymore?

The episodes end on 10/5/1992.. just before Donna Swajeski left as headwriter and replaced with the associate writer Peggy Sloane and some other guy. Since telenext stopped uploading episodes before the changing of the guard, I was wondering if there was a noticeable difference in tone, story, characters, etc after the changeover? For instance, was there any sudden storyline shifts, character departures, character changes, etc?

I've found some episodes from August/September/early October 1992... so you are saying not every episode from 7/1 till that point is posted?

From what I can recall the last year of AW was an improvement and might have continued to get better if the show had continued. Or since NBC canceled it, there was no interference from either NBC/P & G so the show was able to tell the stories it wanted. I also recall that Paulina was somewhat repaired in the last year as well and ended up a balance between the weepy stand-by-your man character that JFP tried to portray and the hot-headed woman we loved in the early 90's. I remember when she found out about the guy pretending to be her child.. she decked him hard-core (just like she did to Jake at the altar back in the early 90's when she found out he was trying to take over Cory).

I pick a pack of episodes from Feb. 1992 offered by Telenext productions on Youtube... Thoughts: Jake/Paulina: She was engaged to Grant but you could see she had a yearning for Jake and vice versa. You could just see the chemistry oozing when you saw them together. I forgot how fiesty she used to be before they turned her into a pill junkie years later. Marley/Dennis: Strangely I liked the two together.. I remember the buildup to them being a couple was good but once they were together, nothing really happened. However, I will say that I liked JB better as Marley then Vicky. JB played Vicky as an unlikeable bitch while AH always played Vicky with a soft side lurking beneath that tough exterior. Lorna: Love her!! Felicia and Lorna are snarking at each other and we all know what ended up happening there down the road Grant: I was surprised that he was actually kind of nice! Plus, he was getting along with Ryan! I figured Grant went all out mean when MP took over... when did Grant fully embrace the dark side? Olivia: I actually liked this character. What I think soaps fail to do now is make all parties in a triangle likable. Olivia is pregnant and pretending the baby is Sam's. You can see she still loves Sam but that she knows deep down that he's with Amanda. What I gathered in the seven episodes I viewed so far is that she still is optimistic and dreamer. Plus, she isn't focused just on getting a man... she has career goals as a dancer and is trying to figure out how to balance that with the upcoming baby. I also liked the interplay with Sam/Amanda. A part of me wishes that the baby was Sam's because it would have been interesting to see how all three of them would react to one another especially with a baby in the middle. Finally, I forgot that Jenna and Jake were friends with Olivia (another problem with modern day soaps...lack of friendships) Valentine Day Ball: This proved how soaps used to be the medium to watch to see a party in full-swing. Extras, bigger sets, and some great action to propel the plot forward. You had Lorna throwing a tantrum with Rachel/Felicia trying to kick her out, you had Paulina/Vicky coming in the same dress (every woman's nightmare) and fighting to the death, and you had Jamie chasing after a mysterious red-head (I think that was Kelsey, right?) Iris: Last and certainly not least! She was awesome! I know some of you preferred BM in the role but I only identified with CD in the part. She had the regal, dismissive essence that BM bought to the part but she was different then BM's Iris. I just loved her and it was a shame they never thought to keep Spencer/Iris together longer then they did. Thus ends my overall thoughts of Feb 1992 episodes that I happened to catch!

Do you think Philece might have worked better as Nicole? I know Nicole came and went several times during the 80's then never mentioned again. How was she received in each of her stints?

I agree another "eurotrash" character would be interesting, or someone that comes from old money in D.C. who is a really snob. However, I think keeping the Sahali's on would just be rewarding them for their passive aggressive behavior. I agree with another poster to elevate that bitchy Erica character. In regards to Stacie, I think we need someone who is somewhat above all the backbiting (and her facial expressions are the best!)

Didn't Stacy Edward's character accidently kill another character named Amy Perkins? What was that character like? My mom, to this day, swears SB's fall started with Mary's death and that the final nail in the coffin was when Eden went bye-bye circa 1991. What was everyone's impressions of Flame? I think she was in cahoots with Quinn then reformed and vanished?

Totally watched part 1 of the D.C. reunion. Cat is so hilarious (her facial expressions, and her snappy one liners) Lynda was a funny, warm person (so not how the promos portrayed), mary is just a void but kind of funny, Stacie is nice but a little too sensitive, and Michaele's weird take on the world (and everyone's facial expression's every time she speaks). RHOBH: Kyle is my favorite, Kim looks to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Lisa is so Alexis Carrington for the 21st century, Adrienne is a scary person (looks and her flattening that guy), Camille is very delusional (sad she spends time talking about her husband... women should look at her and do the opposite in terms of living in hubby's shadow), and Taylor has been nipped/tucked too many times that she looks like Frankenstein's bride on the loose! If you have to have surgery because you fear losing your husband, perhaps it'll be best to just lose the man and go on with your life. I think they should do a Real Housewives of Chicago. Chicago is such a melting pot with high class, middle class, working class, blue collar, and poor people that it would be interesting to select women from different classes to see how the jive with one another. A sociological experiment at its finest!!

That was what was so great about the show in it's heyday! There was enough variety to go around! So if you didn't like Frankie's brand of humor.. you always had Rachel, Felicia, Cass, Donna, Ada, Iris and even Rachel sometimes(especially with her deadpan way of delivering lines). Nowadays, character's seem to be interchangeable and that's one of the downfall's of soaps (lack of variety).

I loved AW circa 1991/1992. It seemed to include every type of character that you could imagine but they weren't just character types, they seemed like flesh and blood. I haven't been able to watch the AW episodes on youtube but I was wondering if they focused on Jake/Kathleen's family relationship that much? I do remember one time when she stood up for Jake when he was being attacked but couldn't recall if they had any scenes together (she could have counseled him about Paulina/Marley, had helped him deal with his half-brother Kevin, and they could have paired her with someone else as well) Were they close when she was on in the 1980's?

What I always found funny was that even after Barnabas came into the picture, Victoria was still sort of smart and could figure out things (i.e knowing that Cassandra was really Angelique in disguise, knew that Jeff Clark was Peter Bradford, and that Nicolas Blair was evil). However, when it came to Barnabas, she had no idea that he might be a little weird LOL I always viewed Victoria as the everywoman of the show. Once she left, it lost a certain something. Granted, they had Julia/Barnabas/Quentin but something feels missing in the later years to me.

Barring the Gorilla appearing in the last episode and that stupid hip-hop dance to lure the gorilla out of the tree.. the rest of the last episode was wonderful. It had a wedding, had every single person give advice via a video montage (sort of a good-bye to the fans as well) and it ended with Rachel looking over all the photos in the Cory living room before she and Carl turned off the light and went upstairs.

I guess Kelly Preston (going under her maiden name) was on the show at the start but her character was phased out pretty quickly circa 1982. The character I was always intrigued by was Brenda Clegg... sounds like she was the rebellious, party-girl. How did you get along with her parents and siblings? Was she into politics or the complete opposite of politics? I agree that it's a shame the show didn't survive into the 90's. We could have seen how the show handled the Gulf-war, sex scandals, etc. A soap like this would be great to have now. Btw, someone mentioned Catherine Hickland was a better Julie. Did she make Julie less sickly sweet? I can't imagine Catherine Hickland playing a nice character (only old enough to recall her stints on loving and One life to live.. neither of which she played a goody two shoe).

Season 3 seems to be the season that has some interesting self-contained episodes along with the ongoing plotlines of Karen's adjustment as a single mother, Abby showcasing her ruthless behavior (i.e. getting her kids back, taking Gary from Val, and trying to snag the wealthy dude to provide financial security for herself and kids), Laura/Richard's marriage breaking up and both seeking out other outlets. I agree with an earlier post that this season along with season 4, to an extent, was more serial based as opposed to soap-opera based.

I still don't see the point after all these years of making Jill go completely crazy? If the point was to reunite Gary/Val, why did it take another two or three seasons afterwards to reunite them? From what I've read, the writers just decided to make Jill go crazy.. no buildup, no long-term planning.. just have her go crazy. Viewing all the reruns, I liked that Jill was one of those gray characters. She was neither good nor evil and she fit in well on the show. She got along with karen/Mac, had an interesting relationship with Gary, had good bitchy rapport with Abby and later Paige. I just think she had potential to be a longer-term character especially given the exits of later characters.

I totally loved them as a couple along with Val/Ben. Somehow, I always believed that Val and Gary truly loved each other but were unhealthy for one another. It seemed like Abby and Ben helped bring out Gary and Val stronger sides (if that makes sense). Plus, Abby/Val seemed to always be civil/friendly during that period... which surprised me given all the crap Abby pulled on Val.

I was a kid when Knots Landing was a big hit so I didn't know the specifics of the early years of the show. When TNT reran the whole series in the 90's, I finally got to see the early episodes and was surprised at how different it was. My thoughts are as follows: Self-contained vs. Serial: I was surprised the first three seasons were self-containted (the first season especially had only self-contained vs 2 & 3 that had some continuing elements going on). I think that this was a great idea because the audience got to know the characters and what made them tick. Once it went to serial form officially in the 4th season, we already knew the character's and cared about them. I think to revive the prime-time soap, you need to start a show with self-contained episodes then switch to a soap like structure down the road. That's what the new show 'Lonestar' is planning to do. Val: I was surprised at how rural she acted but I also noticed that she had an inner strength and wisdom not seen in later years. To me, she seemed to be the advice giver and less of a victim in those early shows. Sadly in the later years, she became a caricature and always the weak one compared to Karen, Laura, and Abby. As someone mentioned above, I liked that Val interacted with the other women more. She had some great scenes with Laura, a few with Ginger, and even got along with Abby. What fascinated me about Abby/Val was that they seemed to get along with each other in some respects. They would have coffee at each other's homes, worked out together, and took advice from one another. What's even more interesting was that Abby stole Val's husband but they seemed to still be somewhat friendly with each other in the later years.

I just asking because my mom was a huge fan of SF during this time (she was in her late teens/early 20's.. the target demo) and totally remembers Morgan Fairchild, Michael Nouri, and Meg Bennett. When I was growing up, whenever any of those three were on a show, she instantly recognized them and recalled their stories back in the 70's. I did ask her recently why she stopped watching SFT and all she said was that the show became boring and lost focus. Though she did remember Jane Krawkowski/Lisa Peluso/Cynthia Gibb/Michael Corbett as well but wasn't as big a watcher at that time.

I've never viewed any of Ann Marcus' work but perhaps her style fit better on SFT then other shows that she headlined. From what I heard, the several months at Love of Life were fairly well received (of course, the writer she replaced was horrible). Just because a writer is fantastic on one show doesn't mean they will work on another show (i.e. Corringtons were great on SFT, so-so on Texas, and not well-received on Capital).

Yes... Santa Barbara and Loving. How did Morgan Fairchild fair on SFT? I've only seen the one scene on youtube and it was chilling. Just was wondering how the audience viewed her back in the 1970's. Did her character ever interact with Jo?

Yeah, i remember this show.. I remember Michelle Stafford on it but I don't think she came on till near the end of the show. From what she said, her character was slated to become involved with one of the guys but the show went off the air beforehand. From what I recall, the show did well in the cities that carried it but was too expensive to keep going.