Soaplovers

A Dani free day at last We need to have this happen more often so we can focus on other characters with more potential.

No she didn't. She acts as if she's above everyone.. yet is the biggest whore there is. After going after Erica's seconds.. and then stealing Janet's man Pierce (I was rooting for Janet to dispose of her).

I do agree that the story is going lightening fast. In fact, I think it would have worked a bit better if Mona was the one that recognized him instead of Erica.. and she's debating about whether to tell Erica or keep it to herself. It would have resulted in some fiery Erica/Mona scenes that were in character. I also think MDP went lightening fast with Erica's arc during her time. In March of 1989, Erica is still reeling from Travis being with Skye and trying to accept he's moved on while Jack is trying to help her with her business.. and by June/July.. Jackson/Erica are in bed together. That went too fast for me and it underscored my belief that Jackson was just a rebound for Erica and never her true love. (You'll see that a lot during the Agnes, Megan McTavish, and Broderick ers in the 90s). Where to start. She's smug, judgmental, a snob.. and tries to portray herself as better then other women when she's actually worse then those women. My favorite scene I came across was Gloria Marsh giving her the smackdown at the Martin House in December 1991 with Brooke visibly shaken. It was the rare time someone finally called out Brooke for throwing stones at glass houses.

I think the Marissa story could have ended with her dying trying to save David's life.. and that could have been the fuel to make David push away Lanie and Jeremy because of the intense guilt he feels for his mom's death. It would have made that story end a bit differently then the Silver storyline. @Maxim This move by Erica in 1989 is in character because one of the driving forces in Erica's life was her father and his abandonment of her. She always was waiting for him to come back for her, and she blamed Mona for driving her father away and keeping him away. So this news of her father possibly being alive reignites a long buried hope that she could find him and have him finally love her. Mona and Jack know better then to prevent Erica from trying to find him. The whole Adam gaslighting Dixie story is a classic gothic story and it works very well because it is in Adam's character to pull something like that on one of his wives. He uses different tactics based on the personality of his current wife. And I think the story also works as sort of karma for Dixie after being the other woman during his marriage to Brooke. The story works because it's rooted in character. Although I never liked Brooke.. and I always was team Erica anytime Brooke and Erica would spar. Also, I know you loved Karen... but I think the reason she was made the kidnapper was because the actress wanted to leave the show. There's an interview with Ellen Wheeler that stated her reason for wanting to leave the show after playing Karen a short time.

The Cummings were basically boxed in/islanded off from where the show would go in the 2nd year and beyond so it made sense to write them off.

I think Cliff/Angie didn't work for two reasons.... Racism and the fact that they were part of two very popular super couples that had recently ended. Even if Cliff/Angie were of the same race... fans still wouldn't have accepted them as a couple because in their minds, Cliff belongs with Nina and Angie belongs with Jesse. Sometime soap fans can be a tad too crazy and in need of some kind of intervention.. and are part of the reason why soaps began their decline because of their refusal to allow characters to progress/stories to evolve.

Reading some of the other 1991 outlines, it does appears as though what was written actually translated to the screen. I faintly remember the Cal/Lucinda/Lyla situation... and it was a shame that Cal/Lucinda didn't proceed past a physical relationship.. but both were stubborn and too strong willed to have made a relationship last long term. Though Cal/Lyla also didn't seem to have long term legs either and it also didn't last beyond 1992/3 if I recall correctly. It looks as though Lisa and Ellen were in back-up position in these outlines, and while Lisa did move back into lead position in 1992/3.. Ellen never did even though it looked as though killing David off in the summer of 1991 was the first step to getting Ellen back into a more prominent position, which didn't happen. Outside of Emily, I don't think Marland was as motivated to write for the Stewarts as he was for the Hughes, Walsh, and Snyders. In his defense, when he got to the show.. only Betsy, Ellen, and David were on the show... and he wasn't motivated to write for Betsy/Steve nor Ellen/David was previous writers were. Even after Betsy became a free agent in 1986, the writing for Betsy was just not as strong and it appeared that was also the case for Ellen even after she was freed up after David's death. It's the direct opposite of the Dobson's and the other head writers that came before Marland. If you look at the show from 1980 to 1985, the Stewart family had a lot more focus then the Hughes family with Dee, Annie, Ellen, Betsy, and David in various stories. Too much story was probably burned through for them, but Dee could have easily come back during the Marland years.

Tad and Dixie were a couple that if you broke them up, you had to keep them apart and not reunite them unless you were committed to keeping them together forever. Adam and Brooke were soul mates, but keeping them apart until near the end of the run served both characters well... and once they reunited, they stayed together forever. I remember fans at the time celebrating when they finally reunited and left together to live their lives outside Pine Valley.

I think the combination of Clarita Bauer (Bert) passing away in real life in the first half of 1985, plus adding Jeff Ryder as co-headwriter probably caused some sadness/disarray backstage and it translated into the writing of the show. Plus, Long was pregnant and preparing to leave GL in the fall of 1985 so she probably was more apt to listen to input from others on the staff instead of going with her instincts. The 2nd half of 1985 seemed to be more neo-noir then the the fun and spirited GL of the 1983/1984.. and it doesn't really regain that fun community spirit again until 1989 I could have seen her Blake be more of an antagonist in the Beth/Philip/Blake triangle in the 2nd half of 1989 then how SS played Blake during that time. Dennehy's Blake played her final scenes as so lost/tragic after discovering Adam Malik was really her long believed dead father Roger. I often think how she played Blake was more how Blake should have been after the trauma of what happened to her parents played out in her childhood and what we believed was her life growing up after Holly left the show.

Seeing the Ava switch was something I never thought I'd see. Roya's last scene seemed more subdued and less flighty while Lisa's first scene reminded me more of Lila on AW then Ava (or at least she ended up playing Ava long term). Seeing Leslie as Gwyn was interesting since it occurred a short time after she quit GL as Maeve. So I could see some of her Maeve in her take as Gwyn, yet also seeing her sort of take on a bit of Tudor's portrayal of Gwyn. When Tudor had left the role in the late 80s, I could have accepted Leslie as a recast of the part. Seeing the Mike scenes at the Vietnam memorial.. it kind of read as more gothic.. and i don't think it worked in this case.

Seeing the Dobson episodes from 1979 really highlighted how dry and boring Marland's episodes were in comparison. The dialogue alone during the Marland was so unrealistic that it made me want to tune out of the episodes while the Dobson episodes had dialogue that seemed less stagey/cringey. Long's 1983 and 1984 had some stellar work and equal airtime amongst the newbies (Lewis Clan/Reva) and the veteran mainstays (Bauers/Reardons.. Parker siblings). Plus, she managed to make Springfield look like a fun town.. which was a welcome relief from the dour and stodgy Springfield that Marland presented. Her 1985 was an interesting year that was too focused on the Lewis/Shayne clan though I did like Lujack's music video and had a soft spot for Infinity (Only because it was an umbrella story, the constant use of the black background during the climax of the Infinity story was interesting, and there was fall out with Lujack's death). Long/Curlee were a good team that balanced one another out, though I have to admit that Long leaving in December 1990 took away a fun energy that could have been an asset during the more literary Curlee/Demoerest era of 1991 to 1993. Also, I notice that Ed became more dour after Long left the canvas.. no longer did he make wisecracks nor have the couple banter with Maureen that had been there in the 80s up through 1990.

From reading the first pages of the early 1991 plans, it looked as though the Carolyn Crawford murder was always planned to span months (going to at least May 1992 sweeps). His first mistake was the victim he picked was someone that the viewers didn't really know nor care about. I think she was only on the show on and off for several months, but we didn't really get to know/care about her. His second mistake was having Frannie be the other woman/follow up wife. Not because the actress wasn't capable (I prefer her to Julianne Moore), but because Frannie already had the psycho boyfriend story so why subject her to another psycho/killer. His third mistake was deciding to not make Daryl the killer, and I have a feeling his decision to change that caused the story to drag even longer because he had to figure out who could logically be the killer. His fourth mistake was the use of so many small parts/characters that viewers didn't know nor care about.. that ended up killed just as they were going to reveal vital information. The one minor character I think was interesting was Dana. She was kind of a hot mess and was kind of comedic in her performances.. and I do recall she did kind of intersect with other characters during major events for a time.

Ashley was more animated and interesting when interacting with her mom. Of course, we already knew her mom had some personality since she and Silk Press Sheila have friendship chemistry. Speaking of which, Eva and Silk Press Sheila each have pulled a stunt that the other isn't aware of yet. Eva having her mama kicked out while Silk Press Sheila did a bit of bumper cars with the assistants vehicle. I have a feeling this tale/scheme will climax in May.. I feel it in my bones. I know that a wait and see attitude is in order for Ron C and Jamey... but breakdown writers make sure that the head writer and their vision is laid out effectively. MVJ/Guza might have a good idea, but if the person implementing the idea is subpar then it doesn't matter how the good idea was.... and Ron C and Jamey don't exactly have a good track record (from what I hear, some viewers haven't been thrilled with Jamey's contributions at Days although the quality hasn't been good there for awhile).

Ellen was not a good choice. She was too delusional and too into her emotions to be an effective EP. She should have just remained a director and kept away from the EP chair. The idea that Megan wrote in the book to counteract the showgirl idea would have been better and more befitting of Erica. She probably would done either a cabaret show, or been a singer ala Lyla Montgomery of ATWT fame.

Ron and Jamey as breakdown writers are a massive red flag. From what I understand, breakdown writers have the most contact/interaction with the head-writers so I assume that MVJ and Guza were on board with Ron's Friday outline. I am curious if every soap has a new breakdown writer for each episode, or if BTG is the only soap that is doing that. I would think it would be more logical to have the breakdown writer handle breakdown each episode for the week, with the script writers alternating per episode. With that said, I did like that there was a bit of break between Dani vs Bill/Hayley... with Hayley's not being welcomed by the staff of the country club (as Vanessa eluded to in the first episode) and Bill potentially being sued by former employees of his due to his promoting Hayler over others (which I like that the conversation Hayley and Caroline had in the first week was a foreshadowing). However, Naomi has no business taking on the case. It's a conflict of interest and she doesn't seem like she's able to put aside emotion in order to do her job (which seems to be the norm with lawyers nowadays). I have a feeling that Eva is actually Ted and Nicole's child.. and that Silk Press Sheila managed to have that embryo implanted in her. It's not far fetched, or she did a baby switch and perhaps Kat isn't really a Richardson and Eva is? Unpopular opinion, but Tomas is a decent actor and kind of hot. I would be on board with a Tomas/Kat/Eva triangle down the road. Dani is just pathetic and if she passed away from alcohol poisoning, I wouldn't care.

I did think yesterdays episode did a good job of providing a bit of difference between the Vanessa and Pamela's characters in regards to their function in Dani's life. We all have friends that provide different functions so I could see Vanessa being the social friend (i.e. drinks out, having a laugh) and Pamela being the fixer (i.e. her snapping Dani back to reality, bringing the stuff Dani asked for, and being calm/posh). It also was the first episode where Pamela had more then just a few lines so we got to see a bit more development of her character, plus got to see how Cady would make this character different then her previous long term characters. The posh/upper crust accent and mannerisms differ considerably from Dixie and Rosanna. Also, soaps do adjust/change once they air for a bit vs what was planned originally in bible. While it appears Ashley/Andre might be in the cards, the chemistry he has with Dani and Eva supersede the chemistry he has with Ashley so the show could shift gears. Santa Barbara is a perfect example with Cruz/Eden ending up being a couple vs the original plan of Cruz/Santana and Eden/Warren. So it isn't out of the realm for plans to shift down the line. @BetterForgottenMy thinking about if there will be any shifts/changes would most likely be four to six months into the future since the show taped about 12 weeks in advance before it debuted and probably wrote several more episodes ahead of them being filmed.

Megan did have a good rep from her first stint as head writer at AMC so I could under P & G and Laibson thinking they scored a coup in landing her as a head writer. What P & G and Laibson didn't realize was that one of the reasons her AMC was good in her first stint was because Agnes was still there behind the scenes to sort of reign her in. As we saw, a reigned in Megan wrote some great stuff in that first stint at AMC. Also, Guiding Light and All my Children were vastly different shows with different audiences and expectations. What she didn't do was adjust her style/approach to Guiding Light. Her confusion over Roger/Holly being a couple was a valid one because even though Roger had sort of been redeemed.. he still raped her and kidnapped her all those years ago. So I supported her breaking up Roger/Holly... but what I didn't support was making Roger a one dimensional villain and pairing Holly up with Fletcher. It was as if she was trying to recreate Maeve/Fletcher with Holly and Fletcher.. and it didn't work at all. And the Marion Crane story could have worked if it lead Brent to realize what he had done to Lucy was truly heinous and led to him turning himself into the police. The only thing I did seem to like during her brief stint was that she definitely wrote Annie with more depth/layers then the one note psycho route

The same thing that caused Edge of Night and Search for Tomorrow to be axed caused Another Life to also be axed. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/23/arts/christian-broadcast-network-cancels-its-cable-soap-opera.html I have a feeling that the Bible story turned viewers off, and they tuned out so affiliates responded by dropping the show. It looks as though the show finds its footing again by its last few months.. but it was too little too late.

I think Capital would have been less crazy/plot driven if Sloan had managed to take over as headwriter since her writing stint on AW was a lot more social issue base and less over the top/gimmicky. It's a shame the show didn't think to keep Slesar on since he managed to balance the more political/mystery element with romantic soap opera plots quite effectively. Much better then Lipton ever did.. imho. Now that you all mention it, Tonja did have a Carolyn Jones element to her acting. I often wonder how Myrna would have evolved had Jones not fallen ill/passed away from cancer. Her Myrna had this intensity that you just knew would be used to strike at her enemy when least expected so I imagine later stories involving her character would have gone differently.

I must have been either in school, or adulting, when that sexiest man contest was going on. I don't understand why soaps insisted on these type of contests without actually seeing if the person could act. And yes, the actor that played Carlos was very photogenic and looked great in photos. Sometimes a models looks doesn't translate to a tv or movie screen. @MaximI've enjoyed your 1988 and 1989 write-ups since I like to see what a newbie thinks of past episodes of a show. Especially during this period where you had Broderick as headwriter, Depriest as headwriter, and then the strike episodes. Agnes takes back over as head-writer by the Christmas 1989 episodes I believe so I'll look forward to reading what your thoughts on the back-half of the Depriests brief stint.

Hayley must be a good paralegal since she was able to pick out small details that Dani and Pamela didn't think of. We got some fire from her, and it's about time that she removes her gloves and fights off that pathetic ole Dani. I believe Pamela (Cady) is supposed to be a spa owner, but I could be wrong. I like that Cady has a different stance/demeanor playing Pamela than she had playing Dixie and Rosanna.. and her voice is a bit more regal here. Good 1:1 between Andre and Nicole. Kat vs Eva is still bubbling underneath the surface while I'm glad Nicole noticed that Silk Press Sheila was at the award ceremony. Usually characters tend to have selective blindness when it comes to things like that so it was refreshing that wasn't in play here.

@DRW50 I decided to watch the last 50 episodes of the show (episodes 825 to 875) and Nancy is a bit more of a grey character then she is in the episodes that @dc11786is reviewing. I can tell that the cancellation notice came quickly because the show is operating at a semi slow/decent pace up till around episode 855/856 before it goes into quick overdrive trying to tie up stuff around episode 860. In fact, a new story was starting up around the 840s that I suspect would have climaxed during November 1984 so the final episode doesn't resolve the plotline.. but gives hints on what will end up happening in the story. The DOMI story is pretty good, and I think the later twist cheapens the story.. but I suspect the cancelation notice probably caused the twist to come out of left field. Deadly Pursuits/Assassin has decent focus in the last 50 episodes.. but it seems to be dropped and/or resolved off screen.. but I'm at 861 in my viewing so maybe there will be a resolution of sorts mentioned. Of the younger characters, the actress playing Courtney is a natural and it makes sense she ends up going to Search for Tomorrow for awhile in 1985 as Adair. But the best conclusion I can come up with is that the episodes are well written, the acting is good, and it definitely had legs to continue on had the show not been canceled. In my opinion, Another Lie achieves what the soap opera Loving was trying to be when it debuted. A college town soap opera that had a strong focus on the college and the townspeople.

The Days Facebook page under comments is a real eye opener. Women were hot and heavy over Ben and Ciara.. and the amount of angry emojis I would receive when I pointed out that Ben was a serial killer and not understanding why they were gun ho over a character like him. I'm awaiting the last week of April since that's when the new regimes material starts airing so I suspect maybe the episodes from the week or before that might have tweaks to them.

1) Agnes was character driven while Megan was plot driven. The only reason I can think that Agnes suggested the guilt element with Julia was based on character. Julia was raised in a religious Catholic family and always felt overshadowed by her perfect older sister Maria. So I could see Julia deciding to have an abortion because she was raped brutally, but also having some residual guilt based on her religious upbringing. Had Agnes written it, it would have been powerful. 2) Dixie/Tad were a wonderful couple in 1989/1990... but realistically, they should have stayed broken up after the Liza affair.. but stayed on the canvas at the same time. 3) You know my position on Jack LOL

It's not that serious. It reads like a rough draft and I have a feeling that had she made revisions/corrections.. it wouldn't have resembled what we read. However, I like that someone finally called out all of the toxicity and egos that plague the soap world even if she is part of that toxicity herself.