Soaplovers

Lakin was dating Marcia Cross when he started GL in 1985. Kristi F (Roxie) said she recalled when Lakin dumped Marcia because it happened at a party/gathering she was hosting. I think Kyle started off well, but I think once Pam Long left...his character got lost in the shuffle. When Long was leaving, she had set up a potential Spauding/Lewis war because Alexandra blamed Billy and Kyle for Lujack's death...but it looks to have not progressed beyond that.

Sabrina had the makings of a bad seed daughter. Remember she pretended to be Frannie in order to get with her boyfriend Seth...then she dumps Seth and marries another man. And Claire Beck had played a more crazed and desperate character on AMC so she could have easily tapped into Sabrina's darker side. For some reason, Marland refused to go all the way in making Sabrina the black sleep of the Hughes family. 1977 and 1979 episodes really highlighted Joyce's dark and demented side. No wonder people in early 1980 were leery of Joyce...and if I recall...it turned out Joyce was faking the nice act and was exposed in 1981 before leaving town.

I think KB was the correct person to play Karen in the first year or so before Judith Light took over. Seeing the Aug 1976, April 1977, and May 1977 episodes shows the subtle changes in the Karen character. Aug 1976, Karen has a confident persona she shows to the world, but we see cracks in it during her conversation with Jenny. She instantly assumes Jenny is judging her like she always has after Jenny 'judges' her after her conduct with Larry. April 1977 shows a happy and joyful Karen that feels she's achieved what she's always wanted....financial and emotional security. May 1977 shows Karen determined to keep up with the Joneses and being mentored by Dorian. You see a quiet desperation in Karen to maintain her newfound status. I can imagine summer/fall 1977 would have shown other instances that led Karen to become a prostitute. From what JL said, she was on set on standby because of KB's health issues and that even though KB did show up that day....Joe Stuart asked JL what she would do if playing Karen...and I bet her answer led to the producers and KB mutually parting ways. I think KB set a strong foundation for the character of Karen that JL was able to build from. Also, I don't know if JL could have played Karen as well in the first year of her character. She would have played it more cold and less warm then KB..imho. Lastly, Pinkerton is fab as Dorian...and I think Claire Malis was an excellent bridge between Pinkerton and Strasser. She could play restrained like Pinkerton, but could ham it up like Strasser.

Couple: Two people that exist well on their own or together storywise. And if broken up, can co exist without the whole will they or won't they....and can be paired up with other people in equally popular couplings. Supercouples: To me, a kiss of death in terms of plot and character development. They cease to exist as an individual character. Only way to pair them with others successfully if one of the two leaves the canvas. Examples of super couples: 1) Luke and Laura 2) Greg and Jenny 3) Tad and Dixie 4) Josh and Reva 5) Bo and Hope Examples of couples: 1) Adam and Brooke (AMC) 2) Tom and Erica (AMC) 3) Ed and Holly (GL) 4) Lisa and Bob (ATWT) 5) Paul and Lauren (Y & R)

From what I gather, it sounds as if the soap spent more time preaching instead of focusing on telling compelling stories with 3 D characters. The Fran story sounds like the exception rather then the rule with cards and sympathy being sent in by viewers. Maybe the focus of the soap should have been on her with the Chris story being the secondary story. And having her remarry her ex seemed like it was done because viewers weren't attached to a tale of a newly divorced character...especially one audiences hadn't had time to become attached to.

AMC had a gothic vibe most apparent between 1979 and 1992. That element helped to introduce the Cortlandts, Chandlers and Marick/Grey's. The only time it didn't work was during the Goldie/Silver story. The 2013 reboot did bring the gothic element back with Celia and her mysterious benefactor. I do recall SOD would run summaries of the shoe..and even printed summaries of things cut when the show went from airing 4 days to 2 days. One of summaries featured was Celia's story...and it had revealed that Billy Clyde was connected to her. However, there were rumors the show had opted not to go that route so those scenes were cut..and a new direction was being decided. Rumor had it Dimitri would have been the benefactor instead..since fans thought she favored Gillian.

Apparently someone several years ago researched and compiled the TBS schedule from 1980 and beyond It looks as though it was edited into 30 minute episodes aired in the morning for a few months in 1983. Looks as though it wasn't paired in the schedule with The Caitlins. http://www.sitcomsonline.com/TBSLog1980-Present.txt

Apparently it briefly was rerun on TBS in the 80s. I think they reran it as a way to get viewers to sample their own short lived soap opera...so they were paired together. Not sure if it was successful or not.

Not sure if shared in the past so re-sharing. The part I enjoyed was their discussion on character and their backstories. The how and why of a character is vital because it informs how you play and write the character..even if not shown on screen. Perfect examples of female characters on AMC with the Nixon touch (imho). 1) Erica Kane (Abandonment issues, seeking constant validation, poor social skills with women) 2) Brooke English (Adopted mom hated her, trying to mother teen girls that are lost due to her lack of being given love by a female/motherly figure..plus grief over losing her daughter, always opting for Erica's leftover 3) Gloria Marsh

Angie had more focus and attention on Loving during her time there then she would have on AMC at the time. God knows what McTavish would have subjected her to during that era. She had two strong relationships with Charles and Jacob, a good friendship with Stacy and Jeremy, explored her relationship with her son Frankie, and I think we even had her mom Pat come for visits as well. It makes me wonder if that same treatment would have been given to Ellen Holly back in the 80s when Agnes wanted to bring Carla and Sadie over to Loving?

Erica in early 1988 was peak form. She was dramatic, but was still being written with layers so she wasn't a cartoon character. @MaximI'll be interested to hear your thoughts on 1988 once the writer strike episodes come into play. I believe those episodes start in late March/early April and span about five months or so. @KhanI think Erica/Travis are badly damaged as a couple starting with the strike era episodes.

919 Fifth Avenue was probably put in 2nd position because CBS was 0bsessed at the time with courting the Melrose Place audience. I think with a better production 919 Fifth Avenue would have been a better fit at CBS then Central Park West (which seemed like an east coast attempt at Melrose Place)

I'll leave to hear Donna's take on Abby's season 2 arc. To me..it was my favorite season of Abby..it was her most carefree season.

I had forgotten about Brooke and I viewed Jack/Brooke as a stop gap until the show paired her with Edmund and then tried to pair Jack with Angelique then Laurel. In fact, in 1994...the plan was to reunite Jack and Erica permanently...but audiences wanted her with Dimitri so the show changed gears. I remember during that Libizone stunt when people taking it lost their inhibitions that Jack went for Erica while she had to tell him that she was only into friendship with him..while she went for David Hayward. David was Erica's last pairing that I enjoyed her in. They has chemistry, looked good with one another..and had long term potential. A shame it ended.

Jack and Erica were fine in the late 80s/early 90s...but their affair causing her to lose custody of Bianca should have been the thing to end them as a couple. Only reason the show kept reviving them.as a couple was due to Jack not sparking with anyone else. And as a stop gap before Erica got her next love interest. The show tested him with Natalie, Barbara, Angelique, Laurel, Gloria, and Carmen. None of them took.

Back then, shows weren't afraid to drop an actor if they weren't working. Agnes made the right call it sounds like with recasting Ann, Linc, Chuck, and Jeff...and dropping Bobby. Though I would have bought Bobby back later on once Jeff and Tara's stories were completed in the mid to late 70s.

Soaps nowadays produce so quickly and out of order that for newbies...there isn't time to learn the naunces of acting. Back in the 80s, people like Moore and Tomei had the luxury of learning from those around them and had more rehearsal time to work out the kinks in blocking and scenes. By the 90s, it appeared on ATWT that if you weren't a broadway nor stage performer...you were treated differently...and not in a good way.

I always wonder how Nancy would have evolved if she had remained in the role. She had a more fragile take when playing Nancy that if the intention was for the audience to not like the character...her take would have made that harder. While Meredith had a stronger and more strident take when playing Nancy...that when Nancy did something selfish..the audience could be angry at her.

I think the Sherry story was cooked up last minute because Josie Bissett opted to leave the show for personal reasons. It would explain why the Jane stalking Jake/Allison story was dropped and ended so badly. I think Donna did as much as she could with the role, and it was a shame there wasn't other adult oriented dramas that could have cast her in a recurring basis (she had opted to pull back on acting somewhat because she had adopted and was focusing on being a mother).

I'm not surprised that Daphne was fired because I thought I had read that she wasn't happy with how she was written in season 4 and went to TPTB.. and they basically gave her the boot. I have a feeling had Daphne remained into season 5.. she would have been the heavy against Jake/Allison.. a position Jane was slid into and which didn't make much sense.

Co sign. And maybe that could have been Val's season 11 story instead of Danny..or even over the brain virus story.

Afton was an interesting character..who knew how to read people..even better than JR at times. Melissa going crazy could have worked if it happened during the earlier seasons when Hamner was still involved in the show.

I liked that Jane Wyman didn't play Angela as this over the top person... she played her as decisive/confident.. focusing on family honor over being affectonate/attentive to her children/family. Chase/Maggie/Cole/Vicky were a nice contrast in season 1/2 because the four had a love and genuine affection for one another even when they were having conflicts... plus they had more relatable 'middle/upper middle class' events like Maggie doing chores in casual clothes, getting their place ready for guests, etc.

What I liked reading the summaries of 1974 to 1976/7 was that Meg and her two children Ben and Cal were driving the majority of the story. It's a shame that Cal was phased out eventually because Ben and Cal were kind of like Val and Meg back in the 50s. Ben seem more like Meg in terms of wanting money/being his own worst enemy while Cal seemed more like her aunt Van with her being more of a good girl.

Ryan's Hope - 1982. I've seen the 75 to 81 episodes.. and there are a lot of 1983 to 1989 episodes that have popped up over the years... but the year 1982 would be nice to see. The Doctors: 1980 to 1982 For Prime time soaps: All the episodes of short lived prime time soaps like The Secrets of Midland Heights, Kings Crossing, and even Beacon Hill from the 1970s. I know Kim Zimmer mentioned in an interview when she went to audition for Reva.. she was amazed that Pam Long wrote a bible for the character. I would love to see if any other character bibles existed for the Long era of GL including what the intention/plan was for Blake before the 1988 writer strike.