Soaplovers

Season 2 was the last time that Krystle had layers that made her more than just the 'good one'. The way she went after Alexis in the gatehouse during the catfight and the way she felt guilt over being the other woman while Claudia was in the mental hospital showed that her character still had layers. Starting in season 3, Krystle became a stepford wife... losing all the layers/strength she had in the first 2 seasons. In fact, right before Claudia's death in season 6... Claudia rightly called out Krystle's passiveness remarking how that was more dangerous than the people doing horrible things.

Timeslot is key to a soap. EON, Dark Shadows, and to a lesser extent Somerset benefited from the 3 or 3:30 timeslot since the demo targets were home from school, etc. Had affiliates not had so much power, Loving/The City should have been a late afternoon soap

For me, TPTB created the Loving murders in order to do away with Loving and be reborn as The City... but I was more interested in seeing a post serial killer Corinth and how everyone would deal with the aftermaths of this serial killer. And if I recall, Corinth's main economic hub was the university so I imagine with the serial killer at large, people were opting to drop out of the school and opt not to go back for future semesters. And if enrollment drops, that affects the # of employees working at the University and affects all of the businesses that depend on students for business, etc. To me.. trying to rebuild/reinvent Corinth after the deaths of most of the Aldens would have been fascinating to see.

GL: I actually liked the Nursery Rhyme stalker story

I always thought deep down Gwyn was framing Trisha out of her anger/revenge for refusing to come back and her mental state caused her to believe it was Trisha during the killings and not herself. And I wonder if Trisha popping up right after Jeremy's death threw Gwyneth for a loop and she decided to hide her daughter in an attempt to protect her.

Marie came on in either late spring (like May) or during the summer pre-Marland. She was the reason why Frannie/Kevin broke up.. and Frannie partly ended up coming back to Oakdale in the spring of 1985. The only thing that Marland really did was connect Marie/Kevin/Frannie to the Doug Cummings story.. and also use Iva as a red herring because of the Tad situation.

Of the 1981 experiments, I liked the Judith Barcroft soap opera character arc the best.. at least from the little of it I saw. It managed to include Seneca, Delia, and Roger into it... and I do think maybe Jill could have been incorporated into it based on the law aspect and her past ties to the other core characters. Jill/Jack would have been lots of head butting and arguing.. which would have been a real acting workout for both Levin and Addison Altman.. and given them something to do until Leigh Kirkland and Frank came onto the scene in early 1983. And I haven't seen much of 1982, but I just can't imagine Ilene Kristen playing Delia co-owning the Crystal Palace nor trying to fight with Hollis for air rights to the property. Randall Edwards had a ditzy aura to her Delia.. but she was more crafty and seemed more assured as Delia then Illene was ever playing Delia. I

I always thought the time that Roger/Holly slept together in mid 1993 after the cliffhouse story was the start of the end in terms of good storytelling for the two of them. I think Megan McTavish had said when she took over that she didn't understand why they were a couple again especially after the way he had raped her, kidnapped her, and dragged her through Santa Domingo. So I understood her reasoning as to why they split them up as a couple... but the execution was wrong. It would have been better if Holly saw Roger yelling at someone.. and it triggered her memories of what happened between them in 1979/1980. She then realized she still had a lot to deal with and pulled away from him... which made him feel the impulse to keep pursuing her. Eventually they could have come to a place where they couldn't be a couple.. that the past really couldn't be forgotten and then the two co-existed in Springfield in separate stories/couplings.. but would come together if Blake had a crisis, etc.

I think Iva kept her drive and quirky/youthful fashion look until the pitchfork scene where she revealed to Lily that Rod/Josh was her dad and that she was raped. After that happened, it seemed as though Lisa B and Marland both became intent on making Iva this sad put upon victim. I also wonder if perhaps when Ellie was introduced in 1988 that Marland decided to difuse Iva's early personality and put that into the Ellie character.

When Jenson first debuted in 1991, I found that she had a better handle on playing Marley then in playing Vicky. Most likely because Jenson had played Sarah on OLTL... and her character on there was more like Marley. I think it was also because Marley had more stuff going on when she first took over. She was dealing with the after effects of the rape, the trial, and trying to grow her relationship with Jamie... plus trying to be able to conceive. There was more to play then what Vicky had going on at the time (which was her growing relationship with Ryan.. that was more on the backburner). And Marley's emotional issues started coming up again after she was taking a new fertility treatment where she assumed Paulina/Jamie were carrying on.. and then after finding out Paulina was the one to shoot Jake.. she was furious. All of that got dropped/resolved quickly and once she started dating Dennis in mid to late 1992.. her character lost purpose and focus. On the other hand, by mid to late 1992, Vicky's next long term story really started... which was her entanglement with Grant... and then she became the character with more going on then Marley. To me, how I would rank the actresses playing both twins: Marley: Ellen 1st, Anne 2nd, and Jenson 3rd (after mid 1992, her Marley had no story). Vicky: Anne 1st, Ellen 2nd, and Jenson 3rd (her Vicky in 1991 started off unlikable/mean... then became entitled.).

It sounds like Beacon Hill jumped too quickly into the serialized waters before audiences had a chance to care about the characters.... and introducing 19 characters in a pilot episode would be too much to keep track of right off the bat. Also, wasn't Upstairs Downstairs still running on PBS back then? Why make an American version when you could watch the original version on television.

RHOSLC Monica is trash. She has nothing to offer except showing that she's thirsty and has no place in the housewife world. Dubai: It appears as though Brooks and Stansbury are on the outs as well. @Catthe fact that Ayalan has blind loyalty to Ubah tells me that maybe she needs more therapy. Family should not trump common sense or morals.

What I didn't understand was why didn't the show revist Jack/Jill during the time when Frank was off the canvas between fall 1981 to early 1983. Jill barely did anything during the time Frank was off the show. My mom was a hug Jill fan.. how she was a lawyer, independent, etc... so when I watched the reruns.. I said 'how can you admire a character that settled for being the other woman, and waiting for Frank to get his ass in gear'. My mom said 'well I just loved the actress.'. At least Faith was given different stories during the times when Pat was off screen.

It seemed as though 1991 had three characters that were recast during major story (Vicky/Marley, Paulina, and Grant). Now Grant had to be recast, but I often wonder how stories would have been different had Anne Heche and Cali Timmons remained as Vicky/Marley and Paulina. Cali's Paulina had a manipulative persona while Judi's Paulina was more tough on the outside/soft on the inside. Anne's Vicky was more crafty while Jenson's Vicky was more chip on her shoulder.... Anne's Marley was more composed while Jenson's Marley was more frantic. The main things I could think of that wouldn't have changed storywise was that Marley/Jamie wouldnt have broken up (since AH and Russell Todd had chemistry), and I don't think Ryan/Vicky would have had to deal with Grant as a spoiler. And I think some of the story given to Vicky in terms of Grant would have remained with Paulina.

I grew up in Chicago.. and in a lot of ways Chicago was similar to New York City in terms of their being various neighborhoods within the city. You tend to stay in your neighborhood for various things such as shopping, bars, and sometimes even places of employment. So I could buy Ryan's Hope being so narrow in focus because the family had immigrated to America, open their bar, and had regulars that had coming into Ryan's Bar for decades. That is how urban areas.. or were at that time.

I think the reason Steve/Betsy worked was because Betsy was connected to vet characters such as David, Ellen, and Kim so viewers got to see them while Betsy was heavily featured. The Dobsons came in at the end of the Don Hughes stint on the show.. long after his more dramatic period was concluded (i.e. his marriage to Joyce). I was surprised that they didn't make more use of Joyce.. a character that the Dobsons should have excelled at writing. Based on the 1980 episodes I watched, the show wasn't bad.. it just didn't have the energy of GL and I don't think ATWT ever was a soap that had the wacky off beat vibe of GL to be honest

I thought I had read that the Kim/Michael/Rae climax in the summer of 1981 during the writer strike netted the show some good viewership. Maybe Labine had sour grapes because this wasn't her idea and that idea helped the show get a bump in viewers.

RHOSLC: While it's horrible that Monica had a horrible unbringing, my belief is that anything that happens before you're 18 is your parents fault.. and anything after 18 is your fault. Monica should be in therapy and cut ties with her mother instead of having her mother around her kids. Also, I know people that had mothers/fathers like Monica's.. and they didn't cheat on their spouse with an inlaw, didn't get defensive anytime someone gives feedback, nor be so judgemental. RHOBH: Sutton is confused why she can't have a 2nd date... but I have a feeling she talks to her dates the same way she talked to her assistant... and if so, then I don't blame the men for ghosting her. RUGT: I mean why is anyone surprised that this franchise has gotten toxic? You invite the likes of Brandi, Ramona, Kenya, and Gizelle onto these trips... of course, each season will be toxic. Btw, I was rewatching season 1 of RHOBH and the one thing I noticed that was done back then was that there were episodes where the women weren't together. They hung out with their own friends, their significant other, their kids, etc... unlike now where the women are together way too much.

Barrett could have have played the awkward fragile quality of Faith.. but like others said, she was too old to play the part.. and I imagine she would have grown bored playing the role like Catherine Hicks did.

I know Louise Shaffer in her Locher Room interview said her taking the part of Stephanie was a huge mistake, but that she needed the money. She said that having her take over what after Cheatam left was a huge mistake because it didn't give the audience time to mourn/adjust. She also did say that Cheatam infused Stephanie with a playfulness/a sexiness that she herself did not have... and mentioned that the big wigs just assumed Rae and Stephanie were rich bitch characters without realizing that both characters were a lot more naunced then just being a rich bitch.

The Dobson's had a quirky writing style that only worked on certain soaps... and ATWT was kind of staid and conservative.. while Guiding Light had a somewhat more out there energy that worked with what the Dobson's had to offer.

Emma Samms still has health problems so most likely she couldn't do it even if she wanted to.. heck I would have tried for Pamela Sue Martin if you needed someone from Dynasty.

It would have made sense for Mary to have left Jack and taken Ryan with her instead of killing her off. The show had been setting up marital issues between Mary/Jack for months and he was basically having an emotional affair with Siobhan already. And later on, the show could have either recast Mary.. or just had Kate Mulgrew come back as Mary for visits (she did come back twice in the 80s).

RHONY: Erin seems to be confused alot..maybe she isn't lying... maybe she's just plain confused. Ubah needs therapy and we need to provide shelter for Mr Connecticut because we know she'll turn abusive. Jenna is treated with kid gloves...but I think she does the woe is me as a defense mechanism. Ubah points out how Jessel, Erin and Sai didn't want Jenna on the show...me thinks she also didn't want Jenna on the show. And Jenna was hesitant to do the show and was given outs that the others couldn't get in order to do the show..so I can see why the others were resentful and probably knew they would look the bad guys if they called out her exercising those 'outs'. Jessel and Pravit are the modern day Alex and Simon Mccord.

It was a 2 week strike and it was about residuals for the burgeoning home video market... and it only lasted 2 weeks because the Guild accepted the low ball offer from the studios because 'home videos were an untested market'... and as we all know the WGA lost out on money because of giving in too quickly.