soapfave06

It was wild to see Roger Gordon pop back up to visit Sarah, Megan and Viki, particularly in this transition period and with a mustache! That is a big what could have been-had they cast a better leading man to tempt Viki in the Megan era, although Maxim has me excited to see Sloan now.

I am now at the beginning of December 1991 and I have to admit, I did not love the interrupted wedding as much as I thought I would. First, the Dorian/Cassie drama felt so contrived (maybe from the episode restoration editing) to include Dorian attending the wedding and I am not sure why, but it bugged me with everyone being rude to her. Cassie was just completely played as pathetic. Of course I have to adjust to this Sarah, as a big fan of the 80s Gordon sisters dynamics. The editing of the actual show felt odd too, extremely odd choices (unless it is just me) even Alex locking Cassie in the room with her would have been better had we heard the lock clicking, the camera angles of Sarah turning, zooming in on Bo. However, Alex demanding Cassie sit, converse, be respectful and then punching her was fantastic. Again though, no one heard this door slamming, crying, yelling, nothing? It could have upped the stakes quite a bit. Cassie later bursting into Megan’s uninvited to talk to Sarah-at this point she is driving me mad. I don’t hate the actress, it’s the writing. The Max and Asa trial is a snooze fest for me but Blair and the aftermath of Cord being shot is back in play so I do have that to enjoy. I miss the dynamics of Jason, Wanda and LeeAnn at the diner and it would be great to see more of Sheila (although Troy is a snooze) to balance out this other drama and rather small cast (alongside the recasts)

I am not sure they maintain this longterm, I barely remember any Viki and Marty scenes in the 2000s and always thought of Larry as closer to Viki in the mid-90s I have seen. That scene is really great and shows Marty’s reluctance, also never knew Kiki was an addict on that!

Still enjoying your recaps and I hope to be back to 1991 soon! Reading this, Maxim or anyone else, would you say they set Marty up to be heavily involved with Viki from the ties to lupus and Megan or not? Sometimes it seems they played up to it, other times not. Reading these recaps really makes me wish Marty had been further involved with raising hell for both Viki and Dorian.

I am actually shocked at how much more interesting that was than the BS they provide on “business” stories.

Thank you, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas as well!

I do not have Facebook, is there no other way to see that?

Thank you for sharing, I’ve always wanted to see this!

Wasn’t the teen scene not very strong at this time? Compared to OLTL with Jessica and Cristian, a story like this with a good youth set could’ve helped the late 90s a lot?

I think Mia Korf gives film noir (and femme fatale) more than Kassie DePaiva did. I don’t see why they needed Blair back when Kassie could have simply played an additional Cramer character with the same vendetta (and Kelly was pointless IMO) Ohhh what could have been. I would have been infuriated at the time just based on the little I’ve seen of vicious Blair in 1992 and her first full month.

The show is moving so fast I can’t stop watching, but it doesn’t quite feel like any A story to me. Cord’s death scene, which was new to me, was actually quite shocking and brutal. If I were spoiler free or watched live, I would have been STUNNED. Mia did a great job acting that out and the water pool stunts were great. Viki and Larry telling Megan she has lupus was sad, given what we know. I’m not sure how Megan would have fit on the show in the future so this is best anyways. Lee Ann telling Asa off was great, I could watch that all day and poor Kevin, watching as Max romances Lee Ann.

I’m nearing the end of November and the end of Cord. Jason, Wanda, Lee Ann and Luna working at Wanda’s diner (anyone know what it’s called?) is truly my favorite part of the show and I am dreading to see Luna get stuck on Max, hopefully Lee Ann and Jason stay. It is interesting to see the beginning Jason and Dorian, I’m not sure how to take his interest in her, but I understand he loves Lee Ann. The climax to the Ebers worked better than I thought, I wish Jane had shot Doug straight out of Llanview. I REALLY wish we could have seen where Mia Korf’s Blair and Cord could have gone. Wow. I’m into these two and Blair is fascinating. Interesting to boot Cord off around the same time he’s paired up with a newbie, chem tested and nearly cheats. Viki telling Dorian off for expecting to help her make amends with Cassie (after losing Llanfair, being kidnapped, Clint being shot and Megan hospitalized) was GREAT and Elaine Princi is so good because I still felt for her. I’m officially fast forwarding anything concerning Max vs Asa, I’m hoping I get more interested when the Blair angle comes into play. Andrew slowly being worked into the fabric of Llanview has been great and what a welcome addition. Too bad they don’t give a single thought to Sheila (I know I’ve already said it, but wow, she’s been off nearly a month and totally erased from the Eber story she was originally featured in) and with a small cast there is really no excuse. PS - I really always thought Erika Slezak faded to the background from the stroke story through Victor Lord murder trial, but between what I am seeing in Fall 1991 and Maxim’s recaps, she’s still very prevalent.

OLTL is my favorite soap, but the Dobson era of GL intrigues me perhaps more than any other. Every thing I have seen or read of it comes off so fascinating, I really enjoyed reading this.

I am shocked to see the low rating, Maxim! I’m glad to see it improved quickly. I am nearing the climax of the Doug Eber arc and what was the consensus of Jane, Tina and Luna coming to the rescue? If it was supposed to be told realistically, it’s gone batty at this point and poor Troy looked stupid. Sheila has also completely vanished from this story. Erika and Jessica are giving amazing performances as Megan falls ill and Viki fights for her. I already don’t like Luna liking Max. They met, great intro, wrong character plus Luna knows Lee Ann has Max so why do your friend like that? Disgusting! Did anyone else think that John Loprieno and Mia Korf had good chemistry? The scenes of Ilsa holding them at gunpoint and Blair tending to his wounds after, wow, maybe John just looked too good or maybe they had great chemistry. I find this November Sweeps interesting though, as it uses Rauch era music and Gottlieb era music for two high suspense tales. Ilsa makes the Jaba City plot utter camp regardless of the potential for realism using The Banner while the domestic violence plot is more realistic but went insane with the botched police rescue. With that said, the Rauch era was full of villains and Gottlieb era not too many besides one. I will say I thought Rauch did a better job of displaying a villain, Doug is nowhere near as menacing as say Austin Buchanan.

How was she treated at ATWT?

Moving through November and the action continues. Doug, not Roger, has kidnapped Viki and Megan. That was quick and maybe I can see how this wasn’t earned, but Erika Slezak and Jessica Tuck are giving it so I am happy. As Viki and Megan are trapped in the cellar, across town, Dorian is accused of masterminding Cassie’s stalker fiasco. This was a great contrast on the two mother/daughter relationships. It is nice to finally see Cord and Tina’s farewell, and Blair’s true scheming side come out as she lies that the bellhop claimed there were no more rooms to ensure she and Cord stay close. I really have to say I love the community they have built but I don’t want to constantly repeat this. Something about Luna’s reaction to Viki and Megan being kidnapped got to me. With all this said, it seems things are just happening, with some nice monologues thrown in now but I know they are about to become more “soapy” soon so it’s interesting to see the build. Question: would it have been better for Megan and Max to reconnect as fond friends versus pairing her with Andrew in these weeks? I do enjoy her scenes with Andrew but I really enjoyed Max and Megan in the 80s episodes.

I was just saying I wish the credits were included and suddenly they appeared. Sharing a November 1991 Cast List: Max Holden Renee Divine Buchanan Stephanie Hobart Blair Daimler Andrew Carpenter Cord Roberts Rafe Garretson Joey Buchanan Sheila Price Dorian Lord Clint Buchanan Viki Buchanan Larry Wolek Kevin Buchanan Megan Gordon Harrison Tina Roberts Bo Buchanan Troy Nichols Luna Moody Lee Ann Demerest Cassie Callison Jason Webb Herb Callison Asa Buchanan Wanda Wolek Carlo Hesser Heinrich Kaiser Jessica Buchanan Doug Eber Jane Eber Nigel Paula Simms Joe Hawk

That would be interesting and set the tone for what was to come (for worse)

Mari-Lynn also lived in the carriage house, right? She would actually be ideal to involve Megan and Viki if that was the goal.

Ha! Really shows what an icon Roger was. I was waiting on Doug to have a big moment in the costume. Oops, I wish we had closing credits for the spellcheck reasons. There is no balance to Cassie faking the insanity, she isn’t quite coming off as a strong woman which considering she battled Mitch Laurence and was nearly burned alive tied to a tree doesn’t add up. Also, the way she says Sarah kills me, I’m not hating on it though. I have made it to episode dated 11/8 (the dates don’t add up though when I checked the weekly ratings) and I see what you mean about Jane and Roger. I wouldn’t have hated if Jane was less one note, she could’ve been a background character, longterm waitress, something. But I won’t miss Jane or Roger. Not hating the story though. Roger confronting Viki in her office and Blair coming to her aid was quite chilling, the background score was great. I’m actually missing Jason, he’s gone more to the background, and the scene where LeeAnn called out for Max as he sat vigil with her in the hospital made me feel for him. This actor is phenomenal. I am LOVING the ongoing work life at The Banner and Blair making her moves. Cord comes off icky flirting with Blair constantly, although I would’ve liked to see them in the absence of Andrea Evans. Yawn at Max vs Asa. PS- Stephanie is now leaving, they are making moves fast. Kevin left for Texas, I’m assuming that’s the end of that Kevin? Also, were their any other characters pre-1991 that could have taken the place of Jane and/or Roger to avoid them being randoms?

I have made it through the 11/5 and I really can’t get over how on fire the show is. I think they are handling the transition from old to new and getting their bearings while keeping Llanview feeling like a community and it still feels like a soap, I really don’t get all the hate from the press at the time. I loved the Halloween episode: the costumes, LeeAnn and Luna, Jessica as Dorothy and getting spooked by Addie, Roger in the clown costume to track down Jane, etc. Cassie faking her breakdown to lure out the stalker is both interesting but moved at odd pacing. I wasn’t expecting the charade to continue through an episode and a half and thought it would just be one big moment. She did take it a bit far, poor Bo, Herb and Dorian. The fire at Llanview was very cinematic, especially the exterior rooftop window scenes and everyone slowly running down the alley. Great work by cast and crew. Max’s return from start to current has been great-loved seeing him back with Megan and then reaching LeeAnn and at her side.

I appreciate that! I am glad I made it through the hurdle and am now enjoying an era I have long ignored.

The playlist I am using has back tracked incredibly, so I have gone from arriving to the Halloween costume party to moving prior to Max returning I believe. This led me to watch the Viki exposes Cain/Tina visits her pirate past life episode again and I think it really may be one of my favorites of all time. Karen Witter has me laughing out loud and Erika slays those scenes exposing Cain, I wish it was a bigger moment but I know he has more up his sleeve. I can now quite literally not get enough of Jason Webb. This man is so real. He broke my heart when he realized he gave Wanda the wrong medication and I could only laugh when he taunted Kevin that “Mommy’s here!” as Viki paid a visit to LeeAnn, which were also nice scenes. I am back and forth on the Bo and Cassie stalker story. Maybe it’s the editing, but also the episodes move very differently, and it could be the pacing of the show as they experiment. I actually love how well used Viki is across the canvas, this could’ve done well for them in later years even in simple ways. She has exposed Cain Rogan, aided Bo and watched Porter die, confronted LeeAnn, gotten herself involved in the Jane Ebert drama and unknowingly tied into Blair’s upcoming schemes. I don’t mind this Kevin, but he’s just there, and I imagine a lot of his scenes with the upcoming Kevin (Kirk) playing them and I think they would hit a lot better. She is used well so far, but my only complaint is that Sheila Price/Valerie Pettiford should have been a LEAD on this show. I will never drop it.

I can’t wait to see those Mia Korf scenes. I love your very organized reviews. I have never seen the Bo scenes but often forget as they aren’t discussed often in the grander history of the show, as far as I know, barely mentioned on air.

PS-hoping to catch up to November and looking forward to seeing your reviews again!