zanereed

I 100% agree - I never understood this, either. Actually, they could have tweaked it a bit where Rachel and Russ wouldn't even need to be romantically involved. I would have played out the long game in the relationship - Rachel isn't looking for anyone new after the love of her life has passed. Russ isn't really looking for romance, either, and certainly not with his ex-wife. However, they both find a fun and unique *friendship*. They go out to dinner, dancing, etc. - they have fun! Their non-romantic relationship causes various reactions with some in Bay City. For instance, Amanda is thrilled by the fact that her Mom is on the rebound, but not necessarily a romantic rebound. Matt has a different take, though, and doesn't trust the situation at all. Matt influences Josie to not trust her newfound father, and therefore Russ can't seem to get close to Josie, no matter how much he tries (much to the relief of Sharlene). I would have also kept either Alice or Pat on full time, as they would be the ones from the Matthews point of view - should Russ really be doing this? Is Russ falling for Rachel again? Is history repeating itself? Jamie would be the one who would look at it all with cautious optimism 😁.

This was another reason I wish they would have brought back Mike Bauer during 1986 or 1987, after Alan returned. It wouldn't have even mattered to me if it was a recast or if they could get Stewart back. I would have tried pairing Mr. Law and Order with Van. I thought there was some odd chemistry between Mike and Van in the episodes I've seen from 1981, but I admit they were when Anna Stuart was filling in for Maeve Kinkead. I would have put Mike in Van's orbit, putting a potential rivalry with Ross, Alex, Billy...you name it. Plus, have Van eventually marry Mike, and have Van come to a Bauer BBQ (did she attend one in the 1980's at all...?!!?).

@Mitch: do you know *when* TPTB were trying to get Hulswit back in the role? This is the first time I've heard that he was ever approached to return after firing him in 1981. If it was during 1997, and he declined at TPTB then decided on Gentry, that's fascinating. However, as you said before over in the GL thread, the Bauer that should have been brought back during the Santos storyline would be *Mike Bauer*. That would have made much more sense and more interesting than Ed, even though the storyline involved Michelle. Regardless, Uncle Mike would have came back to protect Michelle as Ed would still be in Africa at that point. I even think that Don Stewart would have come back full time if they asked him to. @vetsoapfan: I guess I don't see the opinion of Mart Hulswit as the best Ed Bauer being an unpopular one , but you know my opinions already when it comes to TGL.

Someone mentioned to me last year what I thought about George Reinholt as Alan Spaulding on TGL. (This would have been during 1988, so Reinholt instead of Daniel Pilon.) I had never, ever considered Reinholt before in the role, but as I started to look at all of the audio and video footage available of Reinholt as Steve Frame, it made complete sense to me.

Thank you for posting this. Can anyone out there clarify for me if Lynne Adams *wanted* to leave TGL, or if the Dobsons decided to simply write out Leslie (as they had earlier with Joe Werner) to free Mike up for new romantic entanglements. I still wish Mike and Leslie would have had a son or daughter. I suppose that might have been too weird at that time in the 1970's to have a child who would have had the same mother and two different fathers...who were also brothers! Or, had that already happened on another soap and I just can't recall it...? Also, for curiosity's sake - I recall that Don Stewart had better chemistry with Barbara Rodell versus Lynne Adams. Can anyone clarify that, as well?

This was a great episode illustrating how good Zaslow and Bernau were during this time period. Roger is getting darker and darker, while Alan is getting more and more conflicted - having a conscience - thanks to his involvement with Hope. To be fair, Alan is still Alan, but Bernau never went down the path of "mustache-twirling". I wish the previous episode was available. In that episode, Roger first breaks into the Spaulding Mansion, hunts around some of the drawers, and grabs some cash he finds in one of the drawers. This episode has a call-back gag, as Roger offers Alan some of that same cash back around the 0:56 mark 😄. There was great interaction here between Ed and Mike, as well.

Mike Bauer showing his disdain for Ben and Hope by shoving his hands firmly in his slacks pockets 😁.

@vetsoapfan, maybe you could answer this question regarding Kobe - I read on another forum or message board years ago that Kobe wanted to essentially recreate "Texas" once she was hired as EP of TGL. She hired previous "Texas" cast members, and apparently had some influence on getting Pam Long hired on TGL. Was there any truth to this? I've never had anyone actually confirm this, although someone may have previously commented on it in this thread and I missed it...?

I could have listened to this for twice the time they were both on. Both had great stories to tell, and Mart has amazing recall. Actually, Fran did as well, once her memory was jogged. Again, I wish Alan wouldn't have a tendency to talk over the guests, as there were times when Mart or Fran were in the midst of a story, and he would tend to try to push to the next question. I really want someone to interview these two again, as I wanted more questions asked and answered regarding writers, fellow actors, etc. At least they had time to talk about Charita. Mart was very nice in his response to the question regarding Ed and Rita and working with Lenore Kasdorf. Speaking of which, I would love for Kasdort and Sofia Geier to be interviewed!

That's what I found unbelievable - TPTB replace Hulswit with a "younger" actor in Simon, who was essentially *3 years younger* versus Hulswit, and who eventually also had his own hair challenges!

Mart had slimmed down as early as the spring/summer of 1980, as he appeared in some of the pool scenes at the Bauer house during that year shirtless. Speaking of Mart, @vetsoapfan- thank you for pointing out that the photo posted earlier was from 1974! I confess I thought Mart's hair was thinning a bit by then, so that must have been a careful combover. @bboy875, that is too bad about the show not wanting to bring Stewart back during 1997. As @Mitchstated above, it would have been much better during the mob storyline if Mike Bauer had been back in Springfield as "Mr. Law and Order" (sorry, Mitch, that's too good of a tag not to use for Mike Bauer ) to protect his niece from Carmen (likely as a favor to Ed, who could have still been away in Africa). TGL didn't really have an older, handsome, leading man of Stewart's age on the canvas. I'm sure TPTB weren't going to chase that demo, anyway. Oddly enough, Mike Bauer would have still known most of the people in Springfield at that time. He would have been able to fit back into conflict with Alan and Alex, and there was Lilian to rekindle a romance with. Looking back at the week Mike returned in 1997, the show hinted at it during an all-to-brief encounter Mike had during that celebration with Alan, as well as Lilian gleefully leading Mike around by the arm during that event (which may have been all Tina Sloan's idea, because I have a feeling that Tina would have been insistent on some continuity there).

I really liked Yvonna Wright, but you are correct - there was no chemistry there with MOL, and they never really did anything with Mel. I kept hoping for a storyline, but...nothing. IMHO, Mart Hulswit was underrated as Ed. The warmth was always there in his performances, but he still had the temper that Robert Gentry's Ed possessed. I still remember when Rita told Ed that Roger had raped her, and Ed went after Roger like a man possessed. I wish that episode still existed out there... That makes me wonder who actually had the idea of bringing Stewart back for the 60th Anniversary? It made perfect sense, of course, but the show at the time was not really into its own history, as you allude to. I assumed bringing Stewart back was Rauch's doing. As @Mitchstated, Stewart was in Los Angeles at that point, but I wonder if he could have been convinced to come back? It certainly would have helped the mob storyline if Mike Bauer was back to combat it all, as he used to .

That really shows the evolution of Mart Hulswit visually, and within the span of a few years. Actors certainly aged quicker at that time. Although the family photo would likely be from 1972, I assume the top photo is from 1971 or 1972? To be fair, Don Stewart also aged quickly from 1968 to the early 1970's, but by around 1975, he looked virtually the same moving forward (someone said hair dye helped with that ). Even when he came back in 1997 for Mike's brief cameo, Stewart's greying temples were the only notifiable difference . I still can't believe Rausch didn't try to keep Stewart on the show after that. The ones that always stand out for me were Papa Bauer, Bert Bauer, Mike Bauer, Ed Bauer (Hulswit version), Roger Thorpe, Holly Norris (Garrett version, and she really cemented it after returning in 1988), Gilly Grant, Alan Spaulding (Bernau version), Lucille Wexler, Diane Ballard, Mel Boudreau (was I the only one...?), Rita Stapleton... ...and there are more! So, no...I can't keep it under 10, either!

Just curious - any preference as to Lyle Sudrow or Ed Bryce for Bill Bauer? I always preferred Bryce, but I just thought Ed Bryce had better chemistry with Charita. Although Sudrow seemed to give some great performances in 1950 as Bill Bauer became more and more addicted to alcohol.

Agreed - I have waited for someone to interview Hulswit for YEARS! I am very much looking forward to this one.

I agree 100%. Diversity was always lacking on TGL (as well as most soaps), and the Dobson era was certainly guilty of it. I also agree with comments other have stated above - the era closest to any of us is likely the time we started watching and it "hooked" us in. In my case, it was generational. My grandparents initially watched it, and then so did my mother, and then my sister and I. The Dobson era is so clear to me because I remember those storylines and characters so well. I did watch during 1989 to 1993, and I would consider that the last, good, semi-consistent era of TGL. I stopped watching TGL again in 1993 as soon as Maureen Bauer was killed off, as I could not see the show recover from that. I don't think that it ever did. I also agree with this 100%. Unlike Bill and Bert, who had two sons in Mike and Ed (and eventually Hillary) to foster family legacy on the show, both sons surprisingly had few children. Mike had one daughter! I really wish that either Mike and Charlotte would have had a son or Mike and Leslie. I suppose the latter would have been odd - Leslie had a son with Ed and then a son with Mike. Maybe that's why Mike and Leslie never had children...?

This would be eerily close to my own opinion (again, I have GL going into 1984 as well as DOOL). I assume 1975 for AW was when both Mary Matthews and Steve Frame were both killed off, and Alice was recast?

Honestly, for my personal best period, I have to go with the time frame between 1977 and 1980. By 1977, the Dobson era was more or less solidified, and there were a good mixture of established characters and new ones. The addition of The Spauldings when the show expanded to an hour in late 1977 only served to strengthen the show. The biggest "dud" during the Dobson's time frame (IMHO) was the botched return of Bill Bauer. It had so much potential, but it unfortunately failed to "stick the landing", as the saying now goes. The ending of my favorite era would be when Roger Thorpe fell to his "death" on April 1, 1980. As far as going off the rails...for me, that was during the end of 1984, when there was nothing left of the legacy of TGL. Any legacy characters from the previous decade or two were either fired or written off. Charita Bauer was the only exception, and she would unfortunately pass away at the end of that year. Katie and Floyd Parker would eventually be written out in 1985, and only Ross Marler survived.

Thank you for the clarification - my memory is certainly cheating lately. I'm going to make it a point to watch whatever earlier episodes are available on from all of 1983 and early 1984 on YT. Earlier this year I was watching the spring and summer of 1984, because I was trying to remember how the Alexandra/Mike/Lilian triangle played out. I'm thinking that Charita must not have been well during August, when the Springfield Founders Day Celebration was happening. In fact, it was jarring to see HB Lewis giving a speech about Springfield, when he had only been there for less than a year! I wonder why the show didn't try to redirect back to HB/Bert, once Charita had started reappearing during the spring and summer of 1984?

Bridget and Jerome Dobson are still my favorite writers for TGL.

Thank you, @robbwolff - it *was* 1984, which I assume was because of Charita's surgery? Did they give any reason on-screen as to why? I'm now starting to think they never did address any sister of Bert's after all, and @vetsoapfan was absolutely correct!

You are probably right. At first, I thought the show mentioned in passing that Bruce Banning had passed away (which would be an easy way to handle it), but then I read in other places like Soap Central (again, riddled with character and timeline errors) that Meta had divorced Bruce. I'm going to side with you in that the show probably never did address this at all.

@vetsoapfan, "Elsa" was the forum member I was replying to above - Lisa's mother was indeed "Alma"! I am wondering if I am misremembering Charita being off screen in 1983, as your memory is so keen that I would trust yours more than mine at this point!

At that point in 1986, it would have been fine even for Mary Stuart to come on as Meta after SFT was cancelled (assuming Demming was retired from acting), stating that Bert had passed away, and then immediately have Meta became situated in Springfield. @vetsoapfan- do you recall when on-screen they addressed that Meta had divorced Bruce Banning. I have this feeling that the show did mention it in passing, but I cannot recall when that was. Was it as late as 1984, when Bert went to Florida off-screen?

I remember that some time during 1983, Charita was off the show for a time, and the reason was that her sister passed away off-screen, and Bert was at the funeral (which made me curious as to why no one else went with her...?). I swore that they called her "Alma Jean" on screen. @Elsa, you are also correct - Lisa' mother was also named "Elsa". I wonder if that was an Irna Phillips influence in both cases...?