DramatistDreamer

Thanks DRW50! I think 1986 had to be one of, if not, 'the' favorite year for me on ATWT. So many storylines and intrigues clicking that year.

Parker Posey (Tess/ATWT) was one of the narrators for a 4 part series called the Pioneers of Thirteen for WNET/Channel 13. Her segment was the 1980s and a clip from when she was in the cast of Tales of the City with Laura Linney (probably the first time I remember seeing Linney in anything, probably Parker Posey as well). Other narrators who participated in the series included Meryl Streep who narrated the 1970s episode. It's probably still on the thirteen website to anyone who's interested: thirteen.org I grew up watching 13 so it was fascinating for me to watch and learn.

Okay, I did get that sense that it was very brief. And yeah, you hit the nail on the head, I didn't want to come out and say it but Terri and Hunt were pretty bad but Anne looked downright uncomfortable, even with Ellen Dolan, in those scenes. I'm not putting the blame on Anne, though because the scene was a mess and the acting was so disengaged that I felt as if Anne was in a vacuum, like she was on a different energy than the rest of the actors who seemed very low energy. Wasn't '00 the year that ATWT started getting acclaim again? Hm. I think our only hope these days are...dare I say it? Web soaps. If Beacon Hill does well, might Anne Sward put in an appearance someday? With HBS executive producing and Scott Bryce as one of the actors...well, I'm going to cling to that possibility.

Thanks for posting The Hughes restaurant scenes are truly touching. There's genuine warmth there probably because most of the actors at that table had known each other for decades. Poor Lyla, she seems so unconnected to her children in these scenes. Did they fly in Anne Sward for a limited engagement with the show? These scenes seem as if she was dropped in the middle of this ongoing story line. I just don't see as much of a bond here which is so strange because from what I remember Lyla was deeply bonded with her children. Seeing Simon push the envelope was fun but the rest of those scenes were a bit of a mess. Where was I in life that I haven't seen this before? I must have had a huge assignment due or something. That final B/W scene was lovely to see. I don't know whether to believe P&G's oft repeated phrase about 'wiping' out episodes. What about kinescope? You often hear about reels that were thought destroyed turn up in some other format. Sadly, I don't think P&G cares to confirm that it is definitely impossible either way. That's how little they regard their former cash cows that just happened to have a loyal following and at one time critically acclaimed.

I guess I was right about the Crystal Hunt incident after reading that follow up.

I wasn't watching GL at that time but dayum! At Pearl's Liquor Bar, huh? Welp, it's probably a pretty good guess that one or both parties were inebriated.

There were so many poor decisions made during the final decade of the show, it almost hurts to discuss it. Cassandra Creech cuts a powerful figure (and I mean that in the best possible way) and to keep Denise vital as a character would have required a strong writer that had a genuine understanding of Denise's complicated backstory and elevate the character without judging her past or sanitizing the character. There was a lot of upside to the character but writing for her seemed to be beyond the capabilities of the writers of the last decade, most notably Sheffer who got ratings moving at first but had the attention span of a gnat and often resorted to hair-brained crazy storylines characterized by scenes featuring pratfalls (having Barbara go through a window after doing a Grouch Marx impersonation was too much for me). Hope could have been/should have been an important character in Oakdale. She should have been deeply connected to the Dixons, the Snyders and the Hughes. Her connection to Faith would have been explored and they should have grown up knowing this special connection even if they became eventual rivals. Yeah, but Hope got the 'Bonnie treatment' only worse because at least Jessica remained in Oakdale for some years after Bonnie was sent away (nevermind the fact that Jessica was eventually demeaned and stripped of most of the qualities that the character became known for). I know P&G wanted to extract themselves from producing soaps but sometimes it seemed as if they had a very willing partner from the creative side. Or in Sheffer's case, a fairly indifferent one.

Lots of good stuff to mull over and discuss in these episodes. I guess I felt inspired to put my thoughts out there. Thanks for reading!

Thanks DRW50 for posting that Willows story conclusion: Technically, I can see that a few scenes dragged a bit (Grant, Ellen & David) but I generally liked the flow of the dialogue. For the most part, I think all the technical aspects complemented each other really well. There was that one scene where Lisa was describing reading Ruth's journal about her love for Bennett and how it turned sour, the music heightened to the edge of being overly melodramatic but for the most part that music was subtle but evocative of the scenes. The lighting is very reminiscent of those theater productions from the late 70s that you see on TV every now and then, in a good way, at least for me. Yes, the makeup was noticeable but Kim and Lisa both looked beautiful and the lighting helped illuminate that. Lisa looked luminescent, freckles and all and I liked the way they were both outfitted, lush but it suited the occasion and both women could pull it off. I do see what people meant about the way Ellen was outfitted though. She looked older than she should have. I the mid '80s, she was styled much more suitably. I do like the fact that in the scenes with Grant, they juxtaposed the anxiety over what was going on at the Willows with wondering what's going on with Dee but those scenes needed some sort of pick up. I'm all for actors taking their time but the dialogue at times dragged just a little bit more than what I would've preferred-- to the point of almost meandering. The camera work is great though and I really like those dissolves from one scene to the next. It adds to the dark dreamscape quality of the episode. Today's soaps seem to have very sharp cuts from one scene to the next, unless they're doing some sort of montage (complete with musical interlude) but this episode featured gentler cuts, almost as if each scene were cut with a scalpel--if that made any sense--but the cuts were delicately executed. It worked for me. Those directors, cameramen and post production editing crew really knew how to ply their trade! Maybe because this episode featured family and close family friends but there was a definite intimacy in these scenes that I find lacking in some of today's soaps, even in scenes featuring family members. In the scenes with Tom and Bob, up worried about Lisa, and Bob preoccupied with other relationships. Even in the scene with Grant, David and Ellen, I didn't find myself wondering why he would be there at almost midnight, it made sense that they'd want to be where they are. Maybe all the close ups where you can get close to the characters, see their expressions, you don't feel as though you are being kept at a distance, you're being invited in, even in the midst of all that dark intrigue. But yes, I do realize that they would also need subsequent episodes featuring a young set as well to mix in. For this episode, though, I thought the set of characters were enough to craft an intriguing episode.

Well, I do agree with the notion that Y&R no longer seems to know what to do with Lauren. Domesticating her seemed to be the worst idea yet, though.

Seeing these clips of Lauren reminds me why I snicker every time I used to read a post (I don't go to those sites anymore) complaining about how Lauren sleeping with Carmine was supposedly so OOC. The Lauren I remember was a vixen who had a sex drive that rivaled any of the male characters and she wasn't about to apologize for it. Even in a case like this where sex really wasn't the issue, often times it was the solution where Lauren was concerned. It wasn't all there was to Lauren but sensuality and sexuality was a big part of who she was and she was a vixen to boot. At the risk of raising the ire of some Phyllis fans, I can only guess that perhaps the Phyllis character sort of supplanted the Lauren character in some ways. Although Lauren at her worst was never as diabolical as Phyllis at her worst, that image of the red headed vamp was taken over by Phyllis and Lauren was transitioned to supportive stable, married friend. Whereas before, even in her previous marriages to Paul and Scott, she couldn't be tamed, after marrying Michael she was turned into this earth mother and wife. Even her business ambitions had become somewhat dulled.

So is Hillary B. Smith only producing? I thought she was going to appear in the series.

I feel very badly for his daughter especially

I've been watching so many episodes from '79 and the '80s lately that seeing this episode from the 90s is a bit jarring (I'd forgotten about Lyla and Cal) but many of the actors still have easy chemistry and the scenes have warmth despite the jarring pairings and we still have the roving camera shots that I like so much. It's an interesting twist having Barbara be the one to try to keep it secret that she's had a baby with her sister's husband. I could see how some longtime fans might have rolled their eyes at the redundancy of the storyline and history repeating itself a generation later but given Barbara's history and personality, it kind of makes for an interesting twist and it fits. Those outfits and some of those hairdon'ts, yikes! Barbara's outfit belongs on Voltron and as handsome as Rex Smith is, even he can't pull off that yuck-tastic sweater.

I think there was a closeness still present between Kim and Betsey but their onscreen time together was definitely minimal

I know that Tequan is still on GH (if it weren't for the occasional guest spot, would we really have proof?) so he's not a former soap star or anything, he's current but I wasn't sure where to put this: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/2014-pan-african-film-fest-will-honor-emayatzy-corinealdi-tequan-richmond-w-rising-stars-awards It makes me wonder how long will he remain on GH? And in other news: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2514709/Macaulay-Culkin-enjoys-french-kiss-Mila-Kunis-lookalike.html?welovesoaps.net I know that many weren't fans of the MORE AMC/OLTL shows but would that we could have one of those episodes this week! I bet the host would ask JLP about this one.

Thanks for posting this. I wondered over the years how the actors found out (I guessed that they wouldn't have been told until the taping was wrapped up for the day) and how they reacted. Normally I wouldn't think too kindly of an actor ad-libbing in a script but it was kind of strange that there would be absolutely no acknowledgement of an event so big, especially on a show that had such a strong air of realism. I understand that you don't want to make the assassination the whole script but a tacit acknowledgement would've been acceptable, IMO. I think posterity looks kindly on what Rosemary Prinz said.

Thanks DeeeDee. Okay, I just looked at a picture of her from two years ago and she still looks pretty darn good. The bigger question to ask, I guess would be whether she could act? I don't remember her but I really am fuzzy on that who Blade storyline to begin with. Is she a strong actress? If she isn't, I suspect she'd get clobbered by MS fans and stans if she took on a role like Phyllis then. Being a soap fan, I know the dangers suggesting hair models. Perhaps it's the subtle resemblance to Brenda Dixon in her youth.

Who is the actress at the beginning of the clip that features Jack and Lu-Ahn? I don't miss Phyllis but if she now looks anywhere near where she looked then, I could see her as a new Phyllis.

Well, I won't be either (not having cable is one big reason) but I'm still pleased for her to have a gig.

Looks like Debbi Morgan got an upcoming gig: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/la-la-anthony-debbi-morgan-join-cast-of-starz-omari-hardwick-drama-power?utm_source=saDaily_newsletter&utm_medium=sailthru_newsletter As I mentioned in the PP thread, this subject matter is not really my thing and we all know how fickle the TV medium is but it's great that Debbi lined up another job. And cable also tends to be a bit more generous to cultivating shows these days than 'one and done' network TV, which cancels programs with a quickness.

Has anyone seen a truly strange You Tube Channel where someone has posted clips of various ATWT stars wearing fur coats? I don't know what to make of this, except to say that I wish these were full episodes because some look as if they might be from episodes not uploaded to You Tube. It seems that that the person who runs the Channel is solely interested in the fur coats and not much else.

I really agree with the sentiment that something was definitely missing with the cohesiveness of the writing in the last few years of his tenure. The storylines he wrote throughout the 80s were firing on all cylinders and I think 1986 was probably my favorite year that he wrote because it was one scintillating storyline and revelation after another. I'd imagine that churning it out at that pace probably got pretty tiring after a number of years and burnout might be more than a possibility. I also wonder whether failing health could have had much to do with the quality of the stories in the early 90s. Also, by the end of the 1980s, it seemed as if there were more than a couple of popular actors that had left, many of whom had recently been in front burner storylines. It just seemed that by the early 1990s, there was more than a little bit of turnover. I'm watching some of the '79 episodes and finding myself really getting caught up in the storylines. I've only heard about these storylines.

LOL. Onward and upward, I guess. From a bookstore to restaurants, a fashion boutique partnership, a hotel partnership. Lisa was Oakdale's great entrepreneur.

I had seen that episode (I think it is broken down into scenes and shorter pieces) where Brian lights into Barbara for her suspected disruption of his wedding and he does mention Tom and Margo briefly, but I think it had mostly to do with Brian, through anger, admitting that he invested in her company out of guilt for dumping her and Barbara almost admitting that her actions stopped the wedding before trying to cover and amend her statement. I haven't seen any episodes on You Tube where Tom or Margo discover that Barbara has been lying or even Barbara's (or Lisa's) reaction to the unveiling of the deception. I also saw several clips in the aftermath of Sierra's discovery of Tonio's infidelity. I think I even saw one where it was revealed that Lucinda found out about Barbara and Tonio's affair but chose to keep quiet about it. I can't find any clips on You Tube where Barbara is confronted or the affair is actually revealed. I was watching ATWT at the time, but I was so young that I can't remember 'whether I was watching those particular episodes and some of the subtext would've gone over my head, so I don't know how much I would've processed at the time anyway. Too bad Soap Classics folded because I would have loved to see those episodes. I would've paid cash to buy/download those episodes. Those were some juicy storylines.