pdm1974

36 minutes ago, watson71 said:

 

Was the character of Rachel rehabilitated and did the audience by into her living happily ever after with Mac?  Cass may have matured but marrying Lila who was a cheap imitation of Cecile- both spoiled and self-centered- was a quick way to wrap up the show.  At least having Cecile on the canvas from 96-99 would have made more sense to long term viewers.

If I remember correctly, TPTB didn't get much notice before the last episode, so that scrambled to wrap things up quickly which is a shame.

I think Rachel's transformation lasted over years in the 70s and early 80s. So, it was gradual. She sort of transitioned to matriarch around late 80s when Amanda and Matthew were aged to adults.

On 7/19/2019 at 2:58 PM, Brolden said:

OK, I swore I wasn't going to do this until I've finished the series... and I won't check back here until I have (which will take me a few more months), but I need to get something off my chest.

I've been watching this show for just about seven years now, at the old-fashioned pace of one episode a week (with a few breaks in between seasons). And despite all of the tackiness and camp, I really loved the early seasons. The later seasons have been a bit less to my taste, but they've been interesting enough to keep watching. I'm currently in early season 7, and I have recently had more than a few issues with some of the directions this show has taken.

 

However, I have just watched the episode "The World According To Matt", and I am super pissed at the moment about SO many things. I wonder if there's been a change in writing regimes or something, but I strongly dislike what the current (at the time) regime is doing to the show and its history.

Again, I already found out a (twenty-year-old-)spoiler(-to-me) when I glanced at this thread for two seconds a few weeks ago, so I'll stay away from this thread for a few more months, but I needed to get this off my chest.  

Poor Matt always got the short end of the stick. His character would be much more prominent in today's climate.

1 hour ago, AlexElizabeth said:

 

No need to read any further! Trash.

I can't get on the Ben and Ciara pairing. I don't care about their "chemistry." It makes her look like an idiot. The man is a serial killer! You don't "recover" from that. If they HAD to keep the actor, they could have just made him Ben's tortured twin.

1 hour ago, Soaplovers said:

The show had to eat crow and rehire Ana-Alicia as another character.. and actually they were paying her for two salaries since I think when they killed off Melissa they still had to pay her for the rest of her contract... so it actually cost the show more than if they'd kept her.. and had a Pilar vs Melissa feud.

A true Melissa vs Pilar feud could have been interesting especially since we lost Angela for most of season 9.

33 minutes ago, Khan said:

 

 

I'm with your mother, lol.

Firing Ana Alicia was what ultimately killed the show IMO. They still could have brought in KA character and had them remain rivals.

On 12/4/2019 at 7:44 PM, j swift said:

 

 

If you've never seen the unaired pilot Falcon Crest - The Vintage Years with Jane Wyman in a grey wig, Michael Swan as Richard Channing, and Abby Dalton as her daughter Dorcas Cumson (the porniest name in primetime soaps), do yourself a favor and look it up on Youtube.  

Watched the original pilot...I think it was titled "The Vintage Years." The tone was definitely more serious, less soapy...more in tone with The Waltons (which had the same creator). I'm currently watching Season 3, and while the show feels all over the place in terms of plot, it's still fun to watch.

17 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

Casey Moss' hairy chest is everything....and I have to admit too that pill popping JJ is kinda hot...twisted, I know.

10 hours ago, Khan said:

 

Instead of family trees, then, we should just draw a Venn diagram with Claire in the middle.

LOL! So true!

2 hours ago, edgeofnik said:

Thanks, everyone for untangling the Horton family tree. With all the retcons/paternity switches, etc., DAYS sure could done something to make this better - like Julie - Hope's mom, or Jennifer/Hope as sisters, etc. Even one or two tweaks would've better. Siblings work better than cousins. The biggest issue has to do with generation-skipping and that the 4 or 5 children from Tom/Alice  are long forgotten from the current canvas.

 

 

The DAYS family tree is soooo twisted. I remember reading how RC was so confused by it when he started writing it. I kinda get why Ciara calls Julie "grandma" but it always gets me a bit. Bit of trivia...Julie and Hope also have a brother, Steven, who hasn't been seen since the 70s and was played by Cass from AW.

I think one of the challenges the writers had with Claire is that she is related to almost EVERYONE. 

The last Asian male actor on daytime

There should be more diversity...not less

1 hour ago, sheilaforever said:

 (Quinn actually quite good for several years as a solo character until she met Eric...).

I totally agree about Quinn...both she and Eric are way overdue for a story.

2 hours ago, Khan said:

 

IA.  Every soap needs at least one character who is always on the outside looking in, so to speak.  Those are the ones you always find yourself rooting for the most.

It's true...Right now, B&B could be called The Rich and The Richer.

3 hours ago, sheilaforever said:

Macy will not meet Thorne until the Summer, around the time of the Queen Mary fashion show...

 

Sally is indeed a magical character in those old old days. Every scene or storyline she is in feels like must-see-TV.

I still hate that they basically killed the whole old Spectra gang...

14 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Episode 522 uploaded today... Macy's debut... I get a Mildred Pierce vibe between Sally and Macy in this episode.  I think I'm going to enjoy watching Macy pre-Thorne (I think they don't even meet till she's been on a few months).  I also liked Sally in this era... she wasn't campy at all like she became in the later years.

Sally and Macy had a definite Mildred Pierce vibe going on...I also loved Sally during this period. She was still a bit over the top, but more grounded. I miss this dynamic of the show. We don't have a good social climber on the show at this point.

On 11/14/2019 at 1:43 PM, sheilaforever said:

This is cool. Did not know about it at all. 

 

Clayton Norcross has aged A LOT better than his two successorsin the role of Thorne.

When the show first started, I thought CN and Thorne were WAY hotter than Ridge.

23 minutes ago, watson71 said:

 

They should have had Iris and Cecile in the scene with Grant in Tanquir in the last episode plotting their revenge against all the people in Bay City who wronged them.   Definitely would have been fun to briefly see them together.

That would have been great!!

The last year was so hard to watch. I feel like they were trying to get back on track, but the previous attempt to make the show much more like DAYS flopped badly. AW was never DAYS nor should it have been. 

I thought the Dobson's second round was a definite mixed bag...and I had high hopes. The return of Santana (and Rosa, the true mother figure to the Capwell children, especially Mason) was a good move, but unfortunately the casting of WD as Santana did not work out. Firing Carrington Garland was a HUGE mistake as she was poised to take the place of Eden, and the actress could have pulled it off. I liked the return of the "darker Mason." I hated the whole reveal that Warren wasn't Lionel's son, and he had a past with Cassandra. It was a twist that just felt really wrong and had no point in the end...plus, I think it wrote Cassie into a corner, and I always thought she had long-term potential and reenergized the Lockridge family. I think the Dobson's were going the route of having CC revealed as Warren's son with Augusta. There were tons of not so subtle hints. Thankfully, that part was at least abandoned. We never did find out who Warren's birth father was, and the whole matter was dropped completely when Pam Long took over.

1 minute ago, AdamNewmanFan said:

One of the actors said there might be 3 chapters

That could be very fun if done right. I mean these have to be pretty cheap to do, too. They just redress the sets and use some stock video footage to set the mood. With these characters, I could see an ongoing digital "spin-off" if you will.

I'm actually intrigued by this one...bringing all of the "last blast" crew together is a great nostalgic mood. If it turns out to be popular, I wonder if they're considering an ongoing online off-shoot of these characters. There's certainly enough story possibilities there.

2 hours ago, watson71 said:

 

I belive there were papers located inside the Red Swan that stated that Paulina was Mac's long lost daughter.

I just remember the red swam story dragging on forever, but then the writer's were probably scrambling after Mac's death.

13 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

I forget to mention -- I read near the time of Mac's death, that Swajeski had conceived the Red Swan mystery before she officially took over as head-writer, and had planned to use it as a major storyline.  But when Doug Watson died, she decided to tweak the details in order to incorporate Mac's demise into the plot.  I think Mac's passing should have been handled in a more straight-forward and believable manner, in reverence to both the character and the actor.  

I forgot....but what was the resolution to the red swan plot? What was the mystery behind it?

6 hours ago, chrisml said:

I think the Dobsons did have a handle on her, but backstage nonsense got in the way so Rauch fired her as retaliation for his fight with Born. A real shame because the Dobsons and Long would have done her character justice. 

Looking back, I now realize what a great character Flame actually was. She was so multi-layered and RB played her so well. It's true that I think Pam Long would have fun with the character. I could see her becoming involved with the Capwells and climbing her way up the social ladder.

3 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

This era was probably the final time AW really had a chance of surviving long-term,  The focus of show had returned to family drama and class conflict.  And even a couple of Matthews were on their way back to Bay City.  If only a writer like Doug Marland or Agnes Nixon had taken-over the show after Lemay left in '88.  Sadly that didn't happen, the show started to decline again, and it limped along for 11 more uninspired years.  

I remember Mac giving that holiday toast when it aired! The show lost a lot of its moral center after he passed, and I think they struggled a bit trying to decide how to proceed. I do wonder how things would have gone if Harding Lemay had been able to stay.

46 minutes ago, Cheap21 said:

 

 

 

This bitch is crazy!

O...M...G....This show is off the chain crazy. When the First Lady hit herself in the head in the middle of her tantrum I spit out my tea in laughter. Well...at least she didn't use a taser on family member in this one.

And what is up with the creepy brother making odd comments to his sister that border on weird flirting.

I'm not sure what to make of the show in general. Is it horrible? Is it kitsch at its best? Is it some sort of weird accidental genius. I don't know, but I'm still watching.

We're still in the first 24 hours of these characters lives and so much s&%t has gone down in that time that it's mind boggling. I love how the family with kidnapped granddaughter has practically forgotten about her already...and it's just been HOURS. The grandmother just acts like this is all another Tuesday or something...cult breaks into your house, forcibly removes your granddaughter, your son is falsely accused of rape and now maybe murder, your ex-daughter-in-law HAS been murdered...and you're missing a knife in the kitchen, your husband loses his job, still no idea where your grandkid is...and the woman makes sandwiches with a shrug and a "Lord, help!"

If you're not watching, you should because this is soap on HEROIN.

22 hours ago, Chris B said:

I've never seen even a clip of this show, but I was bored and looked in here and saw episodes posted and am going to try to follow along from the beginning! I have read that it didn't start off great, when did it improve? Granted I'm just turning on episode two, but I don't really have any complaints so far. The cast seems good and the show looks fantastic. Of course it's week one so I expect them to bring out their big guns, but this looks like it has potential! I also know there are tons of recasts and actors I'm familiar with on here like Terry Lester, Eileen Davidson (did they appear together?), Lane Davies, Tricia Cast, Robin Wright and so many others. 

 

Based on this first episode I'm excited to finally see this. I know this has a VERY loyal fanbase. I hope I can become a part of it!

It burned bright and quickly, but I think at its top form it was soap at its best.