pdm1974

1 hour ago, j swift said:

Angel seems like such a minor character in the history of Santa Barbara, but I just looked him up at the French Santa Barbara Website and his impact was remarkable.

 

http://santabarbara-online.com/angel2.htm

 

He is responsible for the exit of Danny Andrade; an original character.  He got Santana hooked on drugs, which becomes part of her ongoing storyline.  

I always felt like Santana should have been a mainstay character throughout the show's run and its Latina heroine. She had such an interesting connection to the Capwells and a reason to constantly cause new tension. The last time we saw her Wanda DeJesus played her whom Jed Allan apparently hated (maybe along with the rest of the cast), so I feel that cut her last appearance short. I do feel like they had long-term plans for her.

2 minutes ago, will81 said:

I see things differently. Ashley was a completely different person with Victor. She was actually more girlish and more like Nikki was when she first met Victor, intelligent and experienced sure, but she would become more submissive with him. Ashley was never the type to have an affair with a married man, and she resisted for months before giving in. He had a hold on her.

 

Ashley could never really stand up for herself with Victor. Always forgave him. The only time I remember her really ripping through him was around 2000, when he was double crossing them to keep control of Jabot. Yes she was stoic when the divorce happened in 1992, but she still wasn't brutal enough with him and again eventually forgave him. 

 

Nikki was more willing to serve Victor and call him out on his behaviour, she became more of an equal. Ashley couldn't even bring herself to tell Victor she was marrying Steven, she knew if she saw him he would convince her to marry him instead. She knows he is her weakness, it was actually never a very healthy relationship. She even had an abortion partly so she wouldn't hurt Victor and Nikki. I think that changed the course of their relationship, she even took most of the blame for it when they met on the ranch a few months later, but I felt that was the end of whatever great love affair they had. The marriage a few years later, was two people lonely and confused leaning on each other, I think it makes sense the marriage didn't last.

I, too, think it would have been more interesting if Victor and Ashley were the end game. He's the only one she's had a lot of chemistry with, and it would have added an element to the Victor and Jack ongoing feud. Plus, Niki could have been the spurned ex-wife, mother of Victor's children, who always held a grudge...leaving her and Ashley as permanent rivals (such as Katherine and Jill).

21 hours ago, Wendy said:

 

Been ages since I read this. Thanks! 

I can't believe the Paris remote was 30 years ago. I remember being in middle school and watching the episode with Cruz and Eden under the Eifel Tower!

1 hour ago, j swift said:

Ric worked for Bunny and seemed to have never stolen any cash for himself while in Paris.  Then Robert Barr comes back to town and Ric winds up disappearing. 

 

It seems Ric came and went very fast for such a splashy intro. I think the only thing he did beyond that short fling with Kelly was date that girl who he found out was his sister in a story that got quickly wrapped up in like a day.

2 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

Making alexis comic relief was ill advised considering that NS could play cold and throw shade with the best of them.  And I wish the show could have recalled that NS in essence played a Fallon Carrington esque character on KL with great success.  Of course, our show runners probably only recall shows made after 2000.

Alexis as comic relief wiped away all the conflict and dramatic potential. They only made her a real threat again in the last two episodes.

37 minutes ago, danfling said:

I find it odd that Christopher Goutman is being mentioned for his work on As the World Turns, but not for his work on Another World.

He really came in at the end of AW...maybe not even a year. And the writing was on the wall at that point. Once the time traveling dude showed up on AW, I knew time was up.

10 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

Nope. Though there were some decent recasts of the Capwell kids (Carrington Garland, Gordon Thomson) - to me the "real" Capwell siblings will always be Lane Davies, Marcy Walker, Robin Wright and Todd McKee. 

I really thought Carrington Garland was such a perfect fit as Kelly.  I was so disappointed when they replaced her with Eileen Davidson who just was not a fit for that particular role. And remember the "lost Capwell child" Greg? One day he was there, and the next he was never mentioned again!

For those of you who watched throughout the show's run, do you think the addition of "traditional" families came too late or did it take away from the show (by making it TOO traditional then)?

I love Judi Evans, but I was mystified too that they replaced Cali Timmons. I thought she was on fire in the role! They could have easily used Judi Evans in another role tied to the Cory family.

By the last year, Paulina barely left the kitchen of that restaurant. She used to be so sassy but had lost her edge.

Although, I did enjoy Joe's hairy chest.

On 4/4/2019 at 5:11 PM, amybrickwallace said:

Agreed!!

 

I was watching some 1985 episodes, and had to laugh when Ted and Christie got jobs at the Orient Express. Why did Eden have her waiters and waitresses dress like movie theater ushers? 

 

Poor Ted never quite took off as a character.

4 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

I think it really started to hit its stride in the summer of 1985 and stayed that way until about 1990.

I always felt the show was a little ahead of its time, too. 

Still miss it!

33 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Well, Joe's recasting and killing was just one of many changes made in the early days.

The Perkins family was eliminated, the Andrades as good as gone, recasts, changes in story etc

Was it NBC wanting immediate results from their investment?

Or the Dobsons being too panicky and /or mercurial with their creation?

Someone should write a book!

True....SB went through so many changes...chronicling those 8 years would be a fun read.

When it was striking on all cylinders, I still think it was the best soap of all time, especially 86-89

Alexis will have to become Alexis Colby at some point. Originally, I thought she'd marry Jeff and Monica's father, but her hooking up with Jeff...that'd be a twist.

The bigger question is who are they recasting the role with. Obviously, they're keeping the character. I kind of wonder if we were given a clue when Adam told Alexis she once looked like a young Fallon. Then, he gave the doctor a picture to base the surgery on...Would they do it? Have Elizabeth Gilles play both roles??? Use make-up to produce an older version of herself.

On 4/1/2019 at 9:53 AM, John said:

Dane Withersppon looked to very popular. Why was he fired after 13 weeks and replaced. Makes zero sense

True...I don't think we ever got the full or real story. It is bizarre since his character was the center of the show at the beginning. By early spring, Joe was already dead.

2 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

It made sense that Mary Williams didn't interact with Katherine because they weren't in the same circles.  It was more organic that the two might pass one another at a social function and say hi to one another without having a deep conversation.

 

I liked the Carl storyline for a lot of reasons... it explained what happened to Carl, it showed Mary being depressed and finally moving on with her life only to have long thought dead husband Carl come back into the picture... it showed that Carl/Ruth had a good life.. and that Mary had to accept that she found him only to realize that she truly had lost her husband.... and it was the one time Nina was correct that Chris not telling Paul/Mary about her quest would backfire on her... and Paul was upset with her for awhile... and Chris had to admit to Nina that she was wrong and that Nina was right (this is when I knew daddy was no longer writing the show).

I enjoyed this story too because it used so much of the show's history. We finally found out what the hell happened to Carl! I was disappointed that it got dropped- what felt- suddenly. All the actors played it beautifully. It did seem that TPTB were thinking of making the Williams family more of a focus. During this time, Mary receives a hang up phone call that we're led to believe is Patty. Of course, we wouldn't see Patty again for many more years until SH played her (That was another waste of great story potential when they painted Patty into a corner. I thought the character was fascinating and could have continued if they hadn't taken her so dark.)

Having Paul kill Ricky, while it provided DD with some great material, was also short-sighted IMO.

I was pretty shocked when Adam pressed Alexis' face into the fire. It seemed super brutal and violent.

I'm glad they're keeping the character around, but I hope they make her ruthless and less some sort of comic relief.

It was revealed last season that Dominique was Blake's half-sister....making Jeff and Monica Carrington cousins.

Not sure how I feel about the new Adam, but I do think this show needs a real villain.

The show doesn't seem to know what to do with Jeff. Hopefully, Dominique's arrival will help.

Also, I wanted Cristal's brother to stick around. He was hot!

5 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

Watching some clips on YT makes me miss even more not just SB but the whimsy soaps used to have. Remember Wanda's (Ted's girlfriend) beach movie fantasy, also starring Julia?

SB did quirky comedy so well! I think SB was truly ahead of its time. Imagine if it came out now!

I wonder if an early evening soap would work in this day and age when more people are at home and can actually watch...but maybe that's what streaming is for.

On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 2:14 AM, Chris B said:

After production was shut down and they did the mid season reboot it improved tremendously, but by that point you’d lost Julie and Jason who could’ve been valuable...

I was surprised when Jason was written out. I thought he and Julie could have been a great way to develop a younger set/ next generation of characters. I know not everyone enjoyed Jason's intro story, but I thought it was an important one that explored child abuse in a frank way you didn't see on TV at that point.

I was disappointed by the dropping of Michael at the end of season 12. Not only was he great eye candy, but he still had a lot of story potential and could have been a pairing with Kate.

So sad. It makes me want to cry just knowing the pain he must have been in these past few years. We've made some inroads, but as a society, we have to keep working on our attitudes towards mental illness. The stigma HAS to be removed so people can get the help that they need.

RIP you talented and beautiful man.

• 1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

   

  Even now the scenes of Karen going all road rage on the paintball kids still bewilders me. And Claudia unintentionally murdering her own son, which genuinely made me angry. That type of what I assume was meant to be Greek tragedy just had no place on KL. And it obliterated Claudia as a character. She was never the same and should have been written out immediately. I say that even though I thought she was a great addition to the show up to that point. I remember when they had her attempt suicide and then had Karen essentially beg and guilt Kate into forgiving her (I don't think Karen knew what she'd done to her son, but still, I didn't believe Karen would have pushed so hard - it felt like the show belatedly trying to manipulate viewers and using a beloved character to do so).

  I never understood the whole point of the Karen road rage plot was. Maybe is Jason had died in the accident it would have lead to something.

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 7:39 AM, Khan said:

 

And in retrospect, it was.

 

It isn't everyday when a writer hands me an argument that is persuasive enough to make me reassess my previous opinions on a subject.  However, Mr. Krasker did just that with his blog, particularly in regards to Ann Marcus and how she turned around KL in both seasons 3 and 13.

 

But, having said that, I'm still unconvinced that the final season was all that, if only because I think Joan Van Ark's absence, the shortened episode order, and the restrictions on the show's budget kept Marcus and her team from telling the best stories possible.

The budget in the last season had a definite impact on telling the story arcs because characters couldn't really be utilized as needed. There was one episode, I believe, that had just Karen, Mack, and Anne with supporting players as filler.

1 hour ago, Soaplovers said:

Good.. maybe the show can salvage Alexis.. because the character shouldn't be side-lined whatsoever.  In fact, I think Cristal 1.0 and Cristal 2.0 are both busts.. and I think an Alexis vs. Fallon conflict is where the show should focus on.. along with the continued beefing up of Monica's role (loved the turban she was wearing in a recent episode).

The character of Alexis needs to be completely salvaged. She's not a threat at all to Blake...or to anyone. She needs to be playing nastier and causing tons of conflict for everyone. Cristal 2.0 has been really strange. They really haven't given her anything to play. 

Love Monica, and I think they should make her a regular. I'm curious to see if Dominique arrives soon. We need someone to stir the pot.

I feel the first season was so tightly written with great jaw-dropping twists. This season has been okay enough but I don't nearly look forward to it as I did during season 1.

At this point, I almost exclusively watch everything on streaming, including the soaps. TV as a whole is moving quickly in that direction. I've said before if the AMC and OLTL versions were launched now the results could be very different.

9 hours ago, j swift said:

Yeah, so that's the thing, according to the SOD story, Lester's representative called him and told him that this was the last day of his contract and there had been no offers for negotiation.  He cleaned out his dressing room, didn't say anything to anyone, and went home.  When production called his agent to ask why he was not on set, they were told that his contract had expired.  Nobody on staff was prepared so they had to edit those scenes to try to make some transition between the actors.

 

Thus, production had to pay each successive Mason more money than the one before; because of poor planning.

Wow! I never knew that was the reason for Lester leaving. So the hiring of Gordon Thomson must have happened VERY quickly.