carolineg

22 minutes ago, GLATWT88 said:

I'm screaming!!! I thought I was the only one that recalled her brief stint as Carly. I remember watching but I wasn't really following what was going on BTS, online or on the mags, and suddenly when she appears in the episode it's announced "The part of Carly is now being played by..." and I was not feeling her at all in the role. It was such a weird transition for me...I was also still relatively new to soaps and I think I was just thrown that a major character was just replaced like that with a little announcement on screen but I equally loved it. Bransford then was on a few months and then comes LW. I loved LW on GL and was hoping for a lot more but it pains me to see her in that role. 

 

I would love it if they played an episode with JB's Carly. I feel like Maurice was super awkward in those scenes too.

I didn't think JB was that bad as Carly.  I might be the only one who thinks that but she played CrazyCarly pretty well.  And she had an epic catfight with Reese.  So okay in my book lol.

11 hours ago, Taoboi said:

Call me when it's Sonny and BRENDA.  

 

 

+1 

I would have been willing to take an SJB and/or TB Carly episode, but all LW.  No thanks!

Did Tracey leave or was she fired?  Donna was an interesting character and gave Don a kid at least.  Poor Don.  Left to mail a package and has no legacy outside being Marlena's never mentioned 1st husband.

1 hour ago, jam6242 said:

Didn't EJ and/or Stefano steal John's money at one point?  Around the time Jarlena returned the last time.

Yes.  Ej did.  The basic gist of the story with me probably getting some details wrong: when Jarlena first returned in 2011 EJ set it up to make it seem Basic Black was laundering money from investors or some sort of embezzlement thing.  John went to jail and then was exonerated and used his own money to pay the investors back.  Jarlena had scenes about making a budget and everything.  They never mentioned getting the money back, but I assume they did.  Whether it be from EJ or a come up from one of John's other identities or Basic Black being successful since then. 

I agree that John and Marlena should be with their kids but it seems like there is more of this coming up.  The problem isn't really John/Marlena action stories, it's the fact they happen back to back.   I love their stories, but I wish they would have ditched most of John/Marlena's involvement with Stevano (ie his renewed Queen of the Night crap) and let this Orpheus story build better over a longer period of time and for it to make more sense.  I think Orpheus is a pretty good villain, even if you have to ignore the fact that Orpheus's beef is actually with Roman, not John.  And I thought the cliffhanger from yesterday was good.

Days is the opposite of GH.  They rely too heavily on their vets, but I don't think their younger generation can really carry the show.  Eric/Nicole/Brady/Sarah, etc are okay, but nothing special.  Days really screwed itself over the years by dismantling the Last Blast Crew and letting Carrie/Austin/Lucas go.  And they still keep cutting their younger cast.   Days loves it's action and adventure stories, but they have no one under 60 that can carry them on.  

This is one of my favorites.  Because I think we can all agree Sonny getting punched in the face is worth it.  Plus, the introduction of one of the greatest GH characters of all time..............Miranda.    Also, it always cracks me up the wedding guests are all impatient and no one goes into the foyer to see this epic fight or hears it.

1 hour ago, Gray Bunny said:

 

 

+2  Came here to post this. 

 

I also liked the summer before in June of 1996, the episodes touted as "Sami's Secrets Revealed" when Samantha Gene got another whack across the face from Carrie. 

 

I also like when Marlena slaps Sami.  Even if it's out a character.  "you aren't my dad even if you are sleeping with my mom"  Awesome.

Couldn't find the actual clip, but I think we can do okay with a Sami slapping montage.  It's in here.

3 hours ago, Faulkner said:

A recent one: Eileen Davidson’s Emmy submission as Kristen when she confronted Marlena and taunted her about John. Just so unhinged. “He was ALL OVER ME! He was EVERYWHERE!”
 

 

 

 

 

Love it.  I also like the scene where Marlena exposes Kristen after the Secret Room in front of everyone in town basically.  I would link it but it's not on any public channels I can find.  

Also this is great:

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

Fantastic scene!

“What about love, Monica?”

I love every soapy bit of this confrontation.  The closeups, the slap, that it happened at a large gathering.  The lip gloss on Denise.  Monica’s so fiery.

One of my favorites not posted yet.

 

 

The wire scene is everything.  One of my other faves is this fairly quiet Sonny and Brenda scene post-non wedding

GH

Robin/Brenda

Stone/Sonny

Brenda/Lois/Ned

Alexis/Jax

Ned/Jax

Days

John/Bo

Marlena/Bo

Nicole/Chloe

12 hours ago, EricMontreal22 said:

Was Keith seen as a Shemar clone?  I never thought Shemar was shown to be "from the ghetto" to the same extent (I think there was even controversy about that and if it was too much of a stereotype)

I never thought the characters were that similar at all.  And they had two different acting styles for sure.  Noah was way more intense, IMO. Malcom was more suave. 

It's not like in 1996-1997 when every ABC soap had a random Australian because Jax on GH was a hit. 

I liked Keith Hamilton Cobb better than Shemar Moore, but I might be the only one.

Lol at Brenda and Miguel being unrealistic.  I didn't think they were that bad just lacking chemistry.  And by lacking chemistry I just mean Ricky Martin can't act..

1 hour ago, teplin said:

 

A little? John Black was never a Mensa candidate but Marlena lost 50 IQ points under Reilly. 

Yeah poor John.  He was really an idiot from 1995-1997.  Marlena was dumb about John's feelings but at least she actually figured Kristen's schemes out eventually.  John slept with Susan and couldn't tell the difference.  Lol Nvm Marlena couldn't tell John was not Roman so they truly are meant to be.   

On another note I am always confused about the Brady custody situation.  He appears to live with Marlena some of the time.  Did Jarlena ever explain this or were the kids just lumped together because why not?  I mean it's totally not important now, but did John just expect Marlena to raise Brady if he died in Aremid with no formal custody agreement?  I know there is a scene where he tells her she gets all the money for the kids, but that's kinda of a big ask to have your ex raise your kid with someone else lol.

1 hour ago, Gray Bunny said:

 

Reilly had characters (and us viewers) ignore the obvious social cues everywhere... good grief, from Austin/Carrie to Bo/Hope/Billie. 

 

One thing that bugged the hell out of me, especially during his 2.0 (2003-2006) era was when characters would literally stand and look off to the side while having a flashback. Like, you'd have people like Belle, Philip, Shawn grilling Jan Brady about something and Jan literally takes a step to the side, looks far off camera and has her flashback moment. I wanted the other characters to be like "WTF? What are you doing? Snap out of it!" 

Lol.  I buy Austin not being able to pick up obvious social cues.   

Reilly had a weird fetish for flashbacks and fantasies and for characters talking to themselves lol.

I can't say there was a lot to like about Reilly's 2nd stint.  Did he have a single good story that stint?  And, no, I absolutely will not count the Salem Serial Killer story.

46 minutes ago, Gray Bunny said:

 

Those Reilly-era spin-off ideas never made sense to me, long term. Be it AREMID (never heard of an official title) or SALEM HIGH (early 00's), neither have legs to stand on. If they were to stay in Aremid, the mysterious small-town atmosphere would've gone stale quickly, and soon enough they'd be talking about Aremid's international airport. 

 

+1 on the Mark Valley love. As I said recently in another thread, with DAYS' love for recycling actors, he could be brought back as a new character for Hope. Kristian Alfonso is in desperate need of a strong male lead and she and Valley had great chemistry together. 

Agreed on the Aremid spinoff.  It's not like any of the Aremid characters were particularly great or stand outs. 

I think the Manhattan Lives spinoff may have been okay because I think it included Carrie and possibly Jen?  too.  I don't remember the details anymore.   And that would have really harmed Days, so it's probably just a pipe dream that helped Deidre Hall sign her contract in 1991.

The Salem High spinoff would have been horrible.  Days doesn't even feel the need for these characters now and I like Belle, Shawn D, and Brady mostly because of their parents not because they are the most awesome characters.

I doubt Mark Valley would ever return, but if he did I wouldn't have a problem with him as a new character.  Hope really does need a strong love interest and I don't think MV would be as jarring as say Tamara Braun as Taylor lol.

1 hour ago, titan1978 said:

I wonder if Passions would have even happened if Reilly had been allowed to run with that spin-off.

 

I loved Matt as Jack, but I also grew to really love Mark too.  He was definently more of a soap hunk version, but he was still great.  He still had sparkling chemistry with Missy.  Jason Brooks certainly had plenty of chemistry with her too.  Allegedly.

 

By the time we got to Cameron and Wilder that was like the bland of the bland.

I think Passions sounds better on paper than an Aremid spinoff.  Or Manhattan Lives the Deidre Hall spin off that was proposed in the early 90's.  Although I don't know why you would take your main heroine off of your flagship show.

Jason Brooks had chem with everyone.  It's too bad.  I actually love Mark Valley too.  He had a certain swagger that was so charismatic.  He just wasn't Jack.   Steve Wilder and that shower scene was the worst.  He wasn't good at all.  Cameron was fine.  She just wasn't Missy.  She probably would have been fine in another role except for the fact she looked just like Jennifer lol.

22 minutes ago, YRBB said:

 

Yes, this is definitely a more lowkey period now that Aremid, Jude St. Clair, and Bo/Hope have been resolved and before other major developments happen. 

 

I agree -- Kristen's POV is completely understandable. John and Marlena are nearly salivating at each other. Also agreed on Peter. He should still be driving major story on the show.

 

I have no idea how the Sami/Austin/Carrie/Lucas stuff moves on from here. I'm excited that Kate is starting to discover what Sami's like. Sadly, I had a feeling about Bo/Hope. I recall watching an episode a few months from now (June I think) years ago and I believe Bo and Hope were arguing because he doesn't want her to go back to work? Maybe I'm completely making that up but it just seemed really uninspired and boring. I'll see how I feel this time around.

 

Reilly does know how to structure a (umbrella) story, build tension, and deliver payoffs for sure.

 

Interesting! Aremid was great fun. I can see why it worked so well.

 

 

Welp. Good thing I know about that already.

 

Honestly, over the months, I think Stephanie Cameron's improved a little. She's not a master or anything, but not nearly as breathless and annoying as she was. But I adore Mark Valley. Wonderful. Wonderful.

 

An Aremid spinoff? Interesting. Would that have been a whole daytime soap or...?

The reason I feel for Kristen is the other villainesses at the time  (Sami, Vivian, Billie) knew their beloved was in love with someone else.  And John adamantly denied it and she believed it.  She genuinely thought John loved only her, so the letter was a tough blow.  And haha, John/Marlena just get a room already. 

Austin/Carrie/Sami/Lucas gets amazing.  I LOVE LOVE  Carrie but Sami was great as a villain.

With Bo/Hope I hate the intro of Franco into the story.  They make Hope a model.  Which just seems weird.

There was a whole plan to make the Aremid  thing a spinoff before Passions.  But Missy leaving screwed it all up and maybe it wasn't that great of an idea but IIRC it was going to be Jen, Jack, Peter and the Aremid crew.  I also think Jude St. Clair would have been involved but there was some backstage issues..

2 hours ago, titan1978 said:

Maison Blanche was my favorite.  I loved Hope’s return, and Stefano was so much fun back then.

 

And I agree, the Lady in White was just annoying.

 

Was Melissa Reeves still there during Aremid?  I know I cared very little for Jennifer storylines when she left.

Maison Blanche is great.  And I always sorta forget Roman is still on the show at the time because it's so Jarlena focused.  

Stefano was so much more fun when he was a scary villain before Paris and The Secret Room when he was kinda ridiculous. 

Missy left halfway through Aremid.  Stephanie Cameron is in the conclusion of it.   I didn't hate her, but Mark Valley's Jack and her Jen were just 2 different characters.  I am pretty sure MR leaving screwed up the spinoff they had been thinking about with all the Aremid characters like Sarah.

1 hour ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

Yes, but Kristen's fake teeth flying across the lawn into Vivian's champagne glass was worth it!!

Of course.  I don't mean to disparage the story at all.  John and Marlena were just being silly with all their he/she doesn't feel the same stuff when they clearly were the closest exes in the history of ever lol.  All those stories were great.  I love Paris through the Secret Room.  It was just very Reilly.  They both were just oblivious to obvious social cues for approximately 2 years.  But I ate it up.  Kristen and Marlena in the Secret Room was everything.  DH and ED played off each other so well..  It's so soapy, but I feel like John and Marlena both come off a little dumb and ridiculously self-sacrificing.

15 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Somebody refresh my memory 

 

After John was cleared of Tony’s “murder”, why did he go back to Kristen? Why didn’t he just immediately tell Marlena about the letter and reunite with her? I can’t remember.

It's pretty dumb.   John and Marlena both think the other has moved on and don't want to tell one another because it would be a burden or obligation even though they have a bunch of scenes where they clearly have sexual tension and also are inappropriately close with one another .  There's a lot of hemming and hawing and dancing around telling each other.  Then Kristen asks John for another chance and Marlena encourages John to go for it-which is silly, but whatever.  Kristen also has a weird fertility issue where she only has a short period of time to conceive so John just agrees to knock her up immediately.  Then Kristen finds the letter, schemes, and Marlena finds the letter and goes to tell John she loves him and Kristen announces she's pregnant before she can tell him.  Then the whole Paris fiasco starts shortly after.

Re-watching it now it just seems like John and Marlena are being lame and clearly ignoring the obvious-especially John, but Kristen becomes thoroughly enjoyable.   

18 minutes ago, Gray Bunny said:

Sigh... 1996 for DAYS was wonderful, start to finish. The Aremid storyline will always be my favorite, and it should be noted that it was during the Aremid arc that DAYS not only hit No. 2 in the Nielsen ratings, but *STAYED* at No. 2 until December of 1997.  We can thank "Tony" (or whomever) for framing John and the Lady in White walking around town in white lace for DAYS' Nielsen victory, not a possessed Marlena ...

 

I go back and forth between Aremid or Maison Blanche being my favorite. Aremid is probably better overall but I loved all the Stefano/Marlena/John stuff and finding Gina/Hope in Maison Blanche.  The Possession is not really one of my favorites, but it was fine at the time.  I don't ever re-watch it though.  

I still think the Lady in White is the most annoying character ever.  So much crying and wailing.

28 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I remember thinking at the time that he was not well suited to play a cop.

 

Kristen Storms has her charms as

Maxie- screwball comedy, bitchy rivalry, and she is capable of drama.  Much like LC as Monica though- they have made her into a tragic character several times over the years, and stopped writing to their strengths.  

She is kind of like a modern Lucy, that unfortunately never was allowed to actually go as far into selfish or as fun as Lucy, and never got that one rival (Bobbie) or romantic pairing to carry her through (Scott).

 

Genie Francis could play light and dark material equally well, although she excelled at emotional material.  Kristen is being asked to play that kind of material often, and it just doesn’t sit as well.

Oh the summer of sleaze!  I was firmly in the Jason Liz camp, and have never understood why it didn’t happen.  I recall rumors that it was yet again (SJB’s Carly) a pairing Steve did not want to happen.

 

The only time I enjoyed Sam was when she went bad during this.

 

I also had forgotten how involved Manny was in everything.

 

Even though at the time I was mad Laura was gone and the vets except Luke and Tracy were all but gone, I did enjoy characters like Lorenzo, Patrick, Skye, Jesse, Ric, Georgie and Dillon, etc.  I just needed more balance.

 

Also, how typical of JFP and Guza- the majority of characters I liked that they created were the men.  The women got such horrible writing.

The guy that played Jesse wasn't very good.  

I really like Kirsten Storms and I think she plays Maxie well, but GH never really utilizes her right. And they dress her terribly..    I sorta wish she just stayed playing Belle on Days. I always thought her and Spinelli were popular?   Maybe not.  Spinelli was an annoying character always lol.

I liked the Summer of Sleaze.  It was ridiculous and made everyone look bad but it was literally the only time I liked Sam.  I am not a Liz/Jason shipper or anything but they really got nothing overall.  I mean, a kid, sure, but they never got a chance to be anything more.  It was bizarre and I am sure behind the scenes stuff, but they deserved a shot.  They have good chemistry to this day.

GH has always puzzled me in the way they discard vets while shows like Days literally still use their 60 plus stars to lead stories lol. 

2 hours ago, YRBB said:

March 1996

After 40 episodes of threatening to rape Hope, finally the whole Jude St. Clair story comes to a head and, I’ve got to say, it’s pretty fun – Hope’s escape, Bo risking his life to find her, Jack determined to prove Jude and Peter are connected. I like that Peter shot and killed Jude. Overall, this was a good story.

 

The infamous “Letter” storyline has begun and I’m anxious to see how it develops. Marlena's got that damn letter in her bag for over a month now and hasn’t seen it. Jesus.

 

Vivian finding Stefano in her bed made me gasp. A great twist.

 

There was something very touching and poignant about what I assume is Sarah's last appearance when Jack mentions that she told him she didn't know anything about love the first time they met and she says that, after watching him, Bo, and Hope, she does.

 

I didn’t expect the feels I felt when Hope and Alice hugged once Hope returned to Salem (which finally gave Laura, Mike, and especially Mickey, Maggie, and Shawn a reason to come out of storage).

 

It’s utterly fascinating watching Kristen's slow transformation into a villainess. Say what you will about Reilly's DOOL, but this is masterful writing, expertly delivered by Davidson.

 

And it's always good when Sami reveals the tragic hopelessness at her core. It helps ground her. 

I love this era.  I loved everything about Aremid and it's ridiculousness.  Unfortunately, when I re-watch I generally skip ahead to Paris shenanigans after Aremid ends.  I feel like the show just treads water for those few months in between.  I mean the damn letter is the star of May Sweeps 1996 lol.

ED does so well with Kristen's descent into villainess/crazy lady.  I hated her in 1996, but looking back it's actually understandable.  John and Marlena practically swoon all over each other 24/7 but they just decide to not tell each other for really no reason at all lol.  I won't spoil it for you because it gets so good, but I will say I hope Marlena still has that letter framed somewhere because it took a lot of time for her to get it and read it.

Peter was a great villain.  It's too bad there were personal reasons he couldn't come back because he's a villain that should have returned several different times.  Heck, even now.  It's a shame the story was really less effective due to recasts.

I definitely think Sami/Austin/Carrie really gets good after this, but Bo/Hope get worse.  You can tell Reilly didn't care to write for Bo/Hope the way he did for Austin/Carrie and John/Marlena.

One thing I love about Reilly is that the entire cast is involved in these stories.   All of Salem except Carrie/Austin/Sami were involved in Aremid.  The entire town basically all goes and hangs in Paris during that storyline.  It's a little silly but I like how so many people are connected during these stories.

13 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

Was he a cop? The only thing i remember for sure is that he was very cute, and ended up dead.  The first of her dead partners.

Jesse was a cop.  He was Lucky's partner and I believe died in the line of duty.  It was the first of Maxie's dead partners but his death actually began the set up to Maxie/Lucky's weird affair.  

I mean if they are only going back a few years why aren't they starting with 2013 and the 50th when the Nurse's Ball came back?  Are Jack Wagner, Rick Springfield, and Vanessa Marcil too expensive to pay residuals to?

I think WN was pretty sexy in the 80's but in the 90's no lol.  RoJohn/John was definitely the sexier of the two, but I don't think either are classically handsome.  I can see the appeal in both of them and WN was hot in Dynasty.  By the time he returned to Days all the charm and most of his chemistry with DH was gone.

Also count me in with those that hate Marlena's short 80's hairstyle.  I like her so much better with longer hair always.  I was devastated in 1997 when she cut off her awesome long Paris hair for that unattractive, shaggy short hair.  It makes her look older and matronly.