BetterForgotten

I do think Brenda Epperson was able to turn Ashley into a more conventional soap heroine, but she didn't have the same 'Ice Princess' quality Eileen's Ashley had and that was an important element of the character.

I was talking more so about the mid to end point of Monty's tenure. A lot of the press articles from the mid to late 80's often criticized the show for catering to the lowest common denominator and for the heavily plot-driven writing. Gordon Russell was supposed to be transferred over to GH from OLTL before his death - Monty and Russell would have been an interesting combination. Too bad we never got to see that happen. Likewise, Nancy Curlee was supposed to replace the Labine's in 1996, but she backed out when she got pregnant again, and we got Guza instead...

I have to say that Wendy Riche/Claire Labine/Guza really "de-sexualized" Laura - Genie was dressed so damn matronly in the 90's, you'd think she was well into her 50's at some points. I guess the weight gain after her real-life pregnancies made this easier on them to do so.

Frankly, it seemed strange that the audience even accepted Luke & Laura regardless of the rape - did the 15 year age difference between Geary and Francis not bother people in a more conservative era? Or did Genie always read as "older" even though she was a teenager?

Holly felt a ton of guilt and shame over connecting with Roger sexually again though, it wasn't like she slept with him and all was forgiven over night. It took years for them to even get that to that point again, and when it finally happened, she had a hard time accepting it for months afterward. The rape was always thrown in Roger's face - whether it be by Holly, Ed, Alexandra, or Ross and that never really stopped. GL, during its best years, always reminded us that Roger and Holly were deeply messed up people and it was wrong (yet strangely delicious) for them to feel the attraction they always felt for one another. The annoying thing with Luke was that the show had to pretend it never happened, so it never allowed to become an integral part of Luke's character. Even after the revisitation, they never really incorporated it into the character, other than to destroy Luke & Laura (to appease Geary).

At least with Roger and Jack, their behavior was never brushed aside and what they did was very integral to what their characters were about. They were never really forgiven for anything, and in Roger's case, he was always the town pariah, even when his intentions were good. He never became the hero of the universe like Luke.

Well, thought GH was very popular during that time it was never really praised for great writing. I guess a lot of it doesn’t really hold up in 2019 either if we look past nostalgia. It was generally very plot heavy. Monty seemed to love employing her sister Norma to write the show - maybe because she knew how much control she would have in that dynamic.

Yes, throughout 1993 a lot of JFP’s worst tendencies were starting to overtake the show. By mid-1994, GL had become totally unwatchable IMO. It was so sad to see and sit through and also tough as CBS soap viewer since ATWT was also starting to plummet during that time.

Very little from that era feels dated upon rewatching it too. I know strong dialogue was very important to Nancy Curlee and Stephen Demorest - Nancy once said she looked for scriptwriters who avoided cliches and that definitely was apparent for much of that time. In some ways, Nancy Curlee has become the Harper Lee of daytime soaps - only one HWing stint, but one was very memorable where viewers who follow writers are often left to wonder what else she could have done in the medium had she stayed or went on to write for other shows. She’s arguably the last great “storyteller” American daytime soaps produced. Also the only HW I think that came close to the late Doug Marland’s storytelling sensibilities.

Based on this, maybe they'll do Good Times and Maude next, lol.

Marla’s intro definitely had the longest round of applause of the night, if i’m correct....

Patsy Palmer is coming back as Bianca for a short stint later this year.

Of course, Lauralee famously had this response, Was SB even interested in keeping TL? It never felt like he really caught on as Mason..

"Dwindling?" Really? I know he was upset over Bell's nepotism with trying to make Cricket happen, but was Jack really starving for screentime as character? From what I've seen of Lester as Mason, it didn't seem like that role was the best fit for him.. I wonder how he felt when Bergman joined and started winning Emmy's for the role he had originated...

Pat Falken Smith intrigues me - she first gained success at DAYS, but she was largely following Bill Bell's outlines during her first stint there and her writing style was very much in Bell's vein. Flash forward to GH, where she and Monty took a vastly different approach (albeit, with some of the classic/traditional soap troupes) and she would later bring much of that same style back to DAYS with her at a later stint. We just won't talk about her stint at RH, a soap that was seemingly all wrong for her... If one were to describe PFS's writing style, how would it it be described based on where she first gained notoriety (DAYS) to the peak of her career (GH) and everything else in between? I do know before he died, Gordon Russell was supposed to transfer over to GH from OLTL. I wonder how he and Monty would have faired working together...

It's still deeply sad to think that a GL episode from the early 90's (during a Republican presidency no less) is still a hell of a lot more contemporary than any daytime soap on the air right now. Though the ABC soaps got all the credit for being "young, hip, and contemporary" - I think Nancy Curlee and company wrote a very contemporary soap during their era, within a very traditional structure and foundation.

JFP didn't kill off Alan, that was all Guza and approved by Frons. JFP was just the messenger who broke the news to Stuart. At that point, JFP had very little creative input on stories - Guza pretty much had free reign. That wasn't like when JFP fired Ellen Parker at GL to free up budget to hire Justin Deas.

That was a horrendous arrangement of 'Like A Prayer.' That wasn't a well put together presentation - I wonder who is her creative director for this era, that person should be fired ASAP.

Much like SD herself, they knew Brenda was only capable of playing herself. 😉

I will say that about Culliton as a HW - clearly, his strengths are writing scripts, but he has a lot of passion for the genre and even if the stories didn't always work, his passion still showed when he was a HW. Whether that be at AW, ATWT, AMC, or even GH.

Isn't Schitt's Creek a Canadian production though and produced by the CBC?

Regardless how the reboot turns out and what avenue they take, I question whether or not there's really an audience for it. Nostalgia can only get you so far, and it's easier to digest with sitcoms vs. hour-long dramas/soaps. It's not like the original series is all over syndication and new generations since the initial have a huge interest in it. The CW spin-off fizzled quite rapidly, even though it ran 5 seasons as well. Most people who initially watched in the 90's have also probably moved on to more sophisticated fare, given all the options available.