j swift

6 hours ago, slick jones said:

JAN played both Duke Rochelle and Chuck Ellis on Loving before heading to Santa Babara. Both were college students but neither lasted, much like the Jack Boyd he played on EON.  Warren Lockridge was definitely the role he played that had substance.

Didn't Santa Barbara start in August of 1984?  If so, were these characters on just for a couple of episodes?  Do you have any dates so I can go back to read SOD synopses on Tumblr?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who was Duke Rochelle and how long was John Allen Nelson on Loving?

 

I just watched an Edge of Night from June 1984 and Nelson's character Jack just came to Montecello from the college that he attended with Jody and was planning on remodeling the country club with Mitzi.

 

I think SB started later in the year.

 

So, when was he on Loving?  Was he a love interest for Lorna?  Are there any scenes on YT?

I have a Diana Taylor question.  I watcher her during Heather's LSD trip and she was very sweet and understanding.  Then, I watched the episodes before her murder and she was much more conniving and sexualized while in a triangle with Jeff and Anne.  What was Diana like when she first arrived at General Hospital and was the age difference an issue in her marriage to Peter?

57 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Some of Liz's actions/stunts reminded me of stuff that Jody would have done if Loughlin had stayed in the part.

Do you recall how the skull she was recreating paid off in the story?

 

I know it wasn't Lionel Richie from the Hello video, but it looked like it.

The sidelining of Jody didn't hold true to the character.  First, in '84 there was a college story which ended with Jody transferring to Montecello U in order to be closer to Miles and Preacher.  Second, Liz Corell wound up with Preacher under the guise that they were better suited because they both loved adventure and came from damaged backgrounds.  However, Jody was totally into adventure and usually willing to help solve a murder or go undercover at a videodisco, and Jody's background was much more f@#$ed up than Liz's.  I agree that the recast was wooden and lacked the joie d'vivre of the original; also she was too tall.  However, I recall seeing Kerry Emmerson on those floor mop commercials for years after EON so her woodenness paid off.

 

I don't recall what the pay off for the skull that Liz was recreating in the final months?  BTW, props to EON for still giving characters a specialization right up until the end everyone had an ability to help solve a mystery.

2 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Emhardt was a character actor, often cast as greasy villains, and that's how he played Mac Cory. Under Emhardt, Mac was portly and unpleasant, not romantic-lead material at all. Harding Lemay must not have originally intended the character to be a benevolent patriarch and leading man, but once the writer's plans for the character changed, the show needed a warmer, more attractive and appealing actor in the role. Emhardy's Mac would NEVER have worked in a romance with Rachel or Alice. That would be like pairing Elmer Fudd with Sleeping Beauty.

so here's what's weird about this

 

In Lemay's book Eight Years in Another World he mentions seeing Doug Watson on Broadway and thinking that he would be perfect as Mac.  I remembered it specifically because it lead me to researching Watson's theatrical career.  Lemay never mentions the original Mac.  However, he noted the roles that Rachel, Liz, and Iris would eventually play were part of his initial pitch for the character.  The original conception of Mac was that he would change the character of Rachel into a romantic heroine.  He created the character once he was free of having to consult with Irna Phillips, who wanted to maintain Rachel as a villain.  Thus, if Emhardy came across as an unlikely partner for Rachel that is probably why he was axed.

 

It's been discussed elsewhere that part of the fun of that memoir is the author's open disdain for many of the actors.  His stories about the older actors on the show and their reliance on cue cards is legendary.  His anachronistic envy of Henry Slesar's two mimeograph machines and arguing with Irna Phillips about modern values still makes me laugh.  He wrote about how P&G asked him to watch the show to see if he wanted to write for AW and he was appalled, (from a playwright's perspective) at Pat Randolph's plot.  Pat was being poisoned by her jealous maid and Lemay was gauled to learn that her father and brother were both doctors but Pat had not contacted them nor had they commented on her symptoms.  His dilemma was whether or not to tell P&G that he thought the plot line was dumb.   When I read that story I was hooked on his writing.  It would have made a great series a few years ago when every network was knocking off Mad Men because most of the drama comes from him having to pitch stories both to the network and the ad executives/producers; as well as the sheer number of scripts that had to be written every week.

On 6/10/2018 at 8:10 PM, amybrickwallace said:

Paul Denis' 1984 book, Inside the Soaps,

I just got a copy of it on Amazon, it doesn't hold up well to time but it was a fun read.

54 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I used to feel that way about Bobbie too.  On paper this is someone that has a background of tragedy and even when she was after Scotty she was still a good nurse that worked hard to give herself a new life.  To see people try to shame her in later years about her past as a sex worker and have her not be embarrassed, to be open and trusting and a loving character (who still sometimes had an edge) was great.

Bobbie is an odd duck.  She is usually referenced for her more stable times in Port Charles like when she was in charge of The Brownstone or when she was married to Tony.  However, I appreciated her edge when she was with Damian and Stefan.

 

I think unlike Monica, we never saw an evolution of Bobbie, she didn't change she just reacted to her circumstances.  She aged into a grandmother.  However, there was never any insight into why she torpedoed her relationships with stable men in order to be with con artists like Brock.

 

I still adore a scheming 70's Bobbie scene with Scotty; or later with Noah.  Remember when Bobbie, Anne and Heather all wore those navy blue nurses capes with their uniforms when they were out of the hospital?  I just saw part of when Heather set Anne up for Diana's murder and she is running around in this cape and it made me laugh.

Monica has had a remarkable arc as a character.  It would be hard to imagine that the woman who couldn't commit to Jeff or Dawn's father, taunted Leslie over her chemistry with Rick, and cheated on Alan would eventually adopt two children and then grieve the loss of three out of four of those kids on her own; although her grief over Dawn and Emily is mentioned less frequently than the loss of AJ.   She went from very selfish and mean to demonstrate extreme compassion.  Some writer could have made the connection between Monica's upbringing in an orphanage and her ability to parent Jason and Emily but I don't recall anyone doing so.  I know more recent writers have had Monica tell Jason or Drew about parenting an adopted child when Sam was pregnant but I don't think she talked about her own childhood.   Also, looking back her relationship with Gail as a mentor was so much more cleaver than making her a long lost daughter; especially because she was married to the long lost son of Steve Hardy.

Mac Cory was a man with sophisticated taste.  Notably, when he moved to Bay City he bought an old stately house but then commissioned Robert Delaney to design the very contemporary Cory Publishing Compound.  I don't recall why Mac moved his company to Bay City or why Robert gravitated toward such modern designs.  However, I appreciated the details both types of architecture, and how his home and office were a reflection of an older man who was always attracted to fresh new ideas; like Rachel.

 

Looking back at the office sets in the 90's, around the time of Iris's return, all of the midcentury charm of the company was gone   The offices where Willis, Gwen and, Pat worked looked like they were in a compound and the 90's office looked like a generic highrise.  As I recall the original offices were all on one floor around a central courtyard; hence the name Cory Compound.   I hate to be a curmudgeon but I think they even stopped referring to it as a compound once Amanda went to work there.  

 

Was there a gap in time between when Robert was on Summerset and when he moved to Bay City and was it ever explained what Robert did during that time?

2 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Many characters underwent MAJOR personality changes with the advent of new actors in the roles - Willis

I'm interested in your thoughts on Willis.  I recall him going from petulant with a chip on his shoulder to stubborn but charismatic.  However, I always attributed it to his awesome pairing with Gwen.  But, I guess he was aged up in the recast and I'd be curious to know how his portrayal changed? 

15 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Other family members (and suspects) include: Mr. York's bratty blonde daughter Nicollette Sheridan (as Banda Drake), his bratty blonde son Grant Aleksander (as Nick Drake), adopted "old house" castaway Paul Shenar (as Phillip Drake), his sexy wife Lois Chiles (as Jessica Drake), their blind clairvoyant daughter Melissa Sue Anderson (as Noelle Drake ), and hot-blooded son Yves André Martin (as Cody Drake). Blue-collared Steve Inwood (as Jerry Mills) and Raymond St. Jacques (as Davis) are significant outsiders.

I follow a Classic Soap Digest News Tumblr, and they reported on the development of Dark Mansions often in the Breaking News Section.  There were a number of recastings prior to filming and I think it was the first project that Grant Aleksander was cast in once he left GL.

 

The pilot was on YT and a kind assessment would be to say that it did not hold up well to the passage of time.

3 hours ago, titan1978 said:

I think it ratchets up the tension all the way up the stairs.  She often said her mix was a little bit of Hitchcock, a little bit of Capra, and a dash of humor.  The Hitchcock references are really high in this scene for sure.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, nobody wants a nursery with a huge a skylight, that room is where they should have put Jimmy Lee so he could work on his tan.

I just have a couple of random soap memories (RSM's) that I hope other fans can help me fill in the details. 

 

In 1984 EON had a literal cliffhanger in the episode before the break for the Summer Olympics.  Preacher, Jody, Raven, and Sky were in a car chase that wound up on a cliff on the beach. Clips of the car chase were then inserted into the opening montage.  As I recall, the car chase had something to do with either the Van Dyne mystery or Preacher's father but I also recall that it was not the denouement of the story and it wound up being very inconsequential.  They got into the chase in Mexico (probably shot on location in The Hamptons) and they all wound up okay and returned to Montecello. 

 

Please reply if you can recall any of the other details of that cliffhanger.  Also, does anyone recall if EON had a similar cliffhanger for other daytime Olympic coverage (obviously they didn't need it for 1980 in Moscow)?  That one stands out because they replayed the heck out of those scenes in the promos.

 

Also, I grew up in Los Angeles where all the soaps are on an hour early (GH at 2, EON at 3, etc) but in the 80's was EON pre-empted monthly for the ABC Afterschool Special?  I don't recall how that scheduling worked or its effect on story continuity.

 

Finally, did the Correlli family really name one daughter Beth and the other one Liz?  Aren't they both derived from the same name?

6 hours ago, JarrodMFiresofLove said:

I think it was a mistake killing Nadine off. I never understood that decision

I understand killing Nadine from a story perspective.  She had an almost perfect arc as a character.  She was introduced as very unlikable, then she did a really bad thing and then, she got a redemption through her reconnecting with Buzz which set her up as a martyr when she was killed.  Considering that she was always a supporting character it is remarkable that she got a full redemption, that is rare for female characters in general and seems like a herculean writer's task for a character who conspired to keep a baby from his mother and was giving gold-digger advice to her daughter.

 

On the other hand, Peter(was that the baby's name?) was a great candidate for SORASing.

11 hours ago, victorlord75 said:

Gloria Monty's worst actress hire as the one who played Jennifer Smith#1, Lisa Marie.  She was a beautiful lady, but her portrayal did not click at all for me.  

Well there were a lot of issues with casting of Jennifer Smith over the years; remember when Roseanne played role?

I thought Chris Rich was H-O-T as Sandy but, I wonder he got a perm to be curly like Luke Spencer and the other soap dudes of the early 80's?  I saw him in a cafe with his family about three years ago and his hair did not seem as curly.

37 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

why isn't Dale a housewife

An interesting side note is that Tinsley's father divorced Dale a few years before his death.  I have no idea how she wound up with her ex-husband's ashes but, a short Google sesh reveals that Dale did not inherit any of the family properties.  So, Sonja's gossip about Tinsley being financed by her boyfriend may not be too off base.

 

That being said, if the Coupn King didn't run for the hills after last's call to OB-GYN while wearing a pretend wedding dress than I don't know what.

27 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

Mary O'Brien was a dreadful, dreadful actress, and the less-than-subtle direction during her mad scenes did her no favors.

She also was a crappy nanny for Peter and Diana.  She only comes during the day, Diana always makes lunch for her and they are constantly leaving PJ in the "other room."

 

Also when Heather's LSD trip begins, Jeff takes Heather to GH (where Peter and Diana are meeting) and nobody mentions where they left the baby! 

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

Yes, at the beginning of her story, Monica was in love/lust for Rick Webber, although she married Jeff. Even Jeff's attempted suicide over the situation could not make Monica keep her mitts off Rick. Even Monica's marriage to Alan did not stop her from panting after Rick. No wonder Alan tried to kill them twice, LOL.

I re-watched from Heather's LSD trip to Alan stalking Rick/Monica on YT last nite and I have some thoughts: (no wedding discussed or shown during those episodes).

 

1.The Heather before Robin Mattson was a totally different person.  A terrible portrayal with All-About-Eve acting; she speaks to Dianna in a high register and then turns around and hisses in low register to her co-conspirator Larry Joe.

 

2. The story is like an afterschool special on LSD.  Heather's trip involves laughing and seeing hallucinations of colors outside the window.  The LSD is in a vile, as I recall it was usually on blotter paper, and Heather knows that it will take 20 minutes for it to take effect.

 

3.  Monica is groped all over the place.  Rick and Jeff grab her by the arm when they want to talk to her or kiss her.  People seem to be dragging Monica all over the hospital.  Alan comes to town to help build/staff the Q Cardiac Unit but no mention of a family, or that he grew up in town, upon first arrival.

 

4.  Jeff is a complicated guy.  I get that he is under a great deal of stress finding out that PJ is his son, right after finding out that Steve was his dad, but he is very uncool.  He yells at Annie, Heather and Diana.  He has a rigid adherence to wearing turtleneck sweaters and apparently had never seen anyone on an acid trip in college.  I get why all the gals went for Rick over Jeff, Rick was cool and mellow while Jeff was so high strung.  Jeff was 10x's more handsome than Peter Taylor or the rest of the guys at the time but his brain injury made him into a bummer dude.

 

5.  The Q nursery-from-hell has got a lot to do with who Jason and AJ became as men.  Who would put a baby in a nursery with a huge skylight? let alone one that could fall down at anytime? didn't Monica want the nursery to be near her bedroom, not in the attic.  Younger viewers should remember that Rick/Monica and Alan's attempts to kill them were the "B" story during the Ice Princess summer and a strong part of the ratings increase.  Looking back a year earlier and it is clear that the chaf has been separated from the wheat.

15 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

I don't know. Was Alan and Monica's wedding even shown on-screen? 

Isn't it weird that there are no pictures or stories about their wedding?  We know Alan gave Monica the deed to the mansion at the wedding but there seem to be very few other facts available.

15 hours ago, DaytimeFan said:

It blows me away that Gizelle and Robyn thought they could confront Karen at her event. These two heifers have been at her all season long and they think she owes them something?

I think Robyn is funny in her interviews and her family history is interesting.  However, her motivations this week were suspect.

 

1. Why does she care if Karen comes to her networking event given that she doesn't respect Karen as a businesswoman?

 

2. Didn't the attendants at Robyn's event pay her to be there? 

     2a. Was that money going to charity or in Robyn's pocket?

     2b. Is charging for a fan event and calling it an empowerment seminar         worse than giving money to the Alzheimer's foundation and not a                    private charity?

 

 

Question:  I was recently reviewing Monica's history.  I started watching during her affair with Rick while she was married to Alan.

 

I was reminded that Alan and Monica met and married on the show.  However, I wondered how long was their courtship? Were the rest of the Q's on canvas for their wedding?  How long was she single between marriages?

 

It seems like the pre-Monty history gets summarized quickly in the anniversary books but Monica has driven story for a long time.

35 minutes ago, kalbir said:

 

The Athletic Club rooftop pool/hot tub seems to have replaced those.

Quel dommage

 

1.  I would argue that even though it is actually taped outside, the actors looked better under the fake lighting on set.  Their skin tones were more even and there were fewer annoying shadows.

 

2.  How tacky is it that "The Athletic Club"/"Forrester Gym" set is actually on the roof of the CBS parking lot and it is fully observable from The Grove shopping center across the way?  BTW The Grove was built about a year before Y&R's mall parking lot explosion story and it was an obvious inspiration; right down to the environmental issues.

29 minutes ago, DeeeDee said:

And Amanda is NOT dead. She's still alive but Mackenzie (after a brief reconciliation) wants nothing to do with her.

Wow - I had no idea Amanda was still alive.

 

Why didn't she try to contact Brock or Katherine for support years earlier? I mean obviously it was due to a retcon of Mack - but has a reason been given as to why Amanda didn't want child support?  Didn't Mack grow up near Genoa City?

 

Also, can we all give a minute to mourn the long lost summers of Genoa City? 

 

Remember when John, Victor, or Katherine would randomly give a summer party and invite all the young couples in town?  Pool parties usually occurred around July 4th but, they were always spontaneous.  I'm talking about pre-Summer-by-Jabot stuff and post Danny Romelati's Summer Abstinence Rock and Roll Tours  Remember when Brad married Traci and they had their speedo-clad honeymoon in fake-Hawaii? And later, Cricket and Danny's speedo-clad honeymoon in real Hawaii? Remember when male cast members had to wear a speedo; even once they were very out of style?  Remember when the female characters wore big straw hats?  Remember the pools that were represented just by a shallow end with Mamie, Esther or Miguel tending the grill in their summer uniforms?  So much classier than those Bauer barbecues.