j swift

Not to go too far afield from the topic at hand, but it remarkable how the initial setup for Port Charles was similar to the 1991 Monty revamp. Angela was played by Carol Lawrence, a long time actress, much like Mary Scanlon played by Pat Crowley. The Eckhart Bakery tried to be the new hangout, much like The Recovery Room on PC. And Jenny lived with many of her nurse friends in a shared apartment, much like the resident med students of PC. Neither version was popular and both required a reworking of the initial concept.

I agree with your timeline which makes me question the veracity of his backstage run-ins with exhausted actors. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but his stories might be a pastiche of the experiences of a variety of executives and actors, simply because he wasn't available all of the time.

Jenny (a character whose entire personality was defined by her haircut) married Paul in 1994 and then they faded away... Until Paul came back (but that's another thread)

Amongst the many reasons that I am surprised Mac Scorpio lasted so long is because he served as the catalyst for Glory Monty's 1991 revamp of GH. Mac was introduced the same week as Bill Eckart, his sister Jenny, mother Angela, father Frank, and (a personal favorite) his cousin Joey. The revamp was considered a creative and ratings failure, so within months most of those introduced were fired. Frank died in an earthquake (the type that happen too frequently for an east coast port o' call), Angela moved and sold the bakery (which was never going to be the new Kelly's), and Joey just disappeared. By the end of Monty's second tenure in 1993 they were all gone except Mac. So, it is a true surprise that he lasted beyond that infamous stage in GH history.

I recall the bubble bath, so I hope you are correct, because it would be an injustice for Augusta to not her own home, nor her own private bathroom.

Practically, (in these days when we are all more empathic to remote workplaces), I wonder how much of that had to do with the Bell family relocating to Los Angeles from Chicago? I get that 30 minutes makes a tighter story, but I also would hazard to guess that it is easier to manage a 30 minute production remotely. Does anyone recall when they all moved and Lee finished her morning show in the windy city?

I was referencing when he dated Nikki, after her divorce and he ingratiated himself through teaching Nick sports. Also, I think the Albert part of the story came later because when Nikki originally found Cora, Victor was angry because he said that she had abandoned him. That's when he told he the story about taking the name Newman as in becoming a new man (kind of literal, but still interesting, I would be fascinated to know if it was coincidence or part of the plan for the character, given that he wasn't meant to be a long term player).

Upthread someone mentioned that both Joanna Manning (Fenmore) and Dina Mergeron abandoned their children, which I hadn't really considered until recently. It is interesting to me that Traci's issues with self confidence were often associated with being abandoned by her mother, and Ashley's lack of romance was also attributed to a lack of relationship with Dina. Lauren was always a "daddy's girl" who craved Neil's attention, and her relationship with Joanna helped create viewer understanding of her treatment of Traci. However, very little mention was made of the effect of Dina's absence on Jack. Of course, the more recent story centered on Jack and Dina. However, I am referencing when Dina first returned right after the marriage of John and Jill. Looking back, Jack was seemingly the most influenced by the loss of his mother. His affair with Jill, and John's subsequent stroke, were straight out of Oedipal. He practically begged all of his early lovers to have children because he so badly wanted to be a parent. And, he relied on the substitute mother figure of Mamie more than either of his siblings. I think it is also remarkable that Victor was abandoned by his mother Cora. The circumstances were different, but he still resented that she cared for his brother more than him. Bill Bell had a Disney-like aversion to protagonists with mothers. At the risk of being reductive, the mothers that did exist in Genoa City fell into the Madonna/whore syndrome. They were either shrews or put upon victims who sacrificed everything for their children's happiness. I wonder if the desire to create a youth-oriented drama was part of the motive to sideline or negate the maternal figures in the early plots?

Richard Channing became the Alexis Colby of that show. By that I mean, he came on in the second season to create a viable antagonist. Chase would have seemed like an idiot if he fought with Angela for years and kept getting mislead and betrayed by her. Cole and Lance were too young, with too many options, to maintain a rivalry. The show needed Richard as a villain to sustain itself beyond the first season. He expands the database for story because without him the main plots would be about the growing and harvesting of crops, hardly an intriguing scenario for a multi-season soap. How many times could the crop almost be ruined? Or the workers not be able to harvest before everyone would have turned the channel? FC was very lucky that Flamingo Road flopped and David Selby became available. Of course, as seen in the pilot that has been on YouTube for years, Richard was always part of the story bible. Angela needed an ally/sparring partner and Chase needed another man to interfere with his family. I doubt that Michael Swan, who played a version of Richard in the pilot, would have been able to play a guy who was both ruthless and charming, evil and vulnerable. That doesn't negate the brilliant characterization of Melissa Agretti. However, it is notable that Melissa grew into the role of nemesis, she started out just as brat. It was the death of her father and the loss of Cole that really made her evolve.

Given that Titan has gone through multiple CEO's this year, wouldn't you think that their stockholders would loose confidence and tank the value of the company?

It also brings up my old queery about the Lockridge Mansion. Now we know that nobody on soaps has to use their bathroom, except to have sex in the tub, but if Minx lived in the primary bedroom, do you think that Augusta didn't have an en-suite bathroom (her makeup table was shown in her bedroom)? Does this indicate the possibility (given the age of the mansion) that at one point Lionel, Augusta, Warren, and Laken all shared a bathroom?

I thought the funding for Basic Black was based on John being an Alamain. So, how is the business funded today?

In honor of the 40th anniversary I have no idea why Lorenzo Lamas is unrecognizable in the image and they made Vicky a brunette.

I just hope they cleaned the rug

It was either the atrium or CC’s office where Sophia killed Channing, so it was a choice between uncomfortable furniture or uncomfortable memories in that house. You’d think given Santana’s training in interior decor she would have at least suggested that they redesign the room where Channing died

Does Jill still own 25% of Jabot? I haven't kept up in a while and I just saw a tweet that Jill offered a position to Billy at Chancellor which made me question what gave Jill the authority to offer a position within that company? Did she gain Chancellor stock when she thought she was Kay's daughter and just never gave it back, or is she the proxy for her son Phillip's stock? I would hope that they didn't write in that she owns part of Fenmore's because Neil died before Jill found out they were related and Lauren was his sole heir (which doesn't suddenly change when a bastard child is found).

Thank you. I''m just so glad you didn't say that I was taking it too seriously or reading too much into it, because I think every work of good fantasy fiction should set up a set a rules that define it's universe (ie vampires can't go in the sunlight or Superman can't go near kryptonite), it heightens the experience to have well defined cannon.

Here's what I don't get about the "rules" of this devil story: given that the devil can morph into anyone, but the real person can be simultaneously somewhere else (i.e. John and Kristin), is the devil within Marlena, or is Marlena being held somewhere and the devil morphs into her? Because why did the devil move from Doug to Marlena if it could always just morph into anyone? Science fiction requires rules for it to have some meaning and the devil's rules are very confusing... Also, why is the devil's vendetta so personal to this set of people rather than trying to spread evil everywhere?

A hot (and possibly unpopular) take on Carly - I liked her prior scenes with RH, so why not try a Carly and Austin pairing? There is built in conflict because Austin is fighting for his part of the Quartermaine fortune, and Michael wants to maintain his place in the family, so if Carly got in the middle there are a number of possibilities.

https://janetcharltonshollywood.com/dynasty-guys-just-might-spill-the-beans/ What better place to have a Dynasty “reunion” than Palm Springs? Many fans of the iconic 1980’s series have retired there! Jack Coleman (he played Steven Carrington), John James (Jeff Colby) and Gordon Thomson (Adam Carrington) are premiering their new stage show called Our Dynasty: Tales From The Set at Oscar’s in Palm Springs on December first. They plan to reminisce about the fan favorite storylines, behind the scenes gossip, and unexpected situations. For example: what happened when Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson paid a surprise visit to the set, and why was George Peppard REALLY fired? Don’t expect a lot of dish about Joan Collins because she is still VERY much alive and listening! Hopefully the 3 actors will have a few drinks pre-show and loosen up…

OLTL - Karen and Jenny Wolek are good examples of sibling resemblance in casting Right down to their matching smeared mascara from constantly crying Their previous iterations looked like siblings, but not from a family descendant from Polish immigrants Karen #1 Jenny # 1

Congratulations and I hope Joy's words resonated, "Don't let anybody ever tell you what you have to be in this life"

Mar-devil wasn't wrong when she called Shawn Douglas stupid. First, he never read her the Miranda rights, then he cuffed her hands in front rather than behind her back. No wonder ex-spies, his mother, father, and other far less experienced citizens have been chief of the Salem PD, but never Shawn. 😉

I finished my deep dive, and the headline impression is that the backstory of going off air, retooling, and renaming, is unfortunately more interesting that the show itself, in either incarnation. I read this thread, the tumblr weekly and monthly summaries and, watched the limited videos available on YT. It is interesting to note that SOD's final L&F summery and final FRFP summery both included commentary about the poor acting because one of the obvious limitations of my deep dive was that I was unaware of how the performances or the recasts effected the experience. I am a fan of Lemay's writing and there is an obvious change between his turn as headwriter, versus when Tom King took over. It is a matter of preference, but I enjoy the type of drawing room drama employed by Lemay which includes a lot of character study, as opposed to the mystery and suspense of King's writing. The key difference is in the romantic relationships. Lemay uses longing and internal strife that keeps couple apart, wherein King's plots include more character agency in scheming to keep true love from reaching its potential. Lemay's characters deal with internal conflicts about perceived status or feeling unworthy, whereas King's lovers deal with amnesia, fake ODs, and gang warfare. It is a big tonal shift. Austin/Amy - first it is hard to imagine Rod Arrants, who I recall as the perma-curled action hero Travis from SFT, portraying an alcoholic artist forced to work as a stockbroker. Bohemian pursuits were out of step with the times of 1977 and I would have expected an artist to be addicted to hallucinogenics, not alcohol, so it all seemed a bit antiquated. Someone in this thread noted that Amy may not have been planned to be so sympathetic, and that is why Laurie turned so conniving, but as a result the character is sort of boring and redundant to the other heroines on the show. Then, in the reboot, Austin is not only never stressed about his addiction, but he is completely absent from helping his friend and sponsor Lester Saxton when he falls off the wagon. Bonus info - Rod married the Megan 1.0 (Patricia Estrin} as it says in the article upthread they met onset after both were single parents, and then they divorced in 1992 Megan/Connie/Rhett aka Bill - this triangle starts under Lemay with promise, Megan feels societal and familial pressure to marry Desmond (who gets totally dicked over in both incarnations) but falls in love with Rhett. Then, in the reboot, Connie is suddenly given all the control because she's pregnant. She gets to tell Megan to breakup with Bill and she somehow manipulates her to never tell Bill why they needed to break up the day before they were supposed to get married. At least there was some bow to the times that Bill offered to co-parent without getting married to Connie, but of course she manipulates him into marriage. My main complaint is that Megan and Bill, who are smart, work together daily, but never share their suspicions about Connie whom neither of them like. Their motives for not discussing their feelings are only because the plot demands it, not because it is logical. Laurie/Jason/Desmond - this was a highlight to me because I like two schemers in a relationship. I like that Jason understands that his job, for which he is talented, could be gone in a minute if his more privileged but less talented rival got his way. Unlike, other characters played by Richard Backus, Jason was layered. He wasn't just a con artist out to gain wealth, there was also lingering resentment about the confines of social class. I was also amused throughout that Desmond is wealthy handsome guy, but he is everybody's second choice and, as a result, he gets a lot of abuse and disrespect. Bonus info - I have no reference for the quality of how actor David Knapp played Desmond,, but you have to feel bad for a character who had to cancel two romantic trips due to being cuckolded by two different women. The poor guy just wanted to get some nookie outside of living with his girlfriend's mother(s) and he couldn't catch a break. After an extensive google search, it appears that he is not the same David Knapp who later sued the Boy Scouts for the right to be a gay Boy Scout Troupe leader because this actor died in 2006 before most of that litigation was complete, but I would welcome confirmation if anyone has additional information. The end - certainly the silliest part of reading the summaries is that in the last few weeks everything gets wrapped up in a pretty bow. It is a lesson for those who want a soap to end on a final note rather than a cliffhanger. Suddenly bad guys like Lee the car thieving thug and Roy the two-timing psychiatrist turn sympathetic. Connie and Laurie who connived and schemed to maintain their relationships are exposed. Tessa who might have been paralyzed can walk, Paco the ex-gangbanger can read, and Megan and Bill find their way back to each other. It may be because the serial was so short, but tying things up feels rushed and unsatisfying. I would watch the first episodes of both incarnations if they became available, out of curiosity, but I have no interest in watching the rest of the series.

I've never understood the logic of that type of right-wing criticism. People are poor so we shouldn't buy expensive things, but we should support poverty by opposing an increase to the minimum wage, not allowing healthcare coverage regardless of income, and defund efforts to improve education in economically depressed neighborhoods? In other words, the critics would say, don't offend the poor by spending money, when you can oppress them with legislation. Illogical