j swift

I was surprised when I read this news because the show seems to be struggling creatively. What I find interesting is that none of the current daytime shows feel capable of producing an episode about a single topic. Oprah and Phil Donahue would introduce a topic and discuss it for the entire hour. This generation of talk shows seems to feel that the audience does not have the attention span to watch a full hour of a single topic. However, I would suggest that a single topic show could survive as a contrast to the pace of the other shows. Tamron's show often feels odd because they'll go from a serious topic in one segment to a silly topic in the next. A slower pace that allows viewers to dip in and out while not missing the key information would seem like a relief. And I don't need another show discussing pop culture topics of the day in a round table format.

@Nicholas Blair & @vetsoapfan I wonder if you would agree that by the time they revisited the DID story, (during Tina's investigation of Victor's secret room), there was a character merger of Viki and Meredith? I say this because in reading the synopses, and seeing the portrayal of Viki during Marco's murder trial, she was a strong, reliable, woman with fewer vulnerabilities. As evidenced by her relationship with Joe, were she was liberated and showed agency over her father's legacy. After Tina's revelations, Viki became more vulnerable, a little less stable, and in need of Clint's support to run the newspaper and deal with the stressors of life in Llandview. Much like Merry needing Larry to lean upon. It may be a case of different writers with a different concept for the character, but even the way that Viki dealt with Cathy vying for Joe's attention and kidnapping her baby seemed like it came from a place of strength, as opposed to how VIki dealt with Maria's finagling with Clint where she was much more of a victim of circumstances, and somehow less able to see through Maria's motives.

I still read Lynda's column on her website every week, and it is heartwarming to know that her editor hasn't gotten any better in 40 years. One tends to think Gen Powell's condition was exacerbated by cancer not exasperated (although it may have been exhausting).

Considering the number of twins in Salem, I thought I would rank them in order of how much I think that the actors look related In last place we have Sami & Eric, almost no resemblance Next up the Gemini twins, Rex and Cassie, mild resemblance Then Marlena and Samantha, they could pass for each other, but it begs the age old question of why Don couldn't tell them apart in the bedroom And finally Tony and Andre, dead ringers 😉 Honorable mention: twins Tommy (upper right) and Addie Horton (lower right) barely look related but most of the Horton brothers shared a family resemblance

Thanks for researching that. Bay City is a tough town, Steve built Blackhawk into a very successful business in Australia for almost a decade, then he comes to Bay City and is bankrupt within a year. Ray was inept when he ran Frame Construction, but Steve really just overestimated the market.

Did Quinn continue to run Blackhawk after Steve II's (re-Steve?) death? Wasn't there a period right before his second (and final) death that Blackhawk was failing and Rachel had to prop it up monetarily, or am I remembering something else entirely?

That's funny because I don't think the timing overlaps for them to interact before he reappears after getting out of jail. I wonder if Mac paid Jamie's med school tuition? It looks like he spent his publishing forward and the movie rights to his book on drugs (given that he was living in an RV a few years later), Rachel's art never seemed profitable, and we know from the 1977 recaps that Frame Construction went belly up, so Jamie didn't have and funds from those sources...

Point taken, also @Xanthe it was from an article on East Coast gossip, so it could be narrowed to New York soaps. Was Capitol produced in Los Angeles? And does anyone know if there are still video game arcades in Westchester?

It was 1984, and it had to be a New York based soap, so that narrows it down to Ryan's Hope, Loving, All My Children, One life to Live, As the World Turns, Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow, or Another World (lol).

Is it just me or does the original Oprah opening look like every plastic HR award for Employee of the Month that's been manufactured sine 1987?

Agreed on the inspo, including the implication that access to drugs may have been part of Jason's allure (of course because it was a soap, the correlation between drugs and sex was never explicitly discussed - god forbid anyone ever had fun while they were high in daytime)

I thought CC's motivation was that he knew Cruz had fathered Chip, but he wanted to keep Eden happy, so he lured Mason to marry Tori with the promise of an inheritance. Mason had been written out of CC's will when he exposed Channing as being gay during the murder investigation

Jason Dunlap was also in cahoots with the evil Else Fredricks, who was Sandy's pimp. So, he is key to arrival of Sandy, which changes the character of Cecile, and transforms her into the "real" Cecile that you may recall. Jason was played by Warren Burton who also played Warren Andrews on GL, Eddie on AMC, and Philip Hamilton on Santa Barbara. He specialized is playing creepy guys who somehow charmed women into doing things against their better instincts. He was also one of the many gay dayitime actors in the late 70s/early 80s whose sexual appeal was puzzling, but they played a combo of menace and suave with finesse. Paul Rauch later hired Janice to play an even more similar role on One Life to Live as Lauren Chapin, also an ex of a former mafia guy, who married the dullest doctor in town, and was later killed in a car.

I don't recall this detail. Did Mason inherit money from Pamela's father?

I'm amused by the laissez-faire attitude that "after 20 years of marriage, one expects an occasional extramarital liason". But, it took me a couple of re-reads to understand the $50 quote. Meanwhile I still want to know who this refers to?

@Liberty City Such exciting news, but did you see the weird part? Two episodes in December (both on a Monday) and then the rest of the season starts airing in March !?!

Are these Novaks meant to be related to Novaks of Ryan's Hope?

It is nuts to read this recap from forty years ago and then think of the proverbial hoops that subsequent writers went through to retcon Drew and Franco's existence. In 1981 Scotty is in Mexico and Heather is around the entire time, (and being uncharacteristically nice to Rose), so she's definitely not hiding a pregnancy. Then, Alan goes to see Susan right after Jason's birth and wants to marry her, so there would be no reason for her to hide the fact that she had given birth to twins. And, there is little to no communication between Heather and Susan while she is away having Jason. The only other detail I don't quite understand was Lila's devastation over Alexandra's death. I know Lila was kind and compassionate, but she hardly knew Alexandra, who was from Edward's side of the family. So, she took it kind of hard considering that their prior relationship was barely established on the show. It is also fun to recall the seasonal nature of stories. Summers were for romantic adventures and winters would bring murder mysteries. There is also a great balance between stories, so we get the craziness of carbonic snow at the same time that we got traditional divorce drama (although it seems like they backburnered the Diana Taylor murder for a long time). I am eager to read the lead up to Jimmy Lee as well as Monica getting ownership of the mansion.

People are openly discussing a gag order to the point that it is verifiable?!? Citation please? Because I would appreciate another public figure being fired for defying vaccination compliance. As was the case with Laura Osnes, the broadway actress fired for refusing vaccination, getting the message out that lack of compliance has consequences is good for the cause of those of us in public health who want to see as many people vaccinated as possible.

With all due, now we are just defying logic. How can production deny a rumor that hasn't gotten any traction or made it to the press? That's why you can't prove a negative. Using this line of reasoning, should we also wait for word whether or not Nurse Jessie Brewer will rise from the dead to provide vaccinations on set? 😶

I don't know why this recalcitrance has gotten underneath my skin, but it has. So, I emailed Greg Evans, the Deadline writer who reported on the controversy over the vax mandate at GH in August. He replied that not only had he not heard the rumor about Steve Burton being fired, but he was certain that if actors were being fired then production would put out a statement to the press. However, if anyone wants to persist in believing unsubstantiated rumors from Twitter or other social media poseurs, then I know an actor who I'm sure still has a supply of magic juice in his garage that he'd be willing to sell. 😉

Thank you for the context, but doesn't that confirm that this was a production choice and not a writing choice?

So, 48 hours later when not a single reputable publication nor blog has confirmed this story we're still going to believe and promote this rumor?

I would argue that changing actors mid-scene feels like a production choice not a writing choice. We often confuse the two roles, perhaps because primetime is filled with producer/writers, but in Marland's time the division of duty was pretty clear.

I get your point, but I also enjoy the period when was she was just richer than god and bit out of touch. The Colin Cowie birthday ball, her distress over not being able to buy a birken bag, and the tours of her homes were great! I also loved when that building was renovated next to the studio and they did a show where she met her neighbors. Also, I was a huge fan of the After the Show on Oxygen and the Behind the Scenes on OWN. Oprah has a great sense of humor and those shows allowed her to show that side of herself more often. I agree that the Beloved-period was a low point. In hindsight, any time she got really thin she also got a bit too preachy for my liking. I loved the Vogue photoshoot, but daily affirmations and gratitude journals were not my favorite messages. It all seemed to use spirituality as wish fulfillment rather than honoring the divine force beyond ourselves in wonderment. I'm reminded of a story that Nigella Lawson told in a recent interview. She remarked that in Europe cooking is about technique, but in the US food is associated with feelings. So, she's cooking on a show and the host asks her about loosing her father and her husband within the same year and how it affected her views on life. She hesitated, then replied that the universe is a random place and she learned that in order to cope with loss you can't take coincidence so personally. For me, those are words to live by, as opposed to the Oprah mantra of trying to use gain insight in order to change the universe.