j swift

I would also add that as a casual viewer of current soaps there's a downside to recasting using "known" soap actors. When I tune into GH, once or twice a month, I continually have to remind myself who Carly from ATWT and Annie from GL are playing in Port Charles. I think back to the recasting of Taylor Miller as Sally on AW as the same issue. I could not help but think of AMC's Nina when I saw Sally and it was very distracting. A viewer totally naive to soap press would still recognize Taylor as Nina, and even superior writing could not over come that obstacle. There are some exceptions, for example I no longer think of GL or Loving when I see Laura Wright on GH. And, Sherilyn Wolter did such a great job on SB when she was cast against type. But, I think the exceptions don't excuse the argument that recasting using well established actors is not always a great idea.

I was just thinking that without the recasting of Rebecca on Passions from Maureen McCormick to Andrea Evans, I doubt that character would have had so much longevity. Kim Ulrich's Ivy was virtually cast aside for Rebecca. One tends to think without the recast she might never have returned after her daughter's wedding. Also, as much as I find Travis Schuldt charming as an actor, I think Eric Martsolf was better suited to play Ethan as the object of multiple women's affection. And I think Adrian Bellani was a better Miguel than Jesse Metcalfe, as was Charles Divens an upgrade as Chad over Donn Swaby On the other hand, Blair Redford was a terrible recast Miguel. I know that a lot of humor was derived over the hyphenate of the Lopez-Fitzgarald clan, and neither Luis nor Theresa were played by actors who identify as part of the Latinx community, but I cannot think of a more white washed casting than going from Adrian Bellani to Blair Redford to play Miguel, except of course for OLTL's recasting of Blair Cramer.

Also did Nicki Minaj get vaxxed for the RHOP reunion after refusing to get vaxxed for the VMA's and the Met Gala? She must really want to state her preference for 3 wick vs, 1 wick candles!

What I don't get about the TMZ article is that the NY Post covered this same story at the time that the reunion was cancelled - so is this just a story today because they got confirmation?

I would add that one of the failures of the early years that I've observed in the re-watch, is that not much happens plot-wise to keep me coming back. I appreciate all of the sets, costumes, and lack there of on the Forrester bros. But, where's the mystery? I know Forrester Creations will succeed regardless of the creativity of their designs. Both the Logan and Forrester family seem too solid to be torn apart by love or money (heck they even shoot each other and get over it pretty quickly). The traumas of Caroline and Brooke being victims of assault are also no mystery because we've met the assailant, and their fate is inconsequential. So, there are no stakes and no surprises, which leaves me a little bored.

Perhaps the most unpopular opinion about cancelled soaps in general, Proctor and Gamble is neither disinterested in its historical soap content nor does it lack foresight in the investment opportunity in rebroadcasting classic soaps more than the average soap fan. Contrary to belief, they did not stop producing soaps because of a lack of ratings or creativity. Fans may disagree with writing, casting, or production decisions, however the truth is that civil lawsuits over faulty consumer products nearly bankrupt the company in the early 2000s, right around the time that they stopped daytime production. Since 2009 (the year GL was cancelled), P&G sold off its pharmaceuticals, snack food, and pet food divisions. Vicks, Durcell batteries, and Coty cosmetics were all divested in 2015. Those divisions account for 16 billion dollars in lost revenue in order to keep pace with the global economy. It is not as if P&G CEO David Taylor has a vault of tapes in the closet next to his office that he refuses to open, there is actually nobody in the current corporate stratus that is responsible for for that data. So, asking P&G (the manufacturing company) to broadcast soaps is like asking GM to produce an Oldsmobile, they just don't do that anymore, there is no infrastructure in place for distribution, and they have much larger concerns to stay in business. Furthermore, Telenext, the division that was spun off to produce the soaps, has had international distribution deals for the last decade to sell soaps abroad. In 2009, Chinese distributor Matan bought 130 episodes of GL and ATWT. So, I think they are well aware of the financial benefits to the company. Also, starting with Texas, P&G implemented contracts that limited actor's residuals, so they've always planned ahead for redistribution and cost is not always a concern. However, most US cable attempts to rebroadcast soaps have failed. Soapnet and PopTV never attracted profitable ratings and sponsors. RetroTV has lost product shares and stations. And DVD sales failed to cover the cost of production. Also, in 2020 P&G Entertainment, the newest iteration of the brand, announced that they were starting their own branded streaming service, so they would have little interest in releasing their content elsewhere. I want to watch old soaps as much as anyone else on this thread. However, nothing bores me more (although it is unpopular to write) than those who claim to know more about how and why P&G should be using their content. Except, of course, people who have no idea how Nielson ratings work discussing how content effects viewership, without an understanding of the analysis of variance or non-randomized sampling (but that's another post).

Not to make this a Cusi Cram thread, but, one last twist via some internet sleuthing. As mentioned, the Cram family was well established in map making and other historic businesses. However, in her parents divorce it was established that Cusi's biological father was actually the Bolivian ambassador to the UN. Apparently, this became an issue in the family because Cusi is not mentioned in either John Cram's official (and rather juicy) obituary nor in the NY Times... https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/savannah/name/john-cram-obituary?id=17045568

I still wonder if anyone ever told Brandon (and/or CC) that Channing Jr was not biologically a Capwell? Certainly, as we think about the rivalry of the other grandchildren, Brandon's legitimacy might come into play. Brandon deserved stock in Capwell Industries as much as Johnny deserved to inherit a piece of that sweet Armonti empire, and the villa in Capri. Goodness knows, Marcello probably never had kids. I recognize that Gina secured Brandon's place in the will, and CC might still feel a sense of connection given that he raised Channing for many years on his own. However, it would be interesting to know how many knew the truth. Eden, and Channing knew that Lionel was the father of Sophia's eldest child, but they weren't privy to the baby switch. I also wonder if Brick ever told Kelly, with whom he was close, Eden, or Mason? It is not as if they ever had a coming out party for Brick, and I don't recall that he ever referred to Sophia as his mother in public. Of course, Ted's kids would still be trying to figure out the GPS on their Prius to get directions to the Capwell offices.

Today I learned... Cusi Cram, the first Cassie Callison, (who may have been fired because her weight according to reporting from the Soaps of Yesteryear tumblr) is the granddaughter of the 12th Duke of Argyle and his first wife. Cusi's mother, Lady Jean Campbell, (who romanced JFK and had been married the first time to novelist Norman Mailer) was married to John Sargent Cram II at the time of Cusi's birth but it was later revealed that Cusi's biological father was a Bolivian Ambassador to the UN Cusi's grandfather, The Duke, is in the news because the story of his scandalous divorce from his third wife (Cusi's ex-step-grandmother) is being turned into the newest season of A Very British Scandal with Claire Foy and Paul Bettany. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10129453/A-British-Scandal-LOOK-Claire-Foy-Paul-Bettany-play-Duke-Duchess-Argyll.html Dorian could never...

I still maintain that if Terry Lester had stayed in the role, Jack and Jill should have been the end game. They were made for each, they accepted and understood each other, and they brought out the best in each other. Personally, I love a dastardly duo and Jack and Jill could have filled that role. Poor Jack just looks pathetic now trying to date women younger than his forgotten son Keemo. Just for the record, if Keemo never called, texted, or emailed Jack during the million times that he's been married, shot, or kidnapped since he left town, then I say "f#@*" him anyway, he's a terrible son.

The discussion of Carla's storyline made me think of another story that probably seemed less controversial at the time, but may not get written today. Jenny the novice nun, not only left the church to marry a Jewish boy on his death bed, but she later flirted with a father and son, became a single mother, and left town with a man who had a child out of wedlock. I think fifty years later soaps would shy away from stories about the Catholic Church. Obviously, OLTL went back to the well of inter-faith marriages with Bo and Nora, but that was rarely mentioned, except on Hanukkah, and was never a point of contention. I mean when Matthew had his son, I don't recall anyone planning a bris, or even discussing circumcision (I guess that was because he was in a coma while Destiny was pregnant, but even so). 1970s soaps were far more willing to take risks regardless of the assumptions otherwise. They were pretty radical in the afternoon.

As noted in the New & Gossip from the mid-80s thread, it is one of my favorite BTS stories from that time Much like Tracey E Bregman, there's always a numerologist to blame, (and I'm sure a few drinks). I still maintain that Steve Skitching was a better choice (or Jameson Parker II).

You know it's bad when a character's catatonic husband is the most compelling actor in the scene

After luring William Espy from Y&R to AW, Paul Rauch also hired Janice Lynde to play Tracy Dewitt. Rauch must have liked her performance as a former mob boss girlfriend who found romance with the most boring doctor in town, because he later hired her to do the same story at OLTL as Laurel Chapin. Both Tracy and Laurel were able to escape harm while involved with their mafia boyfriends, but as soon as they dated Russ and/or Larry they found a fiery death in a car.

Speaking of Nikolas, Stephen Martines was known as Coltin Scott when he played Nikolas on GH and then changed it to Martines when he went on to GL Also, as reviewed in the News from Yesteryear thread, 1984 saw a huge number of last name changes including: Stephan Ferris (Ferrara), Steve Blizzard (Fletcher), Nana Visitor (Tucker), and Charles Flohe (Grant). Note that despite their marriage, Kim Delaney was never credited as Kim Flohe (I'm sure she is happy about that decision today). However, YR/OLTL's Andrea Evans was briefly credited as Andrea Evans-Massey during her brief marriage to Wayne Massey, who briefly played Tina's love interest Johnny Drummond.

It is funny you mentioned that because I had the same reaction. I did a little googling and found that sweeps weeks actually started in 1954. However, it took some time before networks starting programming in direct response to sweeps. On the other hand it is remarkable to read old soap synopses and see a story randomly culminate in March, during a non-sweeps period. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/27044/how-do-tv-sweeps-periods-work

I hadn't realized until Meghan's appearance on WWHL that her memoir is an Audible Exclusive (aka no reputable publishing house wanted to give her a contract). I had wondered how she turned around her story so quickly after being dismissed, as it turns out it was because there was no editing required. I remain as unimpressed by her autobiography as I am with her follow up to The View being a contract to write articles for the Murdoch's the Daily Mail UK.

The other thing to keep in mind is that it was only on for 8-9 years. Other soaps like Y&R and AW migrated away from their core families after their first decade on air and this seems like the direction that Pam Long was taking. However, I am certain that if SB had veered away from the Capwells many fans would decry the backburnering of the core family, so sometimes you can't win either way...

To be fair, the Capwells were a very large family. You have CC, at least two wives, Sophia and Pamela, as well as their kids Mason, Channing, Eden, Elena, Kelly, Ted, and Greg. Along with their spouses/significant others, that is 14 characters right there, and if each of them was in a love triangle that would be 21 characters. Most establishing soap families have 2-3 kids, but the Capwells were prolific. Also, Gina drove stories throughout the show. And Cruz had several families to attend to.

Erica is compelling, I find myself eager to hear what she has to say each week, even if she comes off as a Mae West impressionist, so I guess that justifies splitting up her questioning into four parts. However, it really highlights how little Crystal and Sutton have to say. To be honest I didn't recall being that amused by Crystal's sassy housekeeper. And, I don't think Sutton spoke more than two words the whole hour. The Kyle vs Dorit thing is clearly a non-issue given that both of them continue to be good humored about the whole thing, and nobody on the cast felt the need to contrive a reaction to some petty bickering between friends. I did giggle aloud when Garcelle asked who Carlton was (Andy's reaction was amusing). Lisa did her usual reunion stunts, with limited success. Her lack of current references for Harry Styles and Florence Pugh just makes her seem out of touch. But, perhaps age and poor eyesight are to blame for her approval of her glam squad's inability to match her the color of her extensions with the rest of the hair on her head.

It seems like a prefunctory part of the story that someone has to disbelieve the diagnosis so they can learn lessons about Autism in order to inform the audience. But, I agree that Olivia feels like a poor choice for this role in the plot. She has been in love with doctor, she's suffered a head injury, and she is aware of mental health issues both due to her experiences with Morgan and Heather. So, it feels like she would be more sensitive to issues about neuro-diveristy. Also, the old troupe that mothers are most often in denial about developmental issues is not actually true, and often a little sexist. Lack of access to resources is much more of an issue in the Autism community than poor early detection due to parental denial.

Dr. Scott Clark was Vincent Irizarry's character who had helped Gina when she was blind. She faked recovery from blindness to hold on him (classic only-on-a-soap story because either he was a crappy eye specialist who was unable to tell if his patients were malingering, or Gina went through a lot of trouble to hold onto her doctor, rather than just admitting she liked him, either way nobody was ever concerned about the consequences of insurance fraud). Any way, in the early 1960s Scott's uncle Hal had an affair with Pamela, she killed him, and young Scott witnessed it but suppressed the memory until he was hypnotized by busty psychiatrist Dr. Heather Donnally. The Donnally's were a failed attempt to create another family in town besides the Capwells that never caught on. Soaps being soaps, of course Scott fell in love with Heather. Then they broke up, but Heather was pregnant yadda yadda yadda. From Celeste DiNapoli to Flame Baufort, Scott fell for traumatized women and that was his defining characteristic. Originally, CC was thought to have killed Hal, because he beat him after finding out about his affair, so he helped bury Hal in the boathouse and this was retconned into the reason he divorced Pamela and banished her to Europe. But, Scott remembered that Pamela actually shot Hal after CC beat him. Once Scott realized the truth as an adult, Pamela went nuts, tried to poison Kelly, (which created the opportunity for recasting the role, so when Kelly awoke from her poisoning she suddenly looked like Carrington Garland). Pamela was sent to the sanitarium where she stayed until that one night in 1991 when Mason inexplicably brought her to dinner at the Capwells... I conflate this with the story of Heather's brother Michael who was an ex-cop turned priest. He found out that contrary to popular belief Mason may have killed Dr. Mark McCormack, the abusive husband of Mason's first love Mary. However, it turned out that Mark was actually murdered by a nun. According to legend, this was a writer's strike story meant to be a short term tale told to hold over the plot until the writers returned. Personally, I am fascinated by writer's strike stories on soaps because they are usually so bizarre.

I'm more of a Stephen Yates fan. But, I far prefer that era of Jamie versus the Lau/Todd Jamie the Doctor era. It was always more believable to me that a boy raised by Rachel would grow up to be a creative type, prone to jealousy, and addiction. As opposed to a boring self righteous medical professional. Even looking back at them as teens, I could believe Dennis to be more of the moral center and Jamie to be a playboy. Rachel's son should never have been anyone's second choice to Jake.

The etymology totally makes sense, I mean she was off screen quite often, so she needed something to fill the time, she just would have called it the world wide webb Although just typing the phrase reminds me of the poorly constructed character, Jason Webb, whose defining qualities were his ponytail and motorcycle. He would be filed next to Ty Moody as cougar-bait without much personality.

I also recall on Y&R when the Abbotts or Newmans would have their annual 4th of July celebrations, Brad was always in a speedo while Nick and Jack stuck to shorts. In neither case were male bikinis considered to be in style at the time, it was just an opportunity to show some flesh.