j swift

I read the Shelly Ross op-ed piece in the NY Times this morning and I have some thoughts. For those who have not seen the reporting on Ms. Ross's essay, most of the social media coverage has been about an incident in 2005, 16 years ago, when Chris Cuomo grabbed Ms. Ross's ass at her goodbye party when they both worked at ABC. However, I think the headline (which was written by an editor as clickbate) and the coverage diverts attention form Ms. Ross's actual opinion. She clearly states that she swatted his hand away and he wrote her an apology followed by a phone call stating his regrets the next day. She also notes that she doesn't want him cancelled or fired. Her objection is that Cuomo was allowed to continue reporting for CNN while consulting with his brother on sexual harassment charges. I guess we are to infer that Chris not only shouldn't have consulted with Mario due to his job at CNN, but also because he had a history of harassment with Ms. Ross. Yet, I have two issues with this piece. First, why now? There have multiple reports on how inappropriate it was for Chris to consult with Mario, and CNN publicly condemned the behavior. Second, does an ass grab followed by a poorly written apology make the first offense any worse? I would argue that it doesn't. Whether or not Chris Cuomo grabs asses in the workplace, he shouldn't have been allowed to report on his brothers allegations while employed at CNN. It may seem natural to advise one's brother when they are in a crisis, but the fact that it was so well known, should have required consequences for Chris at CNN. As for Ms. Ross, I am grateful that the digital edition linked to stories about her poor management style which got her fired at ABC and CBS. Because, for me the only thing that this op-ed piece really validated is that people in privileged positions, like Ross and Cuomo, are allowed to continue to be bad managers as they move from one company to the next, based on who they know rather than any demonstration of their skills. But, as we've all experienced. that is true in media, business, or the local coffee shop.

On the wedding dress thread we were just talking about Henrietta and her crystal wedding snood, and then this pic came up in my Facebook feed (baader-meinhoff effect). I recall that Quinn had an affair with Bob, Henrietta's ex husband. And I have a hazy memory that Roy had a soul singing twin brother who dated Lilly. Here's the dots that I need help filling in: (1) How did Quinn and Henrietta wind up as friends, so much so that Quinn was her matron of honor? (2) Was there an exit story for Roy and Henrietta, or did they just disappear into the Bay City milieu? What about her son Bob Jr? (3) I recently read that Jackee (who played Lily) was on the first season of 227 simultaneous with AW and flew back and forth to LA with iconic NBC president Brandon Tartikoff's good wishes, but by then how often was she on screen and what happened between her and Roy's twin? Wasn't she somehow involved with Masie who worked with Ada? (4) How did Gil factor into the story?

This is a retroactive conspiracy theory, based only on conjecture, with zero basis in realty, but, what if the short term nature of Joan Collins on GL was all a publicity stunt from the start? Obviously, she was cast for publicity, as well as her talent. However, there was never talk of a lawsuit for breach of contract. She has a reputation for professionalism. And she stayed with other projects like Footballers Wives and The Royals for longer. So, it seems odd that she would leave so quickly. Unless, GL was trying to get in the press both for her coming and for her going. Also, according to Soap Central, Joan announced she was leaving November 24, 2002, two months after her first airdate (and a week before the end of sweeps month), and GL announced Marj Dusay returning to the role the next day. Joan last aired on December 23rd, and Marj was playing Alex the following week. Which all seems very convenient in hindsight.

I wanted to recommend this guy's daily recaps on YT. I appreciate that they are short, pithy, filled with amusing asides about character motives, avoidant of spoilers, and not biased based on backstage drama. He makes me smile everyday since his videos were recommended on my homepage and I would encourage any fan to give them a try.

Thanks I conflated Justin and Grant

One thing I appreciate from the early days of Gina and Santana was how cruel Eden could be in response to their schemes. In particular, the scene when Eden told Gina that Santana was Brandon's mother. I wish more of Eden's conflicts with Cruz came from trying to suppress her cruelty, rather than drama based on intruders in their relationship and people trying to harm Eden. Much like the relationship of Julia and Mason, it would have been cool to see Eden try to avoid having Cruz know how underhanded she was at work. She bonded with Kirk over their mutual desire for power in CC's company, but afterward she barely had any office-based stories. For example, it would have been interesting to she her push for the off shore oil drilling that the environmentalists opposed. I also think it would have been contemporary for Eden to question wanting to raise kids, in opposition to Cruz's desire for a huge family (except, of course, once he was single and he sent those kids off to Mexico on the first flight out of town). Because, for me, the constant victimization of Eden is what failed to differentiate her from Kelly. Finally, for today, I was just thinking about how odd it was that Mason's sobriety was a constant source of conflict for him as a character, but Gina's pill addiction was treated as a passing fancy that was never revisited.

Wasn't one of the major plot points at the end that Reena and Grant had a bet over profits at World Oil, and if Reena lost she had to sleep with Grant, who had just learned that Judith was faking paralysis, so now they were free to be together, but Reena had to chose whether to move to New York and try to start something with Grant?

Well there's ambassadorship to Mendorra which was an interesting story for Charles Sanders and a novel exit for Dorian. Then, there are the jewels of Mendorra which were always brought up during fallow times in OLTL history. Such as when Tina tries to steal them from Elizabeth Sanders, after her failed schemes to steal the gold from Eterna, Victor's art, and Cord's million dollar inheritance. And then, of course, there's whole Lee Ramsey trying to steal the jewels which lead to Marty's return and her offensive reunion story with Todd. And finally, it depends on your like/dislike for doppelganger stories because Bo had to disguise himself as Prince Raymond of Mendorra to free Megan from marrying the prince which lead to a ski chase in wedding clothes. Of course, this was only two years after Patrick London impersonated Bo and tried to romance Tina. So, one had to believe that multiple people around the world resembled Bo Buchanan at one time or another.

Heaven forbid! Angie Perrini was one of my favorite characters of all time, and I would hate to kill off Joey. However, the same story could have been told by just killing Dr. Dunning, and revealing that he had stolen Sally's baby, fathered by one of those other guys. Evil Nurse Emily Benson could have been motivated by her misplaced devotion to Dr. Dunning, her attraction to Peter, and her hatred of Sally. And of course, in my fanfic, Kevin Thatcher would later return with his lover Cory Ewing - (they were distant adopted cousins who raised apart so it avoids the ick factor) - as the new architects for Frame Construction in charge of renovating the Cory Complex (along with the Aunt Liz memorial water-cooler/gossip hub).

My opinion was that Larkin had panache. He wasn't conventionally sexy, and it stretched the imagination that young women like Roxie and Mindy would physically attracted to him, but his appeal was evident. As I recall, Larkin was hit by car at the height of his initial success on Edge of Night. When he returned he was noticeably more gaunt, but he still played shirtless sex scenes. It was also an era when east coast actors were not all as ripped and toned as actors today. And, a slightly older guy could still be cast as a single leading man without many questions. For example, Michael Wilding Jr who played Jackson Freemont had some of the sharpest cheekbones in the biz, but he wasn't a chiseled hunk, and Warren Burton who played Warren Andrews got by on his charms, without the visible attributes that would indicate he was attractive to gals like India. young Larkin slightly older Larkin

I am probably preaching to the choir, but, while I appreciate the idea of tying Sally and Donna's secrets together in the Royal Dunning/Emily Benson mystery, given Sally's rebellious youth, the retcon of David Thatcher and Kevin were totally unnecessary. Sally could have been pregnant by Phil, Leigh, Denny, or Joey and had consulted with Dr. Dunning off screen. But, I guess, that would have left us without a murder victim. I like a murder mystery as a backdrop to a burgeoning romance, but as much as you disliked Brittney, I found Kevin to be one of the most obnoxious children in the history of soaps (coming a close second to GH's Mike Webber)

One more that I couldn't resist, because what else would one wear for their wedding to a TV evangelist in the 1980s but this ensemble from Knots Landing? Even Tammy Faye Baker wouldn't have dared to wear this one gloved wonder. But Cathy could've ripped off the veil and reused the headband for a Jane Fonda workout.

That whole era of Sally was such an odd contrast to Sally as an adult. I know it was due to multiple writers changes, but fans of the Sally/Catlin era would hardly recognize rebellious teen Sally (of course, she also had a different head back then).

The aforementioned Sally(s)/Catlin wedding dress(es) She loved a puffy sleeve in both forms and both hairdos were not very youthful Rachel's look was a bit funereal And apparently there were enough ruffles left over on Alice's dress to use as a cake topper In black and white it is hard to tell where her hair stops and the veil begins

@amybrickwallace & @Xanthe My Jamie/Sally shipping was based on that one scene. Steve was dead by the time Alice adopted Sally, and in fact there was a plot point about Alice's ability to adopt as a single woman, then the Gordans showed up almost immediately. However, Sally met Steve before his death and they reconnected when Steve returned from the dead, and Jamie reestablished his relationship with Steve after Mac suggested adopting Jamie right before he found out that Sandy was his son. So, while I understand the objection, I like Stephen Yates and Mary Page Keller's chemistry (although when one thinks of their sometimes wooden co-stars, either actor would have chemistry with most actors). Also, while I recall the number of scenes in the barn, the fact that they had an actual horse on set amazed me.

I just realized that the one constant among all the Phillips was bad hair (lol)

You're indubitably correct

Gotta love Quinn's crystal wedding snood

@Xanthe The clip you reposted on the wedding attire thread is remarkable Two weddings and a horse all in the same episode?!? The production was very ambitious in Brooklyn back in the day. Also, given how great they looked together, it was a shame that Sally and Jamey couldn't be paired, given their mother's animus it would have been very Romeo and Juliet.

One Life to Live did not have a great track record when it came to chic brides First up Karen #1's wedding to Larry Hard to pick which was uglier, Karen's bonnet or Dan's lil' Colonel Saunders bow tie Poor Tina had plenty of opportunities, but never got a chic dress That feathered veil did not compliment that bustline, and given that the actress was very small, the ensemble looks like she is being swollowed alive. Finally the ill-fated Marty/Dylan wedding I'd be willing to bet that they only went through with the ceremony so that Marty could wear an iconic Vera Wang dress, (with her signature Nancy Kerrigan top). Good news, Vicky later donated her wedding outfit to the church choir director Queen Latifah for the movie A Joyful Noise

I think Cassie's outfit is more camp because it worn in earnest and supposed to be beautiful, while Calliope's was meant to be funny.

Isn't it ironic that Jenny, the ex-nun, was married four times (Tim, Brad, Peter, and David), while her sister Karen, the self-titled "common whore", only had relationships with two men (Larry and Steve)?

Another example of soaps adhering to the old fashioned rule that brides can only wear white at their first wedding (Nicki Newman & Laura Spencer being the obvious exception to the rule) I am not a wig expert, but to this day I don't understand how they got a lace front to sit so flat on Catherine Hickland's head? The hair and costume departments at Capitol did most of the heavy lifting to differentiate Jenny from Julie. I am amused by the idea that Jenny was trying desperately to suppress her insanity as shown in her tight buns and constrictive collars. Good news, when they were done with that dress, they could recycle it as dust cover for over one thousand lamps! Also, wasn't it nice of Mark Denning to show up at the wedding of the woman who shot him on his wedding day?

@Efulton I still picture Michael Woods in those stripped rugby shirts, as he was portrayed in so frequently in Texas! ads.