j swift

Good for Nancy Pinkerton, trying to get equal pay, she was Times Up-ing it about 40 years too early for her time. As for George Reinholt, he was not team player. He had to actually release a statement to say that he hadn't signed the other statement in order for the press to know, (I doubt the press was cross-referencing signatures on their own). What stories were going on at the time that concerned the cast?

I watched the Amazon Prime season of The Bay this week and found it hard to focus. As an 80's soap fan, it is missing the pacing of a daytime soap, (and it looks too cheap to be a nightime soap). Without the commercials, scenes with heightened emotions get oddly transitioned into scenes that have a different tone. The episodic cliffhangers aren't as captivating because they are resolved as soon as the next episode buffers. Overall, I think it is like eating too much cake, it is tempting but it gets quickly sickening. Watching characters that are barely more than just hunks, bitches, and ingenues indulge in over the top acting is fun in small doses but it does not translate well into a medium of binge watching. The same is true for the network soaps, I would never watch the on-demand episodes back-to-back because the repetition involved in each episode would become too boring to follow. So, I guess that explains my aversion.

@victoria foxton - total retcon, that reeks of a change in writers - Evan came to Salem to be involved in Neil's IVF program with his wife who died in car crash, so how Stuart's specimen got into Neil's lab strains credulity. In 1991, Sarah was in a minor accident, and Neil admitted the switch to Maggie, and to explain his reasoning, (because it was very unethical and Maggie should have sued him rather than slept with him) he told her the tale about Stuart's sperm. Also, interesting that Neil would feel such guilt over Sarah's minor accident, but later felt no compunction about leaving her behind when he went out to a mail a letter, never to return.

Thanks @Bright Eyes , I finally found the summary online. It seems that when Evan came back to Salem with Sandy everyone wondered why he would come back to town given the Sarah debacle. However, Evan had inherited documents from his father that proved Stefano's guilt as part of "the syndicate." Never one to miss an opportunity, Evan blackmailed Stefano for a million dollars. In return, Stefano caused a car accident in which Evan was fatally injured. He had to have Sandy as his surgeon, and Alex Marshall changed medical files, so Evan was exposed to penicillin, which caused a deadly reaction. Also, here's a twist of which I was unaware - Neil switched his sperm sample for Stuart's because he didn't want Maggie to have Stuart's kid, and Evan was lying the whole time that Sarah was his daughter. I knew Neil switched the samples, but I was completely unaware of the Stuart twist. It is so odd to think that Liz, Maggie, and Marie were younger during that story than Jennifer and Hope are today. I guess it was that I experienced them as a kid, but they seemed so much more mature.

Does anyone recall Evan Wyland, because I have questions? I know he returned from Hawaii in 1982 with his fiance Sandy Horton and then he has surgery and dies, How long was he gone? Did he leave because of Stuart? Was he complicit with his father? Why did Stefano and Tony strong arm Stuart out of his house and out of Salem? Any more information would be appreciated.

@EricMontreal22I read it and my jaw dropped at the idea of what passed as a dissertation at Ohio State in 1976. There are five pages on writing a letter of introduction to Agnes Nixon? I get that media and theoretical studies don't include data, but that is just a guy sitting in someone's office for a few days. It's like a four grader's report on Bring Your Child to Work Day. The parts about the dogs on the street in front of the studio and the hot dog cart made me think that you and I are the only people who read this because a dissertation committee who normally require edits of such obvious padding. I googled him and couldn't discern if he is the behavioral researcher or the political commentator, but I couldn't find any further soap references for him. All in all, it reminded me of an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show with two smart guys and a wisecracking gal-Friday trying to appease everyone.

Eric Luvonaczek was always a weak link in Alex's character history. First, I always confused him with India's father Leo Von Halkein. Second, he suffered from multiple headwriters rewriting his motivation. Initially described as a poor artist who fell for Alex and had to raise her twins when her dad paid him off to leave town. Then, Lujack describes him as a bad father, and he abandons Nick, (despite getting a settlement from Brandon). But, somehow, Simon needed to avenge him? Alexandra was devoted to both her sons and her nephews. So why did both of her stepchildren, Simon and India, dislike her so much? It seems like she was a totally different character when she lived outside of Springfield. However, after reviewing how many writers had their hands in the proverbial pot at the time that these facts were being established it is clearer how Eric became such an enigma. The other character that always intrigued me is Mark Evans. I think it is a clever casting choice to have typical good guy Mark Pinter play a guy with a hidden agenda. I really enjoy watching the entire arc, especially because his ties to Quint are never tipped off during his introduction. One other random thought: remember when Joe Lando played McCauley West in the summer of 1993? I went back and read the articles. The head of CBS, Jeff Segansky, asked Lando, who was on summer hiatus from Dr. Quinn, to take the role on GL. Looking back was that just about money? Was it counter-programming against GH and the return of Luke & Laura? Why Joe Lando? Do you think they went to other people first?

The "presentational" nature of the actor playing Simon makes it difficult to infer his sincerity. So, when he goes from being to a con to a charmer, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Why didn't Dan Woleck fight for his right to the Lord fortune? Didn't Meredith get anything in the will to leave for her son?

I agree. It seems like post-Mindy and Beth, GL had a hard time finding an ingenue to contrast Harley. We got Lacey, Jessie, OG-Dinah, Samantha Marler, and a slew of other young female characters that never took hold.

I watched an episode on Retro on Saturday and they mentioned that it was 1969. I thought they were up to 1976? Do they replay older episodes on the weekends?

Two Aussie shows on Dailymotion. The Block, a big brother/hgtv hybrid where couples live in a block of houses, renovate the houses, and then auction them off. The homes are lovely and the casting is charming. Also, Playing for Keeps, a Footballer's Wives type soap about WAGs of Aussie Footballers, less camp but still funny with a Rebel Wilson type as the new wife providing us entry into the drama.

touche @jam6242

I wish Lucy Coe's librarian skills had continued to be a part of her character in the same way that Spinelli is always used to search things on the internet. She lost a lot of IQ points during her slapstick period and it would have been cool if she could recall or research facts on command.

Paul Rauch must have amassed a fortune in holding deals over the years. It's the greatest con in Hollywood: get paid to write a treatment, get paid not to sell it elsewhere, and never actually have to produce anything. Also, Fred Mustard Stewart sounds suspiciously fictional; although I'm sure someone will reply that he wrote for daytime for a decade.

Are there any trends or achievements that you've noticed in creating the list? For example, did Melinda O. Fee play the most recast characters (or characters that have been recast)?

This was news to me from 1984

I recall watching the show, and I've read this whole thread, but the family trees still mystify me. Everyone seems to be the same age but Rebecca is Monique's grandmother? I totally don't get Jessica's backstory, was she Jason's mother or his step-mother? Because they seem like they're the same age and Jason and Rob seemed like contemporaries. Was Jessica's only connection to the Whitmore's her friendship with Laura? Did I also miss who was Jason's father? There's so much exposition early on but the fact that every actor had a mullet makes it difficult to remember the differences between Anthony Adabbo and Robert Torti. Also, why did they keep calling him Jason after he learned his real name? Why do fans drag Kelly Rutherford's acting and not the actress who played Monique? She's so wooden the writers seem to have confused her for set dressing. Sam's triangle with Kyle and Jordan reminds me of Siobhan's triangle on Ryan's Hope, but without the finesse or charisma of both guys. This and many more question will never be answered...

I wonder if it means that Friday show will be live because typically they have one tape show per week.

I got chills when they sang Don't Rain on My Parade. However, I was distracted by the combo of Barbra driving so that she was shot from her good side, and the amount of production that went into their vocals; I don't think James Corden could sing that high even before puberty.

@vetsoapfan What was Lacey's story and why didn't she respond to Johnny in the clips shown?

today's tumblr ANOTHER WORLD: Week of June 7 - June 11, 1982 (2:00pm - 60 minutes - NBC) Rachel consoled Steve after he and Alice argued over his rift with Diana. Sally refused to borrow money from Steve when Denny lied to her that he had big gambling debts. Denny began to crack under Joe’s demands for more money. Quinn chickened out about admitting she took bribe money when Bob announced he is separating from Henrietta. Mac refused to print Sandy and Blaine’s information on Stein in Brava. Rachel approved of Jamie and Chris’ romance. Liz panted for Mylo. Julia quarreled with Deke over his wild boozing ways. I'm sure Mac had other reasons, but I applaud the decision not to publish a story about a local mayoral candidate in an International fashion magazine. I hope he was trying to support Pat's legacy, (but I know he wasn't). Also, Steve's back from Finland, which makes me question the inclusion of that detail at all. However, my first sign of a bad writer is when they repeat first names, and my second sign is when the businesses in town suddenly change for plot convenience.

I still don't understand the detail of how Tina failed to recognize her stepfather Ted? Was there a "real" Ted? I would like to see the period after Ted escaped from prison.

There's an amusing note on today's We Love Soaps Day in Soap History. Today in 1984 was Sami/Eric birthday and in 1992 Abigail was born on this date, and it wasn't even sweeps.

For me, this was always Reilly's weakness as a writer. I appreciate making an audience beg for something to happen, but in a Reilly soap universe if the couples would have spoken to each other as often as they spoke to themselves in empty rooms most of those plots would have been over in twenty minutes. Every couple was driven apart by a false sense of loyalty that never sustained logic. And every couple was doomed to have trust issues because they lied to each other about everything from cancer to babies. I'll never forget DAYS after Rielly, Nicole was involved in some cockamamy plot with her ex the mayor, and she was explaining to EJ that she had to go to New York to pick up some plot device for the mayor. EJ consulted with her and explained that she should get the plot device, but now that she had something of value, she could negotiate her way out of her debt to the mayor. It was a dumb plot but it felt like, (in contrast to the prior writing), characters were conscious of their actions rather than just reacting without reason.