j swift

There is a type of male hysteria acting that seems to be preferred by certain writing and producing teams. I liked Fletch because of his romantic appeal. While, I admired that the arc of the character, I agree that the execution left something to be desired. Buzz and Fletch were constantly crying and screaming. My mental image of both characters is just mouth agape, yelling nonsense, and trying to be Stanley Kowalski. The biggest fault that I had with them both from a plot perspective is that strong women like Harley, Alex, and Claire were always seeking their approval; as if Buzz or Fletch was a paragon of virtue. I never understood why Jenna would allow herself to be judged by Buzz when he abandoned his kids. Also, I adored edginess of Brent/Marion.

I think that the Reva era was successful because it felt like an evolution within a known environment. Reva went to Ceder's Hospital and all of the other landmarks in town. She also faced the same broader issues of living in Springfield as Trish, Elizabeth or Jackie a decade earlier. Trying to maintain a relationships with men who have deep societal roots, the consequences of wanting too much, the pain of seeing your true love stay in a relationship out of obligation, the gossiping of student nurses, etc.. Furthermore, I would argue that the killing off of Bill allowed Bert to remain a martyr. If Bill had stuck around or sobered up there would have been an inevitable effort to try to get Bert to forgive him and maybe even a late in life romance. However, that would really undermine all of the work that Bert had done in raising her sons. I feel that making a story about Bill's redemption negates Bert's agency. I get the storyline possibilities but, I don't think that they would be worth the price of Bert's reputation. I don't think the later Bert and Josh scenes after her amputation would have the same impact if Bert had agreed to forgive and forget Bill. @vetsoapfan I agree with not liking the Brandon Spaulding Barbados reveal. However, I have a few detail questions. I read that Alan came to Springfield in the 70's from Chicago, so when did we see Brandon Spaulding die on screen before Barbados? Also, Alan took over Spaulding years earlier and made it into an international company, so why did any of Brandon's other heirs, legitimate or not, deserve a part of the company? Finally, from the realm of fan fic, I would argue that Dr Sara Mcintyre could have still played an essential role if they hadn't written in that she divorced Adam Thorpe when he returned in the early 90's. She was Roger's step-mother at a time when they tried to expand Roger's family with Hart. Imagine Dr. Sara as the anti-Alexandra; less haughty more hippy. She could have judged Roger's ethics and supported Blake's sexual drive. Dr. Sara had a lot going for her.

Why were all of the RHONY women on WWHL twice this season except Bethanny? Ramona is notoriously not a great WWHL guest, she was on twice this season, but not B. At the reunion, all of the women are so reactive to Bethanny that they allow her to change the course of the conversation. Suddenly her rudeness toward Dorinda became about Carole's blog, and when she backtracked on her silly reasons for not attending Ramona's party, it suddenly became about Sonja's business. Her line about Carole's blog not being useful didn't even make sense. She clearly had it in her pocket, but her delivery was awful. She is clearly wrong about issues of perception if the entire cast disagrees with her interpretation, but they get so caught up in emotion that nobody stops to make that point. Bethanny's boyfriend's death and Lu's release from rehab have really dated this material.

True, but at time when the soap press was filed with complaints about Reva taking over the show, it may not have been a respectful move to recycle that name for the character of her mother. Also, while I demur to your Edmond Winslow/Ed Bauer point, it did lead to the clumsy writing of everyone saying their full names, if they were in the same script; which was rare. Also, one would hardly refer to either Edmond Winslow or Michael the Clone Doctor as well written characters created by people who valued the cannon of a long running show. I think there was always going to be a tension for such a long running show as to how much to respect history versus how much to allow new writers to create contemporary stories with new characters and families. For example, Mike could have had twelve kids, but I doubt any of them would have added to the diversity of the show in later years; so there has to be some balance between nostalgia and progress.

I just chuckled to think about the shift of GL from the 70's to the 80's because while there were no other Mikes, only 4 years after the departure of Dr. Sara Mcintyre we got Sarah Shayne. Once a new set of writers repeats a first name for their new character as a heritage character, I believe, it indicates a lack of concern about the cannon of that story. Also, although every fan likes to indulge in a little fantasy fiction, I don't think it is a valid criticism to suggest a writer who did not imagine the same possibility, out of an infinite number of possibilities, lacks creativity.

I watching the Fletcher Reid character bio on YouTube and it reminded me of what a perfect male soap actor Jay Hammer was. He easily matured from speedo-wearing hunk to avuncular B-story hero. His acting may have been not ready for primetime (i.e. The Jeffersons) but he was a ball of charm on soaps. It goes without saying that we don't allow female characters to age in this way. For example, with all of this talk of Melinda Sue, I was thinking that a woman like Alexandra Spaulding didn't come out of the womb as a diva, she developed, While it would have been interesting to see Mindy go from scheming teen to mid-20's damsel-in-distress to 50's aristocrat; we rarely see women evolve. Fletch evolved (I'm guessing) because male actors are allowed to age on screen. Jay Hammer, David Forsyth, and Robert Newman are all excellent examples of the male actors who were very hunky in their youths and aged respectfully. Perhaps, when we talk about other "legacy characters" we should look at their potential to age well? Many of those action hero type characters began to look silly when their overly dyed hair and leisure suits were in scenes with younger men.

To me Nurse Kinnecott was the aural equivalent of a finger wag. Every time I heard that name I would just think of an image of a woman wagging her finger in disgust. What was the commercial that the actress who played Mary was on for years? I seem to recall her Dorothy-Hammel-hairdo selling something.

I think we all agree that it was the tone not the location that was the problem with The Wheeler Experiment. They could have been strolling through the most luxurious cites in New Jersey, but the focus on monotheistic values and punishing aspirational characters put me off after one viewing. Oddly, Alan's one redeeming quality is that he never brought the issue of biology into his relationship with Phillip. He fought harder for custody of Phillip than for Alan-Michael, then he shot Roger, and went to prison, in order to protect Phillip. Alan-Michael had a problem with the fact was Alan wasn't Phillip's biological son, but to his credit, Alan never made it a concern.

BTW re:Phillip's baby switch, I know many have suggested that Gus should have been Rita's child, but imagine if he was Elizabeth's kid that got switched for Phillip...

We've discussed The Republic of Eden as a low point, but a review of the conning of Raven to get her out of town when real-Sky returns is very clumsy. EON had a history of short term mysteries, but there was usually an interesting transition between stories. Margo's murder thru to the Clown Puppet Murders is a great example of two short term arcs that allowed for long term characters to be involved in the throughline between the stories. Also, as evidence of the entertainment value of EON at the time, the mysteries were a background for romance. However, this misguided effort to keep the theater open is just oddly violent and unnecessary. Gavin and Jody are involved in the periphery, and there is a lot of attempts to justify why they are being so mean to Raven; who had done little to justify her punishment. By comparison, Raven's kidnapping near the end of the series, during the actress's maternity leave, was so much more artful.

I wholeheartedly endorse these views. It worked because it was a story about the parents. Today the whole story would be told from Phillip's POV, but that was the least interesting part. I'm guessing there were some influences from OLTL's long running Jenny Woleck baby switch story; it is as if there was a competition to see which soap secret could be kept the longest. I believe as long as the audience knows a soap secret it works, its when a secret is held for months, and then explained with long exposition scenes, that do nothing to intrigue me.

Agreed, I like that it is aspirational without being flashy. They all have careers, dinner parties, and nice homes, without being princes, or super villains. It seems like it is always trying to be a heightened reflection of the culture at the time. Even the discussions of family planning seem so much more evolved that the baby crazy women portrayed on soaps today. Jackie isn't trying to ensnare Alan in order to mother Phillip, she is pragmatic that Phillip was close to his father and marrying him was a good way to join the family; also Alan was unusually magnetic when he wanted to turn on his charm. Jackie and Justin were so groovy it is hard to believe what a wet sock Samantha turned out to be, but her casting was an excellent use of history given the SORAS-ing of Alan-Michael.

The backstory is that Justin dated Sara while they were in med school, but then he left her for Jackie, whose family was well connected. Justin & Jackie met Alan & Elizabeth in Europe when both women were pregnant and had the same doctor (who later becomes a part of the story, even through Diane Ballard's murder). Justin and Jackie came to Springfield (many Europeans chose Springfield for the first place they settled in the 70's) when Justin worked at Ceder's. Then Alan and Elizabeth come to town. Justin and Jackie split first, then the couples change partners because Elizabeth really likes Mike but Phillip doesn't like him so she settles for Justin. I think the sequence of people knowing about Phillip's parentage/switching is Alan (because he set it up in the first place), then Justin (he treated Phillip's hysterical heart problems), then Jackie, and finally Elizabeth. Spoiler alert: Jackie &Justin reunite then she dies in plane crash, Elizabeth gets institutionalized, like all 1970's women who were too liberated, at his high school prom Phillip finds out from Beth's abusive father Bradley that he is adopted, Alan and Justin confirm it, then Justin leaves town. So, they got seven years of stories out of Phillip's switch and the resulting butterfly effects; and then never mentioned it again....

I wonder if Ms. Argento's and Ms. McGowen's respective skeletons in their closets doesn't solidify their cases against Weinstein? It is reasonable that both women were reluctant to come forward if that they feared that their past errors in judgement would invalidate their current claims. In fact, this may have been why the fees negotiated for their silence were relatively low. However, their willingness to tell their stories regardless of the consequences of being humiliated in public by their tormentor, who has had far more access to press and the means to investigate their backgrounds, makes their stories far more compelling to me now. And now that their secrets have been revealed they have nothing to loose by telling the truth about Weinstein.

I may be late to this party, but I don't think anyone has mentioned the saga of George Pilgram, (J Chamberlaine, GL) and his involvement with Sumner Redstone's girlfriend. His life has been far more colorful than his character so it seems like a good career move because he'll never be cast in Fox soap opera now... https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/10/sydney-holland-george-pilgrim-sumner-redstone

Agreed, because no matter what timeline exists, Donna left Marley in European boarding schools long after Reginald was gone from Bay City, and kept her there while she was a mother figure to Perry during her time with Carl in Paris. To me, Vicky and Marley were more like split personalities than twins. Like Viki and Nikki on OLTL, Vicky was the bolder, angrier side of Marley. By the end of the series, after her time as a damsel in distress, they merged so that Vicky became very Marley-esque. If we just ignore that Marley came back, burnt her face, and became a horror, then my interpretation works. Also, @Xanthe does John being in the picture that made Donna go mad fit with his entry into Bay City? I recall Rhonda Lewin's Vicky was there when he was introduced and she was inappropriately flirtatious until she found out that he was her uncle when Donna confronted them on John's boat. While, John may not have recognized his now grown niece, wouldn't he know that they were twins if he posed with them in a picture? I know its a kerfuffle but, I would be eager to hear anyone's remembrance of if these two events fit into the cannon once the triplets were re-written into twins and their uncle.

Is it their departure in 1984 that causes the exodus of Burke Donovan and Gunner St. Clair? It seems odd to have two characters, in the same story, have fatal diseases that they want to keep secret from Dusty and the women they loved. Also, I'm sure that I'm not the first to notice, and I know that they are spelled differently, but it would have been fun if Henry and Maddie Coleman had been relatives of Joyce and Grant Colman. That scene from the 50th Anniversary of Soaps when Joyce feigns a headache and Lisa tells her she wouldn't care if she had a tumor; gets me every time.

It is amusing that James tried all of these schemes from drug running to mind control to make money, meanwhile he could have lived off of Barbara's investment in Lisa 's company. While James is trying to figure out how to manipulate his wive's dreams, Lisa is quietly inventing J Crew's entire business plan.

I was wondering if David was being played as having prodromal symptoms of his stroke because he cannot seem to recall his lines. Why was Fashions having such a boost in their sales? I laughed when Lisa answers the phone call from Vermont and asks if they want to pay by cash. Who knew Fashions Lmt was the prototype for Fashion Nova?

Today I'm fascinated by Jerry Grove. I was a fan of this period of AW simply because it was available to me every day at lunch. Looking back, Jerry was such an intriguing character. He was recast three times in two years. He had the silly kind of soap opera psychosis where it comes and goes; at convenient times for the plot. It seems like there was an attempt to redeem him but, once the recasting never worked, they abandoned him. It was also a dangerous period for the women of Bay City, they were often being sexually victimized. @Xanthe, here's two weird details from the anniversary book - 1. Reginald believed that he hadn't fathered either Donna or Nicole when he locked Donna in the basement. 2. When Nicole left the first time (after being a model and getting hooked on drugs by Ted Bancroft) she was going to go to medical school (I guess they just totally dropped that thread when she came back as a fashion designer). For voting purposes, I was a Felicia and Lucas fan. I liked that they were forming the nucleus of a new family and the history involved in their story. Although, I think it is silly when childhood sweethearts randomly find each other in anther town years later. I was not fan of Felicia and John because I don't see Felicia as ever being willing to be second fiddle in a love triangle. She had written enough romance novels to know how that relationship would end. I liked Zane purely for the romance of the story. I did not Alexander because it felt like his motives were never clear and I don't even remember how that story ended. I agree completely. I never thought about it until you brought it up but Rachel barely knew Mitch. She met him in St Croix, they did it, he goes on the run, gets shot, gets amnesia, yadda yadda. Rachel and Mitch were passionate lovers but they weren't very intimate.

I went back to read the anniversary book to catch up on the story: Donna had the twins. Reg took them away. He gave Vicky to Bridget to arrange an adoption with a family in Lassiter who died 16 years later, and kept Marley to raise as Donna's sister. When Bridget found out that Marley was going to inherit 22 million dollars on her 18th birthday she felt it was unfair and told Victoria that they were twins. Then Vicky, Bridget, and Jake went to Bay City. Vicky impersonated Marley and learned she had a "blood disease", later that day Perry found out that she was impersonating Marley fell, and died. Vicky then came out to Donna and Marley, they had to tell Marley she had a fatal "blood disease", then Vicky agreed to the transplant that would save Marley. However, by the time they tuned 18, Carl stole the family's money and neither twin got the cash. Talk about yadda, yadda, yadda-ing a story! 1. Wasn't Donna's mother already dead/ran off; wouldn't people ask how Reg had a baby on his own? If Donna's mother wasn't dead in the OG timeline why did she let Reg lock their daughter in the basement? Wouldn't Mary and the other household staff still have to cook and clean for Donna? Why was splitting up the twins a solution to the problem; why not just send them both away? 2. Bridget starts out as calculating and manipulative of Donna then, for no reason, she becomes nice and is OK being a maid/nanny for the rest of her life; even staying on when Donna lost her money and couldn't pay her salary. Why did Bridget stay in Lassiter for 16 years? Certainly Vicky's parents in Lassiter couldn't afford a nanny for all that time? Why wasn't anyone ever angry at Bridget for her part in the scheme? Everyone is mad at Donna but Bridget is much closer to blame than an 18-year-old pregnant girl who was held captive by her father in the basement for six months. 3. Perry's death is out of the blue, and then never discussed again. Nobody ever knew that Vicky saw Perry die. Many people on this board like to play "fantasy network executive" but, clearly, I would be terrible because I would constantly demand explanations for each illogical part of a story.

Also a silly question but, if Rachel named her youngest son who was born in jail after her first husband's family who were going to take care of him would his name have been Matt Matthews? Also, AW's subplot about a radical father's rights group during this period was nuts.

from today's Vintage Soap Recap Tumblr: THE EDGE OF NIGHT: Week of March 1 - March 5, 1982 (4:00pm - 30 minutes - ABC) Libby Webster, the Black Widow, questioned Valerie about Sky. Valerie was alarmed that a photo blowup of the Whitney Theater included the image of “dead” Sky. Smiley devised a “scenario” for Raven’s benefit to prove that Gavin was innocent of Gunther and Sky’s deaths. As part of the plan, Johnny was sent to the Caribbean to seduce Raven while Jinx was to arrive on the scene as a fake jealous, gun-wielding wife. Jody learned that her mother, Billie Mae, was arriving. Smiley boasted to Hector that he was making the grade with Sid, who was loaded with insurance coverage. I never knew Jody had a mother that appeared on-screen. I wonder if she was related to Nicole on her father's side? We know from the later storylines that Jody's father and brother died fighting mob crimes but, I don't recall anything about her mother. Now, I'm waiting for these recaps just like when they were first published...

has anyone ever asked/answered if Victoria Love-Hudson the character name was inspired by Victoria Wyndham the actress's name? Also, thinking back, what was Vicky's original plan to swindle Marley? I remember she wanted Jake to seduce Marley, but what good would that do them to get money? Did Vicky know that they were sisters or did she just think it was a coincidence that they looked alike? I remember the scene when Donna told them that they were her twins but did they already know that they were sisters? I guess the whole integration of Vicky into the Love family happened pretty quickly after she donated her kidney to Marley that I've forgotten the details of her original con (just like the writers forgot that Vicky had donated her kidney later when she was pregnant and in two comas). However, I vividly recall the cliffhanger when Jake got back to the motel after spending the day with Marley, and a vixen look-a-like turned around and said, "It's about time." Around the same time, it's funny that Peter Love was introduced as a lawyer at Cory Publishing who was interested in Sally. Until Donna came on a few months later, one would never predict that actually he was from a rich family, with three glamorous sisters, and huge estate next door to the Cory's. Also, when he later worked for his father Reg he was always depicted as a bit of a screw-up in business, so its odd that he trained under Mac.

That makes me feel sorry for his first wife Emily who was kind enough to raise the child he had with another woman. Upon reflection neither Sylvie (Iris's mother) nor Maria Hernandez DeSilva (Paulina's mother, again probably not a blond; pseudo-appalling) were actually hookers but Mac's relationships with both seemed temporal. As I recall the limo incident, Mac had a habit of gifting women who he dated a certain bracelet. When Rachel saw the bracelet in the back of the car she assumed it was hers. Then, when she went to put it away she saw that it was not her bracelet, she put two and two together and figured out that this was Mac's move to get the ladies. That's some good Lemay stuff. Neither played dumb, nobody went nuts and nobody kidnapped each other. It was just Ada getting a chance to say that all men are dogs (essentially) and Iris got a dig in about how many bracelets like that her father has given away. It also knocked Rachel off her game because she assumed after Steve and Alice that she wouldn't have to compete for Mac's attention. She told him that and that was the basis of their relationship. It's a long way from a Sin Stalker who kills women for being too slutty...