j swift

Earlier in the season Ramona told us that she rents out the house. All of the furniture looked suitable for that purpose. The dining room was especially a downgrade, she went from a dated (but probably expensive at the time) pine dining room set to a cheap looking modern aluminum set. The kitchen reminded me of a superfluous piece of advice someone one gave me that one should put low end appliances in the kitchen so that the catering staff knows how it works (snobby, but practical). Everything seemed build to withstand multiple users. Bethanny continues to irritate me. She was so proud of her marinara analogy but having to explain yourself to that degree is a sign of a poor communicator. My take on the Carole issue is that she was there for Bethanny during her many emotional interludes and then when Carole is going through a breakup with Adam, Bethanny did not know how to be supportive and her constant derision of the cast became tiresome. She complains about Ramona and then as she enters the jean factory she shouts to the first person she sees, "Are we doing acid?" I think that she abuses her privilege and it is gross considering that she became privileged two seconds ago. Carole entering the Greek lunch with Dorinda made me laugh and laugh. First, they show the meat on a stick and we know instantly that Carole will have nothing to eat at this place. Then, she says to the hostess that she is meeting a woman "with short blond hair" as if Dorinda isn't the only one miked and lit for filming. Then, she orders a greek salad but she gets this huge bowl with meat in it and we knew that she was only going to eat the cherry tomato. I hate to be a Ramona-stan but she handled Sonja with the shoes at the party much better than any other housewife would allow.

Yes but, those final Lillian scenes were amazing. When she talked about giving up her life to please Bradly and then paying penitence for Maureen it was gold. For my experience, having a character express themselves in that way can only come after watching them for years. So, it may have been more a device to get Lillian to grow than to give Buzz a happy ending. Amazing, thank you. That entire arc of a conversation is jaw dropping to watch, and not just because of Reva's mullet. When she waves away the butler I was in stitches. I adored the association of Dylan and Lujack, in that it was totally soapy that two woman would have long lost children and discuss it as if it were totally normal. Shark tank idea - somebody has got to adapt those old fancy landline phones for the iphone. Also, I could watch a loop of soap women pulling off their earrings to talk on the phone; love that move.

Speaking of Beverly McKinsey, as we were on the GL thread, @Faulkner avatar reminded me of what I loved about Iris; all of her morning scenes were in the dining room in a loose caftan, either nagging Mac, Robert, or Brian before they went off to work. I appreciate that before Iris moved to Texas she really had no ambitions in the business field. It was such a specific choice for her to be in a caftan, or a feathery peignoir set, because she lived a life of leisure. We knew Ada didn't wake up like that across Bay City at her place, and Rachel always dressed for breakfast at the Cory Mansion because she was going to sculpt or go to the Cory Complex. Iris was a perfect soap archetype of a rich woman with a penthouse and a closet full of clothes but still unfulfilled by love... Also, I don't think Gail Brown gets the credit she deserves for going toe to toe with Beverly.

@Soaplovers referred to the former GL producer as "Ferren Phelps" in another thread and it reminded me of one of Y&R silliest stories; Andy Richard's ex-wife Ferren Conner ( I recommend the Y&R wiki page on her as a refresher). The fact than an amnesiac patient would name herself Ferren, (a name that I had never heard of before nor since), still makes me smile. I also giggled at all of the technical anachronisms, like that Ferren's husband has to write a letter to try to find her, or the lack of any DNA testing, or that nobody seems to have access to photos of Ferren or a phone when they need it. Access to whatever-they-call-Facebook in Genoa City would have solved this two year story in about two minutes today.

I was just re-reading the return of Amanda Spaulding and I would have shaded the crap out of that character. Ben McFadden love lorn lass, or even Mark Evans side chick, would never have become a Malibu madame. And the whole Alan is her father/brother/uncle/3rd cousin retcon is an awful plot point to keep rehashing. BTW it makes me smile to imagine Ellen Wheeler trying to explain the concept of Peapack to Beverly McKinsey (no, there won't be any fur coats but you'll have your own bush to change behind...)

@DRW50 My favorite role for Marj was when she played Pamela Capwell. It was a unique mix of snobby, vulnerable, insane, and maternal. Alex was vulnerable at times but, during Marj's stay in the role, she mostly just an antagonist. Beverly got all of the plots where Alex had agency, Marj's Alex was mostly just a spanner to avoid for other characters. Also, every Alexandra backstory never fit with Alan's backstory. Over time it was a real pet peeve of mine that the sibling's backstories never seemed to align. So, using Marj as a different character would solve those logic issues.

@GMac I was intrigued by your comment on Marj's Alexandra in the real life thread. It lead me to wondering if Marj would have made a better Trish Lewis? Trish could have served Alex's role as an antagonist for Mindy. They got along before but something could have easily been written to make them in opposition. Trish had built in conflict with Alan, so those Alex stories could have been attributed to Trish. Trish could have had long lost kids or long lost husbands. Also, Andy Norris is a much better ex-husband character than Count Luba-whatever (Nick's father). I felt that character was really underdeveloped given her interesting backstory and Marj could have played her well without the comparison to Beverly. Speaking of "could of, would of, should of" I just read that Jennifer Richards gave birth to a kid with the evil Mark Evans before she left Springfield. In fact, she gave birth, gave the kid to Amanda, left town, then returned and took back Matthew to raise. (1) What happened IRL that caused Jennifer to leave and then come back to Springfield? (2) Wouldn't Matthew Richards have been a great SORAS to come back and take revenge on Alan?

Agreed, GL does not get enough credit for being the most innovative soap and not every experiment goes well. As I recall they were the first to experiment with different openings back in the 80's with their disco theme remix. I associate a change from using organ background music to pop music with Guiding Light; from Morgan & Kelly singing to the Donna Summer song while Roger stalked Rita in the Hall of Mirrors. Obviously the Wednesday bottle episodes, the time jump anniversary special, and the use of integrated commercials were all also first tried on GL.

@robbwolff It still leaves the mystery of why a disco would have a puppet theater? I recall Kelly's tv show but I don't recall him ever doing shows at The Unicorn.

I just finished a re-watch of season 7 (the Chris Atkins season, don't judge). The big takeaway is that they produced 30 episodes that season. I know that they were not meant to be binge watched, but it was way too bloated. I forgot that there was a whole three episode subplot where Peter (Atkins character) and Lucy become models. I appreciate the annual traditions of the Oil Barron's Ball and Ewing Barbecue require their own episodes but I feel like that whole year's plot could have been told in 10 episodes. Also, the amount of episodes does not relate to continuity in story telling. Ray's nephew is euthanized, there's a trial, the Aunt admits her guilt, then for the next 20 episodes nobody mentions the trial again. Yet in three separate episodes, Sue Ellen agrees to meet Peter, he tells he that he loves her and she rejects him; I don't need that much repetition. I was influenced by the blog reviews of Knots Landing that were recently referenced on this board and I can see that there is a structure to the season and it is divided into three sections. However, I would not watch another entire season because I think you can get the whole story by just watching the premiere and the cliffhanger of each season. On a positive note, the costumes that season were amazing! I've never seen women dress up like Sue Ellen to pick up their kid from camp but it was fun to watch. Priscilla Presley wears a beaded gown to the Oil Barron's Ball that was fitted to within an inch of her life. Even Pam's weird curly bob looks great with all of the hats that she wore. The money showed in that production. Everyone had a pool, every episode had amazing crane shots, and the cars were enviable. It was just too long and repetitive to watch all at once.

The Clown Puppet Murders is one of my favorite stories but, upon reflection, why did Elliott Dorn have a puppet theater built into his disco/nightclub?

This is a total shot in the dark but my vague memory is the Diana's became the Falcon Club because we're they both on a yacht?

There's got to be some rabid fan base who are making these reunion clothes because I've never seen dresses like this in a retail store. Imagine walking into Nordstrom and seeing a lace catsuit with an attached skirt? Does every department store in Potomac have a beaded jumpsuit and evening shorts section? Why does every housewife want to look as if Bob Mackie was dressing them as a guest on the Cher Show? Does the nude illusion lace lobby get a kickback for each reunion like Priv?

Isn't it odd that Reva had two long lost children (Dylan & Jonathan) and Josh had none? Josh would jump into another woman's bed every time Reva got lost coming home from the grocery store. So, isn't an odd missed opportunity that he never had a kid outside of his marriage? @Soaplover I agree with you on the class issues between Reva and Josh, their upbringing seemed like much more of an issue for Josh than it was Billy. I also never understood the relationship between Reva and Vanessa. Why wasn't Vanessa as mean to Reva as she was to Nola? Reva came to town to break up Billy and Vanessa but, Vanessa never seemed to hold it against her.

The thing about early Josh and Reva, (before the bridge) is that Josh's responses to Reva's actions always seemed over the top given her misdeed. For example, when she came to town (remember those days of turbans, funny personal maids, a masseur and those faux-victorian phones?) she told the Lewis' that she was there because her divorce with Billy had never been finalized. Later, Josh finds out that Reva was paid to come to town to break up Billy and Vanessa, he freaks out and leaves Reva. Meanwhile, a year earlier, he was messing with Morgan's marriage and running around in a speedo but nobody called him the Slut of Springfield. That whole period was so reminiscent of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; it was reflected in Reva's clothes, the summer heat, and drapes that fluttered in the wind during love scenes. There were also allusions to Body Heat; the film that KZ never let us forget. The production staff at the time expected that their audience would appreciate and recognize those literary and film references. I know I've been hard on Josh in recent comments because I am reading the SOD synopses of that period. However, drunk Phillip hit on Reva and Josh didn't defend her and that's why she yelled in the fountain. Josh also put up with a lot of craziness from Tangie, Sonni, Terri DeMarco, and Annie Dutton that he never tolerated in Reva. I just think, like many supercouples, Reva tolerated a lot more of Josh's foibles than he did for her.

@victoria foxton I find it amusing that we've seen Anna's taste when she lived in her cottage with Casey the Alien, and we saw how Rick and Ginny decorated the house, so we can only assume that those ugly curtains and decor were Robert's taste. Did all of Sean Donnally's stolen Egyptian art wind up in Leslie Webber's living room?

Postmortem, did anyone ever verify the interview?

2 highlights of the episode - (1) We get bitchy Felicia, it's easy to forget that Felicia had an ax to grind when she arrived in Bay City, and (2) Stephen Yates in short shorts Also Blaine and Clarisse were really victimized by their time in Bay City. They were both raped, they were scorned, and they were beaten. I forgot how violent the late 70's soaps were to women until I re-read Blaine's history.

I keep forgetting that Josh became a minister. Josh Lewis, the guy who was introduced seducing models away from their husbands and running a country music label eventually worked in a grey office as a minister? IMHO, Josh was never even that nice of a guy. He always had a chip on his shoulder, he was never a significant asset to Lewis Oil, and I don't recall him having many friends. Billy had Hamp, Buzz and Frank were close, but nobody hung out with Josh. I recall that he had a religious conversion after a medical crisis but, given his history, I would think Josh was as likely to run a church as Alexandra would run a day care center.

Here's the thing about old soaps. I started with Beth/Philip/Mindy/Rick, I left daily watching around the Cooper period, I checked back in to giggle at San Cristobal and stare agog at Peapack. But, at the end, (spoiler alert) I still shed a genuine tear when Philip found Alan dead.

Today's random thought was about Rick and Leslie's house. Please correct/fill in my memories. Leslie lived in the house when Laura was a murderous teen, Then Rick moved in, married Leslie, and she "died" in a car crash. Rick continued to live in the house with Ginny until she left. I recall Tony living there. I know Lucy lived there, with Colton and her Aunt, because her infamous Red Hat Wedding to Alan happened in the Ol' Webber House. Now Mac lives there and raised Maxie and Robin in that house. How did Mac get the house? Did Lucy move in after her affair with Tony? Didn't Felicia own it at one point? Wasn't Ginny's baby daddy Lawrence Barrington the uncle of PC Alison Barrington? I wonder if they'll ever bring Ginny's kid back to make up for Rafe?

That's why Robert Barr never worked for me. SB had never really played the tension between Kelly and Eden. Kelly never seemed ambitious and Eden never liked any of Kelly's boyfriends, thus they both stayed in their lanes. So, when Robert returns to SB and re-ignites this feud between the sisters it didn't hold water. The timeline was weird of when he and Eden met, why Eden never knew he was a twin, why Kelly acted as if she had never met Robert, coupled with the extreme subtlety in difference between Robert and Quinn that made them impossible to tell them apart resulted in a story/character a dud for me. Flame was good but couldn't save it for me. Was Flame re-cast and at what point in the story was she re-cast?

The suddenness of the new sets was coupled with tons of exposition about the character's placement. E.g.; "look, we're at the hospital" (which is just one room, and less modern than last week), "now we're at Lewis Oil" (which now looks like mechanic shop), and now let's head over to Reva's (but she no longer lives at Reva-bend, she's moved into a one-room shack) - it lacked glamour. @Khan I agree that the transition needed a plot devise so that we weren't just staring at industrial looking rooms; like if Billy Lewis bought Springfield and evicted everyone. It was clear as a long time viewer that those 1970's European spies would be much less comfortable in the "New Springfield."

Another example that Anna has been a terrible mother to Robin. She deserted her at a young age with Philomena, gave her three deadbeat godfathers who've never kept in touch, and I doubt she ever reimbursed Mac for Robin's college and med school expenses! I think Anna's long lost children would better off raised by anyone else.

It's an odd, and obviously true, fact that Carol Burnett was such an AMC fan because Y&R was on CBS , like Carol, and they both taped at Television City.