j swift

Forgive my coming late to the party but I just realized that Stephen Meadows and Denny Albee are two different people. With the soap hopping discussion I was wondering why nobody brought up that an actor had been on EON, OLTL and SB, then I figured out that they are two different people.

Debbi Morgan did her share of hopping. All My Children/Loving and The City as Angie, Generations as Chantal 2.0, Port Charles as Dr. Ellen Burgess, Young and the Restless as Harmony and 14 episodes of B&B as an attorney. I wonder if she holds the record for appearing on the most final episodes of a soap?

I just watched the latest ep uploaded and now the Capwells have two maids (Rosa and Hayley) while the Lockridges still only employ a driver. I doubt Minx and Augusta know where the kitchen is located but I keep wondering who cleans the place up? Also, once Brick knew that he was Lionel's son did he still get paid as a driver?

Yes but, I love the Lockridges and I would miss them in a 20 minute version. Speaking of which, Nicolas Coster is in an amusing new commercial on UK tv. His character (with a British accent) tries a diet soda for the first time it makes him ponder what else he has missed. So, in montage he calls an old love, gets a tattoo, and attends a EDM concert. He still looks great. Also, to be fair, we are watching the finale of the big Channing murder and the lead up to Eden's first wedding; so it makes sense that the episodes are Capwell-centric.

I am fine with Capwell-centric episodes but the Lockridge kids have gone missing since the tunnel collapse. It is particularly remarkable that Laken provides no comfort during her mother's blindness. I guess that seeing someone's daughter confronted with her mother's trauma would have robbed SB from playing the humor in the story? Also, why do the Lockridges prioritize having a chauffeur over household staff? We never see a maid or a chef but they always employ a driver. I continue to remark on how much story happens in such a short period of time. The tunnel collapse and the opening of Eden's club happen within days of each other. They are solving Channing's murder, Gina finds out about Santana being Brandon's biological mother, and Lionel got a job as a bet with Minx. The later of which seems to never be mentioned again. It is never boring and the heightened melodrama of Gina#1 adds some neurotic tension.

It would have also been hard for his long lost son Nick to look him up. It's amusing how some story heroes had questionable morals. Michael Hudson, Mac Cory and Russ Matthews all abandoned women pregnant with their children and then sued their current spouses for custody mostly due to spite.

I was reading today's AW recap from 1981 on tumblr and it occurred to me that Clarice Hobson had an entire family for two years. Two brothers, Denny and Leigh as well as her father Charley. I clearly remember Leigh because he was played Chris Knight from the Brady Bunch and that was a huge deal to me as a child. However, in re-reading the family's history two thoughts come to mind. First, Denny seems almost like a re-cast for Leigh. Leigh came on as a bit of a schemer, was coupled with Sally but, was basically a good guy and left town. Whereas, Denny came on a schemer, was coupled with Sally, and then turned out to be a more interesting bad guy (mostly due to the actor James Horan). Second, I know each writer wants to create their own history but, it would have been interesting if the Hudson's were really Hobson's but the Hobsons flee Bay City just like the Halloways. Micheal and John never seemed to have historical ties to Bay City, despite living there through high school. Having familial ties to Clarice would have been a nice touch.

MJ is certainly one of the missing pieces in the Kevin Anderson story. As a cop she would have been an interesting part of the Jake's cousin as a DA story.

Stacey Winthrop was a character that fell between the cracks. During Cass's dramatic final few years in Bay City there's nary a mention of Stacy (or her Beast-ilke lover). I was never a Mark Singleton fan so I appreciated when Stacy returned as a single gal. The UK soaps are always good about having out of town relatives phone an excuse before a wedding but people become estranged when they live Bay City.

Mr Frons gets unfairly treated by soap fans. I believe it is because the soap press was more likely to interview an outgoing producer with gripes about interference rather than reporting on soap storylines that benefited from his experience. SFT was a shadow of it's former self, the audience at the time did not value it's longevity, and some characters can not sustain for more than a generation. Lest we forget, Mr Frons is the last network executive to commission a new soap so, I think it may be time to re-evaluate his role in soap history.

I disagree. I think the outdoor production stuff in a limited setting was interesting and far more evocative of the the UK soaps than The Hills. However, I think they should have just cancelled GL and let her experiment with her own show. For me, as an 80's viewer, it was too jarring to see Reva, a woman who came to town with a trunk full of turbans and personal maid, start to live in a cabin in the suburbs. To be a bit reductive, the late 90's and early 00's were filled with writers and producers who would have been better off starting with a clean slate rather than trying to make a soap into something it wasn't. Soap fans are forgiving and stars move from show to show. If Ellen Wheeler or David Kriezman were allowed to create a show from scratch, experiment with the setting and cast soap veterans it may have been more successful. Yet, as the saying goes, if my aunt had a smeckle she'd be my uncle..... and if networks were willing to let creative people produce content in daytime then we would have more than four soaps.

Excellent point, Mary's growth is the one part of that story that I can appreciate Another excellent point, I hadn't thought about the fact that Michael wasn't there for the birth of the twins (or triplets?) and I haven't done the math to see how long Mary worked in the house before she hightailed it to Paraguay. Two points from my re-watch, when Mary-Marissa was first shown in South America there was at least some initial conflict. Mary-Marissa believed that her husband was funding her charity work and that was important to her. She seemed sophisticated and comfortable in her role as an ex-pat socialite. The scenes in her villa prior to arriving in Bay City only lasted a few episodes. I guess that's what drove her to further her education? However, I do not appreciate that Mary never got a financial settlement from Reginald. It was seen as a character building exercise for Mary that she refused Reg's money but I reject that narrative. Reg stole many of Mary's good years and she deserved some cash for her troubles. What story brings in MJ? I read that she dated Stephen Yate's Jamie.

OK, but wouldn't Peter, Donna and Michael have known Mary and therefore mentioned her to MJ or Ben? The lack of Michael and Mary/Marissa connection is what really bothered me. I get that Donna and Peter might not have paid much attention to household staff or recognize a maid sixteen years after she left the house. However, Reg knew Michael had impregnated Donna so, why wouldn't Mary have known him as well? Mary's complicity in Reg's plans for Donna's twins seems like a large plot hole in that tale. Which is why I wondered about a writer's strike or some other change in production that seems to have derailed that story. In my own take on the story I wish Mary had been a GL-Diane-Ballard-type who was always loyal to Reg, even at the expense of her family, and then by reuniting Donna and Michael she found repentance and returned to Vince. However, running off with a guy for 18 years to South America and living in a villa never seemed to impact Mary's decision to live about a bar with a husband that changed faces three times.

I appreciated the redesign although I preferred the outdoor/indoor look of the first edition. The problem with the second set was that by that time in the story very few characters lived in the Capwell house. Ted was gone, Eden lived with Cruz, and Kelly had her own place. As a result, we didn't get a lot of scenes with the whole family in one room. Although the 'dinner party from hell' takes advantage of the staircase to give each actress a great entrance. I don't get why they never expanded the Lockridge estates beyond the living room? In 1985 the Duvall's get a bigger set than the Lockridges. However, I do appreciate the glamour that neither family ever gathered in their kitchen. John Conboy made beautiful shows but for me the value placed on sets and costumes didn't jibe with more intimate or character driven stories. Two story sets are meant for dramatic exits, spy stories, and women dragging long scarves across the floor. However, those sets aren't good for the long two person talking scenes that, for me, are a hallmark of vintage soaps.

Ep 191 - Did they eat Kelly's candy necklace after Marcello ruined dinner? Laughed out loud when the whole family dismissed Gina. I also like that Kelly tries to appear down to earth but still expects Rosa to unpack for her.

When Jennifer Richards came out at the trial as Jean Marie, did anyone know about it before the trial? It looks like Nola knew but I can't tell.

Who wrote the Mary McKinnon/Marissa LaSalle story? Do we know why they made the new family McKinnons and not McGowens or any other legacy family since Jake had already left the show? Is it a plot that got disrupted by a writer's strike? Because for a story about amnesia it has a ton of exposition!

I think it would have been very 90's to name it after the loft building, like "75 Bleeker St." or an intersection like "'Prince & Charming"

Maybe but, it would be funny if at Christmas they showed Rosa going down to the tunnels because that's where she's stored the decorations over the years.

Channing's tunnel love den set cracks me up. There's a door that doesn't seem hidden, inside there's electricity that nobody seems to be paying for, and 10 year old book of photos of Channing and Lindsey. No bed, no floor, and no furniture. 1. Who erected the door? Just once don't you want to see a soap story about the guy who builds the secret rooms, tunnels and mausoleums? I'm guessing that's a cash-only business. 2. Where's the tunnel exit on the Lockridge side? 3. Who took the pictures if both Channing and Lindsey are in frame?

I went back to watch the dive sequences with Lionel, Warren, and Summer. Amanda Lockridge the Ship was carrying paintings from Europe when an argument between Amanda's husband and his rival, (CC's grandfather) broke out near shore and sunk the ship. In 1984, Lionel and Warren dive for the treasures. It is assumed that since Channing had some of the coins from the ship, (which Warren stole back on the night of his murder), that Channing Jr and Warren had dove before but were not properly equipped. Channing Jr had the coins and was using them to prove that Sofia was with Lionel when she disappeared in 1968 (BTW I totally forgot that there was a nine-year period between Sofia's disappearance and Channing's murder). When Warren and Lionel dive they find some treasures which are displayed at the museum but not the art. However, at some point, someone got into the ship and put the art in the tunnels between the Lockridge and Capwell estates. Later the art was either replaced with fakes, (or maybe it was always fake?) and causes financial ruin for the Lockridges. [Side note:] 1. I watched Mason confront Lindsay last night. I thought it was so progressive that the story was that Lindsay had blackmailed Channing and Mason used that issue to manipulate Lindsay. I appreciated that Mason never threatens to "out" Lindsay. I also liked seeing that the State Street Bar (which stays open until 1am) is a cafe by day and drug den by night. 2. There is so much more violence than sex on this show! Marcello grabs Eden, and Gina is assaulted in the tunnels by Hank. Cruz and Eden seem to be the only ones getting it on, and they haven't woken up together in bed in two weeks! 3. Cruz's yacht is so cool. Somehow in 1984, there's a wireless computer and the fridge built into the wall. 4. I enjoy the Warren and Mason banter. This is the one Capwell/Lockridge relationship that really seems as if they grew up together as neighbors. Mason is always looking for a snack when he visits with Maggie the Cop and Warren and I think it's funny that he expects Maggie to make him coffee or serve a tuna sandwich.

2 questions: I was reading the Ultimate Soap Trivia book published before the end of Loving and they still refer to The City as LOV(heart) NYC; such a better name, does anyone know why it didn't stick? Maybe because it's hard to write the title in a publication? Did Lisa Peluso go away, get recast, and come back as Ava at some point?

I tried reading the French Santa Barbara site about the history of the Capwell/Lockridge feud but the translation isn't great But well before the love triangle between Lionel Lockridge - Sophia Capwell - C.C. Capwell, another story of impossible love had shaken the small world of Santa Barbara. Because everyone knows that the Capwells and the Lockridges are enemies since generations. Already during the time of Lionel's and C.C.'s parents, namely at the time of Emmett Capwell and Douglas T. McDonald Lockridge, their families were tearing. But at any time is discovered the object of their so tough hatred. I got it but, it may have been easier to read it in the original French. So tough hatred?

Ben McFarren and Alexandra Spaulding? Taking a second nip at the Spaulding tree of love? lol

It is interesting that Lionel Lockridge never got any siblings (I'm not counting Cassandra). In these episodes Minx is trying to get Lionel to get a job. So, we establish early on that the Lockridges are not business rivals with the Capwells. In fact, during the whole tunnel story it seems like the feud is based on being bad neighbors. I know Lionel slept with his wife but I wonder what other gripes CC has with the Lockridges? Did Warren play his music too loud by the pool? Did Brick block the driveway with the car? Did Minx leave the Christmas lights up too long? These seem like minor infractions for such a feud. If Lionel had a sibling who was more of a business rival to CC it may have kept the Lockridges more relevant. I also think it's odd since the Lockridge's don't have a dining room set that they are rarely in the same room. Laken and Warren seem cordial but they rarely hang out. In fact, I can't think of an episode where all five Lockridges had a discussion since before the earthquake. And I know that they disappear for weeks at a time in the next 50 episodes which is such a shame because they bring such lightness to the show.