j swift

I was thinking about Clay Alden today because I was trying to recall how the whole Clay/Alex story worked out by the end of the show. I forgot about the recasts of both characters and was wondering if anyone had any insights about the recasting. I know that Loving was a show that favored a recasting throughout it's history but I was wondering about these two. Did Clay come back because the actor playing Alex wanted to leave? Thus the disappearance of Alex to South America? I saw an interview with Randolph Mantooth where he mentioned working everyday and I wondered if the original intention was to get rid of the character? Was Larkin Malloy a good Clay recast? Did the character's personality change with any of the recastings? Did the recastings coincide with the recast of the Clay's parents?

From this guy's perspective the worst central character was Jennifer Munson. From the odd circumstances of her conception to the totally unnecessarily SORASing; she seemed age inappropriate with everyone of her mates. The worst was Craig being de-SORASed to fit the plot. Craig was older than Frannie who was married to Daryl Crawford, Jennifer's father. Considering that the Crawford murder plot was critically unpopular, Jennifer seemed like an odd choice to age, let alone build the whole show around, just a few years later. This really blew my mind. What if I actually don't remember watching any of the soaps, I just remember the magazines?

I have a hazy memory of the episode surrounding Lily's 18th birthday. I was never a ATWT fan but I kept up by reading the magazines at the time. I was amused that the episode had Lily visiting Craig, John and Iva, all of whom remembered that it was her birthday and, had a gift. Lily, much like Y&R's Cricket, was such a popular teen that even the adults in town knew her business. Speaking of wealth in the 80's, it created odd details like that every man (no matter what age or job) had a tuxedo for every wedding, a costume for every masquerade ball and, a different suit for each day when they were wrongfully accused of murder.

I just rewatched the Mariel Hemingway episode of SNL which she hosted around the premiere of CPW. It struck me that today neither CBS nor NBC would allow the cross promotion. The jokes about CPW make it seem like the show will be around forever. Lastly, although Mariel was the star but she wasn't the funniest in the cast; maybe hosting should have left to other castmates. It is difficult for me to even compare the two versions of CPW. The second half was moved around without much promotion during midsummer and I stopped paying attention. It is interesting that the show was attempting to be so contemporary that everything seems instantly dated. The Tom Ford for Gucci wardrobe, the low riding pants, the Upper West Side, publishing in New York and the re-boot that focused on an older cast; all seem amusing through a 2018 lens.

That is some fun soapy writing to have Rick come back for the Franny/Sabrina tale. I appreciate when long lost kids have some story that makes sense rather than just showing up and expecting an instant relationship with relatives that they've met in their 30's (e.g. Lisa and Scott).

I was surprised to read in vintage soap recap from Tumblr dated July 20-24, 1981 that Barbara had a brother named Rick and James Steinbeck had a brother named Lars when he was first married to Barbara. What happened to those characters? I remember the whole thing about the Steinbeck heir and Gunner but, did James have a brother in Europe the whole time? And did Barbara (and Jennifer) forget that she had brother? I am amused by soap opera law wherein illegitimate heirs become instantly wealthy when their lineage is discovered despite wills and trusts. There are at least two illegitimate heirs of Prince Albert of Monaco who wish that law worked in real life.

Did Erica's brother Mark Dalton ever meet Silver Kane; in either of her iterations? Also, did Ellen wind up with Ross or Mark?

Yes but, I can think of multiple times when people around Dorian faked pregnancies, brain injuries, and paternity tests with no medical inquiry from Dr. Lord. She seemed to have no expertise when it came to reading lab reports about either David or Blair. Also, I don't recall that she ever mentioned being in Med School during her affair with David Renaldi or even when discussing why she didn't raise Cassie. BTW it drives me nuts that writers re-used names like David within one character's history. Think of how many guys named John, Charles, or Paul moved to Landview over the years.

There are multiple times in the 80's and 90's when Landview-ites seem to have forgotten that Dorian was a doctor. Nobody ever asks for her medical expertise, she never delivers a baby under emergency circumstances, and she never seems to want to keep up with her medical knowledge. I have hazy memories of Dorian on the hospital board. However, I wonder why after her careers as a diplomat, talk show host and, newspaper publisher, Dorian never sought to get her license back?

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.