amybrickwallace

Yes, Ralph is definitely a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Still, his crushing grief is very evident - which is why Matt, Althea and even Nick can be patient with him. I was practically screaming at Maggie and Carolee to CALL THE POLICE!!!!!! The look of shock and horror on Maggie's face at the end of episode 2 was absolutely chilling. Bethel just nailed it.

Did Cliff and Nina only have one child together (Michael), or were there more?

She does.

The Rappaports weren't introduced until 1998, right? Kale Browne (Sam) was still on AW in 1997 and was written off that show in early 1998.

Great photo, though as usual, Joan looks kind of scary. (Why did she have to put herself through so much plastic surgery?) Still, it's great to see the gang back together again, and I'm sure it will be a fun show. (KL made its world debut just three months after I did, LOL.)

Yes - and like his character, Gerald Gordon was born and raised in Chicago. I guess this brother was the father of Rico, Nick's nephew who also becomes a doctor - or did they have any other siblings? Yes, their moment when Althea says to Nick that he's always there for her was so sweet. I love the look he gets on his face at moments like that - shy, a little embarrassed but always pleased. I also love how gentle he is with her. No wonder those two were such a popular couple. I'm so glad that Elizabeth Hubbard said in that recent interview that she and Gerald Gordon were good friends in real life and remained so for years after the show had gone off the air. I never thought of the GWTW angle concerning Steve and Karen, but there are sure some parallels. Maggie, unlike Melanie, has her eyes wide open - and Matt isn't a weak man like Ashley Wilkes, though he sure has blinders on when it comes to his mentor's daughter. In the first episode where Ralph Anderson must be told the tragic news, I was sure he'd start screaming at Matt and fighting him. He didn't but just asked to see her. Then the second episode began with Althea and Nick coming back to the hospital from Lila's funeral. Boy, did Steve have a lot of gall or what? Liz is nagging him to go out with her, he tries to shoo her away as if she was a fly, and then he finally "happily" accepts just as he sees Karen walk back into the clinic. I wonder what his cousin John Rice would do if he was in the country and found out about the situation. It's been proven that John knows how to treat a lady!!!

Yes, that is a great photo of Ms. Moore.

OH. MY. GOSH. Both episodes ended on a cliffhanger, but I was honestly thrown by what happened at the end of episode 2. My jaw actually dropped - I was so not expecting it, although we all should have. We did get to see the Odd Trio in the lab for the first time together - Nick, Martha and Ed. Ed also runs into an old friend.

Thank you all for your insights on Nina/Cassandra!! She was born in Oslo, Norway, so she definitely has the European beauty going on. She joined the cast of SB and was on that show for about a year until its cancellation, so I wonder why she never went back to Y&R after that - either as a not-so-dead Cassandra or a new character.

Thanks again! My mom was a nurse (retired for about a decade now) and had only been nursing for several years while these episodes in 1968 were airing for the first time, so I've told her about some of the plots and asked her if they were anything like her own experiences. We've had some pretty interesting conversations because of the show.

Thanks to you both for clearing up the security guard issue. I was born more than a decade after these episodes first aired so I thought security guards at hospitals would have been the norm by then. Maybe they would have been at some hospitals in large metropolises like Washington D.C., Chicago, New York, etc. I didn't see the date, so thanks also for setting me straight on the "World of Women" soap. With its feminist angle, it sounded like "Marriage". I guess that soap never got past the drawing board. At the Anderson house, when Althea and Nick were tending to Lila, she admitted to both of them that she was sick and wanted help. So it's not the first time she asked them to help her. Besides, she was the one who first showed up at the clinic that day on her own. Yes, all three of them - Matt, Althea and Nick - are going to be in hot water again with the board for the second time in two months. Of course, Ralph Anderson is going to have a gaggle of lawyers involved - so I wonder if we'll see Larry Linville again.

A couple of other things: These episodes are nearly 48 years old, and both men are no longer with us - but am I the only one who found both Gerald Gordon and James Pritchett HOT in their white surgical scrubs? Regarding the above magazine page, was the proposed "World of Women" a working title for How to Survive a Marriage?

Sad.

Did you all like Nina Arvesen/Cassandra? Was she fired or did she leave on her own?

Cool!! Sorry I missed that.

Oh, I know. It's a good thing Althea wasn't in the prep room when Mr. Anderson broke in. Forget Nick - I think Althea would have been the one to completely drop kick him into the next time zone. I did have to smile when Nick was scrubbing his arm furiously and Matt told him not to take his anger out on the soap (this after the orderlies finally got Mr. Anderson out). Then I laughed when Nick said the same thing to Althea. Wouldn't a big hospital like Hope Memorial have, I don't know - SECURITY GUARDS??? I had a feeling there wouldn't be a miracle in the offing like there was for Mr. Bunker. Nick and especially Althea are going to take it the hardest. Who else has the feeling that Ralph Anderson is going to slap a humongous lawsuit on the hospital? One more thing - Karen came in on her off day to do paperwork (and to try to get what happened in her apartment out of her mind) and discovered the surgery was going on, so went to join Maggie in the observation room. This time, when Karen reaffirmed her belief in Matt's abilities, I'm pretty sure she didn't say it to needle Maggie for once. Karen was just observing in her own way that Matt is the complete opposite of Steve - but of course Maggie took it as been needled, and she has every right to feel that way as that has been the norm between the two women. What did you all think of that exchange?

Things are quickly coming to a head as far as Lila's condition is concerned. I wonder if Matt will finally get back to the hospital before Nick starts to operate.

That's true - and didn't ATWT have more time than GL did to wrap things up? They had no excuse for not bringing past cast members back. Julianne Moore did make an appearance, but I don't know if that was before or after the cancellation notice had come.

I never knew Terry Kiser dated her, either. Was this before or after she hooked up with Michael Zaslow? (Carl, could you also post this on TD thread? That is a nice picture of Mr. Kiser.)

Yeah, they could have ended the episode with a flashback to Bert and Papa Bauer, thus bringing it full circle.

You're welcome! I'll have to email Roger Newcomb and give her the link to her website - and hopefully he can get an interview. Or maybe Brandon's Buzz. Anyway, for once I didn't begrudge Matt being there when Karen was so shaken and upset. The way she looked at the bedroom and had to shut the door gave me chills. I've never been a Karen fan but she didn't deserve what Steve dished out. Karen needed kindness from someone she trusted, even if she didn't tell him why. Even Maggie would have to feel for Karen - as she had dealt with Greta's bio dad, the evil Kurt Van Allen (and apparently Bethel played out the lion's share of that story after Ann Williams left). Meanwhile, the staff of Hope Memorial still has their hands full with one Ralph Anderson - and his latest plot is foiled by none other than Liz, who catches him just in time. The second episode picks right up at that point - and Nick, Carolee, Liz and a big, beefy orderly have their hands full trying to keep Lila's husband in check. Carolee is frantically calling the Powers house, trying in vain to reach Matt (who of course is still at Karen's). I have to admire Nick's restraint - twice he stopped himself from belting Mr. Anderson. Nick also showed his compassion and desperation for Mrs. Anderson's condition, all the while knowing that his hands are tied. Liz and Mr. Beefy Orderly also had all they could do to keep Mr. Anderson in the lounge!! What I liked most about the second episode is how well the desperation was played of the staff having to decide what to do in a life or death situation with their boss - the chief of staff - nowhere to be found. Well, ONE of the doctors had an idea of where Matt was and was right on the money. I don't think I have to tell you who I mean. LOL

Once again, I read "David Gregory" and immediately thought David Gregory the newsman. LOL

I'll have to check. Thanks.

I wish there would have been at least a flashback of the earliest days on the show with the Bauer family. They owed the fans - especially those who had been watching for decades - that much.

That would have been something else. LOL But Joan seems to have a healthy sense of humor. Her appearances on Family Feud back in the 80s were hilarious. She was great.