amybrickwallace

Whoa! I didn't realize I was starting a war here. To be clear - I am 35 years old so I did grow up in the 80s. OK, the daytime shows I watched back then were mostly cartoons - but my mother didn't allow my sister and I to watch soaps until we were in our teens. With the advent of YouTube, I started watching the classic soaps online and just fell in love with them. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE the 80s. I love how everything was big, colorful and fun. Soaps actually had budgets back then so fans were treated to luxurious weddings and elaborate location shots. TPTB actually still cared about the quality of their daytime dramas. Such a shame those days are gone forever. (OK, some of the hairstyles and clothes are better left in the past, but I digress.) Just something about that logo reminds me of dishwashing detergent commercials - with all those sparkles in the title card. I didn't mean it in a BAD way. Sorry for expressing an opinion that has absolutely nothing to do with the plots, actors, writers, etc., whatsoever.

A Phoebe/Opal feud would have been classic, especially with the onset of the 90s as it would have given Ruth Warrick some meaty story.

I can't picture them together, either. Had Dorothy Lyman come back to AMC, who would you guys have paired Opal with?

Well, I can't argue with you there!! When Abby was scheming (which was 99.9% of the time), there's no doubt it was a lot of fun to watch. But I liked her best as the protective mama, like the whole Peter Hollister thing with Olivia.

Wow, and I had never even heard of the character Nella before this! Thanks for the backstory.

Yep - that was them sharing a tender moment with son Johnny, Christmas 1985.

You're welcome - and yes, she is!!

Garish, yes, but wasn't most everything (from clothes to hairstyles to graphics) garish in the 80s? LOL P.S. I like your Christmas avatar, Carl!!

As far as I know, Stephen and Nancy are still married after 30+ years. They are the parents of two sons, Max and the aforementioned Ben.

Thanks! I know her one-time Y&R co-star, Sharon Case, was on ATWT at one point, but I guess her character was a dud.

OK, I didn't know that that logo predated the Long/Kobe era. Thanks for letting me know. I still think it looks like a dishwasher detergent ad, but to each his/her own!!

Exciting news!! I received an email from our favorite "nurse" herself, Carolee Campbell Elizondo, today (I had emailed her care of her website - http://ninjapressbooks.com)!! Here's what the message says, in part: "Many thanks for sending me the link for Retro TV. I’m not able to get it in my area. It is exceedingly interesting to watch oneself from forty-seven years ago for the first time. You have no idea. All best wishes to you and your family, Carolee" Needless to say, that email made my day today!!!

How long was Victoria Rowell on ATWT? Before this, I had no idea she was on any soap other than Y&R.

Is it just me, or did the GL title card from the early Pam Long era look more like a dishwashing detergent ad?

I truly enjoyed the interview with Nolan in the Charlie's Angels Casebook by David Hofstede and Jack Condon. There is a wonderful photo of him next to Jaclyn Smith, who is clad in one of the many wonderful gowns he designed.

Of all the lavish (or outlandish, depending on your viewpoint) stories that unfolded under Paul Rauch's watch, which one(s) do you think were the best?

Cricket/Christine's and Nina's friendship was also truly believable. Wasn't Tricia Cast one of the bridesmaids in Lauralee's wedding?

Gosh, I remember those DAYS!!! It feels like forever ago.

Thanks for clarifying that - I was sure that Dorothy Lyman had not been asked back in 1989. I wonder what things would have been like had Dorothy Lyman reprised Opal instead of Jill Larson being cast.

Count me as another one surprised - well, I knew what was going to happen eventually but I was surprised at the scene itself. Back to that in a moment. Yay - another postcard from John, this time from England. He bought a "guru robe" (then again, wasn't 1968 the year the Beatles brought the Maharishi to fame?) and Bonnie bought a micro miniskirt that she will be arrested in once she wears it. LOL With all these references to our Little Boy Doctor, maybe he will come back for awhile. Who knows? As for the final scene, I was surprised at how...rough it was. There were repeated cries of "no" and "stop", too. That was very daring for a daytime soap in 1968 - and over a full decade before the infamous Luke/Laura scene at the Campus Disco.

I know Lauralee Bell sure took a lot of grief as a young actress (probably more due to the fact that her father was the big cheese rather than her performances themselves) - but she was light years better than most of the "ingénues" that are polluting the airwaves now.

Really? I must have missed that one. Nice catch.

I thought Mama's Family ran until 1990, but you're right - it could have very well come down to an issue of whether or not Dorothy Lyman was available. If she had been and returned to AMC, I wonder how she would have worked with Palmer.

Today the Anderson saga continued to dominate both episodes, but at least we had some levity in the form of a phone call from Carolee's mother (episode 1) and the meeting of Ed Stark and Martha Allen (episode 2). Also, we got an explanation of how Ed came by his accent (by living in London for a time). Of course, Dr. Sour Kraut just can't resist needling the good Dr. Mrs. Powers, can she? Seriously, who else is rooting for Maggie to literally scratch Karen's eyes out? I have a feeling that the majority of the staff wouldn't be on Karen's side. LOL I wonder if the Maggie/Karen feud will continue after Bethel leaves and Lydia Bruce takes over. Lawyer Frank Burns has much more sense than his client Ralph Anderson does, doesn't he? Larry Linville had another soap connection - his second wife was Vana Tribbey, one of the many Alices on Another World. I still want Nick to literally knock sense into Ralph Anderson. I also have a feeling that whatever happens to Lila, it will be the catalyst of drawing Nick and Althea even closer together.

SoapDope, that was the story I had always heard about Tom Selleck and Y&R. I just hadn't heard that Bill Bell had later come to regret not signing him.