OzFrog

PORTIA: Dante woke up!

CURTIS: datisgoodnews…

to Anna for kicking Sonny out of her office, especially after he had the nerve to ask her what she would be charging Jason with even in light of being cleared for shooting Dante. Was totally worth it just for the look of dumbfoundedness on Sonny’s face…

I’ve been watching the late 1985/early 1986 episodes that recently propped upon Jim’s channel - right now it’s the whole Baxter McCandless storyline and I’m up to the part where Paula has just kidnapped Mark from the hospital after his shooting (damn she is one freaky lady…).

I do have to say though, I *ADORE* watching Constance Towers - she lights up every scene she is in. And also fascinated by pre-Loving Catherine Hickland! 

One more observation I had - does Jason know that Britt is also dead?

49 minutes ago, Vee said:

Kate Mansi was particularly good in her solo scene talking with her brother in his room. (She did call him that while talking to him, and I keep forgetting.) Not the same as Lexi Ainsworth doing it, but still.

Anything that shows and demonstrates an actual family relationship is a good thing in my books (it’s soaps’ bread and butter at the end of the day). And GH has been doing that in spades in the last week or so - we need more of this!

Just watching the 8 March episode… I agree with everyone who has said that the dialogue has elevated itself to another level. Extremely character-driven and yet is still advancing the plot. 

The Carly/Jason scenes were well done - LW and SB still have that chemistry, and there was genuine emotion underpinning that whole sequence.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with the Michael/Willow/Joss/Dex scenes - again, all about the emotion, all about the character, all about the underlying motivation, especially the ongoing resentment against Sonny.

Ava/Nina in the chapel - what the hell is Ava up to???

The Dante and family scenes - all the right beats played.

Alexis/Diane - good use of history between those two, and great segue into Alexis’s possible return to law.

And yes that was a good decent Friday cliffhanger - Carly did that brilliantly…

Just watched the Friday episode, and I can see what people here have meant about the scripts sounding different…

There is definitely a lot more grounded humanity coming through in some of these scenes - whether it’s Sonny/Ava, Molly/TJ, Kristina/Blaze, Sam/Danny, Sam/Liz. This is the kind of soap I got drawn to as a teenager, and I’m encouraged to see signs of it coming back!

20 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Not sure if this one has been up before. I am not sure of the exact date other than sometime in 1987 due to Steve and Luke Perry/Alexandra Wilson all being around. Unfortunately, it's not in English but I thought people would still enjoy it, especially as this period isn't well represented. You also get to see Shana in one of the most hideous sweaters I've ever seen on television. 

I wasn't sure who the woman talking with Gwyn and Ann is.

@dc11786 @slick jones @Kane @Sapounopera @Paul Raven@te. @j swift@Khan @OzFrog @Vee @Franko

 

Thanks heaps for this, @DRW50! Judging from the Loving synopses I’ve read on Tumblr (https://classicsodloving.tumblr.com/), this looks to be first week of October 1987.

I’ve just finished binge watching some 90s Loving playlists - as much as people rave about Casey and Ally, I actually found Cooper and Steffi just as captivating a couple to watch.

I never truly appreciated how much Cooper transformed as a character throughout his run on Loving until I watched him through the arranged marriage with Ally and then his ultimate romance with Steffi. The Casey/Ally/Cooper/Steffi quadrangle is IMO one of the best I’ve seen on US daytime soaps, and ranks up there with the 80s GL Fab Four.

And a lot of that comes down to the sheer talent of all four actors, Paul Anthony Stewart, Laura Wright, Michael Weatherley and Amelia Heinle - all of whom would go on to have successful careers whether in daytime or primetime. They all had such amazing chemistry with each other!

For those interested, here’s the Cooper/Steffi playlist I’ve been watching: 

Just been catching up with ALL the replies on this thread. I for one echo everyone else celebrating this news - Patrick Mulcahey is one of the most talented soap writers ever. It’s no coincidence that some of the most beautifully written scenes I’ve watched on GH have been from Mulcahey’s pen - whenever I dream up scenes in my own head, I always draw on him for inspiration.

I’m so looking forward to this - did they say when their scripts/outlines will start to kick in??

Watching more late 2000s Sonny/Carly (I wasn’t closely following at the time), and not knowing until today that Carly giving birth to Josslyn happened on the same night as Michael killing Claudia (as well as Sonny completely ripping Claudia to shreds publicly at her birthday party). If anything, GH definitely knew how to climax storylines at precisely the right time…

Just started watching 2005+ Sonny and Carly, just after Laura Wright assumed the role. I can see a lot of similarities here between Laura’s early run and that of SJB. The sheer level of neurotic between S&C in these years is off the frickin charts - I have no idea how anyone managed to survive watching all that. Sonny being a complete and utter controlling ass, Carly being pulled between Sonny and Jax - it’s enough to throw stuff at the TV.

And speaking of throwing things at the TV, there’s the added “bonus” of early Spinelli in these scenes - am I the only one who thought this guy needs to calm the f*** down? 

22 hours ago, carolineg said:

I was honestly okay with Brenda ending up with Jax before Ingo ruined it.  

You are absolutely correct and Sonny is the worst.  I just want to believe the love of Brenda will change him in the end lol.  I have invested too much in this to just let it go now

I don't know if I actually want to watch years of Sonny/Brenda onscreen doing the same old thing over and over.  Either Sonny completely changes (doubtful) or they leave the show together.  It can be when Mo leaves or when the show ends I just still want it to happen.  

Funny you should bring this up - I just finished watching the 1997 Sonny/Brenda playlist, from the Jax/Brenda non-wedding, to stupid Miranda, the catacombs, the Tin Man craziness, and finally the Sonny/Brenda non-wedding (“tell her it’s been a ride”). God damn Sonny was a callous dick!

I’ve been going back to 1996 GH recently (as it was the year I first started following GH as a teen back in Australia), specifically the Jax/Brenda/Sonny/Lily storyline, and it strikes me how even back then the writing was so deep, rich, and character-focused. I’m curious to know though when exactly Labine stopped and Guza started.

In case anyone is interested, link to the 1996 Sonny/Brenda playlist is here, featuring such memorable events as Jax’s eccentric introduction, Tracy’s re-entry and exile from the Qs, and most importantly Clink/Boom!

Sometimes there are some shots when rewatching old storylines that just make you so happy. Having made it all the way to Karen and Jagger’s wedding, I can honestly say that this shot is one of the sweetest ever (Stone and Jagger immediately post-wedding). In another thread, a poster commented that back in the old times, the payoff was worth it. This was no exception - these two worked hard to repair their sibling relationship for ages, and this was the moment it finally came together. What can I say, I’m a sucker for happy moments like these…

Currently watching 1994 Karen and Jagger, and I was today years old when I learned that they originally brought on *Miguel* as a potential spoiler. Also funny that even Jagger was warning Brenda against Sonny back in the day!

On a related note, the Labines were such incredible dialogue writers, and every scene actually meant something. For example, this simple scene between Jagger and Rhonda has a surprising amount of depth to it…

For any long-time fans out there - is the Ned/Jenny/Paul/Tracy quadrangle worth rewatching?

4 hours ago, Liberty City said:

• Lois & Sonny REUNITED! A broad! Love it. Lois' presence on the canvas is SO [!@#$%^&*] nice. We need to keep Rena Sofer on!
• You can tell Amanda Setton has taken influence from Sofer's work as Lois in her approach to Brook Lynn, and her own mannerisms. I love that.
• Lois is amazing. We HAVE to keep her around.

I fantasised for a long time about getting Rena Sofer back to play Lois against Amanda Setton’s Brook Lynn - and I’ve been nothing short of mesmerised by how natural these two have been playing mother and daughter. This scene here, for example… they just bounce off each other, and it’s as though they’ve been doing this for YEARS…

WTF is this?

It’s scenes like these which make me yearn for the days of old. Just pure character interaction - no plot device, no contrivance, just watching people naturally interact with each other.

And that last scene between Edward and Carmine… perfection!

Some more observations from this whole storyline…

• I  Lila! She truly was such a rock for the Qs
• This was also the first time I had watched Jason as a Q, and I’m actually impressed. He had the moral compass of the family - it’s fascinating to think about what might have happened if Jason Morgan had regained his Q memory…

This scene is *amazing*, so much cringe! It’s the first time Lois’s parents met the Qs…

3 hours ago, carolineg said:

Have they made it to Puerto Rico yet?  Even with Ned/Lois being the B or C story there, I find a lot of their story very charming during that time. I loved the story, but Katherine/Ned never seem anything but very random as a couple.  Neither here nor there but when watching the PR trip back it's hilarious how heavy-handed GH is about being on location.  It's beautifully shot, but the show does not want you to forget they spent a ton of money on a location shoot.  There are actual scenes of Maurice just walking in grass back and forth from the hotel that are like 2 min long.  I think we are supposed to know Sonny is thinking about how dumb and nosy his girlfriend is, but it's a long time to watch one actor walk.

Yep, up to January 1995 - Puerto Rico looked amazing. On a tangential note, one of the big features of this Ned/Lois playlist is all the bloody clips of Ricky Martin and his Miguel performances (we see a bit of the Miguel and Lily relationship as well).

20 hours ago, carolineg said:

It's a bit ridiculous NO ONE in town figures out Ned is Eddie, but whatever.  Even Brenda easily stumbled upon the info and she's no detective so it's funny no one else sees the obvious info in front of them lol.  

Now up to October 1994 - the infamous birthday has come and gone, L&B have made up, but Ned is still trying to win her back. Katherine has tumbled down the stairs and is in a coma.

and OMFG how f***in dysfunctional are the Qs?!

5 hours ago, carolineg said:

Re: AJ and the money-Damian had evidence that Alan killed Ray Conway and was holding it over Alan's head.   AJ decides to hire a professional to steal the evidence from Damian and takes the money from the hotel account to pay the guy.  Alan and Monica find out and give the money to AJ to bail him out, but don't tell Ned/Edward why AJ took it in the first place.  It was more evidence that AJ was a screw up for them, but AJ was actually trying to do something helpful. 

Yep, I eventually figured it out as I continued watching (now up to late July 1994). Currently, Ned has done the bigamy, Lois has moved into the gatehouse, and Katherine into the Q mansion. Katherine has already warned Lois to stay away from her man, with Lois not knowing WTF she was on about.

I’m assuming we’re not far off from Katherine’s infamous birthday now…

Been binge watching the Ned/Lois storyline from the very beginning, including the machinations of the ELQ/Damian Smith development negotiations. Currently up to March 1994, and I’ve been intrigued by the scenes with Ned and Damian trying to jostle for Katherine’s and Lucy’s ELQ votes, respectively. It’s fascinating seeing how this interweaves into other stories (Claire Labine’s storytelling is just incredible), and a couple of questions have arisen in my mind as a result:

• With Damian trying to charm Lucy for her vote, was this where the bet for Damian to sleep with Bobbie came up from?
• There were a couple of scenes involving the fallout from AJ stealing $100K from the Port Charles Hotel, and Alan bailing him out (Ned and Edward questioned both of them on it). What was the backstory behind the 100K?

16 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

Jane Elliot's Tracy & Rena Sofer's Lois in 1996 (Lois pregnant with Brook Lynn):

This was brilliant!!