Vee

I would welcome Lila Rae for the Alcazar drama among other things. I'm not sure what age range she'd find into now though (you could age her down if need be). But I'm not sure anyone left remembers she exists. I do wonder if the Ted King rumors a couple years ago had any truth. I did want to note a great bit last week, when Lulu tearily told Carly she and Dante had made a mistake years ago re: Michael's murder trial. First, they wisely played that history going back like 15 years without doing a Carlivati and explicitly saying in dialogue what storyline they were referring to in the text. People who have watched long enough knew what she was talking about. Alexa was excellent but the look in Laura Wright's eyes was amazing - both a very faint glimmer of that old rage and a lot of old weariness and hurt. It reminded me instantly of that era in 2010, when a deranged Carly made getting revenge on Lulu and Dante her mission in life. Then she said nothing and just hugged Lulu, and it was just very well done.

I think they are starting to build on Chelsea and Madison re: her mother. They were sort of an instant lesbian couple til just a few weeks ago, and now they at least have my interest. I also think RhonniRose has more skill for comedy, and they need to lean into that. As well as build out the ChelseaKat business and assemble recurring players and a work environment and more active stories about business. Naomi I could dump any time unless she sleeps with her hot brother-in-law for some drama (and Jacob I could do the same unless he sleeps with Kat).

The episodes posted in some spaces online are out of sequence. I had to do some digging to find the right chronological order, but it does exist. I don't remember how long Eddie and Quincey hang around but I think the last time I saw the original Banner on OLTL was maybe in 1999 or 2000. It finally returned in a way in 2013, but was relegated to Viki's office (with Destiny working in the mailroom). I always loved the Banner city room and seeing people there. The kinky torture scenes with German dominatrix Ilsa are very horny Malone, and I am pretty sure are a deliberate gag per the famous sexploitation films "Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS" lol. I loved the silly Tina past lives stuff but that's because I thought Karen Witter, JL, etc. all played the hell of it. It's way better than some of Malone's later fantasy bits. I also loved Megan playing the straight woman to it all.

I don't know about that. Malone came in mere weeks after Jason, we don't know if he had any actual hand in his creation (onscreen credits aside, you could see Malone's hand in things in late August-early September even before his first credited day) and I do think he wrote for him carefully and well for a long time. But he was infatuated with Howarth and Todd, as was virtually the entire industry at that time.

I don't know if he was scheduled or they just approached him; I can't recall the exact item. It seemed like a done deal in their article the way they were writing about it (in either late '91 or very early '92), but obviously it didn't occur. Then both GA and Marco turned up on GH during its transitional period in '92/'93. Very strange. The Andrew and Marty thing was really kind of a redo of Andrew and Megan but with an even more transgressive element; her youth and role as his wayward young parishioner, etc. They played with the will they/won't they temptation between them a few times in the early '90s, Including a period where the show was cutting some steamy promos for them in either '93 or '94 when Andrew and Cassie were in a rough patch. I don't remember the details but I think it went so far as maybe an emotional affair that nearly turned very physical. I think maybe they made out or were half-dressed together a few times. I had forgotten about that whole sequence of events completely til I saw one of those promos again a few years ago. I think it was an unpopular story, one I will see in full again someday. Part of the reason they kept playing with the Andrew thing is bc I think they were fully committed to Susan Haskell (and rightly so) but struggled to find a man to match her talent (who wasn't married or too taboo, like Krimmer's Andrew) until they finally found Thorsten Kaye to play Patrick. The Kevins were never an option for a variety of reasons, mostly the endless recasts but I do wish they'd tried harder to test them in '92, something they explicitly said they were going to do at the time in the soap press. Joey Thrower was not really an option but by the time they had Kirk Geiger he was set for Ellen Bethea's Rachel. I think Kevin and Marty has always been another road not taken, and it's a temptation I'd still consider today. As for Andrew and Marty, I almost entertained the idea of them ending up together older and wiser in what were some of Bob Krimmer's last scenes on the show - when Marty was amnesiac in late 2008, found her way to St. James and reintroduced herself to an aged, somewhat fascinated Andrew. He told her all about the story of her life, and that was their last set of scenes. Susan and Krimmer were still excellent together. But today I like to think Andrew and Cassie just settled down again. (Malone trying to xerox the Andrew/Marty dynamic for the wooden Jen Rappaport and young priest-in-training Joey in 2003 though, right down to Andrew and Nora telling them repeatedly how much Jen reminded them of Marty Saybrooke - don't get me started, woof.)

Tomas. Sooner or later it's happening. I also frankly think both Ashley and Derek are on the wane. And I don't think Hayley will be around in a year. I also think we'll likely get Who Killed Joey before 2027.

I haven't watched much of '94 since it first aired when I was a kid (and with the exception of revisiting the rape trial saga I am slowly going from '91 chronologically - I started watching in '93, and will also revisit '94-'95) so I couldn't say for sure. I do think they lost focus on Jason with Roger Howarth and Todd taking off like a rocket, and so Jason became a B or C-player. If things had been different who knows. I wish they'd tried Jason and Marty for real, for instance. Mark Brettschneider was one of the 'interesting faces' Gottlieb asked people to send her, experience notwithstanding, and she found their roles and places over time. I do wish we'd been able to see Jason again once more. If the show was still around I'd have him make a little appearance, with people like Kevin and Rachel, Chris Mc Kenna's Joey and Marty back on the canvas. It would be a nice reflection of the last time (other than 2013) that the show underwent a dramatic revamp. I do think the question of what would become of Megan had they convinced JT to stay is very interesting - I think Andrew, or Cain or both would've been very much in the picture, as Joe Lando was never coming back full time. I also love Andrew and Megan and always have when glimpsing this era. (Incidentally, the mags spoiled Gerald Anthony appearing as Marco during Megan's death saga but he never turned up.)

Jason and Todd do clash, but Jason becomes redundant with the new focus on Todd and the loss of Lee Ann (who they initially planned to recast with AMC's Sydney Penny, apparently). I find Jason (particularly in this period) to be the sort of benign prototype for Todd, in a lot of ways. He does get a very sweet sendoff in summer '94 though. Cain is targeting Megan because he is hoping to run the same scam he attempted with equally rich heiress Tina in the summer. (Back when he was Hudson King and presumably first brought in by Rauch.) I wrote about this fall '91 period in here a lot over the last year, but it is interesting how far they go with Megan being tempted by him; Jessica Tuck and Christopher Cousins have real heat. Equally interesting is how they pivot in a week or so's time from Heinrich/Cain to Andrew having that same role in her life after Cain gets outed and briefly flees town. The men swap roles very fast, and Megan and Andrew quickly become BFF.

I actually think he has chemistry with most of his partners, from Griggs and Bleeth to Elaine Princi (and later Robin Strasser and Susan Haskell). And yeah, the matching scar bit with Stephanie was a clear sign at the time.

I have always wanted to get Tichina Arnold (or Tisha) back on a soap but no way they'd do it now. Maybe in their leaner years, but fortunately for them those are not today.

Still insane to me that with Anna gone Zombie Nathan is back on the job. "You died in front of us, have been gone seven years, your parents are superterrorists and we have no fúcking idea how you are alive again. Welcome back to the duty roster." Meanwhile poor Alexa Havins continues to be dressed like a Chinese communist functionary opposite BLQ. I see you, Frank!

They gave a lot of quotes in the press at the time about hiring a Black writer for the story (I know, one Black writer, stop the presses) and IIRC Gottlieb said something about Hank being an 'unreconstructed Black male' vs. the most straitlaced Troy. What exactly that means, or how well it succeeded per a white producer's POV, remains to be seen. But it beats the totally colorless characters we now see on GH or most soaps.

The stuff I have seen of Kevin and Stephanie pre-Malone in summer '91 is just unbearably bad. But I think the Jason/Stephanie hook-up on Malone's first credited day (and Luna's parachuting arrival) in September was legitimately hot, and their connection after had some appeal. I also thought some of the stuff with Stephanie the society girl needling Lee Ann in October(?) was also good. But it's clear OLTL had their fill of Robyn Griggs' alleged IRL behavior quickly because no sooner did any of that stuff go into motion that they sent Stephanie away, presumably until Carlo's demise the following spring (where she is just a plot device to be disposed of). She gets her face in the opening and then gets it quickly removed again. Which is just as well, really. I don't think RG could stand up against a lot of the talent coming in, or even Yasmine Bleeth for long.

I like this testing ground too. And I love Luna in this period, but I always loved her BITD. Sheila is so underrated. I cannot wait to watch the triangle with Hank. I couldn't stand the Stephanie Williams recast, but with Valarie Pettiford I like to think Hank and Sheila are back together today.

IIRC I recall the mags at that time said GH or OLTL or one of the shows hired an unknown soap name as an Althea Chandler recast for a flashback as part of that story. Didn't make it to screen.

Evil Overton (Elon) is crooked as hell.

I thought they all apologized again after coming back? But I agree, it's ridiculous.

They did at least line up and apologize after. I'll take what I can get.

This always drove me insane. It happened almost instantly too lol. Like, bitch you just got here! I had no problem with Skye on AMC, and I think having Skye as a schemer come back from time to time to make trouble on GH wouldn't be the worst thing today. But when she was just hanging around, acting like she had a place in the family and had known them for decades it drove me nuts. I do like to think she's really Adam's kid too.

No. Skye was only retconned in as a Quartermaine in 2001. She was de-retconned as a Q two years later when Guza came back and undid it. She was a grown woman who was never raised among the family.

No, Emily was a full fledged part of the family. Skye was a character awkwardly shoehorned into the family by an EP with an agenda for a favored actor, and was de-Qed two years after arriving. Alan (and largely only Alan) claiming she was 'family' after that was a JFP thing.

Skye is not a Quartermaine.

Frank absolutely believes BLQ is the most sympathetic heroine on the show. I don't have a problem with Chase being so down bad for Willow. He and BLQ have been in a weird place ever since he turned up sterile (or whatever) and tbh he's not the most mature or bright guy period. I just want them to hurry up and get to him and Willow fúcking already. And then they can boot the manchild off the show.

Princi was a very skilled actress and also had the advantage of coming in as a deliberate ringer for Robin Strasser, who a vindictive Paul Rauch allegedly (according to Robin) wanted to erase from memory. The stories are also in a different place for Princi's final year, and the really high-octane baroque opera of the Malone era came later IMO. Meanwhile Robin came back with the disadvantage of the show taking almost a year to figure out how to write for her again in '93 with a largely new team in place, something Malone, etc. all later owned up to in interviews. I don't agree with the people who claim Robin's second run was that messy, but I will grant her first year back has its issues until the Victor saga reaches full tilt. The writing went off a cliff in the late '90s but Robin never did for me. It isn't until her third run, starting in '03, that she came back clearly (and by her own admission) scarred by her last exit and overly anxious to impress. Something that remained with her until the end of the show, though I feel she still gave many fine performances even amidst histrionics.

I still can't stand Jan.