Franko

Detouring off topic for a moment, but assuming money and interest was there, this could be a fun way to celebrate B&B's 35th (or 40th) anniversary. A week of visits from Forrester and Spectra's "former models". Kim as a Cheryl Tiegs type, Kristian Alfonso as "Brooke Shields", etc.

Paula Prentiss IS Polly Prentice.

Oh, lord, now Marilyn Bergman has died. Lisa Loopner pays her respect.

A-ha! Thank you. I remembered Julian's car running into TC's. A line from Hidden Passions has always stuck with me. "(paraphrased?) What he saw (in the rearview mirror) would haunt him for the rest of his life." And I also vaguely recall Eve also being in the car at the time. Although how TC managed to obtain Julian's car is another matter altogether. Was it a hit and run, with Julian ending up dumping the car? And who knew the "right time" was more than 20 years later?

Agreed. If I remember the book correctly, she was also under consideration for Kim Novak's role (which would have played out during Robert Foxworth's last year on the show).

The Elizabeth Montgomery biography Twitch Upon a Star claims she was also considered for Krystle. I'm glad she didn't get it, since her performing style would have been at odds with what Dynasty expected of its actors as the show went on. When it comes to Dallas, I could see Elizabeth playing/being offered Julie Grey, Leslie Stewart, Vanessa Beaumont or Lee Ann De La Vega (even if it was a lot of fun to see Larry and Barbara together again).

Having TC store the car he was injured in seems kinda silly. If I remember right, the car was struck by Julian's. It's not like TC was responsible for what happened. If he was, I could see the case for having him keep the car out of guilt. Maybe that was a factor as what aired on screen played out. I seem to remember that it was implied Grandpa Russell died from a broken heart over TC not getting to be an Arthur Ashe-level star). Another thought. @Bright Eyes commented a few days ago that Passions had good actors, actors who were good enough for the show and actors who were just plain bad. Where would you categorize some of the cast? (I disqualify myself on the grounds of nostalgia glasses).

Yeah, the story goes that Victoria wanted a 100 percent guarantee that Dallas was done for good in 1991 (which I doubt, I think she just didn't want to do it, period). I know it would have been cheesy, but even if we had to have Patrick Duffy doing a love scene with the back of someone's head, it would have been nice to get some Bobby and Pam closure. And no, Bobby saying goodbye to the Pam "lookalike" in 1990 doesn't count. Or the claim in 2014 that Pam died 25 or so years prior.

Oh, but it's FATE, KLN, can't you see that?!

I know what you mean. It kinda works in the moment for Marlena, still trying to keep up some pretension of poise, but it also sounds silly. My inner monologue always adds "And I wear a seat belt, too!"

Just to be clear, I meant the Roman/Marlena argument at the end of the upload, which still gives me goosebumps. (Although, to rewind back to Izzy's death, she DID put the proverbial gun in Marlena's hand by advising her to comfort John after she was gone. Just sayin'.)

Not to butt in, but I feel it's an appropriate time to share this lil' doozy of a scene that I'm sure we're all familiar with.

My all time favorite GG moment:

The Golden Girls was/is a pivotal part of my life, but, on behalf of @DRW50 ...

Milwaukee, March 1980 WTMJ, NBC, preempted all network games until 11 a.m. Central, then aired Chain Reaction, Password Plus, DOOL, DOCTORS and AW in pattern. WITI, then the CBS station, aired Y&R at 9 a.m., after Captain Kangaroo and before TPIR and Donahue. SFT didn't air on the station (the midday belonged to news and (the network's?) Jeffersons reruns), while ATWT, GL and One Day at a Time reruns aired in pattern beginning at 1 p.m. WISN, ABC, aired AMC at 9 a.m. (keeping it against Y&R, like it was nationally), didn't air RH (the syndicated Match Game ran in its slot, followed by Dialing for Dollars where AMC would be) and aired OLTL, GH and EDGE in pattern. Kansas, May 1989 NBC stations -- Classic Concentration was dropped, with Win, Lose or Draw airing in its slot, GENERATIONS and Wheel of Fortune taking the 11 a.m. hour, then news and DAYS, AW and SANTA BARBARA all on a half-hour delay. ABC stations -- no LOVING, news instead at 11:30; AMC, OLTL and GH aired in pattern. CBS stations -- across the board, TPIR at 10, then Y&R, then news/local, B&B, ATWT and GL. Seattle, May 1971 Everything in pattern on KOMO (ABC) and KIRO (CBS). KING (NBC) -- DOOL, DOCTORS and AW aired a half-hour early (on a delay?), with BRIGHT PROMISE preempted for "Famous Jury Trials," then SOMERSET, also airing a half-hour early. BRIGHT PROMISE, along with other preempted NBC shows Concentration and Joe Garagiola's Memory Game, aired on independent station KTNT. Dinah's Place aired out of pattern, after SOMERSET.

Jasmine? Ron would love it -- he'd bring back Marie-Alise Recasner as Lynn Burke for some cutesy lines about her and Lexie having beef 'cause each thinks the other ghosted her in college.

Thoughts on OLTL, 11/28/88-12/9/88: -- I'm making the ensemble share the crown for this fortnight, because like I said, the exploding wedding cake and reveal that Steve Holden died from its impact wouldn't have worked as well as it did if everyone didn't play it straight. Even though everyone shares the crown, obviously special attention goes to De Paiva and Brock. On the one hand, since I'm watching in 2021 and knew what to expect, some of the lead-up did feel drawn out (I liked that Wanda's assistants lampshaded how annoying Ursula was getting about the cake being handled just so). On the other hand, I liked the influx of drama with the Holden brothers, that Max discovered Steve (foolishly) worked for Michael. The explosion's aftermath had some nice details like Asa making sure that Llanview was still structurally sound and Viki talking about dealing with nosy neighbors. -- Ha, after my commenting that Viki was subtly having "I slept with this guy?!" feelings regarding Leo, then she came out with them. That whole interlude with Linda Donovan (played by a woman I feel like I should recognize) was a bit silly. I know Linda was fulfilling a mission, but she could have read the room better and eased Viki into some fun, not been automatically "Beach Boys! Far out! Yeah! Let's dance to 'Surfin' USA'!" -- Gabrielle confronting Max after he's lost the Holden Towers is structured so similarly to the sixth season finale of Dynasty that I started imagining Gaby saying things like "Take this junk, and your blonde tramp ..." -- So, was that it for Virgil? In stuff that didn't make the upload, he got rebuffed by Wanda and then knocked out by Ursula. Then, in stuff that did make the upload, he apparently went back to Heaven? Poor Wanda, not getting to know what happened to him. -- I'm so glad to know that Renee was such a devoted, mother hen of a madam. During the scene where it's apparent that she doesn't know "Candy", I started singing "Little Bitty Pissant Country Place" from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. -- You could cut the tension with a knife when Roger and Sarah ran into Cord and Tina. I'm glad Tina let the ex-couple have their final moment. And yeah, by this point, we're unmistakably into the courtship of Bo and Sarah. -- Gabrielle can claim she's into Michael all she wants (and he can creepily manhandle her; foreshadowing to their wedding day trauma?), we know what's up when she was distraught and ran like hell after thinking Max died. -- Ursula acting like a demented Goldilocks while at Stonehurst is just too much fun. Also, throwing it out there -- I know I should think Mari Lyn was a gullible moron, but for some reason I can't. Wade's line about "undoing some of the damage you've done" was way harsh, Tai! -- Notice the sorta-blooper? Larry referred to having lost Laurel when he talked to Brenda. But not Meredith. What's up with that? -- Tina and Cord's honeymoon in Spain was mentioned in David Sedaris' "Santaland Diaries," although what David described didn't entirely appear in the upload. He remembered Cord being challenged to a duel by the bullfighter, when really the guy ended up having Cord help in the ring. For what it's worth, "Sleighbell" did an impressive flamenco dance, as David indicated. (Well, impressive to me, anyway.) -- Okay, so here's where we're at with Eterna ... we know (but Viki and Christine don't) that Leo and Christine are frauds. We also get the whole sordid story of the city, its slave caretakers and the founders' greed straight from Michael. Favorite detail: the Eterna uniforms were mentioned from the get go.

More comments to come later today/tonight, but I'll say this right now: as absurd as Cake Boom is after the fact, it was executed perfectly. Not a detail was missed in the lead-up and the aftermath was handled with a great deal of respect. This is how you do a soap tragedy. And then, when that's all wrapped up, we get a day of Michael delivering Eterna 101.

And didn't David date Linda Dano's character, Cynthia, for a minute?

Thanks! I wonder what Rob will do during that time.

Thoughts on 11/21/88-11/23/88: Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving, SONs and Llanview residents! Viki/Leo/Christine/Michael -- I was pleasantly surprised by how engrossing the scenes where Christine learns Viki's her mother, and then later, Viki brings Christine up to speed about what supposedly happened in 1963. It clearly helps that this is all being played and presented as absolutely straight, with no ambiguity. I'm really going to be curious how things play out when the deception is apparent. Or was it teased from the get-go and I just haven't picked up on it? Anyway, at this point, Leo is the weakest link. I get that he can't get out from under Michael's control, and it turns out that he was right about Christine freaking out about the news, but at this point, I want him just to shut up and let the women have their ultimately phony moment. Speaking of the women, I am loving the support Viki's getting from Renee (and Bo) right now. And yeah, Niki Smith in the Peace Corps? As if! Ursula/Tina/Cord/Mari Lynn/Wade -- As great as Erika and Susan Floyd are in these episodes, I've got to give my crown to Jill. Ursula's just so much fun here. I'm getting such a kick out of her continued outrage over Tina's existence. "A sterling silver dish for sweets. For the woman who has everything and doesn't deserve it." It was also hilarious that the experience of preparing a Thanksgiving turkey inspired Ursula to come up with her bomb idea. Grim comedy aside, I also liked that Mari Lynn and Wade weren't presented as easily-manipulated morons. Okay, so Ursula posing as Candy Sweet is dependent on Mari Lynn accepting circumstantial evidence (and the fact that they're meeting for the first time). Somehow Mari Lynn comes across as reasonably smart, in allowing someone she thinks is a sex worker who knew her mom and Renee and is avoiding violence from her ex-lover/pimp to stay at the carriage house. Although Wade has a point about the idea of someone showing up (little does he know!). And again, how can you not love Tina and Cord so happy together? Max/Asa -- To paraphrase A Chorus Line, "Doug Wert out!, James De Paiva IN!" I've tried to keep myself spoiler-free, but I see that Asa will get WVLE. And the Holden Tower was once the hotel that Asa owned and then gave to Pamela (and Renee will get in the future?). Paging the historians! Rob/Cassie -- Looks like it's the end of the line for these two. She just can't trust him anymore and it that's the case, they'll never work out. I'm assuming Mark Arnold was done after the Nov. 22 episode. Bo/Drew -- Maybe it's me, but I get the impression that getting rid of SORASed-too-soon Drew was OLTL trying to put aside a mistake made during the writers strike. And who knows, maybe the attitude was that having Bo as father of a teenager would cause too much attention on the 14-year age gap between Robert S. Woods and Jensen Buchanan?

That whole Game Over episode was (used to be?) on YouTube. I wish I could find it. The Nola and Kelly stuff is worth the price of admission, but there's also the moment when Bea and Tony have had it with Nola and at the very end, the unsinkable Miss R. starts plotting her comeback.

Boston, May 1987 WBZ, the NBC station, only aired the 11 a.m. hour, Wheel of Fortune and Scrabble, of the network's games. They also didn't air Another World, having a Days of Our Lives and Santa Barbara block from 2-4 p.m. (WJAR, the Providence station, aired all three soaps, plus the aforementioned games and Sale of the Century at 10. It was the lead-in to Cross-Wits.) WCVB, the ABC station, aired all five soaps, with the noon news bookended by Ryan's Hope and Loving. (WMUR in Manchester aired everything in pattern, including the 11 a.m. programming of Fame, Fortune and Romance -- a network version of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous -- and Webster reruns. WPRI in Providence aired everything, but moved Webster to 10:30 and also aired Ryan's Hope as the lead-in to news.) WNEV, the CBS station, aired all four soaps and The Price Is Right in pattern. However, they aired Pyramid (on a delay?) at 9:30 a.m. and didn't air Card Sharks.

Thanks so much!

If I remember right, Ursula never died. She just remained at Statesville. It seems that once Jill started playing Opal, there was no more interest (availability?) in having her play Ursula again. Something I forgot to mention was how much I liked Ursula's interactions with the obligatory mental hospital nurse who gets along with her and later, the red-headed Jane Doe she's able to convince is "Ursula Blackwell." I understand that Jill was in one of the early productions of Terrence McNally's It's Only a Play. I'd have loved to have seen that.