Franko

It was, yes. For this to work (and that's a big "for"), Scott would have to have been living incognito in Port Charles (not outside the realm of possibility) at the time he hooked up with Heather. Personally, I'd prefer if Franco (who I forgot *isn't* Jason's twin, so my parentage objection is now voided) was conceived in 1983 and born in 1984.

According to Wikipedia, so grains of salt ... "Back when Laura had requested a divorce from Scott, he was consumed with anger and grief, and had gotten intoxicated at Kelly's one night. Heather, who was also drunk, had found him there, and that is when Franco was conceived."

Unless I'm wrong, Scott was off canvas by the time that Heather came back. By the time Scott returned, Jason (and Franco) was born. Don't get me wrong, I'm not automatically opposed to a Scott and Heather child, but to try and have it have happened in that time frame doesn't work for me.

See also, Scott and Heather being Franco's parents, with the conception taking place circa 1980-81. It's. Just. Not. Possible.

God, it's like watching two nuclear warheads get disarmed, but you don't immediately realize it.

Marcia McCabe as Laurel on AMC.

The McKenzies weren't above hyping their own myth, either. See the "Karennmack" "Macknkaren" exchange (from the last season, I think.)

It was actually part of the 30th anniversary celebration. Wednesday, April 7 according to the 1993 summaries.

Oh, KDP as Dorothy Lyman's daughter is a brilliant idea.

I could be wrong, but I think it's Linden House.

I can't speak for Vee, but I accept the apology. Back to OLTL, I had the craziest idea: suppose the show had kept Blair Asian and had Kassie DePaiva play (a significantly embittered) Mari-Lyn Dennison?

Thanks for that Alan and Monica history, @ironlion! I've recently been interested in that period where Alan and Monica are living together in name only and he starts the affair with Susan. You would think that Alan wouldn't want to get with his brother-in-law's ex-mistress, but I guess beggars can't be choosers. Also, it's interesting that Monica originally was okay with the affair, at least as a means to ensure that she'd keep A.J. and get a divorce settlement. Somewhere down the line, she regained feelings for Alan.

Between his father's money and the money that Natalie inherited from one of her patients, ol' Timmy had the potential to live large if the writers wanted to go there.

While Dallas and MSW couldn't cross over, it does seem rather obvious that Barbara Bel Geddes and Howard Keel's last storyline involving the mystery of Weststar shareholders all dying was a bit of follow the leader.

Lots of scenes in The Loving Murders would count, but this one's up there. I'll also nominate Gabrielle on OLTL watching Garrick Grande die and then switching him with the still-living Steve McGillis (and vice-versa). I did not expect to feel so gut-punched by that one, but here we are.

I don't know if it's true, but I once heard that Patty Duke was on MSW's "don't hire" list.

One of the things that I think was key to Jessica, both in how she was played and presented, and often in spite of her actions, is that she never came across as a busybody. Characters wanted her to hang around and help, and if they didn't, that usually meant something was wrong with them. It's easier said than done to create a character who doesn't come across as making fun of the concept or cloying*. *Not to derail the thread, but a friend and I have been discussing ostensibly lovable characters on shows like The Office, Brooklyn Nine Nine and Parks and Recreation.

Perfect (accidental) timing, the Daisy Awards episode being posted the day the Oscar hostesses were announced. One of these days I'll give full commentary, but for now I'll note that Spring's clip seems to be a parody of Dark Shadows.

Doris is an interesting possibility. If the production of her sitcom is any indication, she would have taken anything given to her and tried her darndest to make it work. On the other hand, she was probably okay with not wanting another go-around with the marathon of being on a weekly TV series.

Before I forget, I should mention the YouTuber PushingUpRoses, who has done several hilarious recaps of MSW.

That is some writing music right there! (Seriously, sometimes when I need to get motivated, I put on the Murder, She Wrote theme.) YES!

@Paul Raven mentioned that Jean Stapleton was first in line for the role of Jessica. Jean's a TV legend, certainly, but I can't see her version of MSW lasting as long. It might have made a fun casting gag if Jean (or Julie Andrews) played Eudora in "Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall." People on MSW did tend to face the end of life as they currently know it with an absurd amount of stoicism.

The joke that Jessica Fletcher is the world's most prolific uncaught serial killer has been done to death, but when you have her looking so merry after so many murders, it starts to make some sense.

Thank you, @Khan. I know what you mean with Jessica's head shakes and I liked that she varied them up. Sometimes it was with righteousness ("So long, scum!"). Sometimes it was with a little despair ("And to think that my dear friend trusted you.").

Yup, that's true. And also, the gap between GH and OLTL's ratings was fairly wide for much of the latter show's early years.