Franko

Catching up on this thread ... Harrower's material comes off better than my first impression. I'm just not a big fan of Laura's exit (I love @beebs' solutions for making Kate Roberts/Lucas' conception more believable) and the upcoming Julie storyline. I've said it before: it's breaking my heart how badly SS was wasted on DOOL. Note to self: don't take beebs for brunch at Bernie's Beanery. (I repeat, Mary, you shoulda got that ring on your finger when you had the chance!) I'm definitely looking forward to Alex and Marie's storyline.

I mean, wouldn't that just be delicious?

I wonder if the writers were being cheeky, having Maggie, a recovering alcoholic, singing and dancing to a song made famous by fellow substance abuser Judy Garland. You're gonna flip when you read some of what I read. It's hard not to imagine Elizabeth giving barely coded pick-me-ups to Susan through the writing. As awful as it sounds, at this point I just want Margo to die already.

I jumped ahead and skimmed the SOD summaries for 1979. Elizabeth Harrower seemed hell-bent on getting Susan Seaforth-Hayes an Emmy, to the detriment of Rosemary Forsyth in particular (in my opinion).

I love it!

Why, it was the Nurses Ball before the Nurses Ball!

LIVE, from Salem, it's the Cathode Machine Variety Show! I've heard of the Marx Brothers routine, and I remember reading that Julie also did a striptease while Doug sang, but it's news to me about Donna and Margo's dance number. I mean, who doesn't want to see those two do the Charleston? Well, duh. Oh, Mary, you should have let him put a ring on it. *dramatic chord*

Excellent stuff, @JAS0N47. Interesting how this stuff changed, like Marie and Bill's birth order switching.

According to the family album, published in 1995 ... Tom Jr. and Addie were 34 in 1965. Mickey was 33 and Bill was 25. Marie was 23. Also, Julie was the first born grandchild, sometime around 1949-50. It sounds as though Steve, two years younger than her, was just slightly older than Sandy, who was born before Tommy "died" in '53 but never met her dad until her teens.

You just made me imagine Iris 2.0 as a Tina Brown/Anna Wintour/Devil Wears Prada type, which would certainly have been fun for her after the Chief and Red Swan business was taken care of.

Or Charlie Sheen insisting he was "winning" ...

Great work as usual, @beebs. Where to begin? While it's fun to imagine Ann Marcus attempting a kamikaze mission with the Donna story, I fear/suspect that she and the NBC brass were loving it in the moment. "Why, we can have sex and young people and intrigue, like they do on The Young and the Restless and All My Children!" It's fascinating to compare and contrast DOOL's struggles with the more successful modernizing going on under the Dobsons at GL and Marland at GH. Wow, Bob really had to be thick-headed. I'd sympathize with him if he wasn't the weakest link in the extended Anderson story. I don't suppose Mike's sexual curiosity re-emerged while cooped up in that pit with Chris? Did Margo wait at home, taking her mind off her troubles by happily planning her funeral? Goodbye, Janice (and, for your own sake, don't come back). I had no idea about Doug and Maggie. I wonder if anybody shipped them.

Throwing it out there: Solomon Horton (Tom's long-lost Jewish brother). Also, nobody informed the judge about Janice's accident? @Titus Andronicus, don't forget that less than a decade later, she'll come back and end up in a triangle with Mike and Bill before being killed by Harper Deveraux. The sad thing is, Maggie did end up opening doors and pouring coffee for a long time after her return. Lanna Saunders' comments about the missing Hortons at Bo and Hope's wedding reminds me of how GL fans (justifiably) won't cut the show slack for how they handled Bert and Maureen's funerals. Also, how about Sherri Anderson admitting Maggie's alcoholism was poorly received?!

Ah, thank you. Realistic of DOOL, to depict a long estrangement like that.

Catching up with both juicy posts ... 1975: -- It's always interesting to see the colder side of Alice Horton. Trying to remember ... was the estrangement with Julie because she conceived Doug's baby while still legally wed to Bob? (ETA: Nope, the baby was Bob's. My homegirl, Brooke, just made everyone think Julie was cheating.) -- I'd love to see that Brooke scene. Whether Brooke or Stephanie, she's always so fascinating. Another of the characters who shouldn't have been lost in 1980. 1978: -- Considering how negatively affected Doug and Julie were by SORASing, it's frankly a good thing they didn't have a kid of their own. -- I first accidentally misread the sentence and thought Linda's friendship with Maggie was being questioned. I didn't know Mickey and Linda were still on friendly terms, but I guess it helped that there was Melissa, plus being members of Salem society ... -- If she doesn't have one already, Donna's gonna end up with such an Electra complex ... -- Hooray, Stephanie is here. And I see Bob has a Make Salem Great Again platform.

It's interesting, though ... Steve Olson had temporarily returned to the show during the summer of '72. What on earth happened to make the writers decide to get rid of a relatively established potential young male lead and have a new one?

Looks like Eure began as Mike in June 1974, with the character reappearing after a six-month absence. Guthrie began as David in May 1975, with the character reappearing after a two-year absence.

Sexually confused, followed by mental anguish from "Dad" and eventually Mom, then a dying wife. If there's anyone entitled to a pity party in '70s Salem, it's Mike.

I should mention Mike and Margo had other, more normal looking wedding photos ... ... but the one I posted first was the one I first saw for them. I initially thought she was blind. Now, onto the recap: -- In case you didn't know, @beebs, Suzanne Rogers won a Daytime Emmy for her work in 1978-79. Things musta improved dramatically (pun intended). DOOL's other acting nominees were John Clarke, Jed Allan, Susan Seaforth Hayes and Frances Reid. Not only that, but the show, its direction and its writing (!) were all nominated. -- Donna's story will never stop sounding gross. -- "I Know My First Name Is Timmy: The Scotty Banning Story." -- Well, I guess Frances earned that Emmy nod with Alice counseling Margo.

My god, it sounds like an extended game of "Can you top this?" I'm waiting for Marlena to be kidnapped, then hit by a bus when fleeing. And the writers really needed to make up their minds about Donna, who's coming across as bipolar. Nah, Trish is making a sword-and-sandal movie, I think. Mike and Margo's wedding, of course, resulted in an unintentionally hilarious photo. If I was Rosemary Forsyth, I'd feel resentful that my formerly front-burner character is doing very little at the moment. At least Edward Malloy has hospital scenes.

Fascinating stuff as always, @beebs, even if the stories themselves range from tune in tomorrow (the Andersons, plus Neil and Chris) to Dear God, make it stop already! (Trish). We've said it before, but not properly utilizing Steve Olson/SS has to be one of DOOL's biggest missed opportunities. "When I'm done with her."? "When I'm done with her."! Jeez Louise, Mickey and Maggie could hardly be blamed for worrying about little Janice.

It sounds like she did. From the AWHP: Courtney left June 12, 1970 for a year's leave of absence, but she returned to pre-tape scenes that were spaced out over that time period. These appearances include: September 24 and 28, October 9, and November 2, 1970. She returned full time on July 7, 1971.

Thank you for getting that up, @Vee. I watched, and it was magical. Wolf was furious. "With all due respect, and we've known each other a long time -- you don't know what you're talking about." She also called Wolf out for repeating Andrew Yang's talking points. Her: "Thank you. Your sensitivity to our constituents ..." Him: "I am sensitive."

Shoot, I might have to reclaim this story for if/when I ever write a soap myself.

Thanks. I see it as a slow burner. Maggie has an extra drink or two at Christmas and New Year's, then other parties, then with dinner, then without dinner. It doesn't have to be a cliché if it's told honestly and relatably.