Franko

And so there are seven: Biden, Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Gabbard, Klobuchar, Sanders, Warren I have to imagine at least half of them are out of the race by Wednesday. (Also, if Steyer is genuine, he'd turn his attention to flipping the Senate/keeping the House.)

The Terms of Endearment theme over that Jeremy & Erica scene ... It's a bit of music that made the daytime rounds. CBS used it to promote the soaps during its 1984-85 affiliate reel. Anyway, I wonder if it was just for the promo or used in the actual episode.

There was material for the older and/or longer-running actors during JFP's run as executive producer. Justine's reign of terror. The Sharlene/John/Felicia triangle. Michael's return and how it affected Donna & Matthew. Cecile's return and the tease that Maggie was Cass' daughter. I'm just skeptical that any of these stories are well-regarded.

When rejected sitcom themes are used to advertise soaps ... Also, I know it wasn't directly affected, but not even a mention for ol' GL?

"Okay, fine, I admit it -- I was born a conjoined twin! My long-lost sibling is the former Milton Moorehead of Syosset, Long Island!"

Forgive the generalization, but there are way too many people in politics who want to be able to say 1+1=3 and get away with it.

Bernie would show up to the opening of a door. And the bros and gos would insist a door had never been open in such a way before.

The Tonight Show's talent booker just had the weirdest sensation all of a sudden ... (Never forget the Hairfluff Follies and how damn hard the MSM will work to legitimize anything.)

Oh, I know. I just would have liked a little more. On the other hand, there is something poignant about Val not having any big adventures during her time alone. It makes her time in California all the more special. I'd definitely have Val and Gary's long-lost son getting along in the end. Leading up to it, though, I'd have moments where he's confused and more than a little defensive about their budding friendship. Mommie Dearest, of course, is hella-jealous and unashamedly pouring on the guilt. It seems like the best place to introduce Aaron* and Eve** would be in 1987-88. Granted, they'd be coming off the long "Who is Paige, really?" storyline, so this time around, it'd be best not to drag things out. The ninth season also works because we'd be getting Jill just as she goes off the deep end and the show did have some money for new actors (sorry Constance and Julie). *After Aaron Southworth **After Russ Tamblyn's repressive mother in Peyton Place The first (and not at all best) casting ideas that just popped into my head were Peter Reckell (hey, he's joining the show anyway ...) and Miss "Welcome to My Home" herself, Brenda Dickson.

And suppose he just happened to like Jill better than Val? (Not knowing what Jill's capable of, of course.)

Val herself said it just before slapping Abby: "I see him the same way I've seen him since I was 15 years old." I'm a little surprised the show never tried to get more mileage out of Gary and Val's missing years. There was nearly two decades to play with.

A few years prior, Laura Webber was living in a commune (I think that was the story that introduced Genie?). And if memory serves, around this time or shortly after, Karen Wolek briefly had Marco stay at a commune when he was wigging out over the stress of his double life. Back to David Canary for a moment ... that's some caftan.

Couldn't stand her, or her boyfriend Cecil. I will concede that the writers were probably scrambling after Josh Ryan Evans' death and I'm sure there was a desire to keep the dynamic of Tabitha and a short/young companion. Ultimately, Kay ended up being Tabitha's best foil after Timmy.

I'm repeating myself, but I firmly believe there is a section of Americans who honest-to-God believe Hillary Clinton is somehow responsible for their problems. They have convinced themselves they need a boogeywoman.

Maybe Stefano was a masochist. Marlena "killed" him in 1985 and from there on out, he just couldn't help but wuv her. Granted, it was from afar until 1994, but ...

And if that doesn't work, an alley fight it is. (Sorry, I ended up seeing Harlem Nights over the weekend. It, uh, lives up to its reputation.)

Why on earth would the columnist think the 1981-83 opening credits were blatantly similar to the ones running on SFT and OLTL at the time? Am I missing something?

Bringing back Pat Randolph on GL would have been genius. It's not like AW or NBC was doing anything with her.

Roman has deserved much better than he's gotten since 1991. It didn't have to be a game of King of the Mountain. And I want to say he regained his memory from being struck by lightning in Aremid.

I'm intrigued by how Marlena would have spent the rest of the '90s sans John and Roman. Would she become more of a talk-to character (as Maggie was)? Would we have gotten storylines with Marlena and Laura collaborating on patients? Could Eric have come back sooner? Or Johnny, the now-adult she nearly adopted in the '80s? What if the show ripped off Another World and had Marlena and Stefano becoming a genuinely loving couple?

Yes, definitely. The show just could not re-create the magic, no matter how hard they tried. I re-watched a few episodes from the mid-2000s and found myself thinking how pointless it was to saddle Tabitha with Baby Endora (and her speech bubbles).

I could see that happening. I'll see if I can't find anything from that time frame.

Western Washington area, August 1981: KOMO, the ABC station in Seattle, aired EDGE at 9:30 a.m. The station ran The Brady Bunch at 3. EDGE could also be seen at 3 p.m. on CBUT, the CBC station in Vancouver. Family Feud and ABC's four other soaps aired at the same time (11:00 a.m.-3 p.m.) on KOMO and CKVU, an independent station in Vancouver. KING, the NBC station, aired Seattle Today rather than Las Vegas Gambit, Blockbusters and Wheel of Fortune (which all aired 9-10:30 a.m. on KCPQ, an independent station in Tacoma). Password Plus, Card Sharks and the four soaps all ran in pattern (10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.) on KING, with AW also airing at 1 on CHEK and CHAN, the CTV stations in Victoria and Vancouver. TEXAS didn't air at 2 p.m. in Victoria, passed up for The Alan Thicke Show. KIRO, the CBS station in Seattle, aired TPIR at 10 and Y&R at 11 a.m., followed by news and the rest of the soaps. KVOS, the CBS station in Bellingham, aired Y&R at 10 a.m., followed by Dick Van Dyke reruns, SFT at 11:30, Donahue at 12, John Davidson at 1 and the Alice/Jeffersons rerun block at 2.

ABC's fall '76 lineup with lower Michigan affiliates (five stations) 11:30 a.m.: Happy Days reruns (did not air in Traverse City, which aired The 700 Club) 12 p.m.: Hot Seat (aired at 10:30 a.m. in Flint and Grand Rapids, which both aired news at 12) 12:30 p.m.: All My Children (aired statewide) 1 p.m.: Ryan's Hope (aired statewide) 1:30 p.m.: Family Feud (aired statewide) 2 p.m.: The $20,000 Pyramid (aired statewide) 2:30 p.m.: One Life to Live (aired statewide) 3:15 p.m.: General Hospital (aired statewide) 4 p.m.: The Edge of Night (aired at 11 a.m. in Detroit, which aired a movie at 4; also aired at 11 a.m. in Flint, which aired The Wild, Wild West reruns at 4; aired at 11 a.m. in Grand Rapids, which aired The Flintstones; aired at 11 a.m. in Battle Creek, which aired Speed Racer)

NBC's fall '76 lineup with lower Michigan's five stations: 10 a.m.: Sanford and Son reruns (aired statewide) 10:30 a.m.: Celebrity Sweepstakes (aired statewide) 11 a.m.: Wheel of Fortune (aired statewide) 11:30 a.m.: The Hollywood Squares (aired statewide) 12 p.m.: The Fun Factory (Cheboygan/Traverse City aired Lassie reruns; Detroit aired To Tell the Truth; Bay City and Grand Rapids aired news) 12:30 p.m.: The Gong Show (Detroit, which aired The Gong Show at 9:30 a.m., ran news in this slot; Grand Rapids aired The Mike Douglas Show) 1 p.m.: Open half-hour (Cheboygan/Traverse City and Bay City aired The Fun Factory; Detroit and Jackson aired Somerset) 1:30 p.m.: Days of Our Lives (aired statewide) 2:30 p.m.: The Doctors (aired statewide) 3 p.m.: Another World (aired statewide) 4 p.m.: Somerset (Cheyboygan/Traverse City and Grand Rapids aired cartoons; Detroit aired Dinah!; Bay City aired Dark Shadows reruns; Jackson aired children's programming)