Franko

That's Ellen Foley, who's playing an apparently shady girlfriend of Pete O'Neill's. Alas, the role's not on Ellen's IMDB page. And the girl would be Julie Ann Johnson as Joy O'Neill.

Oh, Sable and Connie were on a whole different level. I'd go so far as to say Connie was the best overall rival for Sable, followed by Alexis and then finally Frankie (a lot of that has to do with Katherine Ross). I definitely agree with you about Krystle. Linda Evans had a nice balance of authoritative and elegant. There used to be a clip on YouTube from the Krystle in the attic storyline. George Hamilton and Rita are going over footage of how Krystle carries herself, how Rita's going to have to get it just right. It's a little kooky, but also 100 percent correct.

I like this scene:

I'm glad you touched upon the parody aspect, because I want to throw it out to the other readers. Did Passions work as a parody? I say yes in the sense that it frequently had humor, but no in the sense that it didn't have something to balance it against. There's gotta be something, like a distinct sense of style (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), excellent acting and genuine emotion (Soap at its best) or an apparent affection for the material (Carol Burnett's As the Stomach Turns sketches, Acorn Antiques).

That's a thread topic of its own -- revisiting the masculinity (or femininity) of soap characters.

Popping in to share a few observations, so please forgive the multiple quotes. Ships in the night. I started watching on the third week, which stands out because I remember thinking it would be fun to follow a soap right from the beginning. You and I might be roughly the same age (I was 10 going on 11 that summer). A lot of the leading ladies were stellar -- I'd also include Kathleen Noone in that list -- but in retrospect, it's a case of "for this?" As for the second point -- indeed! Between Days and Passions, 1999-2005 had quite the bumper crop of guys who helped me realize it wasn't a phase. Tabitha's constant quest to kill Charity was a pretty good hook, I must say. On the other hand, I'm not surprised the show eventually switched gears with Tabitha, since Juliet (and Josh Ryan Evans prior to his death) was sort of the show's mascot. "It's fate, Whitney! It really is!" Uh, no, bitch. I always thought Hartley was beautiful and charismatic, but she got stuck with such an off-putting character. Don't forget Galen. Luis' rage-boners about the Cranes were always good for an unintentional laugh. I'm just speculating here, but I suspect Maureen was replaced because Andrea Evans would be more distinct opposite Kim Johnston Ulrich. Why have two blondes when you can have a blonde and a reddish blonde? Still, it is fun to imagine how Maureen would have handled Rebecca and Julian's wackier moments. Then again, maybe the show would have gone a different direction with those two. It really didn't. Off the top of my head, it took a year for Theresa to break up Ethan and Gwen the first time and two years for Ethan's paternity to be revealed.

Or India's dad, the baron. Did he ever appear on GL? I could see DD doing well with the imperious factor.

No worries. Thank you.

Would you please upload the Stacy's death episode? I've never seen it. If not, I understand.

I didn't know Marco married Maxie (the coffee table book didn't include *that* tidbit). Dorian LoPinto looks really pretty here. Poor Christine's a bit like Fannie Flagg.

SAY WHAT? Mary Stuart played Jo and Kate the ex-madam?! Gosh, I hope those two characters had scenes together.

Boy, just imagine being an ATWT fan who also takes in NYC theater. Seeing "Lisa" one day, then being surprised to catch Eileen in VIRGINIA WOOLF by day and THE FANTASTICKS at night.

Over on the soap hoppers thread, it was revealed Sarah Michelle Geller played flower girls on both EON and GL. While I didn't have any luck finding her on the former, here's what I'm taking as proof she appeared on the latter. Also, please drink in the opulence of this affair.

I thought so, too. The Paris remote that introduced Olympia was in August 1980. Olympia apparently hung around until January 1982. I'm either remembering the anecdote wrong (from the anniversary book) or Erika combined a few years.

I'm reminded of Erika's anecdote about watching from home to see Bo, Viki's intended, end up with Pat. The writers must have kicked the Clint/Viki romance into high gear when Erika came back, since they were married in November 1982.

Bonus points if they tried to re-create the lineup from that era and shortly after. SFT at 12:30, ATWT in the 1 p.m. hour (to represent the classic 1:30 slot), AW at 2 p.m., TGL at 3 p.m. and EON at 4 p.m. (or 12 if they'd prefer a solid block). Run Texas at 11 a.m. when it comes time to air and one could have a P&G overload. (Or, as The Doctors' sponsor might say, "you're soaking in it.")

I'm curious/hopeful that they'll make it to the end. What's the situation re: popular music and The Doctors? I know rights issues were what kept post-1981 episodes of Ryan's Hope from airing on SoapNet.

Does anyone here have a copy of Love, Honor and Cherish? I remember the date was listed there. The wedding episodes were Elaine Princi's last as Dorian, and Robin apparently returned on Friday, Feb. 19th. With that info, and the proximity to Valentine's Day, I'll take a shot in the dark and guess Friday, Feb. 12.

Those latest uploads are a trip around the world and then some.

*@#$ing drugs.

It's funny. I prefer to think of Pine Valley as a cozy village, but it's not out of the blue to imagine a few fine families (like Phoebe's kin, the Englishs) having their summer places there.

Those are a hoot, from the stilted readings to the poor video quality.

Like @j swift, I've been reading the Classic Soap Opera Digest Tumblr. One thing I've just realized is that 1990 was an across-the-board bad year for female Hortons. Hope died. Jennifer was raped. Alice had heart issues. Maggie got hit by a wall during the storm. Julie came back divorced. Melissa ended up losing Emilio. And didn't the Maggie and Neil affair start that year, causing Sarah angst? (ETA: Yes it did, and Sarah ended up in a coma, too.) Laura was lucky to be in the sanitarium. Ditto Sandy out in Hawaii. And Marie wherever she was.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler? Even then, I had to Google to find out she has MS.

Like Adam Carrington, I think Heather's issues were a combination of inherent evil and a bad trip.