alwaysAMC

Previews for next week - it looks like we get a slap! The way Leslie is holding her face, I assume Anita slapped her. Also curious by the last clip - was that creepy Alison attacking Chelsea?

I thought it was telling when Anita made it a point to say to Vernon that the only man who hasn't cheated on his wife is Vernon. That immediately made me think he's cheated and they purposefully added that line because of it.

This firefighter that Ashley is talking to is 🔥 So hot, they need to keep him around. He should have been cast as Derek instead LOL. He's already a better actor too.

Josh's hair in that era just kills me LOL. I also noticed in that episode that Tina Sloan hasn't aged a bit ~10 years later in 1997! Re: little Alan in a suit... I could totally imagine Barron Trump like that in his childhood. 😂

YES! The Blake storyline was so weird to me only because it came out of the blue, only lasted like 8-10 days max, and we never saw Blake's POV. But you're right, how does she not think to find somewhere to use a phone to call someone? And then yeah, having Amanda and Roger at Matt's house-building party was especially odd. They were all randomly kumbaya'ing together with beer and hammers like they belonged. It was weird.

Yeah this June storyline is so full of issues. I know there is a father, but LOL at tiny a$$ June next to those bigger/taller "teens". Hmm, so is Kat really asexual or is Tomas just bad in bed? Maybe Tomas just doesn't know what to do...

Can't wait, this looks good! A few observations: 1) barely any Heather, which is interesting; 2) Brittani doesn't seem to be a full-time housewife, just a friend again; and 3) seems appropriate that they're finally going to Greece LOL.

I’m up to July 31, 1997. Jesse ends up getting thrown in jail because he missed his probation appointment due to meeting Michelle. Griffin is representing him, which upsets Marcus given he thinks Jesse was trying to rape Michelle the night he ‘saved’ her (he was not trying to rape her). Michelle realizes Jesse can’t read, which he finally admits to. He keeps pushing her away and keeps alluding to how he hates the Bauer’s. I’m enjoying Jesse so far, but it makes me wonder why they never gave J and Michelle a chance. J hasn’t been used in several months, which is odd. Wait, I wonder if Jesse has Maureen’s heart… hmm. I hope not because that would be a little weird to have Michelle fall in love with a guy that has her mother’s heart. Jesse finally tells Michelle that he hates the Bauers because her father (Ed) killed his mother one night when he was drunk. She feels bad about it and continues to be nice to him and they finally kiss on the beach. Dahlia is auditioning for some producer named Sugar Hill, who surprise - is played by Taye Diggs! Marcus/Dahlia show up to the Towers which has now been redesigned and looks more modern. It’s daytime, so I can’t tell yet if I like it or not. I was just thinking that the Towers set hasn’t been used in forever, which is sad because it’s so lux and my favorite set on this show. Reva plans to move in with Josh, so she gifts her house to Abby (which she confirmed that Alan gave it to her post-Goshen for free). Josh files for divorce from Annie. Annie/Alan go to Reva’s house and hand-delivers the signed divorce papers to Josh and then gives him back her wedding ring. Outside, as they leave, Alan and Annie kiss and Annie vows to get revenge on Reva/Josh! Eventually, Reva decides she doesn’t want Shayne to see Annie in prison, so she agrees to drop any charges against Annie. The judge says Annie can be freed from any perjury charges as long as she vows to turn her life around (LOL, I don’t think it works that way, but ok). Annie is now determined to find Reva’s sister in hopes she’ll turn out to be a disaster for Reva. She finds out her name is Cassie Layne and later learns that she has a 6-year old girl named Tammy. Matt, Dinah and Hart end up telling Bill that Vanessa is alive and he’s livid and lunges at Matt for not telling him sooner. Michael ends up kissing Vanessa and then runs off. Vanessa confronts him about it and he tells her about the lady that died that he was helping, who happened to look just like Vanessa. Vanessa then leaves Michael a letter that she can’t be around him anymore because it breaks his heart too much that she reminds him of his dead ex. Matt finds Michael alone and starts fighting him and Michael tells Matt they know Dinah/Matt are together, which Matt then corrects. Matt reads Vanessa’s letter about her leaving and gets upset. Later, Michael tells Matt/Dinah/Hart that Roger knew about Vanessa being alive, which pisses them all off. They confront Roger about it and he confesses that Vanessa is alive. Roger tells Matt she wants nothing to do with him. Dinah then uses WSPR to air breaking news of her pleading to Vanessa to come home, and that Matt/Dinah are not together and they all love/miss her. Sadly, Vanessa didn’t get to see the TV because she left the diner just before it started. The waitress watches the TV though and sees the picture of Vanessa that Dinah shows and realizes it was her customer that just left. The waitress calls up Dinah and tells her Vanessa was there (which was 50 miles north of Springfield). But now, Matt is determined to finish the lake house that he and Vanessa were meant to live the rest of their lives in. He thinks if he finishes the house, Vanessa will come back. In a random turn of events, Michael decides to help Matt and then Reva/Josh come by to help as well. Then everyone else in town shows up with food and tools LOL (Nola, Lillian, Amanda, Roger, Fletcher, Holly, Dahlia, Hart, Dinah). Meanwhile, Vanessa is driving at night and comes across a lady in white in the middle of the road. Come to find out, it’s Vanessa and she gets into her car…. Hmm, so this must be her imagination, but fake Vanessa tries to talk her into going back home to Matt. Of course she gets distracted, loses control of the car and crashes. She’s fine though. After more talks with her ‘conscience’, she seems determined to go back home. Oh, then Rick shows up to the house and he recognizes Michael and can’t quite place it, so he’s asking more questions about his time in Chicago as a doctor. He realizes he was the doctor who had a patient that died, but then this doesn’t really go anywhere. Blake went away and left a cryptic message to Holly that she’s in trouble and needs help. Ross and Holly work with the police to find Blake, but the police say they have a body in the morgue they want them to identify! Ross looks at the body and breaks down because thankfully it wasn’t Blake. After hours of waiting, Blake shows up at the house and everyone celebrates that she’s home, while Ross kisses her and professes his love to her. This was a very random, dramatic week-long storyline that seemed out of place haha. I guess it was a way to get Ross/Blake back together by allowing him to miss her and fear she was dead. Come to find out, her purse was stolen, her cell phone died and she had no money, so she had to hitchhike home (we never saw any of this). The Jenna/Buzz/Jeffrey story continues, with Philip and Harley (“Starla”) playing in the ruse. Philip and Harley kiss and seem to be startled by how much they enjoyed it. Eleni overhears the group practicing and realizes what’s happening, so she forces them to tell her the truth. Buzz then gets Eleni involved in the ruse, per her request, and she tells Frank she’s going back to Greece to take care of her sick grandmother. Frank starts to suspect that Eleni isn’t telling the truth. While this story isn’t very interesting, I’m just glad they’re finally giving Eleni something to do, and getting Frank more airtime again now that Lucy is gone. Then in NYC, Frank shows up and finds Eleni in disguise and isn’t happy because he thinks she’s cheating on him now. Then Buzz walks in, who is pretending to be her husband and Frank is very confused. But then Frank arrests both of them on the spot because he’s so angry LOL. Eleni, in one of her most dramatic scenes, screams and takes a stand against Frank, and Frank crumbles, concedes and he gives them grace. Meanwhile, Harley and Philip have to pretend to have sex because they know Jeffrey is watching them on video (gross), and they again get startled by how much they like it. Then they pretend that Harley is dead in bed after a tying-up, rough sex ‘accident’ with Philip. They’re all freaking out, yada yada. The police come, they all turn on Jeffrey, blame him for stealing millions from Spaulding. Jeffrey turns it back on them, saying they killed a girl, but when he takes the cops to the bed, Harley is gone and there’s no dead body. There’s dramatic/harrowing music throughout, which is kind of fun, but it all falls flat because this whole storyline really wasn’t that exciting. We have a villain (Jeffrey) who was never developed, and Jenna as the heroine who is actually still a thief and not really innocent. I mean, it’s watchable (unlike 5th Street or Griffin/Gilly/Vivian storylines), but it’s not overly interesting. Maybe it just wasn’t emotionally satisfying for me because it was a bunch of characters I don’t love as much or were new to me. Wait, Harley’s real middle name is Davidson? As in Harley Davidson Cooper?? So dumb LOL.

I love to read that Star Trek is a priority across the company! That makes me happy out of all of this.

I agree with the majority, today wasn't it. This June storyline has holes and isn't even that interesting bc there wasn't any mystery or suspense, it just... was.

Yeah, ultimately McTavish made it a bigger umbrella story, which I actually liked, but I think part of his motivation was Dinah, IIRC. He didn't like her friendship with him and he was new in town and disrupting things for him. Remember she also brought Reva and her Goshen story into the Brent/Marian storyline for a bit too - they all seem to come together at some point.

That surprises me that Brent/Marian wasn't featured or written about anywhere, as that ate up most of 1995 and was actually good/thrilling (for some). Maybe they were scared bc it was a little taboo for the decade? Hmm - can you send the summary or more context on what Roger did? I just watched 1995 several months ago so I can check my notes or scour my brain if I think about it a bit . My initial memory is that Roger was only involved in that storyline when he framed Marcus for stealing money at the Twin Towers, and then when Marian killed Cutter, Marcus became the suspect. I can't remember Roger being involved in the Marian storyline beyond that off the top of my head.

Thanks! That's a fun picture. I wish I could go back and see any front-page pictures of the GL storylines that got published during my watch party I wonder if Brent/Marian/Lucy/A-M, Annie/Reva/Josh (assume so), Blake/Ross/Rick/Abby, Vanessa/Matt, etc...

Totally agree with this! And I never saw this storyline/reveal actually coming, so that was fun.

LOL at the way he runs off at the end of the fight, flailing his arms. That whole thing was just bad directing/weird camera angles/cuts. Very cool location shoot though!

Oh nice! Are you able to share here?

My gut tells me that Cady only meant it in a more superficial quirky 'best gal pal' character, but I doubt Cady knew much about the history and deeper relationship between Opal and Erica since Dixie didn't have a ton of scenes with them directly (only more directly with Opal, Erica/Dixie weren't ever really connected that often, and when they were, it wasn't overly friendly haha).

LOL - don't hold back now!!! Haha love the passion behind it.

Agree - Dani was calmer today and her scenes with Bill were truly good. Bill being emotional hits you for sure, I liked it.

Oh no! I'd love to see it haha. Maybe one day it'll be found!

Oh you’re right. I just checked my notes and that was October 1996!

Yep, I've been noticing and I'm still confused by the storyline too. It still doesn't even seem like Roger to me, I guess Zaslow was just that iconic.

You're amazing, thank you! That first episode was a good choice. I'm surprised she didn't do the dry-out at the cabin episode, but I haven't seen the Alan/Annie wedding yet so not sure how amazing it is (and I didn't watch that reel there because I'm guessing I'll be there pretty soon in my watch). Very interesting that she acknowledged Kim Zimmer in her speech and said she loves her. She also mentioned she misses her GL family, so I guess she already left GL by then? I wonder why Cynthia decided to leave, because her IMDB doesn't seem to have much in those few years after she left in 1998. Now I wonder what episodes Kim submitted for that year LOL. I have to say so far, Annie definitely outshines Reva in the first half of 1997. I also wonder what storyline Lucci had that year, I'll have to go back and remember what Erica was up to in 1997.

Sadly, no. She was still in Switzerland when Bridget/Peter left. Their whole exit really was awful IMO. That part does make me happy too, having Bryan B still in the role

I’m up to July 08, 1997. Ugh - Bridget just told Hart that she and Peter are leaving Springfield for good and moving to Minnesota to be with Dylan. I hate this on so many levels - one, where is the reunion buildup with Bridget/Dylan and two, this just feels like a quick way to get rid of Bridget/Peter before Vanessa makes her return because they don’t want to deal with it. Dinah gets Hart to accept it and Bridget/Hart/Dinah/Matt have a tearful goodbye. I can’t believe that was her final episode - what about saying goodbye to Nola and others?? Philip keeps pushing Harley about Mallet and she finally confesses they’re no longer together. Meanwhile, Jenna and Harley have teamed up against Jeffrey in this never-ending saga, and now Philip is finally given something to do on this show and he pairs up with Harley and plays along with the ruse against Jeffrey. Josh is able to find the doctor that told Annie her baby was dead, well before the ‘fall’. He convinces him to come to the trial, and just as they were having closing arguments, Josh and the doctor barge in and make the announcement. Annie freaks out and pleads with Josh to stop, but he tells her to go to hell, walks over to Reva’s side and hugs her in front of the entire courtroom LOL. The doctor then testifies that the baby was already dead so Reva couldn’t have killed the baby in the fall. Right before though, they finally have Philip arrive for the first time, and Rick/Abby give him an update. He shakes his head and says he had high hopes for Annie. This is a lost opportunity to me, because I really liked how Philip supported Annie throughout her intervention and dry-out at the Bauer cabin. The writers I guess had no interest in following up on that relationship, which is sad. Anyway, Annie demands to take the stand again, but Ross surprises her by turning on her and questioning her true motives, which upsets Annie and she makes a scene. Annie pleads to the jury and goes through Reva’s history, which really is another masterclass acting performance by Watros. I know she wins the Emmy this year, and I’d have to imagine this episode was part of her reel (I’ll have to look that up). Ross then gets Annie to admit the truth, almost like it was a therapy session on the stand. She tells Ross she cared about Blake and he should too, and then she lied for Alan and said he didn’t help her in any of this. The judge then dismisses all charges against Reva. Everyone celebrates and hugs, while Annie slowly and hurtfully walks off the stand alone. Pretty emotional here and you can’t help but feel so bad for Annie. The judge then tells Annie she will be arrested for perjury. As they’re about to arrest her, she screams in pain and collapses. She’s rushed to the hospital and has to go into emergency surgery. Rick and Alan tell her that she had to have a hysterectomy, which means she can no longer have children. She breaks down again. Meanwhile, Josh and Reva are finally having sex at Cross Creek LOL. The next morning, Rusty brings the kids over, which includes the new little actor playing Shane. Matt learns from Rick that an experimental drug that could have likely helped Vanessa’s disease was being tried in Switzerland (where she is), so Matt wants to go there and see if she’s alive. After a little more digging, Dinah and Matt realize she is likely at the nunnery where Vanessa is. They plan to go find her after Bill’s graduation the next day. Of course Hart can’t go because he’s going to help Peter/Bridget settle in and unpack in Minnesota. Michelle, Bill and Dahlia finally graduate, in late June, which seems very late LOL: Dahlia: Another reminder how weird it is that Dahlia/Marcus are together considering their age gap. Tina showed up to celebrate with Dahlia, which was a nice touch, and Griffin offered Tina a receptionist job which she accepted. Frank/Eleni finally show up at the party which seems like an afterthought. Such a lost opportunity there in storyline as Dahlia’s guardian over the last couple years. Michelle: She had another vision of Maureen congratulating her, which was sweet. And wow, prior to graduation they got Wyatt (AIDS counselor) to attend and mention Lucy. Random, but happy to see him still pop up even after Lucy is gone. Although that leads to a very random scene with Michelle giving a speech about AIDS and how a classmate died from AIDS, but I guess they’re dedicating a new memorial garden to support AIDS patients. Very nice, love the tie-back to Lucy’s story, but very random since Lucy wasn’t there haha. At the party, J finally shows up after being gone for months. Also, Rick doesn’t attend the graduation and there is a throwaway comment that he’s tied up at work and couldn’t make it, which is very lazy/disappointing considering Ed isn’t there already. But they’re playing Spice Girls and En Vogue in the background which screams late 90s and I love it. Bill: Bill was valedictorian, which shocks me considering everything he went through with Vanessa’s death, fighting with Matt and living at a boarding house. Like Superman, Michael flies Vanessa back to Springfield overnight so she can watch Bill’s speech/graduation from a distance, which is really fun but so corny because she’s wearing no disguise at all other than a large hat, and she’s just walking around for anyone to see her. She watches his speech from the side stage like 20 feet away, where Matt then walks by her to take a picture of Bill LOL. Then the after party, she’s sitting out in public at a table next to the party and watching Matt/Dinah talk. Michael listens to their conversation though and starts to assume they may be in a relationship because they’re talking about their trip to Switzerland tomorrow and how happy they are - UGH. Michael tells Vanessa that Dinah is the lady that Matt has now moved on with and I’m livid - I knew I didn’t like this guy. (Although the actor that plays him is now married to Mariska Hargitay and he aged really well!). Later, Michelle goes to Point Lester the night of her graduation to find someone that may potentially have Maureen’s heart, which according to Dahlia, is a dangerous part of town. She meets some seedy characters while there, but a younger, very handsome “bad boy” named Jesse seems to take notice of her and tries to help her. Dahlia and Marcus ‘rescue’ her and gets her home before she can get to know the mystery guy more. The annual Bauer 4th of July BBQ party starts and Meta, Michelle and Rick start prepping everything. Michelle leaves early and randomly finds out where Jesse lives and invites him to the party, but he declines. Abby comes and continues to be very friendly with Rick again. Philip, Harley, Buzz, J, Nola, Reva, Josh and his small ugly sunglasses, Holly and Meg, Fletcher, Blake and the twins, Roger, Lillian and random Amanda show up (random, because she comes alone, uninvited, and Roger doesn’t seem happy to see her). Ross shows up later as a surprise and wants to talk to Blake, where he forgives her and they hug. Later after the party starts, Jesse shows up and Rick isn’t happy and kicks him out. I love seeing Rick play dad and brother to Michelle. So, Michelle runs after Jesse again back to his house and they eventually kiss. Meanwhile, Annie is chugging vodka behind Alan’s back at the Spaulding mansion because she can’t handle not being with all the happy people at the Bauer’s. But she manages to slip out and show up at the BBQ drunk, while drinking a beer, and Philip catches her before others can. I loved that Philip acknowledges her withdrawal experience last year at the cabin, but sadly drunk Annie doesn’t want to talk about that. She then starts making a spectacle, scares Marah/Shane and Reva grabs her and tells her to GTFO. Watros is yet again doing such a great job in this role. Amanda calls Alan and he rushes over to take her back to the mansion, after she screams at everyone. Ultimately, Vanessa comes to terms that Matt/Dinah are ‘together’, while Matt/Dinah travel to the nunnery in Switzerland. Matt finds her room and sees pictures of Dinah/Matt/Bill and realizes it’s really Vanessa, but Vanessa/Michael are still in Springfield. The nuns tell them that Vanessa/Michael went away on a trip, so Matt starts to think they’re now together because ‘Tess’ once told him she’s getting closer to her physical therapist. They get to Michael’s room and find an arrest record in his drawer, while Michael calls the nunnery to tell him he has to leave, after having some flashback to him being in trouble. He tells Vanessa he can’t go back to Switzerland with her anymore, but she’s ready to go live alone on another lake and asks him to join her because she trusts him completely. Then, Matt gets information that Michael was fired from his previous job in Chicago because he was charged with murdering a female patient of his! Great Friday July 4th cliffhanger! Matt/Dinah then find a picture of Michael and realize that’s the guy he saw at Bill’s graduation, and Matt realizes he was standing next to Vanessa at the graduation. Dinah/Matt book it back to Springfield to find Vanessa/Michael. This storyline is really capturing my attention, even if parts of it are a bit corny.