alwaysAMC

Oh good! I was wondering if we'd see a new opening with Phaedra this past week since she appeared/got introduced again at the end but guess they're saving it for this coming week.

What?? I didn't realize Reva had another older son. She hasn't mentioned him once since her return from Goshen (1995-1996 so far). What happened to Dylan? If he's still alive, I can't believe they wouldn't address him and how his mother is alive. So, this is also Bill's half-brother and I guess Dinah's what, step-brother of sorts? Haha. Thanks for letting me know! ETA: Ahh, this is the Dylan that was with Bridget and became blind, just before I started my 1995 watch. I remember she and David went to visit him at his new school for the blind, but they never showed him on camera. So that definitely begs the question - wtf, Reva (and writers)?? Why is there no mention of him upon her return. So weird. I know he's an adult, but c'mon.

Oh gosh, yes, I remember seeing this one now and you're right, awful. Here is a great compilation of all the GL openings. Some versions of course had multiple iterations with different characters, so I still look outside this video to find more. Anyone able to tell me who the shirtless guy is at the 6:47 mark? He was in the '95 version for a good bit, but I could never figure out who he was. I thought maybe Carrol, but I didn't think he was a contract player or on that long. The 2002-2003 version with Joan Collins is pretty bad too. It looks cheap and the characters fly by way too quickly, especially when you've got 2-3 in each. 2003-2005 isn't bad. The 2005-2007 opening reminds me way too much of OLTL.

That is so true, there's a nostalgic attachment pinned to each, based on where you were in life and how you felt about the show (for me anyway). I did like the Leaves opening, which I only knew about a few months ago when I checked out all of GL's openings once I started my watch. This is so random, but the one thing about that first ATWT cast opening, and the many subsequent updates of that version, was the fast drum beat part towards the end that skips through 3 characters way too quickly that you can't even take in who they are (like GH's current one). It's actually the trio between Carly and Holden. I always felt like those poor characters got the shaft haha. The silly one you're talking about was the one I referenced that I also hated - where they're in like the fields and it has two characters, one in the back and one in the forefront, with random windmills and barns in the background haha. Such a bad version. I can't think off top of my head which opening you're referring to for GL and the "hands" - I'll have to go find it! I'd always watch AMC's end credits growing up, but I never got obsessed with them like all the openings. I did start paying attention to the GL end credits during my current watch and I always found it interesting that many times, they'd promote the feedback line where you could call and rant/rave about current storylines for $0.99 😂 And then the man's voice over would tell where the fashions/outfits and jewelry were all from. Such a sign of the times haha. I do love to watch the end credits when they show the character and actor names though. It helps me see who is currently on contract, and then watching the order of the character pictures and what's changed. Currently, in '96, Vanessa is labeled as "Vanessa Chamberlain Reardon". My favorite is Blake's - she's labeled "C. Blake Thorpe Marler" and it takes up the whole screen haha.

Slower day, but not bad. I thought Tomas was at his personal best today, flirting with Kat at Uptown. Hayley is pregnant! Oh boy... Samantha felt more like the babysitter today vs. the young sister. I'm ready to meet Sharon. I want a strong dynamic so it's not a repeat of what we just saw with Tracy's reunion.

Haha same! I didn't like her in the beginning, but over time, I've really grown to love to hate her as a villain. I can't wait to listen to today's new episode later tonight! I've been waiting for the mom and dad (Crystal/Vincent) to have an interaction, so I'm happy to hear it's today.

Ohhh now this is messy! Thanks for sharing

Gosh, you're right, I mixed up nurse and doctor, my bad Ok yes, the "My Guiding Light" music is so good. I do go back and forth with the overall opening though, as it comes across as a sitcom to me, which I get would have been popular in that era. And honestly not something I was used to seeing on the ABC soaps that I watched in my youth, so it's different. I know Another World has a similar style opening with a great theme song and similar video clips in their opening. ATWT - ok yep, so it was that late. It's so hard to believe that show didn't have a more updated opening in the 90s. I think their first character opening was originally yellow-toned, but then went to a blue hue shortly after, which was much better. The opening that debuted when I was watching regularly in ~2007 was awful, I don't know what they were thinking with that one. BTG is ok, I'm just thankful it's slower with the cast graphics. The GH opening from the past ~10 years is seizure-inducing with how fast and furious it is. Y&R has always been and hopefully will always be iconic. Not that I watch the show, but I try and keep up with the openings across the board because I'm just obsessed with TV show openings, especially soaps haha.

Now that I've seen the full Brent/Marian storyline from beginning to end, I went back to read Megan McTavish's "memoir" that got me into GL in the first place (!), and realized she got this wrong about Brent's 'death'. He didn't drown; yes, they were at the dock, but Brent and A-M were in a gun struggle and Brent ultimately gets shot, however he and his sister paid a doctor to call him deceased on the spot. He was never in the water, nor drowned. Her memory here is off, which makes me wonder about the authenticity of her other memories haha. Face lifts are kinda fun, massive emotional breakdowns are not. The best story I wrote on Guiding Light was the saga of Brent Lawrence/Marian Crane - yes, Marian's name was my own small homage to the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Brent/Marian was played by a brilliant young actor, Frank Beaty. The story in brief was: Brent raped our young heroine Lucy. Her fiancé, Alan-Michael, fought Brent to the death. Brent went into deep water and drowned. Only not really. He came back to Springfield as a dumpy, rather homely woman named Marian Crane. Obsessed with Lucy, Brent/Marian got himself/herself hired as Lucy's assistant. He tortured her at every opportunity. He also murdered several other people along the way. Frank was incredible in the role(s). It was one of those halcyon times I had as a soap writer, where I couldn't wait to see my stuff on the screen every day. We were taping the climax of the story - a big masked ball, from which Brent was going to kidnap Lucy - when suddenly, right in the middle of a scene, Frank went into a huge bi-polar episode. He became incoherent, stripped off all his clothes, and ran screaming into the middle of 26th Street. He had to be subdued, and was carted off to Bellevue. Frank ultimately got his disease under control with the proper medication, though he was lost to GL forever.

Quick update, now that I've seen the next episode... so it was all a ruse like I assumed. But still, Dinah just admitted to thinking Hart may have actually died because the plan went wrong, so it still makes zero sense the way she just casually was ok with burying him and letting him die. So dumb. Also how could I forget how dumb it was when Dinah forced Roger to bark like a dog and Hart to quack like a duck when she was pointing a gun at them, pretending to be under the influence of the drug.

I just googled it and Beth returns in Nov 1997, so it'll be quite a while and I guess that does mean Phillip and Beth aren't ultimately together now on his return. Granted, I haven't seen Lucy's intro into the show, but at least from 1995-1996, she seems to be a quintessential ingenue heroine. But otherwise, yeah you're definitely right. Lillian is definitely the main nurse and pal to Ed and Annie during this period. The other nurse, Dr. Sedgwick, who is the OBGYN, has made a lot of appearances during the Holly and Blake pregnancies lately. Ok, so which one is the "My Guiding Light" theme - is that the one from the 80s/early 90s with the various clips and disco theme? I only recently came across that one and it's definitely grown on me haha. I just never saw that one as a kid, so that nostalgic factor isn't there for me like the 90s one. I've gotta say, ATWT has a very iconic graphic with the spinning globe, but otherwise I've always felt like their openings were lackluster and behind the times. They didn't get an opening with the cast being featured until what, the late 90s/early 2000s? It was very late. Did you watch any other soaps beyond GL and ATWT? I've been wanting to see a thread about general soaps and their openings/theme songs, just to see what people think of various ones and what maybe their top 10s are. Of course I'm partial to AMC's early-mid 90s opening, but I also really love GH's mid-90s opening and the very classic Y&R opening. GL 90s is up there too. I strangely love Passions' opening too, but I think that's because I love the general autumn season and New England so much, and the song is catchy. Haha well I'd say I am very well-rounded in my tastes for soaps and storylines. I always prefer character-driven, but when I know the soap is just meant to be wild and crazy, then I'm ok with that too. Like I really enjoyed DAYS as a teen/young adult, so that's why I don't hate McTavish as much as others because I felt like her over the top storylines on AMC were usually entertaining (not always). But I also really enjoy smart, emotionally-driven soaps. So when a non-DAYS style soap becomes unbalanced, it starts to be jarring for me. I have heard a lot of good things about Cynthia's acting and I know she won an Emmy, so I'm actually interested in seeing how that plays out. I was such a Josh/Annie fan in the beginning, but now that I see the writing on the wall with Josh/Reva, I'm resolved in the fact that Annie won't get her happy ending, so I'll prefer to see her go crazy instead. Very similar to how I viewed Annie on AMC (ironic, same name). She became way more entertaining and interesting when she got crazy.

Wow! That is very interesting... so that was 10 years ago, I wonder what the update is, if any. But the fact he was in prison for 2 years blows my mind haha. Thanks for sharing this! Wow, I didn't know Anthony Addabbo passed away, how sad. Any rumors on what happened? His wiki says undisclosed, which sadly makes me assume suicide. I remember him playing Dimitri on AMC for a bit, way back in the day. Ahh interesting, ok now I'm intrigued haha. I won't google it though, I'll let it surprise me.

Ahhh ok - that would make more sense then, if they were to replay it again tomorrow.

This made me LOL! 😂 Yeah that event was so tacky and cringe, that I actually enjoyed watching it haha. I can't believe she didn't have food for all guests, and then she only gave gifts to the housewives, leaving all the other guests literally with nothing.

So what does this mean - Canada will always be a day ahead of the US now? That seems... wrong haha. Meaning, they could spoil the US every day going forward now.

Ohh, she's Beth's mom! That's great. I really like Lillian, but she doesn't seem to have any strong tie to the current canvas, so hopefully this changes. I don't know if Beth comes back though. Currently they're not divorced, or I guess if they are, Phillip hasn't revealed that yet. Maybe that's why he's just floating around Springfield though, because he's on the rocks with his family right now... I love that you're obsessed with the openings like I am. No - I haven't gotten to the rock opening, now I'm intrigued haha. Ok George Pilgrim was clearly delusional hahaha. I just googled him and he only did a few more things after GL. I found his website, and it doesn't seem like he's changed, as his personal bio starts with this (https://sites.google.com/site/georgepilgrimactor/home, which is funny because he wasn't there 3 years at all, but he likes to tout he was given that long of a contract haha. He did age well though, he's pretty handsome - reminds me of David Duchovny. "George Pilgrim has an extraordinarily unusual, and very colorful background that includes significant work as an actor. His credits include a three year contract as the original J Chamberlain on CBS's longest running Soap Opera of all time, Guiding Light, which was filmed New York City." Ok, that's great to hear there is more to this mystery savior and Lucy/A-M, because in a bottle, it really is weird haha. "George Pilgrim has an extraordinarily un usual, and very colorful background that includes significant work as an actor. His credits include a three year contract as the original J Chamberlain on CBS's longest running Soap Opera of all time, Guiding Light, which was filmed New York City."

I’m up to June 11, 1996. Wow, they just updated the opening music to a slower, jazz style. I actually don’t hate it, but I’ve never heard this version before! I guess it doesn’t last long. The only thing I don’t like is they removed the dramatic music at the beginning with the lighthouse and now it’s just a muted, hollow sounding whoosh of light, which doesn’t really bring excitement. There is a new actor playing Hart, out of the blue! No voice over saying “The role of Hart Jessup is now being played by…”, he just shows up and Dinah refers to him as Hart. This new actor is also very handsome, but sad to see the other one go. I wonder what happened and why he left - anyone know? Also awkward because they still have the still shot of the old Hart in the ending credits during new Hart’s first few episodes haha. They also literally just put old Hart into the opening, and they haven’t played his opening since this new Hart took over, and since the new slower music just started. Well, take that back, they just debuted the second opening with the new music on June 11th, after several days of only showing the first opening. They removed old Hart, but replaced J with new Hart… so now what happens to J?? Does anyone else get this way with soap openings, or is it just me? Haha. A-M and Lucy are on their honeymoon, boating around Bermuda, and they hit a storm and they’re becoming lost at sea. Honestly, this story came out of nowhere and doesn’t seem to have a strong purpose - it’s just happening. There isn’t really a story involved in it, it doesn’t move story along and doesn’t really involve others, so it seems a little odd. And then they’re saved by some mystery person, who they assumed was a member of the National Guard, but then the Guard says they didn’t dispatch anyone. But now they’ve been back in Springfield for over a week and no more mention of this mystery person. I really hope they revisit that and explain more, or I’ll really be disappointed because that was odd. It couldn’t have been a ghost, and it’s not Christmastime so no magical Santa Claus haha. Back to Hart, this whole Dinah/Roger/Hart storyline is really getting terrible. They’re so far gone and just want to kill each other; the drug they keep giving each other is silly, and now Hart just got shot in a gun struggle with Roger. I really thought this was a ploy by Dinah and Hart to make Roger think he killed his son, but then they bury him literally in the park where he got shot (dumb), and Roger went to go dump his car, leaving Dinah alone and Hart’s arms start coming out of ground and he’s shown alive. Dinah is surprised and happy to see he’s not dead. But really?? If this wasn’t some game and he really got shot, you’re ok just burying him and pretending like nothing happened, which saves Roger from being thrown in jail? You wouldn’t try and call the cops and save Hart’s life? You just slept with him and realized you’re actually liking him, why not try and help him? So dumb. I also noticed that Phillip isn’t in either of the new openings, so is GA not really a contract player right now? I haven’t met Beth or Cassie yet, but Lillian keeps asking Phillip about them and he seems to be vague about how they are and how long he plans to stay in Springfield. She seems concerned, so clearly Lillian has a history with this family - anyone able to tell me what their prior connection is? Otherwise, now post-wedding, he doesn’t seem to have a strong purpose, just floating along and bumping into Annie (they seem to be chemistry-testing these two), and reliving the good old days with Rick. He does like to sit in the background at the Spaulding house and watch Alex and Amanda tear each other up. But, what’s his purpose? The Gilly/Griffin/Viviane story is very slow going, which is just fine with me because it’s still gross. Viviane now slept with Griffin, so she’s officially cheating on her husband yet again, just to try and prevent Griffin from dating Gilly. Just tell her the damn truth and stop this insanity, Viviane! Nola just put a dating ad out in the paper and went on her first date, which was fun and cute. The guy was awful, but it’s good to see her get back in the game. Otherwise, we have Blake, who is also making all the wrong decisions with these twins of hers. She now got her test results doctored to make it seem like Ross is the father of both. Ross gave her a chance to come clean and tell him everything about that night, even apologizing again about kissing Amanda. Blake would only tell him about kissing Rick, which he even accepted really well, and then asked her “Is that all that happened” and she still said yes. Blake, that was your opportunity! And you know Ed and Annie already know the truth, you can’t keep this in forever. I’m still interested in seeing where this goes, but hopefully they don’t tease the truth with Ross for 9 long months while she’s pregnant. Oh and Abby came back from New York looking very cute! She now dresses modern, got a haircut and can speak well. She’s a pretty girl and I’m glad the fake sign language days are over. Finally, we have Reva and Buzz, who are married (blah). She’s slowly starting to actually fall in love with him and they have sex (blah). And you have Josh who is still playing house with Annie, but daydreaming about Reva (blah). Annie is starting to take more and more aspirin/pills, which Josh has just started to notice and is asking if she’s taking too many… curious if that goes anywhere. So far, 1995 was a much more entertaining and well-rounded year than 1996. I’m still enjoying it though, overall.

LOL - love to hear it Ugh, I knew that Rick Hearst eventually leaves, but didn't realize it was so soon after their wedding. Do we know why he left? I just checked his wiki page and he didn't really do much at all for 3-4 years before joining Y&R and then GH.

A bit of a lackluster Friday cliffhanger, but overall good show today. The previews are exciting - finally more Hayley and then Vanessa and Joey finally get it on!

Leslie is giving me AMC's Janet Green vibes today, when she started pretending to be Nicole (like Janet did with Brooke, well and her sister Natalie of course haha, but more so Brooke in this case).

All of Leslie's personalities coming out again today 🤣

LOL I immediately thought of this too 🤣

I love that Ted is accepting Eva as a daughter and willing to protect her at all costs. I'm enjoying the new Ted too - he is such a better actor. I know, he looks smaller and out of place right now, but we'll get use to it eventually. This Ted has way more personality.

Makes me wonder if that nurse documentary that Andre was filming went anywhere, or is that just dead now? The only thing that really came of that was Nicole talking about her past with the pregnancies, and maybe some flirting between Andre/Ashley.

LOL at Shanice - love that we're getting her again today, with more dialogue and gossip 😂