Planet Soap

7 hours ago, YRfan23 said:

I myself consider 2000-2005 to be the final years where soaps were at least entertaining, and viable. Obviously some had tanked by then but by 2006/07 something happen where it seemed like all shows went in the gutter. I won’t deny there have been levels of decently during the course of those years as well…

IDK what it is but soaps, broadcast tv, popular music, etc, all seemed to go downhill after that year. 

I am thankful for maintained production values on *some soaps* DAYS looked pretty good until about 2009 lighting and set wise. All My Children had a nice production value rebound with the move to LA in 2010ish...only get cancelled a year later  . ATWT's production value, though declining, was still pretty okay until the end compared to OLTL for example.

Y&R and B&B held up pretty well until about the mid 2000tens. GH's production value was gone by the mid 2000s (lighting wise especially). They have really good sets these days though despite a bloated cast.

I think 2005 was the cut off point for a lot of the early 2000s momentum on soaps. 

B&B was pretty good from 2000-2002. Broke/Deacon/Bridget, Brooke & Thorne, Kimberly, Amber & Rick were all decent stories. 

GH has had some good events in the midst of the JFP Guza turmoil. Brenda's 2002 return, the train wreck, the virus outbreak, the Metro Court crisis, and the return of a few vets since Frank took over. 

Y&R was good between 2000 and 2001. Jack/Phyliss/Diane, spermgate, Carter Mills and the Glo by Jabot had the show going. 02-05 were alright. 

4 hours ago, titan1978 said:

I get that.  I prefer Eileen’s Ashley overall, but I adored Brenda’s version.  I enjoy Ashley vs Nikki more with Eileen too- she has the right kind of edge to really be an equal with MTS and it gets nastier with her in the role.  Brenda had a softer approach, Ashley more mature.  I agree that her with Brad would have been excellent.

Was just thinking about this. I think Brenda plays a more well-put-together and softer Ashley. Eileen's version is more messy. I haven't bought any of Eileen's Ashley in any of her romantic pairings. She sizzles more as Kristin on Days, especially with John. I even found her more attractive on DAYS in the 90s. Brenda did well with Brad, Victor and to a degree Blade. Overall I prefer Brenda's version.

SB: Brenda Epperson really bares a resemblance to Nina Arveson, who played Cassandra.

Erica & Dimitri vs Erica & Jackson.

writers need to learn that characters don't have to be married to be together. 

Constant marrying dullens the impact of relationships and divorces. 

OLTL: Viki's husbands. I'm torn between Joe Riley, Clint, and Ben. Joe was the OG and the father of her boys. Clint dealt with a lot. personality switches, and an affair. Ben brought out Viki's younger side, but ultimately it was her multiple personas that killed him. Ultimately, I'd have to pick Clint as Viki's best husband.

Y&R Victor: I would say Hope was pretty great, because she called Victor out on his crap and she had the strength to walk away. Nikki tried to use Hope's blindness against her, saying that Hope used it to get sympathy from Victor. Ironically Hope was stronger than Nikki ever was.

21 hours ago, Joseph said:

@ironlionfound some more

thanks!

On 11/28/2022 at 5:27 PM, Aback said:

I love this era so much! Thanks!!

Same!!! Y&R still has some fire during the "red jazz open" era.

For soap charachters that have been down the aisle more than 2x, how did you feel about some of those marriages, or how would you rank each of the spouses that charachter had. 

For example: 

AMC: Who would you say was is the best husband for Erica Kane? I'm torn between Dmitri and Jackson. 

What was Viki's best marriage on OLTL. Joe, Clint, Ben? 

B&B C+. It isnt the best but the writers tried with the Thomas fake phone call mess. 

Surprised hasn't been mentioned yet, but Viki and Sloan on One Life to Live. The writing wasn't necessarily bad it's just the affair seemed needless. moreover, why would Vicky even bother to break up her marriage over a man she knew was dying? Clint Richie's Clint Buchannan got pushed to the backburner after that, until Jerry Ver Dorn came in.

On 10/31/2022 at 12:46 PM, Faulkner said:

Worst: Ashley/Brad/Olivia, Y&R. Just an ugly, random, out-of-character moment for Olivia to hook up with Brad when Ashley had cancer. And for what? Really damaged one of the show’s tightest friendships for no good reason, and I don’t think Olivia ever really recovered from that. It was like, “Oh noooow you decide to break Olivia out of the Hastings/Winters bubble to get some action in Genoa City. To betray her deathly ill best friend…”

I've been meaning to go back and watch this!

I there a woman on Y&R that Brad hasn't or has not attempted to touch, lol. Only long term  charachters I can think of that Brad hasn't messed with is Christine

3 hours ago, Joseph said:

If You mean Alexis/Kristina, I didn't know about it either, and didn't got any info from that story since

Indeed, the Alexis story is what I'm referring to. Do you know if the Dobson butler masquerade story was well recieved?

GH: Claudia's sniper accidentally shoots Michael - from that stemmed Michael's coma, the SOARsing of Michael into the man we have today, Claudia kidnapping Carly, Michael killing Claudia sending him to prison where he was raped, and the feud between Sonny, Anthony and Johnny. 

On 8/15/2022 at 5:20 PM, Darn said:

Any longtime fan of the show didn't like it because we saw Jessica's childhood. We also saw Jessica as a teenager and she didn't act like that. The whole story was stupid and damaging to Jessica, Viki and Clint as characters.

Fair points. OLTL's writers already damaged Viki when they wrote that Viki (not Nikki) subconsciously allowed Mitch to take Jessica after the twins' births. Even worse, they re-wrote that Nikki left childhood Jessica at bars where she was then molested. It always bad when RETCONS utilize outrageous story points despite what played out on screen. Again the main saving grace of the '05 Tess story is that she was a better written character than Nikki with a clear motivation. Selzak's (who I love) portrayal of Nikki became increasingly cartoonish into the 2000s with some cringe moments. 

On 8/17/2022 at 4:25 PM, Joseph said:

Thanks This Reminded Me of Another One:

Morgan Fairchild as J. J Roberts (Jordan Jennifer Roberts) and Her Alter Ego Monica on Season 5 of Falcon Crest

 

WTH? Never heard of this plot. Was it well written...seems like an unnecessary story point to me. 

I would like to see footage of Jeff and Monica. It would be cool to see that acknowledged on today's GH but Monica is nowhere to be found these days. 

18 hours ago, Joseph said:

I tried a Erica Kane thread it was discussed there that Things Happening To Erica stopped around 1999, after that Erica's Drama revolved mostly around her Kids, Exceptions were her battle with Alcoholism in 2004 and The Jane Story on 2010-11 (maybe her Romance with Ryan in 2009 could've brought some more drama But)

I wonder why they would just give up on the star of the show like that. Then again, similar thing happened to Viki on OLTL. 

1 hour ago, Faulkner said:

OLTL:

90s: Blair (both Mia Korf’s and KDP’s versions, the latter through the end of the show), Marty, Nora

2000s: Jessica (and her alters under Bree Williamson), Natalie, Gigi, Evangeline, Téa, Starr

Hard to argue with that. Especially Natalie. 

I would like to have seen a Victor/Lori marriage play out.

Speaking of it girls, was there ever a point on AMC where Erica stopped getting as much stories and drifed from central focus. In the 2000s perhaps?

4 hours ago, titan1978 said:

This is interesting  because I could list tons of women on soaps that were the it girl or main focal point in very lasting ways.   But with dudes it’s not as easy.

 

 

True. Women dominate when it comes to show focus and powerhouse performances.

When I say it guy, I mean a male charachter that writers focused heavily on. A charachter that dominated his show or got major material on his show.  

For example, on the "It Girl" thread, they listed Sarah Joy Brown because a lot of major storylines focused on her Carly during her run. 

Renaming the thread due to confusion around the definition of "it guy".

5 hours ago, carolineg said:

Is the thread topic for endgame couples in our opinion that aren't together or didn't end together like GH's Sonny/Brenda or actual endgame couples that will end the show together like Days John/Marlena, Steve/Kayla, Bo/Hope etc?  Or both lol? 

Since Sonny/Brenda were used as an example I am going to go with couples that aren't together, but were/are endgame in our mind-

GH-

Sonny/Brenda

Jason/Carly

Frisco/Felicia

Robert/Holly

Days-

I can't really think of a couple that isn't already together that should be

Bo/Hope, but I assume that will work itself out soon

 

 

2 hours ago, dragonflies said:

Is this overall couples from all soaps or current couples? LOL

Wich two charachters, past or present, belong together once and for all.

On 11/24/2022 at 12:38 AM, kalbir said:

Victor owns this thread.

I can't really think of anyone for B&B though.

Maybe early 1990s GL Roger.

 

Roger is a good one!

As a companion to @Soapfan8's insiteful thread, exploring important leading female characters on soaps, let's explore the men. Soaps are a genre where the female characters dominate but what were some examples of leading men that carried a show at a point in time?

Easy ones:

Y&R: Victor Newman. The most dominant male character on that whole soap hands down. Victor embodied old movie masculinity. Multiple women. A white colar businessman with blue collar capabilities like boxing and horse riding. He was a villain that morphed into an anti hero then back into a crusty ageable villain. 

GH: Sonny Corinthos was the center of General Hospital from about 1999 up until the mid-2010s. A large concensus would say to the show's detrement.

Jason Moragn: Jason was the second male lead on the show for roughly that same period. 

OLTL: Todd Manning. So much focus was given to Todd especially during his 90s and 2000s runs.

Dallas: JR Ewing. I prefered the the early days when Bobby and Pam were the center while JR was the main antagonist. It was however fun to see Hagman embrace the spotlight, and have the character's nefarious deeds take over the show.

4 minutes ago, Soapfan8 said:

I feel Caroline-80s, Sheila-90s Brooke’s-late 90s-like 2011? Maybe.

Solid. Can't argue with that. One could say Amber belongs in that late 90s early 00s period.

On 11/23/2022 at 11:28 PM, Paul Raven said:

Y&R Jill goes to work for Katherine. That story and fallout fueled plots for years.

Kay/Jill/Derek

Kay/Jill/Rex

Phillip's return and death

Jill claiming the house etc

Culminating in the horrendous Jill/Katherime mother daughter fiasco 30 years on.

Kay/Jill/Philli, and Victor Lord's death, are prime examples of landmark storylines. Sonething the show references and draws plot from for years!

OLTL: Jessica's Kidnapping 1986

Baby Jessica's kidnapping by Alison Perkins reared its head again in 2001. Natalie came to town and it was eventually retconed that Mitch Laurence had orchestrated a baby switch. Viewers were led to believe that Natalie was Clint's and Jessica was Mitch's all the way until the series finale in 2012.

OLTL Marty's rape: 

That event stained Todd's legacy for the remainder of the show and helped shape the character for better and worse. It became a huge factor again when Powell returned to Llanview in the late 2000s, when Blair accused "Todd" of rape in 2004, and the re-rape story with Todd dating amnesiac Marty. 

GH: Luke and Laura

As @titan1978 in the left, handed boy storyline, I think we can conclude that Luke and Laura's initial action story had a trickle down effect in other soaps, including ATWT, GL, and DAYS for much of the 80s.