chrisml

I can see what McKinsey meant about character assassination. It did feel that Alex had lost IQ points and that a lot of the scenes she did were meant to humiliate her character--something Simms brought up in one of the Locher interviews. When Dusay came on, they had no idea how to write Alex. Alex's sole focus became Mindy/Nick. McKinsey sold what she was given, but she deserved better so did Simms.

Watch the video entitled, "Iris Confesses to Mac That She Was the Chief." 🙂 I think Raines and McKinsey would have been a good match. I think his acting style would work much better with hers than Dusay's.

Considering what's happening now with the transportation industry, I'm surprised they didn't have Grillo pay them for the experience. I missed Grillo when he was on GL. I was aware of him, but I never saw his work.

I think an actor's looks can make a different in keeping my interest in a storyline. I was certainly watching Sunset Beach for the Antonio/Gabi/Richardo storyline because I found Nick Kiriazis and Hank Cheyne incredibly good looking. I'm one of the few who liked the amnesiac Michelle lusts after nuTony storyline because I thought Coltin Scott/Stephen Martines was hot. I like the Sharlene/Grant storyline because I'd go off with Dack Rambo. I'm superficial in that respect. You put an attractive man in a storyline and if he can act, I'll usually go along with it. I would have followed Carl Tye Evans anywhere.

I think John Wesley Shipp had something special from what I've seen of his time on GL. I can see why people had a thing for him. I would understand if Douglas Marland let his hormones dictate the casting choice. Matt Bomer and his undies. Jay Hammer was attractive (no, my mother is not forcing me to write that). I've met Paul Anthony Stewart and he was extremely beautiful in person. Vincent Irizarry could be sexy although I never felt writers capitalized on that during his second run. Terrell Tilford was also sexy and he did some cable shows where he showed his backside so I appreciated that. He's a creep in real life, but Stephen Martines was nice looking. I almost forgot Carl Tye Evans who I thought was just the cutest. I'm sure I'm forgetting many people, but I don't want to cheat by googling.

In keeping with the rape discussion, an October 1, 1990 episode was just uploaded where a stranger just tried to rape Olivia and nuSam has to save her from the attacker. Based on the date, it's just a week or so before I believe Marley is raped. This is also going on while Sharlene is reliving her past abuse at the hands of her brother. Three different storylines and three instances where Swajeski uses sexual abuse of women as a plot point. I would have missed this scene as I tend to FF any scene with Sam as the storyline just isn't working in the slightest.

This is the thing that always gets me: killing off Maureen was not part of a "carefully conceived, well-executed story." If it this were true, it wouldn't have collapsed the minute Maureen died. It collapsed because the whole point was to kill off Maureen and that's the only thing they thought about. They didn't think beyond that. That storyline was held up by Tina Sloan and Ellen Parker's fantastic acting. Once it shifted to Peter Simon and Ed, it was an absolute mess with nowhere to go. And that's exactly what happened: it went nowhere. I know there are Eve supporters on here, but no one was turning on GL to see more of Eve and a dead Maureen. The confrontation in the cabin could have been the first part (second if you include Lillian's cancer) of the story as their marriage deteriorated, and allegiances shifted and Maureen and Ed split up. Instead, JFP does what she always does: sacrifice the woman, tell it from the man's perspective, and alienate the audience for a big dramatic moment. She told this same story on AW with John/Felicia/Sharlene. She did it on OLTL with Nora/Bo/Sam. In those cases, no one died, but same storyline and same confrontations. On both of those shows, she alienated the audiences, and ruined characters for the sake of dramatic moments.

Carmen Duncan should have won the Emmy for the chief storyline. It's maddening and unfair that she was not even nominated. I can't speak to McKinsey as Iris as I know that always comes up when Carmen Duncan is mentioned. Emmy voters (just like current prime emmy voters) were lazy and didn't watch other shows. They just voted for friends or the "it" shows at the time. Reminds me of when they had to institute the Ellen Burstyn rule at the Emmys because the voters nominated her for Mrs. Harris. Ridiculous.

I don't watch any of the current soaps, so I can't comment on the current nominees or any changes that should/shouldn't be made based on the shows. When I saw the nominees, my only thought was, "Wow, this is the best daytime has to offer?" I wouldn't trust this voting body to come up with new categories/new rules. The Primetime Emmys are nearly as bad with their rubber stamping of a small handful of shows. In regards to AW, I have mentioned Carmen Duncan during the Chief storyline, but I would also add Anna Stuart to the list for her years on the show. She's did wonderful work. Denise Alexander has some strong stuff as well. I liked Jane Cameron a lot. Alicia Coppola was also robbed of Emmy nominations when lesser actresses got into the younger actress category. Stephen Schnetzer, Sally Spencer, Nancy Francione, etc.

The Emmy discussion: Thank you @kalbir for a concise of nominations/wins for AW. In the end, it probably doesn't matter like @Paul Raven writes if a show wins Emmys or not. As a viewer, it feels so unjust when performers and shows are constantly slighted for mediocre work. I love Finola Hughes, but nothing she did in that idiotic alien storyline matches what Anna Holbrook did during that same time. It's the unfairness that really gets to me, and I know it shouldn't. In Holbrook's case, she later won an Emmy, but many deserving actors didn't. Swajeski: If Swajeski were uncomfortable with the Jake/Marley stuff, she then went on to write with David Kreizman some creepy and disturbing stuff with Jonathan on GL when she was not under the "pressure" of NBC. She seems to like that kind of trope. I'm not familiar with her time on AMC. QUESTION out of nowhere: Larry Ewing: What happened to his character in 1986? I haven't rewatched much, but he was there in the credits and in the cop scenes, and then he was gone. Did they get rid of Rick Porter with no fanfare?

Elana Levine did not interview Swajeski at all. She quotes Swajeski from an SOW article called "Rape in the Afternoon" from May 21, 1991 where she claims she was asked to play up the rape (I don't have the article. I'm just stating what Levine quotes from the article). This is the only time that Swajeski is mentioned in the book.

@j swiftI have always given Swajeski grace for the fact that a lot of her time at AW was rocked by Watson's death, departures, and bad recasts. The 1990/91 really suffers especially in regards to RKK's departure because Amanda/Evan are in limbo and the Sam recasts have been terrible. That said, too many of her stories just fizzle out and there are only so many excuses one can give a headwriter. As the writer, she privileges Jake's POV every step of the way, and this is probably why Timmins was so unhappy. She had enough pull with NBC execs that if she were against JAke raping Marley, she could have rebelled or killed him off. Instead, she wrote it and continued with him as the romantic anti-hero.

@anthonymolchanI agree with you. I don't want to see a reformed rapist or a romanticised rapist or whatever kind of adjectives someone wants to apply to a rapist character. There was no need to rape Marley and I don't care whose decision it was. Jake should have been killed off, and the show have been reset in new directions. Instead, we got the same misogynistic rapist as romantic lead nonsense that we had on so many soaps. I found Jake impossible to watch; I can't stomach the character. Once Holbrook goes on maternity leave, I'm not sure I will continue watching the rest of 1990's AW.

@XantheI can see your point that MArley was used more to prop up Vicky. It's true the show favored Vicky. In the 1990 episodes I'm watching, it's clear Swajeski adores Heche's Vicky. I think bringing Jake back was a huge mistake. I don't think he's needed. I know there are Jake fans who adore Jake and Eplin, but all he's done is be a one-note villain for most of 1990. There is no rooting value, so I don't care about him. I can see why Cali Timmins was unhappy. Everything happens to her. Jake and Ken do things and she has to react to them. She is rarely if ever in control. Timmins is fantastic, but it was/is infuriating to watch her have to deal with this plot. I didn't like it then and I especially don't like now that I know she was unhappy. Again, I'm a bit surprised that I'm reacting the same way I did in 1990. I like much of AW at this point because of the performances, but the negatives (the Sam/Amanda/Evan/Olivia stuff, Jake, lack of diversity, etc.) never get better and the show only get worse with Holbrook going on maternity leave and Heche eventually leaving and being replaced by the awful (in my eyes) Buchanan. Rambo quits and leaves a big hole. That's compounded by Timmins being replaced by Judi Evans who does not play Paulina the way she is being written right now which makes it clear they could have written her the way Timmins wanted to play her.

If there's one thing I noticed in watching 80's GL episodes, Lillian popped up in the oddest of places. It was comforting to see Tina Sloan appear in scenes when least expected. I was so thankful when she popped up in the Cain/Reva nonsense because she was the only one who was not required to overact and/or mouth some ridiculously melodramatic dialogue. Second thing I noticed about GL and trying to figure out the origins of various stories: you never get one answer about anything. IF there's a particular story (Roger/Mindy for ex.), there will be four or five versions of how that came to be. Once you get those versions, you'll get different versions of who was responsible for it continuing. I can't imagine an oral history and writers and actors giving their versions of who created which stories. That's just the people who are still alive. I can't imagine trying to get straight answers out of Bridget Dobson about anything she did on GL.

You're right in your assessment. I just ignored a lot of his stuff because I have never been a Jake fan. The character just irks me to no end. The problem for me is that the show destroyed Marley to prop up Jake. Heche and Wheeler created interesting versions of Marley (Buchanan was an awful Marley), but they had to be sacrificed at the altar of Jake McKinnon. The character has no redeeming qualities, and then we're meant to care that he lives?!? I didn't and never did. I've said it so many times, but I think the show would have benefitted from Jake being killed off and allowing the twins and Paulina to be spun off into other areas. The show was too focused on mean and vicious. It's why they go from Dack Rambo as Grant to Mark Pinter. Pinter is a good actor. I'm not denying that, but the more villainous change in Grant's character is emblematic of what I'm talking about here.

This is another example of why I loathed the character of Jake. He took over the show, and it became uglier and meaner. AW should have cut ties with the character when Paulina shot him. The show wanted us to root for a rapist (in 1990); I didn't have patience for that kind of thinking them and I especially don't have tolerance for it now. It's especially galling when they are telling the Sharlene/Sharly storyline at the same time that Jake is manhandling and abusing these women. It's just so ugh.

It's not up to a journalist to reveal an actress's personal life (pregnancies) unless that's something she wants to share. I would find it appalling for a soap columnist to write about that. As for sexual harassment at the soaps, I highly doubt any publisher would allow a soap journalist to publish such a story with those kinds of legal ramifications. TVGUIDE did not have a strong and dedicated legal team that The NY Times did and does, and the NYTIMES only published the Weinstein story after a very long time. Zaslow's surviving daughter, Marika, Garrett, Hutchison, and Keifer have confirmed the accuracy of Logan's column. Michael Logan did call out the networks and the producers at the beginning. He could be downright mean (making fun of Pamela K. Long's Southern background for ex.) and extremely cutting, but he took them to task for boneheaded and often cruel decisions. You would never get that kind of criticism these days where too many journalists are yes men/women who don't want to lose access to celebs and networks. I've mentioned this before, but Michael Logan was publicly calling for JFP to be fired from GL--something that would NEVER happen today. Logan had lost all power by the time JFP was EP on YR and he had to kiss the ring so to speak so his demeanor changed. When he interviewed her, he complained at how the attacks on her were sexist.

@MLH @j swiftP&G and CBS would have known about the lawsuit against the accountant and what happened to Zaslow, so they knew his finances were not what they should have been at the time of his illness. They might have thought they could run out the process in the hopes that Zaslow would not have the financial resources to continue a lawsuit against them.

I always enjoyed Wortham Krimmer and the character of Andrew. So underrated. and he was quite sexy. Mia Korf was so sensational. Kassie DePaiva is a great actress, but she is a conventional soap actress. Gottlieb's OLTL just feels exciting and fresh because it didn't always play by the rules. There's something exciting about never knowing where a storyline may go. It's only when the show became more conventional towards the end of the their run that I sort of lost interest.

In looking for articles about Michael Zaslow, I came across information about how an accountant had embezzled money from him. It written about in the New York Times. I've included a link to the article. It should be a free read as I used one of my free gift links: Zaslow/Accountant