Alan

It appears that she practiced this quote in advance and seems delighted, aroused even, to utter these hateful words. How can you "wish someone the best" while taking away his employment, dignity, and community of colleagues at the most challenging time of his life. This is her legacy.

On a related note, I've been researching the other various BTG writers. One of the scriptwriters is Danielle Paige, who write this wonderful scene for Lillian and Beth on GL in 2000: https://www.instagram.com/daniellempaige/reel/DBKgn65PdHu/

Nice! When I found out MJV was responsible for Lucky finding out about L/L in the aftermath of Elizabeth Webber's attack I looked those episodes up on YT. (I was never a GH person) Now I am going to look up the Mary Mae funeral episode. I'm very interested in seeing whatever work has had MJV's fingerprints on it in the run-up to BTG's debut.

From the interview it seems obvious that Labine was not willing to learn a new show. I believe it was Gold who introduced the Alonzo character as the real heir to the San Cristobel throne and finally ended the island story. IIRC the transition from Labine to Gold was marked by Philip, Richard, and Noah in matching camo tanktops rescuing Beth from the castle.

Even if BTG ends up not being my cup of tea, I hope that it is successful, if only so that it may open the door to a broader revival of our beloved genre. The networks want eyeballs on their streaming services. So far the traditional five-days-a-week soap opera has been the only thing that guarantees daily log-ins at Paramount+ and Peacock. Disney, which basically invented modern intellectual property management of entertainment assets, has yet to realize the value it has in its defunct soaps. If anything will open their eyes, a successful launch of BTG will. Same with P&G, one of the producers of this new soap. Merely making old episodes available on their streamers (remember P&G's classic soaps channel on AOL?) would be a major win.

Thanks for the summary. By the Cooper era, the restaurant seemed completely separate from the boarding house and it was difficult to figure out how everything was supposed to fit together. I found a clip of Bridget opening the "new" Company: In my dream GL, the Reardons would take Company back from Buzz and redecorate it in the style of an Irish/British style pub, with vintage beer taps, optics over the bar, a darts board, old photographs/movie posters, and different nick-knacks on the wall collected by Reardons and Chamberlains throughout the course of their adventures.

This is the episode where Bert is memorialized by virtual strangers, mentioned a few pages ago. The mood of these scenes is, "we acknowledged Bert's death, happy now? Let's get back to the important characters like Cain Harris." The Dionne Warwick song at the end is appropriate. GL definitely didn't make any extravagant gestures for Bert's sendoff. On a more positive note, something that stands out about this episode is how lively Springfield seems, especially in the Company scenes. I miss when soaps invested in extras, the ambiance of a crowded restaurant or busy hospital helped to make the setting feel more real. Also, I have long wondered: when did the floorplan of Company change and why? How was the change explained?

Same with OLTL's many flashbacks over the years with EL playing teenage Viki. The idea of JC putting on aging make-up to play Lucinda's mother boggles the mind given JC's well-publicized odyssey of facial modification but I don't doubt she would be up for it.

I adore Wendy Moniz. Her version of the character was "my" Dinah. I've been watching the Ghost Reva episodes lately. Those eps and this clip remind me of how dirty the Layne/Shayne sisters did Annie and Dinah.

Are there any other shows with couples-fans who were as unhinged as the ones who for some reason gravitated to GL in the 2000s? I remember the story about the Mannyac who presented an effigy of LW - a Big Bird doll with a noose around its neck - to Saundra Santiago at a fan event. The Rassies who intimidated an organ transplant charity into pulling a PSA from GL because their prince died. (They changed their donor status over that story!) Then the same mob letter-bombed John Conboy into thinking that Bradley Cole was the greatest actor to ever grace the small screen before he even took the reigns as EP. For me, GL became unwatchable under Conboy/Weston. Making Alexandra Reva's stalker, Ben Reade a serial killer, the introduction of weird characters like Sandy the puppeteer and Christopher the psychic instead of the GL characters we actually wanted to see, and the coup de grace: the history-destroying Maryanne Caruthers story which was so stupid it pains me to recount the details. (BTW, was it Conboy or Weston nursing a grudge against Julie Hanan Carruthers? Why did they make the name of a roofie/murder victim so close to a peer in the industry?) I know that some here have nostalgia for Wheeler's work on AW but we must admit that she was an abject failure as an EP. After a few months of Wheeler/Kreizman I realized that they were never going to rebuild GL. A few years ago on Alan Locher's channel DZ admitted that Jonathan was his "author surrogate", which is why he took over the show for years. He said when Tom Pelphrey left, he didn't know what to write. You are the headwriter of a show with 70 years of backstory and you can't come up anything else to write?!

The discussion of the Rice Lake Bauers prompted me to look up some scenes with Jack and Lanie Bauer embedded below. They would have been the right age for Trudy and Clyde. Even if their surname would have been Palmer rather than Bauer, Trudy and her family would have made more sense to re-introduce than these very distant cousins. I would have cast one of P&G's classic soap queens, like Ann Flood or Beverly Penberthy as Trudy. This would be on par with Mary Stuart taking up the role of Meta. The Bauers also could have been replenished with Rita's possible child with Ed. I also like Mitch64's idea of having Mike remarry during his time away from Springfield, maybe fathering a new set of children with a slightly younger woman.

I actually like the music for the Generations open. It initially has a nostalgic feel like Coronation Street's theme tune. I do think that the open has way too many historical images. It should have transitioned to actual cast photos once the 1980s sax kicked in. I also like the three trees at the end, though I wish the title was in a prettier font. I'm a big fan of soap symbols: hourglasses, photo albums, lighthouses etc.

Designing Women already used "Georgia" as its opening theme anyway. I would like the theme to be something classic and orchestral that can be used for the entire duration of the show's hopefully long run. I love when soap themes have different versions that can recur as motifs in the incidental score, like the "B&B Waltz." Or "sad" versions of the close that can play after poignant episodes, "Julia's Theme" on EastEnders. My favorite composers for soaps are David Kurtz and Jack Allocco who wrote so many memorable B&B cues that were used for years and years. There music gave B&B an unmistakable style and musical identity at a time when other soaps were moving toward generic-sounding stock music. I would love to see them brought on board for BTG. I also like the concept of giving certain characters specific cues that play when they appear. Some favorites are the "Brooks Family Theme" and "Kay's Theme" on Y&R, "Carla's Theme" on OLTL or "Destiny Calling" for Josh and Reva on GL.

I think Tunie's outfit is actually a tribute to EoN's Dennis Parker in his notorious silver jumpsuit. PGP soap synergy!

Oh, good call!

Stephanie knocks Felicia off balance:

Which of these homes belongs to the Duprees? 🤔 The house from the exterior shoot looks more like a house you would find in Maryland or elsewhere in the South. The house from the logo is very California.

It sounds like the stereotypical "strings of fire" trailer music to me.

I wouldn't draw too many conclusions about what the show will be like from a teaser trailer. I hope and expect that there will be more promos which more thoroughly flesh out the characters and settings. I also suspect that the posed shots are for promos rather than the opening, of course I could be wrong. This is CBS's first soap launch in 37 years! I can't wait to watch the first episode. "You'll never forget the first time."

PGP held an annual holiday party for all of its soaps. I'm not sure when the tradition began, but it was always covered in the magazines. You might be be able to find the answer by consulting old issues of Afternoon TV.

I remember how heralded Claire Labine's arrival on GL was. Kim Zimmer even went on Live with Regis to promote the new regime's first episode. I had never watched Labine's work before so I didn't know what to expect. Her first episode included a fantasy sequence with Reva and Josh duking it out in a boxing ring and bad slapstick comedy with Pilar Santos. Looking back Labine and her kids were probably aiming for a zeitgeisty Ally McBeal feel but it didn't work. GL's best comedy came from the characters and their inherent personalities, not from zany gimmicks. May Meresi was a pitiful character ("cigars! cigarettes! cigarillos!") but once she was unmasked as Mary Murto I realized that Elizabeth Hobgood was actually a good actress stuck with a crappy role. Just as the character was starting to get interesting she was cut. I remember fan speculation that May was originally supposed to be Stacy Chamberlain.

Well technically there is still one left.

If you find his old columns let me know! I would love to reread them. To play devil's advocate, aren't predators often the people you least expect? After all, people used to think that clergymen could never abuse children. I have only seen snippets of Victor Lord, but the way Dorian explained Victor's abuse of Viki - that he used her as a surrogate of her late mother - seemed very plausible. It tracks with how Victor used Viki as a surrogate for the male heir that he (thought he) never had.

Jeanne Cooper always said that Bill Bell regretted killing off Phillip Chancellor II. I'm not sure I agree because even in death, he generated years of good stories for Kay and Jill. I do think it was mistake to kill off Phillip III and especially Rex. Kay and Rex were a great double act and his shady past could have created so many more stories for both of them. Rex's absence also didn't help in keeping Gina relevant. After Rex's death, Kay basically did nothing until the will in the attic storyline.

This relationship is particularly interesting because that character is described as a civil attorney who "humbly serves" outside the gates. Maybe Anita wants Naomi to use her singing talent and pursue show business instead of law? She's also very different from her influencer/model sister.