Spoon

I wondered if John Conboy thought he was at the Edge of Night. Serial killers, crime stories centered around dayplayers. I think this was discussed before, but I don't think GL had any contract cops until Rusty in the mid 80s. If Tony stuck around, I would have him be a cop, or introduce Sean Reardon as a cop. It's a big, traditional Irish-American family, how did they not have a cop in it! Re: Craig. When I started atwt in the 90s Craig seemed benign, I guess he was a scoundrel back in the day. I remember Scott Bryce came back and played a more Hunt block-tinged Craig. I thought he was pretty good in updating his portrayal. Goutman must not have cared for him as he replaced him with Jeffrey meek. Yuck. I eventually warmed up to Jon Lindstrom's Craig, but it took a bit of time.

I forgot about her 2005 appearance. Was that for [Spoiler's] funeral?

For some inexplicable reason I hated Ben Warren but loved HB as Craig on ATWT. It was exactly the same character. Maybe having Maura West and Cady McClain as primary scene partners.

I hated RR's Alan so much, the only way he would work is to lean into humor. His Alan was a joke. RR and SS were both so hammy, couldn't stand either one. Dusty was a fine Alex, for her first two runs, but that 2002 run stunk. She was so hammy and different, of course the writing was poor but I wonder if her acting choices were largely influenced by her AMC run just prior? I got the vibe that AMC's Vanessa was a way OTT villain.

Also, how did they NOT pair Alan with Carmen. I mean, I hated them both, but they were both despicable characters played as over the top, mustache twirling, one-dimensional cartoon villains.

how about this for laughs.. bring on Ellen Parker as Jeffrey O'Neil's mother who is a doppelganger for Maureen. She's the opposite of Maureen of course and chain smokes and is a former prostitute who Buzz had a fling with, thus fathering Jeffrey. Ava and Marina would both be recast and be in a triangle with a returning Dr. Peter Reardon. I remember there was speculation/fear that they were going to force Jeffrey onto the Bauer family tree. TPTB were so desperate to make the audience accept him. They should've just cut their losses. Bradley Cole was way better as Jeffrey, possibly even good but there was just WAY too much propping.

Best recasts Gina Tognoni/Dinah Marler Daniel Cosgrove/Bill Lewis Joie Lenz/Michelle Bauer Santos Jeff Branson/Shayne Lewis Sherry Stringfield/C. Blake Lindsay Ellen Parker/Maureen Reardon Worst Recast Ron Raines/Alan Spaulding Nancy St. Alban/Michelle Bauer Santos Brian Gaskill/Dylan Lewis Mandy Bruno/Marina Cooper Josh Taylor/Quint Chamberlain Ann Hamilton & Barbara Crampton as Melinda Sue Lewis Dennis Parlato(?) as Roger Thorpe

Hawk and Sarah owned Company? I wondered if they owned it or if they just managed it? Only relatively sporadic episodes of that era on YT. So Company ownership Tony Reardon as Wired For Sound Bea Reardon/Reardon Family Hawk and Sarah Shayne Reardon Family Buzz Cooper Lizzie Spaulding (Lizzie and Company) Then I think it gets sold or given back to the Coopers?

Least favorite characters by decade 00s Alan, Ashley Wolfe, Joey Lupo, Daisy, Cyrus, Grady, , VCarmen Santos, Catalina 80s/90s Daniel St. John, Neil Everest, Rae Rooney, AC Mallet, Vivian Grant, Jackson Freemont, Dana

WIred for Sound was a cool hangout-- I still remember when the B-52's performed there. 80s. Quint and Nola-- among my earliest GL memories. Beth and Lujack-- Lujack was like "The Fonz" with his coolness. Jesse and Simon-- /jk Harley/Josh did have chemistry together. I don't know where they would've gone with the pairing if RN didn't leave in 1991. 90s Lucy and Alan-Michael. Lucy seemed like a consolation prize to A-M for not getting Harley lol, but they were a good pair together. Phillip and Harley. At the time I was rooting for Phillip/Beth because of history but Pharley had a sense of fun that Phillip/Beth never really had. Ross and Blake. Despite Blake's flaws, the couples baffling longevity became a cornerstone to the show much like Ed/Maureen in the past. Blake would be unfaithful but after Tori, Ross had no agency to shame Blake. Their relationship was more even-level after that. 00s Harley and Gus. Gus was basically a replacement for A-M, like Lucy replaced Harley. Gus was like a blend of A-M and Nick McHenry. he was Alan's bio son like A-M, but like Nick he tried to maintain a "blue-collar" lifestyle the best he could. Lizzie and Bill. This was the silver lining to Bill/Michelle being torpedoed by ConJob in 2003. The B/M pairing was never going to reach its legacy potential as long as that sap NSA was in the role of Michelle. Hot takes: I enjoyed Cassie/Edmund and Tammy/Jonathan. I liked Tammy/Jonathan because the two actors did have chemistry together and that it was kinda taboo and naughty. The plot was similar to Ross/Blake, where Blake seduced Ross to get at her mom, Holly. Jonathan thought he'd seduce his cousin to stick it to his mom. Characters 80s: Nola, Quint, Bert, Henry, India, Vanessa, Bert, Beth, Ross, Lujack 90s: Harley, Lucy, Blake, Roger, Holly, Phillip, A-M, Michelle, David, Bridget 00s: Gus, Lizzie, Jonathan, Bill, Dinah, Cassie

Favorite characters/couples by decade?

@alwaysAMC also, the way Pilar was introduced was similar to how David Grant was introduced. Kat spotted Gilly hugging another man, hoping she busted Gilly for cheating on Hamp but David was revealed as her troubled brother. Also, When Maureen's brother Dr. Jim Reardon came to town, he used an alias and only Maureen knew his real identity-- Ed thought she was having an affair.

The show had the idea of the three pillars- Reva, Harley and Cassie. But eventually Harley and Cassie were gone and it was all on Reva. Didn't help that Marina was wasted with a subpar actor in the role and Michelle was gone as well. In the later years, I'd say Lizzie was the no. 2 female star on the show.

@alwaysAMC I just realized the reason Abby is rarely seen. (Vague spolier ahead.....) I'm betting this was the period where the actress took a leave to have a particular medical procedure done which will be written into the show eventually.

Dec. 1991. Luna's so annoying-- hate her. I'm guessing she doesn't improve any. The mini arc with the circus musical was cute, even if it was just time-filler. Blair is very likeable, going to hate to see when she's "whitewashed," as she stands out more this way. Cassie's so dull that I see they're making her a little cray cray to make things interesting. Bo sure knows how to pick 'em.

I'm a bit shocked they didn't give Reva a cancer storyline years earlier-- seems to be mandatory for soap leading ladies.

I thought GT's Dinah felt more layered, nuanced. I think she won two EMMYS for the role, not that that means anything. When Dinah got shot in the head and was dealing with mental impairment, those scenes were excellent. Tognoni's Dinah wanted to be a somewhat better person, but she had that lingering jealousy of Cassie that held her back. I forget the excuse they had for why Dinah was mad at Vanessa when she ca.e back after all the lengths she took to help her evade the authorities.

@alwaysAMC yeah, David kreizman basically reset Dinah to how she was when WM started in the role. Could so.eone refresh my memory on the murder plot? I started to lose interest when they began those wednesday "inside the light" episodes. 2002 was a brief glimmer of hope which was all dashed by ConJob. Taggart/Culliton had three stories lined up.. 1. Marah connecting with reva's stalker who was going to be revealed as jonathan. A business storyline with Holly and Josh teaming to take over Spaulding. Blake rejoined SE and the PR biz. Ben (and Marina?) started working at Spaulding. Gus being revealed to be Alan's son instead of Miguel Santos and Selina's son. ConJo. Kept this one but put their own spin with Alex drugging Alan and gaslighting. Also, Holly was helping Ed from adjusting to home life and dealing with a hinted traumatic experience in Africa. Bill/Michelle were paired. Danny was paired with Cassie. The island and mob stuff was clearly being phased out after Prince Richard died and Carmen was put into an endless coma. Also the ex-wives club with Joan Collins Alex felt like old-gl. Mindy and India briefly returned. To me the beginning of the end was ConJob. After that their was the first few months of Wheeler/ Kreizman then it all went to heck with the dragged out (nearly a year!) Harley on the run for murder and Alan putting hits on people who could exonerate her. Then the aftermath of that plot was even worse with a certain character as an off-screen bogey man pulling all the strings behind the scenes.

@alwaysAMC how are you liking the Jim/Beth relationship. The tension between Jim and Phillip is the best part. Susan is such a brat. Any of the newer characters gelling with you? Selina doesn't seem to interact much anymore with Abby. Reva wanted to experience raising young kids- it won't be until her fifth one (Colin O'Neill) where it happens. Of course Colin is still young when the show ends and she can ways abandon him later. They're really forcing the Ben/Roger parallels. This recast Annie was a flop- Watros played her as a somewhat vixen a times, albeit troubled. This recast just doesn't work- I associate her too much for her sad sack blind character on y/r. I do remember seeing signs steal a heart transplant on the tv show viper-- that was something.

The only Shayne that really clicked was Jeff Branson, but that was too little too late-- plus they stuck Hume with Marina (barf) at the end as they raised his daughter with Edmunds dead daughter. Giving Reva and prince Eddie a shared granddaughter.

One of JvD's last episodes as Ross was the introduction of Ava. Ava was the biggest dud since Gus's sister Eden. I expect a degree of OTT acting on soap operas, to me it's part of the appeal. Not everyone should be shouting and stuff, but a mix of different acting styles and energies. I think the appeal of Jonathan was that he was the most like Reva out of all of her kids. Reva finally met her match, someone who could really go head to head with her. Cheap newbies are fine, it's the characters that they play that was the issue. Instead of Ashley, Doris, Christine, Cyrus and Grady- we should've had Stacy, Peter, Jason, Kevin, Clarissa, Young Maureen and Zach. Peter could've been a new doctor or Med student at Cedars. Stacy could've easily been a lawyer, D.A. opposing Jeffrey. Create a new Four Musketeers with Jason, Kevin, Maureen II and a second female-- maybe a teenage offspring of Johnny and Roxie. Familiarity, use of legacy, building on the past-- thing I loved about soap operas.

@Reverend Ruthledge Cassie named it when she adopted the daughter, thinking Dinah was the surrogate. Dinah miscarried and passed Michelle's baby off as her own. Cassie named the baby Hope by coincidence, and Michelle kept the name because she had a cousin with that name- family name.

Thanks for answering my question earlier, I have another question. where I left off Dan was helping a woman on the run-- that seems to have been his exit storyline. How did storyline that conclude? I thoughtDan was good with Brenda but it seems after all the time he sought to prove her innocence that TPTB just had them go their separate ways. thanks in advance.

Kevin, not Joey. still getting the two mixed up.

Resuming my OLTL watch. I left off last year--sometime in early 1991. The Max/Asa scam began and Gabrielle wasn't in prison yet. I picked up in the Spring when Clint was seeing that woman, Vicki thought he was having an affair but it was a medical specialist and he revealed he was sick. Things start to pick up after Jake and Megan's wedding. Cord rallied the Banner staff to take paycuts. There was a big storm where Bo and Cassie were stuck at a lighthouse. The Buchanans are throwing a party and Julia seemingly killed DuAnn. This guy named John Russell appeared at the party and was chummy with Cassie, it seems like he's a returning character. Joey met a girl hiding in the stables who refuses to give her name. Max is getting close with DuAnn's daughter LeAnn. For the most part, I try to watch Monday/Wednesday/Friday episodes to cover more ground, I'm on June 13, 1991 now. I'm getting into it again. I started in 1988 thru most of 1989, then I jumped ahead to 1991 where ClassicOLTL was posting daily-- I completely missed the Mendorra stuff. I got interested again in current soaps last year (GH/Days), but I dropped hulu and peacock around Thanksgiving.