Spoon

@DeeVeethe extravagant looking Eterna set was definitely a... choice.

Best recasts: Gina Tognoni, dinah Marler Ric Hearst, Alan-Michael Spaulding Bethany Joy Lenz (Joie Lenz), Michelle Bauer Emme Rylan (Marcy Rylan), Lizzie Spaulding Daniel Cosgrove, Bill Lewis Jeff Branson, Shayne Lewis Kimberly Simms, Melinda Lewis (Mindy) Eleanor Parker, Maureen Reardon Worst recast Brian Gaskill, Dylan Lewis Nancy St. Alban, Michelle Bauer-Santos Ron Raines, Alan Spaulding Marj Dusay, Alexandra Spaulding Crystal Hunt, Lizzie Spaulding Michael Dempsey, Alan-Michael Spaulding Geoffrey Scott, Billy Lewis Robert Bogue, AC Mallet Barbara Crampton, Mindy Lewis

@Robluvthebeach that makes sense, I remember Lucy and AM being name-dropped around that time. I think it was around the time that David returned to town for the last time. I could just imagine the messy quad with the two sisters (Harley, Lucy) and the two brothers (Gus, Alan-Michael) 😆.

Carmen was such a cartoon villain. I'm surprised they didn’t pair her with HB Alan, I would've paired her with Peter Simon's Ed for shock value. Maybe humanize her a little. I used to tr y to convince people online that Grandma (Maria) Santos was the new Bert Bauer. Ironic that you use the term "islanded", in regards to the GL of that period. 😆 I'm also surprised they didn't showcase Tony's brother, the Priest in a forbidden love story. The actor seemed well received by the audience. I think Pilar didn't work out because they cut Little Bill loose at that time and he wouldn't return until 2002 with Daniel Cosgrove in the role.

I have a feeling that they were running out Sonia Sattra's contract as it seems like they barely even tried with Michael Dietz in the role, especially once Phillip returned. Ric Hearst was fantastic in the role, I hoped he'd return for the final week since he was between gigs at the time but nope. I wonder if it was Sonia Sattra's "whiny" voice and perkiness that turned ppl off, on the other hand Kristina Wagner on GH had similar qualities and she's still around. Last year, I was watching OLTL and I got from mid '88-late '91. Basically the tail end of Rauch's run, oddly I enjoyed it more than his GL. Maybe because I wasn't acquainted with OLTL pre-Rauch, unlike GL. Carlos Hesser was a real highlight i was "oh! That's Col. Dax!"

Re: Scruples. I find it ironic that Susan Flannery almost played a very "Brooke Logan"-type character with Scruples.

I'm glad you liked A-M & Lucy, I was starting to wonder if anyone else liked Lucy. Too bad that she was nothing more than a placeholder for Harley, literally coming in when Harley is leaving and leaving when Harley comes back. Lol I loved seeing Quint and Nola return, because they were among my earliest GL memories BITD, being home after kindergarten. They were completely wasted, and Nola was sad and bitter. Thank goodness they let Lisa Brown throw in a line about being reunited with Quint when she returned for the final week of the show. Stinks that we never saw her daughter Stacy (Anastasia Chamberlain) grown up, I remember stacy had a hearing problem when she was an infant and needed surgery.

Double post.

At the time, I was also rooting for Phillip and Annie. She needed a "good guy" by her side, but I get it. They probably knew CW had Primetime ambition and wasn't going to stick around. Cassie was to saccrine for an ex-strippwr who was bounced around in orphanages. She should've had more edge. Also, the character was a pet of B&E since they wrote for her on Loving. Another Loving vet joins late this year and its the same thing.

2000, when the mob and the island people completely dominated, the show became something else. I got optimistic in 2002 with Millee Taggart, GL was feeling like GL again. The mob was gone, Prince Richard was killed off, Ed, Little Bill, Ben and Alex were back. Happy Days were here again, and then came ConJob. 😔 Once they put JVD off contract and he bolted to OLTL, the show was practically over.

@alwaysAMC you mentioned that you dig Michelle and Jesse, which couples do you like and which ones are you not feeling? Also which characters do you like most and dislike most? Personally, I was a Bloss fan. I thought Jenna was Buzz's best pairing- sorry Nadine. At the time I was rooting for Beth and Phillip to reunite. 1998 Neth is so different from 80s Beth- she's a b-word vixen. While Phillip and Harley are a cute couple, Harley's next long term coupling is better. I was never into Mattessa. Cassie and Hart are pretty good together, but I feel bad for Dinah being the town pariah. Of course, she caused it by aways being selfish and entitled. She's long forgotten her circus roots. Side note related to off-scrern characters beinb in stasis, when India returns in 2000s she mentions that Dorie was getting ready to get married. Also, Amanda is briefly mentioned in 2004 as she left Roger at some point, but AFAIK he was still at Spaulding West until the near end. Its a shame that Alan-Michael and Lucy didn't have children off-screen. When you circle back to the 90s, I want to recommend some jumping on points.. the Summer of 1990. I'd say start after reva leaves, but you'd miss the Roger/Holly Acapulco plot that runs concurrent to Reva's exit- and since you like that pairing, I think you'll enjoy it. Also around Feb 1991 after a bunch of established characters leave (Chelsea, Beth, Phillip, Rick and Josh), a soft reset in ways.

https://youtu.be/wpZ2wucCrC4?si=HnFkUo6ZMNCMG615 On this day in 1992, the special Ross Election Day Nightmare episode aired.

I saw this quote from The Boston Globe on the We Love Soaps this day in history column... In a last-ditch effort to save the soap, Brian Frons, CBS manager of daytime programs, is hoping that forthcoming episodes of SEARCH, featuring expensive location footage of Hong Kong, will provide much-needed excitement, along with some adrenalin for the ratings. However, if the numbers fail to improve, there are two scenarios under way: CBS will either move the soap to the 4 p.m. graveyard time slot or simply cancel it altogether. So, if Search didn’t move to NBC it seemed likely that Capitol would still debut but SFT would get the Love of Life treatment with certain cancellation soon afterward. Could you imagine Edge vs Search at 4pm?

@DeeVee what Josh did to the clone was what they call "grooming" these days. She was young and impressionable with this older, creepy guy telling her that they are soulmates.

@alwaysAMCyes you should try to make it til the Summer of '99. After that its a very different show. The transition is certainly interesting.

@Speed Racer yes, 1998 is basically the end of classic GL, with all the gangsters and island people flooding the show in '99.

No, she wasn't disabled, that was a transplant storyline. But having a tragedy involving a child for EMMY bait. That would be what pushes Holly over the edge in '98. Its a shame Peter never returns as s teen or adult, considering how much plot was around him for a few years. Same with Meg and the other kids born in the 90s kids that weren't Coopers.

@DeeVeethe mags reported that the original plans was to ape GH and have Meg die in a car accident, then have Fletcher leave town. @alwaysAMC very light spoilers.... there's follow-up with Holly but you have to wait until early 1999.

@P.J. McKinnon cousin Jake on AW, who outlasted the main family.

Also IIRC, cousin Jack basically filled the slot of Caleb Snyder who was also a cop. Kinda how cop nephew Adam Cory replaced cop nephew Neal Cory on AW.

@DeeVee That reminds me how Clarissa was named after Holly, because that character in Blake's novel was based on Holly. Also, Leah Bauer was a combination of Rick's mom Leslie and Mel's mom Felicia. IIRC, Cassie gave birth to RJ in a car during a blizzard, right around the holidays.

@alwaysAMC yes, Josh is a total groomer. Totally problematic in hindsight but he has some powerful scenes dealing with loss and reliving his life in a sense seeing clone Reva grow up.

I didn't care for BC's first run as Bet, she paled in comparison to Judi. BC excelled in her second run? BC was just better suited in playing a shady vixen- way removed from Judi's Beth.

I remember Harley and Cassie having a pretty consistent friendship from 1998 and on.

@alwaysAMC CBS reran both the 1997 Christmas episode and where Abby killed Roy during the holidays either in '98 or '99.