wonderwoman1951

responding to the unabortion topic here only because dough marland set the gold standard for how to rewrite a soap opera’s history. i wasn’t watching amc at the time, but when i heard about the unabortion, i felt, as most did, that not only was this an insult to viewers, but to agnes nixon’s groundbreaking story, as well. went without saying that the science to support the story simply did not exist. then a few years ago. i caught an episode of ‘the bold ones,’ an anthology series from the early ‘70s. one of the segments, ‘the new doctors,’ focused on cutting edge medicine and seemed to be grounded in some kind of reality — one episode from the last season dealt with acupuncture. this episode was titled ‘a substitute womb,’ and dealt with a woman with a serious cardiac condition who was advised not to continue her pregnancy. the doctors wanted to try implanting the embryo into another woman’s uterus. it was her sister, so lots of drama ensued, and i don’t recall how things turned out. i poked around online to see if there was in fact some early research behind this episode. but, with ivf, there’s so much info and i couldn’t out how to refine my search to find out what might have been going on in the late 60s-early 70s. often wondered if megan mctavish had seen this episode. of course, even if she had, it was still a stupid, unnecessary story. a substitute womb

not sure where black and stern fall in the pantheon of bad headwriters. what i can tell you is that it was at les moonves’s “suggestion” that black and stern became atwt’s headwriters, which they both told me, and was confirmed by lucy johnson, head of cbs daytime.

atwt taped the 40th anniversary episode which aired on 2 april in mid-march.

from the creation of another world “While the AW bible may have revealed nothing about Pat Matthew's pregnancy and abortion, according to Elana Levine, as the story unfolded, NBC censors requested a number of script changes. Some were to insure medical accuracy: making clear that the cause of Pat's sterility was the infection that resulted from the abortion, not the abortion itself. Others addressed Pat's level of responsibility for the situation, with one NBC censor warning against her being portrayed as "totally innocent or blameless." While this placed responsibility on Pat for her sexual behavior, not the unjust societal expectations of young women, Levine points out, "it also attributed to her some agency, even sexual agency—'good' young women who got themselves in such situations were not mere victims of duplicitous men." Levine goes on to say that while these changes were likely made to provide NBC cover from being seen as endorsing immoral or illegal behavior, "they also resulted in greater ambiguity about the causes of Pat’s troubles—did she make bad choices or was her situation an impossible one to navigate? If the latter, what made it so untenable? The openness of soap storytelling invited such questions." ”

just finished watching the first 2 episodes of truman versus the swans. about 31 minutes into the 2nd episode truman is watching an episode of ‘family,’ and observes: ‘the writing on this show is so good. i mean, tennessee would be jealous. the secret is they love each other no matter how badly they behave.’ who’d a thunk… reminded me how much i miss this show — and the now-defunct decades, which has been replaced by catchy comedy.

I didn't see that as the best of times as I felt that sites like DC and their agenda in favor of certain regimes held too much sway, but I do miss the We Love Soaps interviews (and if not for them a number of precious GL and ATWT episodes would still be in the vaults). i’m not clear about how daytime confidential held too much sway… however, the time i’m referencing, the mid-late aughts, when bloggers all read each other, and would point their readers to posts they found interesting. there were conversations, along with the occasional disagreement. it was great for fans who learned a lot. no one worried about clicks. but that all went away when the suits started monetizing. haven’t talked to roger in a while, but wouldn’t be surprised if he’s shut it down — may have become too expensive to keep online. i remember when ‘snark weighs in’ — which i loved — just disappeared one day, never to be seen or heard from again, same with mediadomain: no warning; just one day it was gone.

oh absolutely! inevitable with a genre that continues for decades. but, what was interesting — and the source of considerable online discussion in the late aughts — was how character driven story found its was into primetime serials: not ‘dallas’ and ‘dynasty,’ but shows like ‘friday night lights,’ to name but one. here’s what ‘snark weighs in’ had to say: [M]any primetime fans are former daytime fans who now stick exclusively with primetime, because it’s the only place they can get anything resembling the socially aware, character-driven, serialized storytelling they used to get from soaps.”

for sure! but it was also the best of times for serious discussion of soaps online. before the suits figured out how to monetize the web, there were so many websites — media domain; we love soaps; daytime confidential; snark weighs in; marlena de la croix; tom casiello; sara bibel; a couple on the now defunct red room; the soap pages on television without pity (i’m sure i’ve forgotten a few) — where the authors read and commented on each other’s postings. miss those conversations and connections.

it’s funny. in the late aughts, when ginia bellafante was one of the ny times television critics, she was deep in the closet about even watching soaps. at that time, she made a lot of disparaging — even insulting — comments about soaps. can’t remember who the blogger was who called her out. but, over the years she came around.

another ny times piece by the same writer: ginia bellafante on ryan’s hope

capote link here you go

I thought that at one point, too, and I even posted that. But then I found out that P&G had no problem with it & the invitation was extended. I learned about the invitation & about her health & her inability to fly at that point which caused her to have to decline, from her son Scott who is a friend, as well as being a Director at DAYS. donna — pretty sure that we both heard the initial report from the same person, who was in a position to know at the time. i also posted about it. thanks for the updated info.

i have it on good authority that goutman wanted to bring beverlee for the finale, but was overruled by pgp.

as i recall, it was a boarding house, so it would have generated income. i don’t recall the reardon’s backstory. perhaps the family fell on hard times after the father died?

With all due respect, none of this is about ATWT or the Helen Wagner tribute. If that was so terrible, why use it as a bar that the JZ tribute needed to clear? was just making a comparison. no need to get your knickers in a twist. and for the record, this was the conversation ‘steep curve’ referenced. I didn't think that was too bad, although I may be grading on a curve because of other memorials like Hal's that I found somewhat distasteful (mainly because they kept "joking" about how many children he had by various women)

marisa paven, who played max dubujak’s mother, chantal, has died. here’s a free link. marisa pavan obit

I didn't think that was too bad, although I may be grading on a curve because of other memorials like Hal's that I found somewhat distasteful (mainly because they kept "joking" about how many children he had by various women). that must be one steep curve. while hal’s memorial might have been ‘somewhat distasteful,’ blowing through nancy’s (and helen’s) in a single episode — no on-screen funeral, no returning family members — and only a couple of weeks before the show's final episode… sorry — while gh’s effort may seem inadequate to some fans, it’s eons better than the insult ‘world turns fans had thrown in our faces.

you want to see something ‘practically over before it began,’ have a look at christopher goutman tried to pass off as a ‘tribute’ to helen wagner — the last original cast member who was on the show for virtually its entire 54 year run. at least gh made an effort — inadequate perhaps — but an effort nevertheless. helen wagner ‘tribute’

yes — his mother and brother. after he died, his nephew released a few of the notes he left to people magazine, one of which said something to the effect that “every aspect of his life was tinged with sadness.” it sounded as though he had been depressed for some time.

nor had i. appreciate it!

the one before ross married blake, right. i’ve always wondered who wrote that perfect scene. thanks for sharing.

atwt: kim and susan.

just read about andre braugher’s passing. of course, there was ‘homicide,’ but i absolutely loved him in ‘men of a certain age,’ ironically, a show that ended long before its time.

free link: ellen holly’s ny times obit

free link ellen holly’s ny times obit