MarlandFan

Interesting idea about Nancy. I think Marland gave the story to Lisa because of her southern roots? Also, the latent prejudice made for better drama because Lisa was closer to Duncan and Jessica; the conflict felt more intense. Overall, though, the prejudice seemed odd: Lisa didn't mind them being in a relationship (and I don't think she minded them getting married) but she had a problem with a mixed-race child being born from the union.

Marx fulfilled his original 3 year contract and then left for L.A. Marland did, in fact, leave the role of Tom open as long as he could (6 months) in the hopes that Marx would return. Bryce also left when his contract expired but (as we saw) he basically had an open-door to return whenever he wanted. I LOVED Jennifer Ashe as Meg. Spunky, smart, wily, and forever-yearning. I hated how her marriage to Tonio made her a victim, but it did help to mature her. Meg was the sharpest of the Snyders and I was always happy to see her drop in for a short term visit post-1988. And Marland definitely rewrote Iva's adoption to allow a Lily/Holden love story. The revelation scene between Iva and Emma in the August 4, 1986 episode is very long (by soap standards) and covers a lot of exposition for a single scene. While beautiful and beautifully acted, the scene definitely feels like it was surgically added at the last minute.

I totally agree. Pine was over-the-top slimy (as Channing was indeed written) and it was one of those fun "soaps-in-the-summer" murder mysteries. The story itself served no long-term purpose (a short-term character murdered by another short-term character) but it managed to involve most of the Walsh/Snyder clans and it was over within a few months. (Wish the same had been true of Carolyn Crawford...)

At the time, I totally bought Iva's "sacrifice" for Craig. Pre-therapy, Iva definitely had low self-esteem + she felt enormous guilt for the destruction that Tad had caused her family and friends. She REALLY loved Craig and knew that the only reason Craig was in prison accused of a murder he did not commit was because Tad had followed her to Oakdale to begin with. I agree: a longer Iva/Craig/Sierra story would have been interesting. (I, for one, never understood the Craig/Sierra appeal.) RIP Lisa Brown.

Actor Christopher Cass briefly took over for Breen while Breen became suddenly ill. (This is the infamous "mid-love scene" episodes). But Breen returned to continue the role after he recovered from his illness. Then a month or two later Neal was murdered and a distraught Scott disappeared shortly afterward. Breen was on-air until at least June of 1993.

I agree - the idea of Scott had amazing potential: (Conflicts with Tom, a growing attraction to Margo, friction with Lisa, potential villain of the show, etc.) But from the get-go, Scott was written as a 30-something loser. Yes, he had his law degree and a cultured upbringing, but he did nothing with them. No career, no girlfriend/fiancee/wife, a difficult relationship with his father. Yes, some of those problems could be attributed to his lack of a mother and yes it created friction between him and Lisa -- but it wasn't interesting to watch. He was a whiner/complainer and was absolutely aimless in life. Joseph Breen had been a powerful actor on GL but he fizzled on ATWT. His relationship with Lucinda had promise, but Breen and Hubbard had no chemistry - and the relationship ended as quickly as it began. Then 1993 started and his relationship with Neal began -- and ended fast because of her murder. And Breen was ill, then replaced. And then Marland died. And Scott was written off (I don't even think Breen got a goodbye scene). I actually enjoyed the second iteration of Scott played by Doug Wirt. He was a bit of a con-man, a self-centered playboy. He had more edge -- which makes sense for a guy who led a privileged life and lived most of his life away at boarding school/university. THAT version of Scott was interesting.

Rick and Howard Lansing stole Sabrina and sold her. She was eventually adopted by a young British couple. John Dixon was not involved in the plot but found out a few years later after the adoptive parents and baby Sabrina (he thought) were killed in a train wreck. Since the baby was dead, he decided not to tell Bob or Kim since he thought it might cause them unnecessary pain. In 1987, after finding Sabrina, Bob was determined to know the entire truth and tracked down Rick who was stuck in a Central American country (?) with no hope of returning to the US. I believe he finally admitted to Bob that John had nothing to do with it.

Every few months I check out the Internet Archive website hoping that maybe by chance some of those Marion Stokes videos "accidentally" recorded an afternoon of 1980s/1990s soaps. What a treasure trove she left behind.

After he left acting I believe he became a private investigator? But he really did fall off the radar. There is very little in the way of a digital trail for him because he left acting before the internet became the big monster that it is. btw - I see a couple of his autographs for sale on eBay.

I'm all for showing previously unshown portions of the Black experience, but why can't we have a soap that focuses on several different classes at the same time? I agree; I'm also not interested in seeing the "ghettoized" (Val Jean's term) -- but what about the middle class? Educated, professional people who are struggling to make ends meet (like most of us) and who are dealing with relatable problems. I remember when "The Bold and the Beautiful" began -- the show focused on a wealthy family and a lower middle class family. It was far more interesting than the version we have today where EVERYONE has designer clothes and never worries about paying rent.

Every single character on YR and BB is either upper-middle class or filthy rich. They are dressed to the nines and with not a hair out of place. It's completely unrealistic and unrelatable. Viewers don't want yet another soap that shows excess and corporate takeover storylines. We want a soap about real people struggling with real problems. I'll be tuning in to "The Gates" but I'm worried it will be more of the same. Glam, Botox, and name brand clothes.

Marland absolutely ignored his own writing rules with the Barbara "vamp" story -- but only with the speed in which it was rolled out. It did happen overnight but there was a lot of good reasoning behind the change: her loss of Brian brought up a lot of repressed anger over past failed loves (Tom, Gunnar) and the fact that Margo DID cheat with James behind her back. After years of being a doormat, Barbara decided to become powerful. Granted, she did it incorrectly by trying to destroy Tom and Margo (perhaps she learned too much at the feet of Stenbeck) but after that plot ended, she quickly "evened out" and became merely strong and feisty, not evil. I think we can all agree that Barbara became a much more interesting character because of Marland's change. AND it gave Collen Zenk an opportunity to grow as an actress. AND it allowed her to stay with the show to the end (a weak, victimized Babs would have been written off long before).

It was all about money and running an efficient production schedule (again, money). During that "pod" era (and even to this day on the surviving soaps) a typical episode usually consisted of scenes that had only two characters. For instance, if Jack and Carly were having a conflict, their argument/dialogue would be stretched/padded so that it lasted for 5/6 separate scenes. Those scenes were interspersed throughout the episode with 5/6 separate scenes of Bob and Kim dealing with a conflict, and 5/6 scenes of Barbara and Hal, etc. Each episode was therefore cheaper to produce because they only had to pay 8 to 10 actors. And the unionized technical crew no longer could charge for overtime because they were no longer filming beyond the regular working hours (wedding scenes, birthday parties, etc. would often film late into the night.) It certainly was an efficient business model but it made for very boring, inert, vapid viewing experience.

Holden drove straight from Oakdale to NYC to confront Julie about having fathered a child with her (Aaron). He was so determined to get clarification that he didn't tell Lily (or anyone else) about the impromptu trip. After meeting with Julie (who told him everything) he left to drive back to Oakdale. As he was approaching his car, he was mugged and severely beaten by thieves who stole his ID, cash, and car -- leaving him for dead. Julie, who was leaving for a European trip, assumed Holden had made it home. She had no contact with anyone back at Oakdale, so she didn't learn about his disappearance for months. As for Lily, she and Holden had had a big fight right before he left (related to her miscarriage and the tension between them), so she assumed he had just abandoned her -- which no one really believed (including Lily herself) but without any other evidence, what other reason was there? Linc discovered Marcy's true personality and caught her bed with another man. Marcy left Oakdale but "triumphantly" claimed that she was pregnant with their child and that she was going to come back and sue for child support. I don't believe Marcy ever came back. And Linc eventually left (but came back recast with another actor and an entirely different, toxic personality.) He was eventually murdered by Ned Simon who was avenging his daughter Debbie's deflowering by a suddenly-scumbag Linc.

Wow - I've never been on Rumble before. I understand that people have different politics, but there appears to be an inordinate number of conspiracy theory videos.

The Crawford murder mystery was indeed a stinker for all of the reasons you listed -- but it might have been slightly redeemed if Marland had gone with his original killer.... Daryl. Years ago I purchased a copy of Marland's 1992 storyline projection on eBay. In it, Marland very clearly tags Daryl as the murderer. But something must have happened to change his mind as they got closer to the climax, because Marland switched gears. Which was a shame because having Daryl turn out to be Carolyn's murderer would have made the entire story worthwhile. Clearly, Marland was using this story to focus on Frannie's penchant for falling in love with bad guys (ex: Douglas Cummings) but for some reason he spun the story in a different direction in its final act. Which doesn't make sense -- why? Why redeem Daryl since both he and Frannie were being written off within a month of the story wrap up? Why not keep Frannie on canvas and truly explore why she makes such bad choices with men (Larry was a dick in Boston, Seth left her for Sabrina, and Sean was a liar and (I think?) a previous abuser.) But suddenly the story ended with a whimper leaving us all wondering -- what the hell was that?

Not with all 6 actors under contract. I'm pretty sure there were a wedding or two where all 6 siblings made appearances. (After they left the show as contract players, Steve Bassett and Jennifer Ashe visited often.) Maybe they were all present at Holden/Lily's 1991 wedding? And/or Ellie and Kirk's?

Very true. The report I watched did NOT infer that Hubbard was having financial issues -- it was strictly conveying the frustrations of both Hubbard and her son that the long-term care insurance was refusing to pay. Such healthcare costs can easily be in the $10-15 thousand range -- per MONTH! So even those who are well-off (as I assume Hubbard to have been) would want to begin collecting from such policies -- especially since she had been paying into it for years.

Elizabeth Hubbard won two competitive Emmys. One for "The Doctors" and a second for a TV film, "First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson." I definitely understand that several other soap actresses have won (many) more than 2, but my point was that Hubbard's having already won 2 Emmys was perhaps one of several factors as to her many ATWT losses over the years.

Since tastes are subjective, the Emmy (or Oscar or Tony) rarely goes to the best performer. Some voters may have disliked Hubbard's personal attitudes or her "ad lib" acting style or thought she had already won enough (2 competitive). I truly think the honor is in being nominated. (That being said, I still don't know why Kathryn Hays never received a nod.)

It's crazy that Anne Sward is only 8 years older than "son" Scott Bryce. She's 34 years old in this 1984 episode of Tattletales.

Larry was realistic about soap work. While it was a solid paycheck which allowed him to do less-lucrative NYC stage work, I think he was embarrassed by the occasional ridiculous storylines that soaps are often guilty of. And he was honest about the daily grind of soap production: I'm paraphrasing him here, but once during an interview he stated that soap actors were occasionally guilty of "phoning it in". We all do it, me included." But I think Larry recognized that soaps can achieve greatness; when the scripts/stories were good, he gave it his all.

Very true. Time and again the writers (and casting department) dropped the ball with Chris. He should have become the "new" Tom; the lead male character of the show. It would have been a natural progression; he was connected/related to almost every character on the show. But somehow he was always portrayed as a disappointing, second-rate son. So much wasted potential.

I loved Lindsay Frost's Betsy. I wish the actress (and the character) had stayed.

I clearly remember that scene when Hank confided to Barbara that he was gay. She was very loving and accepting and inferred that she had already guessed his sexuality, stating that being in the fashion industry she was no stranger to gay men. Doug Marland always kept his characters 3-dimensional: Barbara was capable of being a major b!tch but was also capable of great kindness and sensitivity. I've looked for that episode on YT but have never found it.