Mitch64

I love short term returns...As much as I love Nola, I think her second stint should have been short term...it actually was a good time to bring her back with her old nemesis hooking up with her nephew...instead of the sad sack rejected Nola...she would be a novelist going on a book tour who drops into town to remind everyone that Van was not always a saint...("Vanessa, did you pull that fur coat trick on Matt..yes, thats right Matt, Vanessa used to come naked in a fur coat to have sex with your uncle Tony..oh, and she also slept with your uncle Ed, which I have to admit, must have been when Ed had some life in him.") cause trouble with Dinah and Van (as in, maybe Dinah had spent time with Nola in those years she was off the show, and Van is a bit jealous) poke stick in his ass Ed trying to mother Michelle "Oh Michelle, listen to your Auntie Nola...your father is a bit of a stick in the mud, you need to have some fun." And maybe threaten Lillian, "Listen b*tch I know what happened and you better hope I don't put your sordid past in my next book" etc and then leave town. You don't have to invent some affair for Quint or bring him back to try to beat the Quola dead horse..they are happy together, they just dont have their heads up each others butts. Jenna should have returned second time to usher Buzz off canvas, and Edmund and Richard were supposed to be short term but they were supposedly SO popular....

GL should have learned from Philliip writes a novel and visualizes his characters failed storyline...though this was the perfect storyline for Nola. Who is the blond at Company who has the greatest mores realistic reaction to Reva..."Oh God," and tries to put her head down. Reva was most fun when people openly were annoyed with her. Toothy blond Bill, who looks nothing like his TV parents.

Claire was around right before PS came back. Its really odd, they had the Meta/Claire lighthouse storyline (loved the Meta/Claire dynamic...Meta giving her a kick in the ass and Claire the only person in town who doesnt treat Meta like a beloved aunt..more like an annoying aunt you cant get rid of.) MS got sick so I understand they had to dump the planned storyline of the grand reopening of the lighthouse for (and substitute Jeva's sixth millionth wedding? Someone really thought they were quite the ratings draw) but PS came back and Claire just..disappeared. Another missed opp. Claire with Ed's old enemy, and also with Rick and his heart issue, having Claire involved...(and Pratt made such a great pain in the ass.) I also liked that Alan and Claire were just screwing and not making anything more of it. I too liked PS much better on his return then during his post Mo death period. Simon played a great, wounded troubled guy trying to do right. Taggert used him really well, as kind of a Judge Lowell character that people bounded issues off of and he came off so much stronger...and really showed that GL needed quiet characters like Ed and quiet actors like PS to ground the show. It was never shown better then Ed's scene with Reva with KZ trying her tricks on upstaging and PS having none of it and it was a really good scene, KZ had to take it down to meet Simon as Reva would have to with Ed and it also showed that KZ was great with relationship scenes of family and friends instead of the OTT things Rauch contantly put her in.

They had a good scene on a Christmas Eve episode, Alex has a glam party and everyone is there dressed to the nines...(and its MKA's last episode during her short stint, who oddly says she is just taking a trip and will be back) and then another scnene and its Alex by herself kind of picking up after the party (I can see a control freak like her not waiting for the help) and Roger, knowing full well that she is alone comes in and asks where everyone is and she tells them they all left to got the the Bauers, and he makes his move. Simple fast scene showing that Alex is lonely and in her own Spaulding screwed up way, wants to make a home like the Bauers were people come to hang out.

Good idea...Rick needed someone with pep..like Mindy or Stacy, a daughter of Nolas would maybe perk that dope up. I think that waitress he was dating (who was later an undercover FBI agent) was supposed to be Stacy..if she was written better it would work.

Too bad that they didn't figure out that some of that was due to production values, and less..."staid" writing, and not the vets. Speaking of Hope Bauer, instead of Joan/Alex, what if it was Hope who came back around the anniversary. A stronger, more cynical Hope who comes back to kick Alan's ass, and punish him for ignoring AM...I just think it would be fun for an. 'ex-wife" to chair the "Ex-wife's" club.

But just as GL was dismantling the Bauers, Marland was building back the Hughes family on ATWT...so I think it really was the producers and the writers who made those choices...look at the Dobsons when they were at ATWT, they totally obscured the Hughes family, while the Bauers were still strong on GL under Marland. Its odd that PG would allow them to do so, ignoring Nancy Hughes, an iconic soap matriarch, so much that the actress leaves is odd.

Lord...Rita all of a sudden is huffing and puffing and shrieking! What about Judith Chapman, who was sex pot Natalie on ATWT and I think was on YR...though she might be a little too cold for Rita?

During CB's return it would have been interesting to bring back Rita and Hope..Hope first, successful, harder, attracted to Alan but knowing his tricks fighting his influence on AM, while India is Alan's partner in crime, and then comes in Rita with Alan's baby (in any timeline I would have Rita lying that the baby is Alan's and its really Ed's a reverse of the Ed/Roger story.) With Alex, Alan would have his hands full with divas and maybe, he could have stayed away from Reva! Just watching some scenes of Alan and Ed when PS first came back...he made Ed have a backbone in defending Mo, and he had some really good scenes with Mo and his family..what happened? Why did PS become such a sourpuss and Ed became so lethargic and passive (Ed comes off as such a dick from the Holly affair on..or he is completely passive as if he in uninterested in anything.) I would say its the writing and direction, as PS has some strong scenes when he returns during Taggert, who woudl thought Ed Bauer would threaten Mob Mama Carmen, and have a Reva scene where she shuts up and listens to him?

Agree on all of those, but again, GL missed the boat as they could have brought Hope back with an actress with a bit more intensity...Hope was a recovering alcoholic who got screwed over by what she though was her dream prince. She should have been more cynical, intense and stronger. I wish they had brought her back when CB came back and see her love/hate with Alan, and a strong Hope going toe to toe with Alex, (there is no way Hope would ever allowed a Spaulding to co opt her son like they let Alex be a mother figue with Hope no where in sight.) Rita is more sophisticated and quietly seductive so I dont see Kimmer doing that. But I did love Kimmer as Nola, and she was a quieter vixen so maybe.

Its gotta be Beecroft, as at that time Lujack was very much immersed with the Reardons and Company, (I think Tony caught him trying to steal..) and Tony being a tough brother figure to him. Its too bad I loved Tony and thought Beecroft was sexy..and Long was connecting characters to core families, etc. I dont think that they needed to do a wholesale right off of the Reardons, (and they had no clue how to write for Nola after she had her kids) but can see with that with 4 of the actors from the family leaving, and one actor not likely to be welcomed back (Beecroft) it was hard to write for them. You can really see why some, un, less charismatic actors and characters like Frankie D and Jay Hammer stayed as long as they did simply by being easy to get along with.

Yea, they seemed good with each other so they got to a place where they understood each other. I am amazed that Kimmer would feel threatened when Kristi was an entirely untrained actor, though watching scenes of hers she was just naturally likeable as Roxie,and I loved that Roxie was not a vixen, or a helpless heroine but seemed like a normal young woman, working, going to school and dealing with her family. They needed her back when Rauchies St.Reva was going...Cassie and Reva were intolerable together. Apparently Malloy was just as friendly to new actors as Kimmer, he told Terrel Anthony (no great shakes in the acting either) that he was the male sex symbol star and to not try and piss on his leg!!!

When Locher had the "Shayne Family Reunion" Kristie, who had no f*cks to give and looked like she got out of the nuthouse Roxie was in...said to Alan's "do you remember your first day"......"Oh, I remember mine, and you being a real bitch Miss Kim Zimmer" She said it laughing as they must have gotten on later, and Zimmer looked a little thrown but laughed also, so Kimmer must have been rough on anyone she thought was going to move her over. To clarify on the ATWT with JS and CZ...they were both fighting to be the star, but AM didn't leave because of them, I heard she was fired as she was playing both sides against the middle and stirring up [!@#$%^&*]. Too bad, her grey character would have been good as a foil to the Hughes family.

I always wanted them to bring back Amy Stallings...bio kid of nasty Natalie and raised by Sterile Carol Stallings...I think Amy would have been a great teen vixen and pain in the a@@ coming back and acting like Church Girl but really wanting to sex up the Oakdale population. Instead of that unheard of Vietnamese kid of Tom's, they could have retro wrote that Amy WAS really Tom's kid, and that bring Natalie back to town..(I think Marland would have loved Natalie.)

I can't see JWS returning, but it would have been cool to see he and Lisa together. A nice chat about the past and maybe him saying, "I made the wrong choice." Elvera...I just wish they had recast Hope. One would think maybe Rauch was hedging his bets and wanted to save Hope to recast in the future, but that didn't happen. At least use Hope to usher AM and Lucy off the canvas...maybe she is running a Bauer Foundation and AM leaves the evil empire of Spaulding to work for her.

The only good thing about bringing Jenna back and that dumb sting thing(which I had no idea what the plot was but it went on and on...) was to get her and Buzz together and usher them off canvas. Frank and Harley always had a better dynamic without Buzzard around. Reva who was molested as a kid, in love with a rapist...who WAS Cole blowing that they worked so hard to keep him on? I did like that Beth was not perfect and yes, with everything she went through, she would have problems. I thought the idea of split personalities worked, as they made Beth's personalty match the plot, and one of them being dependent on men and sexually compulsive because of her abuse, but they dropped the ball on that one.

Van had more conversations about Henry with Soccer Mom Jenna of all people, but of course Jenna had Buzzard firmly tied around her neck so that somehow made her valued. Yea, Nola as the depressed looser was too much...especially when SlutChelle tells her she is a sad sack in the diner of all places, and Nola just sits there a mopes. But her last weeks scenes made up for it, Nola was back..insulting the Coopers,(and Buzz seems to forget she "stalked" him) giving Lillian the stink eye, needling Van "Are you REALLY glad to see me Vanessa?" and of course, blowing us all a kiss goodbye. But that was all due to Brown I am sure. And I forgot about Reva talking to that looser's picture..like they were a long term couple.

Yuck...they did that AGAIN??? Glad the Island of Cheese turned me off of GL at that time. They really didn't need to bring back Fletch, if anything, it should have been Ed, played by MH. Ed had one foot in his demons and one foot in respectable suburbia, so he would have been able to help Holly come back...(and Fletch was too judgey all the time.) Ed and Holly as the notBob/Kim tentpoles of SF would have worked well.

I'm not a big GH or Maura West fan (I find Carjack second only to Jeva as annoying air hogs of back and forth and who gives a damn anymore) but I saw an episode and I think she is supposed to be a mob boss and she is on a dock and I think, kicks a corpse into the water..anyway West is really good as this tough hard woman, which is what Carmen should have been..a tough woman trying to survive in a violent man's world, who becomes a monster herself, would have been much better then...,what we got. The closest was when McTavish has Nola discover Van is dying, and she helps her cover it up. But then Rauch sidelined her from the 'discover Van is alive" story with again one more flirting with Dinah and Matt working together and maybe more. Jay Hammer Insisted on a three month pay or play contract and they wanted recurring. He was going to help Holly rehab in a longer story, but you can see them getting ready for the Island of Cheese so they ended it early, so smart move on Hammer's part. Company was a house that they were moving which crashed into the BH...so the owner gave it to the Reardon's and Tony turned it into a bar...cause, why not? I do like that the set did look like a converted house for quite some time, and I actually liked how it looked during Wheeler's time/Peapack.

I always loved JL's Chelle, Carmen would threaten to kill her and Chelle would stamp her feet and pout and it just showed how cartoony Carmen was..Chelle wasnt afraid of her. I always thought at this time how this silly mob would get away from killing the daughter of a prominent family in town...especially when everyone has her her threaten her. I always wanted Chelle to say, "Your threatening my family? Bitch I know Vanessa Chamberlin and Alexandra Spaulding, who would turn you inside out..oh and my uncle is on the crime commission, so ..see ya Cruella!" Frank was a bust as a romantic lead...anything other then the nice big brother, son, friend and he failed. But that's not so bad, shows need characters like that.

And around this time Reva took prominence as Van's main pain in the ass away from Nola (cause of course..it's REVA dammit!!!) I wish they had thrown Nola into this scene, first to tell Reva to go to hell (the only time Van and Nola weren't digging into each other is if someone else started on either) and for her team up with Reva on putting this woman away (didnt Reva start a rumor in this episode that the woman had herpes, politically incorrect now but funny at the time) And yes, this was when Reva was fun, and not the sanctimonious soccer mom of the 90s. I kind of can understand Kimmers complaints that they were turning Reva into Bert Bauer..."I even told Cassie..tsk, tsk the other day!"

Which is so stupid..they kept her and let a Hughes go? He and Molly were sexy together, and while he was a good natured guy, it was nice to have a Hughes was wants totally straight and narrow. I read that, he talked about it but said that they were both being supportive and helpful. He did have a big New York accent thing going on..reminded me of that annoying kid who played Ben on GL. Ugh, I just looked him up and he died by suicide..how sad.

Nah, you guys don't get Kimmer...the point was...Jarsh wanted to lay pipe on the middle aged sex goddess that Reva was. Now IF Jarsh couldnt get it up for Reva as he saw Dolly all the time..Kim would have walked like a lumber jack up to Rauchie's office...as he would say, "Kim's PISSED" I actually was always more interested in the family dynamics then the endless love stories and "always" but I know that I what most people tune in for. I wish BTG had been set more in an urban neighborhood with a mix of classes, races etc, with the main family being the same as it is on the show now. The previews always make it look typical soap crossed with a Real Housewives, feel. And okay, if the show had gone with an urban community feel, then it would have been perfect for Kimmer to return to daytime as the hard ass owner of the blue collar bar, who maybe jumped in the fountain years earlier with the patriarch of the show...a smack down between Reva Shayne and Jessica Griffin would be must see!

It didnt help that one of them looked a bit too porny underwear models..no Hughes should look like the could "dance in cages."

I really like Kover's pretty boy Chris Hughes, his acting wasnt the greatest but he really seemed like a Hughes, and came off as this really sweet mama's boy..(Kover had great chemistry with all of the formidable ladies in the Hughes family, Nancy, Kim and Lisa) Why they stuck him in that storyline with that plain Jane daughter ofHolden's??