Mitch64

Yes, there is a difference between being "sexy" (the Dobson's GL) and being pervy and this was pervy. First, we are led to believe that super dooper clean cut Kurt, is going to prostitutes...(I know he is on an oil rig, but have him talk about why he is doing that and how he may feel guilty about the women having to use their bodies for money..) then we have Kyle coming in and flairing his nostrils and black mailing Roxie, who was a sweet character, into sex, then she belives she is a prostitute (did she screw people for money with amnesia...) the Phillip tells Rick that HE goes to prostitutes in the past (uh, NuPhillip, we pretty much saw what Phillp has been up to since he came back older...and prostitutes werent really part of it...)it was so weird compared to the sunny GL that Long wrote up to that. And yes, having Roxie not even say anything to Reva (cause you can't rain on Reva's love parade) or have Kyle apologize for what he did was weird. But I always hated Kyle..I think Malloy past his time on Edge came off...way too stylized, and stiff and unpleasant, and bringing this group of people with him as posted above, while the cast was being gutted, was bizarre..especially since they worked for a record company (as soon as you see a "record company" on a soap you KNOW its going to suck big time with its faux hipness..or as Alex said to the dreaded Jackson Freemont when he told her he was "an artiste" .."Who told you that, the clerk who sold you that ring in your ear???)

God I hated that story. We hardly knew Roxie at that time, and it introduced a nobody character (Kurt was cute and, well, that was it) It also was just kind of skeevy...Kyle Sampson blackmailing Roxie to have sex..the weird old Madame...NuPhillip leering when Rick asked him about prostitutes....it just was weird and as you say, stupid.

Johnny Bauer's cancer, the intention of making him a faith healer, and Roxie going wacko because of it. I also did not like that she wrote that Alex watched Ms. Sally die (no lose there but) and didnt get help to protect Alan's switching of Marah's paternity tests.

Yes...their was a combo of family, romance, humor, drama, camp (come on, a castle transported brick by brick to the midwest, complete with ghost...James skulking around as a monk...) and the usual Marland tropes, which are okay, I like when writers are distinctive (i.e. Pam Long)Calhoun seemed to lighten Marland while Cato double down on the moroseness...(its a sign of the show's trend with Castle McKecknie, late of drug rings using its tunnels, murders and ghosts, becomes "The Earl Mitchel Center for Wayward Youth or whatever" complete with clunky but well meaning stories like Nancy teaching a black girl to read...

Actually, his second tenure is when I think the wheels fell off. It was morose and I thought dull (GL at the time was sparking) with all of his tropes on full display...throwing in a "socially relevant" storyline does not make a show good (i.e. all the Snyder boys horning after boring Angel Lange who was raped by her dad...)If I heard one more person talk about relationship "honesty" or "therapy" ..... The first part of Marland's tenure was the best, he restored the core, he had history on display, and he also had humor and camp. So, yes, there is always a soap viewer who would find fault! God love you, I think your the only person on earth (besides Janes girlfriends to say that!) But she was supposed to appeal to men, and that was not happening. Now if they made Carrie a lesbian..

Yes...the total destruction of Alex...(Buzz berating her in the hospital while she practically cowers and is only concerned if her muscle boy, who could care less about her, is alive) and I have to say, Hurst was writing at that time so she bears a lot of this weight! Oh lord I remember poor JVD having to wear"matching" track suits with "Carrie Todd," (Marland had every character say her whole name, repeatedly...and drinking juice and..becoming boring (he hadnt quit got to the patriarch role yet so he came off as a typical boring Marland man..) I think the problem also is...Elliot sparks no sexual chemistry..with anyone. For Carrie Todd to totally put a spell on Ross, they needed a sexy actress, and Elliot was not one.

True, and Alex would have wrapped things up and went back to "Europe" and we would have been saved the terrible MarjAlex stories drugging Alan, being beaten by Alan, becoming a drug dealer, being in a triangle with Marina (did someone HATE Marj) and just leaving Harley and the muscle thief guy for dead under a collapsed building.) However, the buck stopped at MADD, she let it happen...and well, she stupidly hired Conboy Giancarlo Episito played the genie, aka the Mirror, aka Sydney Glass (his identity in our world) on Once Upon a Time, a past guilty pleasure...(if you stream it now you can stop at the end of S1, it all falls apart there but you will be hooked..)

I thought that was a mutual agreement, Joan was tired of the grind, and MADD wanted to save money...with Rauch not around they all decided to go their separate ways with the book tour as the excuse. I am just glad Joan wasn't around to play out the way they massacred Alex under Conboy..maybe they wouldn't have if wild eyed Marj wasn't there but doubt it. I always detected a mean spirited vibe for writing for an older woman who should be powerful, she just became pathetic and the role never recovered. And the Magic Mirror aka Sydney Glass on Once Upon a Time was on GL?

Yes..Taylor was the logical end of the over hyped, campy Luke and Laura saga...didnt she curse them both (leading to Frances exit?) It was all in fun for a short time. Joan Collins was along the same lines and I bought her as Alex. And didn't Helena become a long running villain on GH by another actress?

I agree, I love the goofiness of everyone in town coming to the core families house for Christmas Eve (and someone on the writing staff is from the midwest as they called it an "open house" ) I don't care if it makes no sense (Susan is coming? I know this is before AffairGate but really) Christmas Even has to take place in the Hughes or Bauer houses, end of story!

What umbrella storyline was it? Haha..THAT is funny and the total vibe those two gave...which is fine, that is normal and if they transitioned them to recurring tentpoles or let them have midlife crisis affairs..but no, they were acting like their great LOVE was still there and others were attracted to those two.. (I have to admit, I think I am the only one who found Hemsly sexier in his middle age..he gave off that sense of solid grounded dad that had a live wire side waiting when you got alone...(well, besides his hair...they never knew how to do it...)Lily, no..she looked like the former princess who got a bigger butt, was uptight, but still insisted to be treated like she was at 19 (she reminds me of the Pioneer Woman cooking host..) I could agree with Rose living...I think I would want to get a reunion of the dorm ATWT watchers together so we could finally relish the death of Lily..someething we wanted 20 years before...if it was on her birthday, were everyone in town was made to stand around and worship her, but instead witnesses her eating a poisioned cake( hopefull made by that cow Mama Snyder who left the batter out too long) all the better!!!

Kelly and Morgan were as bland and sexless as two characters could be, and luckily Marland saw JWS as something more then a speedo model when he cast him as Doug Cummings (Marland had a penchant for weird names..Cummings, "Rod" the rapist..) and a nice move..everyone expects his character to be a boring good guy and he is a crazed murderer and Ship did great. Oh yes...Marland's characters tend to be sanctimonious..even doing things they berate others for. Everyone's favorite crumudgeon John Dixon is giving Lucinda lectures on "honesty" and for manipulating people..that John deserved to be stuck with dull ass Iva!

Maybe, but I think it may have been more of a reversal kind of thing, where you would expect the dad, especially someone like Holden, to be against it while the Mom supported it (I always though on GL, Reva could go either way, be the most obnoxious PFLAG mom ever "Okay, boys, where are we going clubbing tonight??? What you dont want me to go??") or to be freaked out that she might have made him that way. I think JH had a calm, cool dad vibe about him, so I can see them having him be more accepting with high strung Lily freaking out (whatever she bitched about with Lucinda, Lily was secretly hung up on appearances.)

According to someone on Datalounge, Marland had a foot fetish..which cracks me up to think uptight, waspy Marland fondling Kelly and Holden's feet. I am sure total fabrication but funny just the same!

I think Marland had a fondness for the actor more then the charcacter, who was as bland and sexless as possible...(which is weird considering they had him in Speedos, even having coffee with Bert.."Dear, it is a bit early to be confronted with your package when I havent had my first cup."

Agreed on Poser..she was unlike anything on GL, or really soaps at that time..( I can't even imagine her in white bread Oakdale.) I thought she could do it all, comedy, camp, vamp, bitchiness, and could show the real person hiding under all that. She disappeared under Rauch as she was, not Reva or Cassie, not blond, not "generically soap attractive" Annie had the villainess thing all tied up (endlessly, I was glad to see her go, thinking that Reva's airtime would diminish..ha!!!) The writing under McTavish was just her being her, mean spirited jokes (I remember Alex complaining that all the drains in her house were clogged because of Amanda, which WAS kind of funny.) Your point about all the men not noticing her..and that was another problem with McTavish writing..maybe all soap writing at the time, everyone was a cardboard good or bad, so Ross couldn't seriously be tempted by Amanda, Matt had to be totally in LURVE with Vanessa ( I remember him blackmailing her to stay away from Ross, uh, Matt, its not of your business, Ross is in charge of his d*ck not you) and Roj was just using her. The point about her being Brandon's daughter was Rauch's idea to consolidate Alex and Amanda..it made no sense and it was weird to hear Alan bitching about "his sister" like he did with Alex, it did not work. There was a bit of history, as Lucille thought she was Brandon's daugthter (and he left her Spaulding in his will for some reason.) They could have written for her after Zaz..with RR being SO ineffectual as Alan, they could have had him busy holding Annie's purse as he did, while Phillip and Amanda run Spaulding, both trying to up each other. I have no idea why they just saddled Phillip with a triangle story, did anyone ever to to work at Spaulding to run it?

Thanks for that info! So Amanda had a "Zest for life" back in the day! I only remember her being stuck in an attic talking to dolls and then just fading into the woodwork. Agreed, they could have kept everything about Poser's Amanda, including aggressively coming on to Ross, and dump the madam thing. I would have had her be up for sex with Roger, but not trusting him at all and certainly not in love with him...( he was like the male Reva, every woman was crazy for him.) so much so, Rog is turned on and kinda freaked out by this sexually aggressive woman.

I think Munisteri, or maybe it was Anderson, TRIED to restore some of the elements that needed to work, but just did not have the chops to do so. They bring back another Reardon, but its Chelsea, they bring back Bea (who dispears again as soon as Long is in charge) they try to expand the Bauers...(with a fauxBauer Johnny)They bring back Josh and GA as Phillip..but its good intentions, but done in a weird sloppy way.

I LURVED Poser's Amanda, but others don't. Yes, she was 15 years younger then when she left, and radically different, but wishy washy Kathleen Cullen bored me to tears. Poser looked like she was having fun, which has been in short supply on this show and really, something needed to break both Bloss and Mattessa up..the problem was, again, the writing and the storyline. If they had explained why Amanda is this new vamp personality...(I would have said she got screwed over so many times by guys, she said, Im looking out my myself, and in an ode to Marland, I would have her say she went to "Therapy and got in touch with my sexuality!" Making her the Malibu Madam was dumb and they could have just had she and Matt be lovers and Matt was a kept guy who scammed rich women.

Probably????LOL..Shirley Temple would have batted her ass of her set for trying to grand stand her in the cuteness area! "GRAND-DAD!!!! What did you bring a sweet pudding pie like me..or I shouldn't ask, but DADEE, I'm a little rascal!" "Oh are ALL our wishes, hopes and DREAMS going to be answered right HERE..daddee? On this weird carrousel in our living room????" "Oh Mommie Annie, I LUVS you SOOOO!" "Oh Mommy Reva, I luvs you but I do luvs Mommie Annie, can you go and marry that greasy midge on 5th street so I can be EVER so HAPPY with Daddy and Mommie??That's right, go live over that diner or wherever poors live and pretty pwease...can you make sure you wears clean clothes that don't stinky poo like grease....and use the back entrance so none of my fweinds know your my other mommie! Oh, and bring a bag of tatter tots when you come? Gosh, thanks EVER so MUCH!" Not to mention her constant running away when it would be a major pain in the ass for the adults to look for her. The only time I liked her,,,theatrics, was when she saw Reva alive for the first time and only wanted Annie...Zimmer was actually playing it down cause the kid ate all the scenery!!! Thank you for reminding me how much I couldn't stand this precious little ole Marah! LOL.

I agree...and I have to say, I agree with them recasting Chele a bit older...I could not see RM in a soap romance...I had a hard enough time when she was in that movie where the kids killed someone in Florida and she was naked all the time..I spent the whole time yelling "Michelle Bauer you go put some clothes on!" that my partner came down and said, "Who the HELL is Michelle Bauer?" I think that shows that RM did a great job as Chelle, and again I HATE kids on shows..Aunt Clara or Mrs. Trumble need to be watching them off camera. However, Budig was a miscast..she was way too chirpy and happy (not to mention they wrote Chelle with nothing but "boys" on her mind.) Too bad they didnt jump to someone like Lenz right away. I would have explained that she spent that time with her Aunt Nola and came back with a different tude then shy Chele...(I would have written that Dinah spent time with Nola and Quint so she came back different, with a definate tude towards Van encourged by Nola.) Eh, I dont want to watch two kids I saw grow up bang each other....recast!

Oh God..yes, I HATE most "kids" on soaps and want them SORASed quickly. The exception was Rachel Minor as Chele and the kid Little Billy..both seemed like real kids..not this annoying toothsome creature auditioning for the lead in Annie. Now, I am remember "MommyAnnie" and "LOWHAD" !!! No, thats my fanwank...Gilly/Sid/Vicky Spaulding Triangle.Vicky does come back later but she is dull as hell (she wanst blond so what does Rauch want to do with her?) Instead of NuAmanda they could have brought Vicky on then...say she was dishinerited by Victoria for some reason so Alan brings her back to get her revenge on Alex and Victoria.

She wasnt...they wanted Zaz for an Alan recast, he said it would be weird as the two characters were constantly in each others' orbits, so he suggested bringing back Roger. Long had no idea who Roger was (oh..Pam!!!) and Curlee pushed for it and pushed to make Blake, Cristina. Holly was supposed to come back to intro the idea that she was Blake at Christmas, and Long thought she was sexy so brought her back (to one of my fave entry lines, she goes to the Spaulding mansion to get Blake and says, "This is not a home...this is BEIRUT!") Yea, it was weird. I thought the Amanda is Brandon's story had legs...she fits in nowhere, Alan and Alex hate her...Alan and Alex are back to being antogonistic...Alan walks away from Spaulding pivots towards Annie, and Phillip should be pissed at Alan as Alex was as usual, trying to protect him in a Spaulding way..and he is bound and determined to not let Amanda and Roger get their way holds the fort, putting him in a Alan frame of mind..instead of sitting around doing nothing until he moons over Harley. Since the Zaz thing was happening, I would have him steal all of Amanda's money, leaving her poor and desperate...tons of ways to spin it instead of rewriting history for nothing. Alan needed a person to bounce his evil schemes off of, I would have made Sid like a young Ross, willing to play whomever is going to get him ahead...Gilly is turned on but resists and then Vicky Spaulding comes. God, anything but the incest story for Gilly. Sid is Alan's attorney and Gilly's love interest for a short time. Marah was played by IMO the annoying toothy actress who made your teeth hurt with her "Im a child STAR:" ways , but she went on to do other things.

I didn't get that, I saw Maeve say all the Dinah's were so different from each other that they changed the writing. The rumor was that Maeve did NOT like Moniz...and that was part of the reason she went to slightly recurring in 95...( Moniz had supposedly backstage problems with screwing Hart, etc.) I would put it somewhere in between, Maeve probably like Moniz well enough but was fed up with the writing where Van had to take the punches of the writing..and most likely annoyed with Moniz unprofessionalism...) I personally liked the writing for Gina's version of Dinah, despite the weakness of the overall writing and I think Gina played Dinah less fragile and more like a girl raised in the carney. I thought the quote was, "We all know how this will end." meaning , there is no mystery in it...(as if there was mystery in the clone, etc.) None of the ladies seemed to like Rauchie, so I would love to have had Kimmer on that episode.

As others said, all of those actors have done fairly well away from GL..so Brown had something to do with it. I just wish they had kept her on recurring as Nola at Company...(and never let Company and the BH get stunk up with Coopers..) while she did that. You could get away with Beth withdrawing and becoming colder, if the rest of the characters mentioned it...(Van only did once, and they painter her as the old hag jealous. ) I can see Beth chaging after Phillip leaves her and she has the abusive relationship with Carl, but they jumped around so often, bitch, vixen, heroine, victim...it made no sense. A Beth with alters....(I can see her having an alter kill professor Blackburn to protect "Beth") would have made sense and explain some of the craziness, and Chamberine would have done great with that...but Loralee never made sense...Sloane always sites that as a dumb plot..."She has the same mole my daughter has...I wouldn't know she was the same..." ) and it all went over the top during of course, Wheeler when Beth kidnaps Alan and Gus and beats them with a table leg..(not that I wasn't rooting her on) and Alan thinks it Loreli but it is just Beth...who leaves them to die with no repercussions. I thought Chamberlin would have made a good Amanda recast..a cold, icy one with a streak of sexuality. I would think the new soap would bring her back as an icy matriarch.