Mitch64

As I said, this is a great time for GL...even with Cheesy Rusty on view...(how much money to pay for extras in the cop station...it was a bit overkill.) How much did the GL cast ruing the ozone layer with their hair spray...Frank and Rusty alone) It's weird to see Frank kiss Mindy, nice that they didn't waste her on him for long. Java had chemistry back then, not the forced chem of the Rauch years...nice that back then you did not have to be a steroid or sculptured guy to take off your shirt, and Jeva as usual are the worst parents on earth...they don't seemed to be concerned where Marah is. The only thing missing is some energy in the direction...(though I love this version of Alex/Alan having each other's numbers..much preferable then Marj/RR where she acted like she wanted to make out with him.)

I don't know if this is true...FD was brought in by one of the endless sets of writers during that time to play "Todd Bauer" Johnny Bauer's brother. Long came back and of course did not want to expand the Bauer family (in this case she is right, who needs a Faux Bauer..but as usual with Long, she is a bit convoluted as she brought in Johnny's parents put them on contract, popped them into the Boarding House and did nothing with them) and cast him as Frank Cooper, so the timelines don't really match (as Long created Sonni/Will.) I can't imagine Betty Rea, even considering Frankie D for such an intense role unless Will was originally planned just to be a dumb nice guy with feathered hair and that was it.

L OL....seeing those two on the cover was obviously a ploy to get some sales from the fraus who watch that crappy show and WUV that couple, and I feel nauseous when I see one, much less two together.

Didn't she go on to ATWT...a soap Lemay always seemed to have an axe to grind with.

I think she could have...just by shifting the focus to Ross and his family, and building the show around them, and NOT Jeva and their crap...would have worked wonders. Rick could stay as the town doctor support, Ed could return for appearances to keep a legacy connection, but focusing the core on a family character actor and good writing could do the trick.

Agreed..I remember really liking his first year or two and agreeing that he brought new life to the show, but then it went all straight to the dumper and I lost interest...( I have no idea why, when GL was even worse, I stuck through it...) This had a higher energy but grounded. Nice seeing the Hughes kitchen again (why they got rid of it I will never know, the Bauer kitchen stayed with only a few Bauers on hand...) and nice story for Nancy and I really liked this Chris Hughes..he was cute, his chemistry with Wagner was great..(of course he would be a Grandma's boy) I don't know why they got rid of him..I thought he was the best Chris (yea, I know not the greatest actor but he had charm and seemed like a Hughes...)

I did like the Calhoun era..though I do have to say there were some good things to say about both JFP and ....I know ...Rauch (I can't believe I am saying it myself.) I blame their excesses on not having P&G reign them in....(who in the upper admin thought it would be a good idea to kill the matriarch and to hand the show over to a new character played by a hambone who had no one to reign HIM in?? Who thought a dumb island of blond people would work?)

Just a few weeks after Long was back after the strike and the show is cooking. This is one of my fave periods of GL...I never really thought how beautiful Chelsea was and she has some spunk...why did I think she was boring back in the day? Sonni/Solita is just starting to get really good, I love Alex's line, "I'll join a classics book club" Mo is finally getting something to do other the serve coffee (even if it is to crush on Fletcher) and boy, Phillip is being a real pr*ck, not to mention his best friend's wife has got his baby in the oven. Rick and Meredith never made any sense...they had no chemistry. Everyone looks so young and why did we not understand that those 80s sweaters look horrible on everyone.

LOL!!! The image SCREAMS "soap diva" !!!!

Agreed...the writers had Dinah spill a whole lot of exposition and history disquised as a rant, and Gina did great with it. If you were new you caught up that Blake is Roger's daughter and Roger is shady, that Blake stole Ross from her own mother, that Dinah's mom is married to a younger man, Vanessa and Ross had a relationship and produced Dinah, who she gave up for adoption without telling Ross, Van has a new "start over" daughter....that was a whole lot of history to get across without loosing the energy of the scene. Oh, and I agree with Dinah, Cassie is an annoying biotch but disagree with her, steroid Hart was not worth either of their time.

Love this hyper dramatic courtroom scene..though the thunder was too much. Lisa in full Joan Crawford 1940 mode..gasps from the courtroom, Dorothy should have gotten an award for killing Whit the Wig....

Its too bad too, as Schultz actually woke up and is quite good here. I just never understood why the David actor was considered a good actor. Steve and Carol...when Betsy came along no one mentioned them again. How was Karen connected to Eric? I thought she came on when David came back. Dano totally miscast as Cyntihia..a pharmacist, when I could see her as a fashion designer at Fashions, trading barbs with Lisa and Babs. The therapist is totally unprofessional...this was the begging of the culling of the spring summer newbies that came post Dobsons first run. Muscle Boy Rick, the asian doctor and his wife (may have already be gone) Hayley and her aunt (Dobsons creation) the sexy blonde nurse and this blond doctor guy, who is cute but what the hell was his storyline?) While the Dobsons started this, and were never good for ATWT, the show was a mess at this point, and when they came back they did make it better. Still would like to know why they quit, or were fired and why they came back.

Love this Dinah..she is so much better and believable as a former carny then Moniz was (and I really like Moniz, I didn't like the writing.) Her chemistry with the actor playing Bill is totally brother and sister (which I don't remember Moniz having with young Bill) and the writing is actually good here. Things could have been turned around at this late date if they focused on the Marler family as the center of things...Ross is the patriarch of town, and I think LK is good as a grown up, licked her wounds, warm and loving but still have an edge Blake. Instead of recasting Marina and having yet ANOTHER Cooper to stink up the joint, bring back Sam, have more of Holly involved..again, I have never understood several regimes love for the Coopers, except for the fact they were shoving GUSH down our throats 24/7 here. Matt is still boring and the actor lethargic, and what the hell was with that set?

Oddly enough RR and MG had chemistry in that short little scene. It was nice to see Alan have an age appropriate woman who wasn't a pscyho or in love with Josh..and it was nice to see Holly without Fletcher, Billy or Buzz. An Alan/Holly/Ed triangle would be nice, and while I was sick of Alex's obsession with Alan's romantic life, seeing her seethe having her former bestie, nemesis, one who could match her with cutting sarcasm would have been fun. That scene was also going to be the start of Seb vs. Alan in a takeover, which included Josh (who could forget the flirting Seb did with Josh in their scene) Blake, but, it was stopped, which sucked as it could have been good. ATWT's 25th anniversary was Kim and Nick's wedding and the announcer made a comment "Thank you for 25 great years!" But the show was such a mess at that time, Wagner just quit, DM was used as a walk on, there was no sense of community or family, so it just happened (and now I realize that they were trying to make Kim and Nick the new Nancy and Chris...)

SB was not my cup of tea...so never saw him but could see how he would work as a sleazeball. I think its the combo of Buzz being so OT and Deas being full of himself and the whole industry acting as if he is soap's answer to Pacino. Well, also, Buzz was the original Jonathon....always got to win out and no one ever called him on being an ass! Totally agree...I just can't see them acting out the morose Marland storylines. They really would have been good in a primetime show together.. I wonder why not writers picked up on Tom's past drug issues, Deas would have been good in that .

I loved that storyline! Though I am sorry, CB and KZ did not have the chemistry needed to see that obsession storyline. That last promo from the music, the clips, the hair..just SCREAMS 80s.

Those are nice, cute scenes between Tom and Lisa,...I havent seen Tom interacting with his family (besides Bob) that much..and Deas is actually charming here (much more charming then Holmes interactions with Lisa) and Fulton is not jittering around who knew that they would be good for each other...though its weird him calling her "mother" and not mom. I can't tell if Lisa is breaking bad on Margo or if she is trying to make Tom feel guilty and hire her back. I never can understand what happened to Deas to make him so obnoxious as Buzz.

I agree that it was a little bit of all those things. I know she was sabotaged with Rauch, who did the same thing with Taggert, who had to fight for every line. I think E & B were pliable puppets and Labine and Taggert had their own voices. I can imagine what she would have done with the Bauers, and if the Reardons were still at the Boardinghouse and Company it would be right up their alley (which they should have done, Nola buys back Company and Buzz opens up a Greek Taverna (not a diner, I hate diners on soaps) I think Labine would have loved writing the 7th and 5th street people but I know Rauch was all about boring blonde people in fantasy stories. I did like her handing of Meta and loved the little story about her and Claire going at it, and Alan putting them in charge of the restoration of the lighthouse..that would have been fun but was dropped.

Also Saundra Santiago..they were all Rauch hires so interesting point. Patti got tossed not long after she told fans on a board to "bite me." She was trying to do a Zimmer, without half the skill, of whipping up a fan base in support of her. That was at the time people were really getting vocal in push back against Jeva hogging airtime and Patti jumped in with her comments...it didn't work well with her. I can see TPTB dictating she has to go and Rauch telling her and the others, "I can't do anything about it, its all Claire!"

I think McKeon got that "early aughts" vibe down...disinterested in everything and so annoyed with her family..(when they let her be.) Cole must have learned from Kimmer to have a steady club of fraus ready to write in. Supposedly Conboy and Weston were at one of those bad GL fan things and Cole had a "concert" where the fraus were rocking out to Bradley's tunes...and they decided they had to write him back in...(I don;t know how true that is but it sound s like much of the decision making during that time.) Never got Labine..didn't she have a character who talked to a bird on another show? I heard Mae was supposed to be Stacey Chamberline, which would have been cool if she was played by a better actress...(remember, the gum chewing was just a cover for being a fed undercover.)

God...sorry Countess..but really, another big mistake of Wheeler's was to turn the show into the Harley Hour and by extension, the Super Dooper Coopers,,(not enough they have to stink up Company and the Boarding House, but they had to move into the Bauer house for a bit? Get your own damn house and set Coopers...) I forgot about that.. having Jeffery bang Marah (and then marry Reva...god she became such a hillbilly) or anyone was just gross. Remember him banging perpetally horny Beth..over the Spaulding desk and then showing Alan eating the breakfast they screwed over. What was up with that? Now that I think of it, all of the production people and whoever wrote that crap deserve to be unemployed for the rest of their lives!!!!

Dinah tried to make friends with Harley, but hard edged Harley wouldnt have any of it...eventually Harley kind of used her to get closer to AM, (but then Dinah left) I do remember when Ehlers came back for the anniversary they had Harley say, "Wow, Dinah Marler sure changed," but we didn't get to see the interaction (and I don't think they ever interacted after that, except for Harley being part of Cassie's mean girl squad against Dinah.) Ehlers was great when she first came on the show, natural and totally the tough girl who was hurt inside..(her first few days she would walk around with sunglasses on no matter what) Its too bad what her acting eventually became and they turned Harley from bad girl, to spitfire, to everday woman..which was great..but when she became the skinny blonde who every man must love it was too much.

I don't remember..he just came back after apparently dumping Bridget, to be MADLY in love with Harley, even though he never was in the past. I just always thought that Brian whatever his name is just looked like a doufas! But I have a love for RealDylan..who I know was not the greatest actor, but he had a sweetness about him that really sold that his blond muscle boy would be protective, appreciate and in love with someone like Bridget. And yes, I know it makes no sense that the kid of Reva and Billy would be this mellow nice guy but it worked.

Imagine my shock when Branson came on and I thought Shayne Lewis was hot..a bit weird where boring generic little Shayne became a deep voiced hottie..getting it on with hottie Dinah!!!!

Thanks...and yes, it did make for very boring viewing...could care less about Jack and Carly so you are stuck having them talk endlessly...(and remember when they used to make fun of the old days when people were in a kitchen chatting over coffee, where we were right back there, but I could care less about two middle aged people acting like teenagers and talking bout breaking up, making up, etc.. Lord, I will never forgive that woman for foisting her friend, Whatshisface to play NuDylan. You should also check out her Linkedin page...for a "creative narration expert," its a whole lot of verbage that says nothing.