Mitch64

I'm sure you didn't have press conferences in a baseball diamond either!!! And you're picnics didn't take place..right next to that dirt road, and you could say hello to people driving...well the list goes on and on! Lol..It would have been so easy, make a few good sets for gathering places...(for what its worth I thought Company and the Towers looked good) and avoid everyone living in a hotel...(during that weird time that Rick and Beth were married, they showed them living in the hotel...though sometime they would be in the Bauer kitchen...it was just so goofy.)

I love that Cedar's set...it works perfect as a gathering place with a lounge to talk (gossip) Wheeler could have done a set like that and made Cedars a community center of things again instead of people talking on the side of a dirt road.

I loved ATWT/Marland's use of the sun rising clip to show us it's a new day, sometimes in the middle of an episode. Marland had people recapping constantly but making it morning and people having breakfast (usually reading the Argus "James Stenbeck is ALIVE..AGAIN??") made the recaps make sense. Old time soaps would have Nancy and Chris, or Bert and one of her family recapping things at dinner, but that lost vogue for soaps later with a disdain for traditional kitchen scenes ( I thought ATWT and GL lost a big sense of their midwestern identities when they got rid of kitchens and really people eating..that is when people gossip and talk about the day...I guess New York producers and writers never eat in their kitchens.) The weekend thing always bugged me, no one ever says, "How was your weekend?" ..."Well, I worked out, met friends for drinks and found out my supposedly dead husband is still alive..." Big parties and weddings would naturally take place on weekends, but the day after, everyone is back at the office. It made more sense in hospital based shows, but why is Alan back in the office after a masked ball the night before?

Well, Henry as a "companion" as even Bert saw that he was gay...poor Bea..having to date someone 20 years her senior who had no interest in women (God only knows where Van and Quint came from!) The white washing of Reva, while Long did indulge in it some, wasn't hard and heavy until Rauch/B &E where you thought Reva was Bert Bauer. Long had Billy and Reva calling each other out, which is what made the dynamic interesting. You had Josh who was obsessed with her, H.B. who doted on her, and Billy who saw her pretty much as she was, which really made it interesting. Post Resurrection Reva was worshiped by every Lewis man and well, the entire town (well, expect Dinah, I wish I had her "Oh Reva, just SHUT UP!" clip.) It was weird, Van was a spitfire and her and Billy'd dynamic was great..and then they got married, she quit Spaulding, and walked around the house in shoulder pads and big hair tending to all the Lewis men. Then they threw this addiction story on her, which given her "retro" history, I could see..(having given Dinah up, she becomes obsessed with Little Billy ) gut Dinah didn't exist at that time. Also, if they wrote it that she was bored out of her freaking mind being a stay at home mom, and subjecting herself to Billy and H.B.'s bombast, I could go with it, but of course, they didn't do that. It made no sense and was never mentioned again. Poor Maeve...then the exciting next story they gave her was being Ross's...secretary???? Vanessa a secretary???

LOL..I remember the establishment of "fun" Carrie...very similar to establishing "fun" Ellie Snyder, which made them both seem annoying. (I remember Ross lost all of his edge as Carrie had them both in matching track suits as they began to "jog" and she would make health shakes for him..blahhh!

I think Bert and H.B. might have been...interesting? Agreed on Billy, and I love the Billy who hated on Reva...when he became big teddy bear Billy, Reva Fan no 1 I lost interest.

Yes...they had "contemporized" GL and PG wanted to do the same with ATWT. ATWT was always their number 1 show and their top priority and they needed to do something fast. The problem was, the Dobson's were a bad fit for ATWT and they didn't want to do it...and it showed.

But somehow...it worked. Long was intending for H.B. and Bert to get together..but with Charita off screen for the amputation and then Bert's amputation storyline...they had to do something with H.B. and Gates and Zimmer had chemistry. At first there was no sex but I think Long set it up nicely after Billy and Josh humiliating her at the party that she wanted to be comforted by H.B. and well, Reva is Reva she can't go for a cuddle. The pregnancy was a bit..much. Long had far worse mistakes like turning Van into a boring hausfrau hooked on pills and running a pregger Reva over.

I like her twisted sense of humor..I was all in on that..but history?? Chele and Bridget dont have a bond like they did before..Chele acts like Nola is a total stranger and even calls her Mrs. Chamberline even though she is her aunt..Alex looses all her power and becomes a meddling annoyance..etc I really liked Brent/Marion and loved how McTavish tweaked soap conventions...instead of pregnancy test change it was an HIV test..love the scene on the laptop.."The part of Marion Crane is now being played by....BRENT LAWRENCE" there was a lot of creativity there but it was built on a weak character Lucy as victim though McTavish seems to understand a great deal of the audience really doenst like her and we enjoy seeing her tortured. I think she really needed a strong producer and a cowriter to reign her in..like they would have needed to RIDE her..and it could have worked.

So you found the "Beth" quote! I know this is not a quote topic but my fave...Alex, in the middle of everyone freaking out that Phillip is "dead"..and Blake faking fainting..is giving orders and then ."..and would someone please pick that MOOSE up and get her off my floor!"

Ha..the Pratt/Hammer interview was hilarious as she totally dissed McTavish for that.

There really wasn't..she was with Brian, but they were not lighting any sparks and he was a boring character, and because that dullard fell for Shannon she goes dark? But it did work for the character, which is odd, as GL tried it with Beth (who was off screen for years) and it never worked, and the character lost all connection to her past and became a plot point, the vixen, the bitch, the victim, the heroine..whoever was writing that day changed it. Beth's change should have been easier, raped by her step father, Lujack dying, being kidnapped and attacked by Blackburn, having amnesia and basically controlled by another man, then bacially being dumped by her Prince so he could come home for revenge...it should have made sense but didnt, which goes to show what day to day writing does for a character.

It WAS very plot driven...Babs changed overnight and after being friends with Tom and Margo, decided to go after Tom...for..reasons? I can see if Margo and she had a fight over something or if she really wanted Tom..plus having it a fake screw took the umph out of it..all that drama for nothing. However, there were some great scene and I love how Babs does not want Bob, Kim or Lisa finding out.

I did like that they had Beth and Rick together after Phillip's "death" but it was so incoherently written. They should have gotten slowly closer during Harley's trial. But the show did it after Beth married Alan (uggh) and Beth by that time was just a weird plot point written differently everyday..and we could never invest in that either. Would have been nice if Rick helped Beth center herself again, while we would know she was just using him as a safe haven they would believe they were in love and for the first time in years Beth would feel "safe" and then, Phillip comes back. But then, I would have had Beth be the one who shot Phillip, and it was one of her alters to protect Harley (she sees him grab Harley and immediately goes back to Bradley..which would explain how she killed Blackburn and went into a fugue..) and she blocked it out.

Ha...I also love that she says "Dave was the only choice" well..yes, because the other writers offered turned it down (they knew GL was on a speeding train to cancel town, that their was too much interference, and that the pay was crap) so Davey WAS the only choice!

Funny that Holmes was 35 when he started..he seemed about 48!

It would have made Reva that much more interesting and "rootable" if she struggled with connecting with her kids..always a shadow over her but she couldnt stop doing her crap all the time (like Blake,,,.trying to be a good person but always screwing up..)and when she finally does make a connection, its with her bad seed Jonathon. But I totally agree, Rauch wanted her to be a sexed up Vicki from OLTL but it just made the character intolerable.

So true...as we discussed, why were Shayne and Maura so bland and boring..you would have thought they were raised by Mike and Carol Brady instead of Reva (who was presuemed dead during their early childhood and erratic during the rest of their time) and Josh(who, when not obsessed with Reva was marrying psychos or vixens.) Annie would have made a big mark on them...(Especially since McTavish spent so much time with those toothsome child actors going on and on about "MommyAnnie" and LOWHAD.

I remember as a little kid who could care less about Mom's "show" would pay attention when Colson was on..and I looked at pics and he was cute. Speaking of Natalie...that terrible recast/version the Dobson's brought back, with that dumb movie being filmed in Oakdale by her "greek tycoon" movie producer husband was such a waste of a potential good character.

So Dea's Tom does have some connection to the character's past. I always thought they should make more of Chris and Nancy (well especially Nancy) being a bit shocked at Deas Tom..but they had sidelined them so bad I have no idea if she ever had scenes with him.

Your right..there was uptight lawyer Tom, played by Tom Tammi (who I though would make an interesting Alan Spaulding) who then morphed into "hippie" Tom (who I thought was an interesting combo of Lisa and Bob) then you have warm, clean cut, but not uptight Greg Marx (my personal fave but then I thought he was hot) to glowering, angry, petulant Tom with Holmes. Someone had a funny idea for Tom and Margo's annivesary episode to start with Deas and Colin, move to Marx and HBS and then end with Holmes and Dolan, with no explanation or comment from the characters, but I think it would really point out how terrible Holmes and Dolan were in their roles.

That is why it was weird when the placed him with Mel, the actress was beautiful (maybe too much so to realistically be interested in Rick at that uh, stage in his life) but she was bland as hell. Mo and Ed worked as Ed had his problems and Mo was the comforting Mom, but still had a backbone...Rick and Abby just blanded the hell out and Mel was even worse. It would have been interesting to give Rick a partner of color, who actually had fire and really disliked what the Santos and to a lesser extent the Spauldings did the community and that would cause problems with Danny and of course, with Rick's true love Phillip.

I get why they cast her as she comes off as a typical suburban soccer mom, which would have been fine but they aged Michelle when they cast her and Chelle had her own inner demons which Lenz played (even if the writers were not writign that) and lost her fire the Lenz played (I know it is dumb but I just love her stamping her feet and tossing her hair when Carmen threatened her and how annoyed Carmen would be with her having a backbone.) I think if they had cast her as a new character, and paired her with Rick she could have played out warm kitchen scenes, but Labine wanted Chelle to do that and be like Mo and Lenz was a perfect combo of being raised by Mo, but having an edge like Ed and Claire. I wish Lenz would have stuck around to work more with Pratt.

He didn't have chemistry with ANYONE! A major problem is if you can't conjure chemistry with Don Hastings..who had chemistry with the weird beaded curtains in the Mona Lisa, and he is your dad. The same with Fulton and Lisa , who he just seemed to nag and be annoyed with, (Deas would throw up his hands and laugh at her, Marx acted sweet and caring as he did with everyone but Holmes just glowered.) He had no chemistry with his kids, his brother..and really, you go from Marx, sex on a stick nice guy to short, glowering doom Tom? The rumor was that Sheffer wanted to recast him as Tom (for once I agree with him) but MADD wouldn't let him. I always thought DAM from GL could have played a nice guy and made him fun and interesting, but then, I don't know how he would work with Doom Margo played by a sour Dolan.

I wonder if these pop ups would have helped the shows when they were on the air? Instead of exposition...which really, only Marland did well at..it was always disguised as "gossip" or as much gossip as Marland would allow the uptight overly polite Oakdalians...I know it would take a creative team and more time and money to come up with them.