Mitch64

At least they actually let Holden wonder why Lily seemed to be into "anal" all of a sudden ( Holden says to Rose..."I didn't think you were into that" after sex.) Agreed how they can have look alike look exactly alike...at least have Lucinda say, "Oh my Lily, you have gained a bit of weight in your hips..and your hair looks like it could use a rinse darling!" ATWT"s original "clone" storyline was the Willows (gothically written during Marland's early temp run) where she looked exactly like her fiancé of the moment's dead wife...didnt she get to play the corpse Lisa finds...(How it wasn't rotting away...) This far in and no one mentions Reva's clone? Dumbest storyline ever, and I think Donna says how much Rauch/MADD fought for their shows but they sure lost this. It all started as Kimmer wanted to play "Cassie" so they did face tape on her and there was no way Kimmer as attractive as she is, was going play someone that much younger...so they roll the face tape out for Cleva. I don't know why they would not do a YR and have Reva's double to be a "Marge" waitress, I think Zimmer would have had more fun with that..though I wish they had Josh doing business in a town called Madison and he sees Nola Aldrich, a look alike (and town slut too) and have her impersonate Reva..I think Zimmer was at her best with Nola. Then MADD/Rauch who loved to rely on a formula, brought back Annie as Teri Demarco..another stupid plastic surgery story, she had a different body, voice, everything...and she got it with no scars in like six months. I wanted the show to surprise us with the reveal that it Teri was really Teri, sent to SF to f*ck around with a few people, and the reveal would be CW playing Annie again for a few episodes before she finally gets killed. Oh, and didn't JFP have Howie, an exact twin of Ross?

I don't remember her subbing for Bev at all. The run of this took place during the beginning of the end of Sonni/Solita and it was Bev crashing on the island (with that bore Fletcher) and Bev on the island the whole time that I remember. Are there any videos out there of her and would she have been better then Marj? Phantom of the Opera was big then...but yea he couldn't have walked into town but Alex didn't know what he looked like so he didn't need to wear that mask..(and that dumb voice..however, it was not as bad as RR trying to do a Japanese accent when trying to trick Roger into believing he was someone else. Of all the dumbass storylines Rauch threw at us to keep asskisser Kimmer on screen...why was Kyle ignored...I would have much rather have that than the Isle of the Damned..especially if it did turn out that Marah was really his..something more "real soap" for Java to deal with.

I think that was the house that Ed lived in with Holly..I remember it (and I was a kid) that Hope didn't want to live in the big cold mansion, so they moved into a smaller house that I am sure was still impressive, and it shared backyards with the Bauers. Rita became entranced with the Spaulding lifestyle at that time (I remember, Alan gave them some crystal glasses or something for Christmas and Rita was seen starring at them in fascination..which is weird, its not like doctor's wives are poor. I think Roger's return was more Curlee...but I don't think she was that into gothic either. Oh, if only someone post 1985 mentioned Thornway Road...(I would have had Nola mention the old place ..with Bridget saying "Oh, Thornway Road has a bunch of gas stations and nail salons on it" with Nola looking disgusted. ) I agree, I have no idea why Nola and Quint weren't involved in the Cabin Mystery...like Nola would keep her nose out of that....though I have no idea how Quint could have survived to be a long term character.

Agreed...I really liked Derwin as Mallet and thought he brought a masculine vibe to his role as a cop (unlike say cheesy Rusty who tried to act like a tough guy but seemed more into hair mousse, and we won't even mention Frank as a cop..) but it was the writers who should have written to his strengths, which was banter and he was better at quiet scenes then DRAMA...its like MOL, who was really good in nice big brother, friend, lightly humorous scenes but as soon as he had to be mad, or romantic he failed (I won't even mention his later, "comedy" scenes...) There should be all types of characters on soaps and yea, leave the heavy lifting to the actors who can do it. I love that they kept the Spanish influence with the arch and the brick work, while making it look warm and friendly which the Bauer kitchen should be. Do New York producers like Wheeler and Gautman ever use their kitchens..cause in the midwest that is where most people hang out but it seems the shows would rather show a cop station then a kitchen. I actually think the Bauer living room with the fireplace is neck and neck with the Carriage House as longest running set. The Spaulding mansion has a convoluted history..Alan moved from Chicago there (later retro written that it was where Alan and Alex grew up under Brandon's thumb..) and had his various wives until he married Hope and in typical Marland fashion...did not like the mansion and wanted to live in a smaller house, so they moved to one that just happened to be behind Ed's house which allowed Alan and Rita to pass through the adjoining gate for some nooners. They then moved back to the mansion (so Rita would have further to go in her Walk of Shame in the afternoon?) which was retro written to be the house adjoining the Bauer's (and the SF CC.) The Wexler mansion did have the carriage house on the property, which humpy Ben lived in and painted in his shorty shorts and got all the SF ladies including Amanda hot and bothered (though he always looked like he would rather spend the night with Kelly Nelson...and vice versa..) Amanda escaped the Wexler mansion but during Long/Kobe redecorated the gothic house to look nicer (obviously they had a story planned for her but it went nowhere..) I always wanted Poser's Amanda to move back in, since part of her story was chasing after Ross, how convenient to be next door to drive Blake crazy..("I just had to drop off some papers..is Ross home?")

LOL...why does he not have a shirt on when on the field???Oh, cause there is a camera there! I never thought they had chemistry, despite the show pushing them...(she always seemed to tower over him for some reason...) But again, I think Wright would have been fun as a trashy ex stripper using her Lewis connections and willing to push anyone out of the way, but her pretty princess routine didn't work. When Dinah came back during Wheeler and Reva, Cassie and Blake took turns berating her about Hart, when they had her in that weird jail cell that seemed to be the center of the room (and I loved the Dinah actress just acting as if the was bored with their ranting) I also forgot why Blake would be there..oh, yea, that is her brother.

Good God what is that Bordello set with the bed in the back???? Olivia's???I hated Main Street and that idiot Wheeler wasting money on creating it...the hospital could easily be the epicenter of all the action as in the old days, as it would save money. Beth could work as a rape crisis counselor( I know. but that is what should have eventually happened) Olivia could have been appointed the Hospital Administrator....you have that, Spaudling office, Company, Towers, and a few home sets (Bauer Kitchen, Spaulding Den, Ross's house, which could double for official mayor city business) your good. What is with that cop station???I never knew why soaps insist on having cops when they do it so poorly, but then, it still makes me laugh that the dumbest character on the show, Frank, was the chief of police. The Towers club does look good there, and I did like the Company set until the end...(remember when Laibson turned the neighborhood family run pub into a "club" looking set...and Rauch just turned it back and no mention was made from the characters.

I wonder why Hilliard got fired? I thought he was too small for Hart but he came off as more midwestern farm boy then dem and dose Grillo (who may have gotten cast as a Midwestern farm boy in gay porn, but maybe that is what they were going for...) I love this facade...I wonder where it really is? I think a house for a big family but Tom Reardon had to make some good money to afford this place. I hate what Rauch did to the Reardon's, got rid of Bridget, made Nola a sad stalker, getting rid of JFP's Reardon kitchen set with looked like an old house kitchen (complete with worn wallpaper...) so they forced Nola into a sad little room with a kitchenette..and the worst, having the Coopers taking over Company and apparently the Boarding House..EEEWWWWW!

The show lost so much with the years Nancy and Chris were sidelined (the Dobsons would trot them out to have one line and then disappear..) I would have loved to see judgey Nancy looking down at Margo, and Chris being more open to her as his own sister was screwing Ellen's very married dad. They actually had DM still on contract when Margo worked for Tom and they missed an opportunity to have him be grandfatherly to her and run interference with her and Tom. Margo could be..abrasive at that time, so it would have been cool to see a softer side with Chris. Though we NEVER got to see Lisa's reaction to Tom being with John's daughter...especially since Margo and Lisa would both be stubborn, but they made Lisa such a silly flighty thing then. Yes, it was not long...at first Andy was freaked out by having to deal with "old" people (as no one on soaps besides the core seems to have grandparents..) and Nancy was still being played as her strong willed no nonsense self (except of course with Lisa, who could have blown Judge Lowell on Main Street and Nancy would be mad at people for being mean to a girl with a zest for life.) Someone had posted they thought it was Taggert???

Agreed...Sheffer's cartoon Babs was pathetic compared to how Marland wrote her. I remember a scene after Chris died..Babs was on the outs with the family since she lied about screwing Tom, etc, but of course, she is included during the grieving and she quietly goes over to Andy, who was close to Chris and having a hard time and tells him, "Its okay to cry." Made things more real and you could really get into it when she pulled a bitch move, as opposed to her silly antics later on.

Thanks...I think that PG was not happy with what they were doing...which was recycling (poorly) their GL storylines...John/Dee/Brad vs. Roger/Holly/Ed marital rape storyline...James/Barbara vs. Alan/Hope powerful amoral outsider with core family daughter. Helen Wagner quit at this time...etc... they did not do what they did with GL, preserve the core family while giving the show a shot in the arm with new families and "contemporary" topics. Unfortunately the replacement writers were even worse. I would like to know how MEB got the prickly Bridget (who, God love her..seemed to be a pain in the a** sometimes.) to agree to come back.

Very cool! Lemay was with SFT? I know he was consulting on ATWT pre Marland...(during the Bob/Kim wedding, and I have a feeling that is why Nancy had her snap back during that time..I know Lemay was always freaked out about a matriarch and I think original recipe Nancy was right up his alley with her controlling ways...) Did not know Mulcahey was on Search either, would love to hear what he says about MEB..I think the Dobson's second stint worked better because of her, but it still was not ATWT..(though I would love to hear about her Fulton's tug of war.)

My Mom always loved that Lisa and Kim "dressed to the nines" all the time! How many miles does busybody Lisa have on her car and when does she run her multitude of businesses? I love the early days of Marland here...(though its a bit clunky to have Bob mention to Lyla that they have a new set.) He was all pissy as he had to work with HBS (nothing against her, she just wasn't Colin) which is another example of his self indulgence.. I loved her when she first came on and she was fighting Alex, formed an alliance with Roger, was tricked by Van to believe Henry was her dad...then the court battle and her fighting Roger (she had a great line reading, preggers with Roger's kid she told him...."You will NEVER see this child") prophetic as she lost it but full of steel.....and then they threw her at Buzz and she followed all of Buzz's women as being sacrificed to standing there and mooning over him. They were fired I think and they brought in a slew of nobodies to write (one was an ex AMC writer) and then there was a strike and then more nobodies and then Bunim came in as producer and hired them back..but your right, you never hear anything about that time which would be interesting. I think they introduced James to be more like Alan Spaulding and at first he was mysterious and grey but then he did become a one note villain which was bad...Herrar was hot in the day he could have been written more gothic...(like why would dumb Dee fall for him when all he did was rub his hands together contemplating his next ridiculous scheme to torture Barbara?) Internation intrique should never been in Oakdale IL. making James a Swedish Prince was...just dumb. I wonder since Lisa Loring was so...limited as an actress Margo got some of her "Bad Girl" sleeping with a married guy action.

I never understood his fascination with Buzz or the Coopers but damn can that guy write great dialogue. ...on some Twitter (X) post I mentioned that GL at that time...(Curlee era...BevAlex/ Roger/Mindy everything else going on with everyone...back when it was an ensemble and not Reva eats the show alive) was as good as anything going on in primetime and he liked it and I was dorkily Do you have a link to the interview?

Believe it or not...Reva's diva wandering around the country side in her wedding dress (with no one gawky at this big blonde bride.."Frank is that THAT SHAYNE woman??? White????") was shot in Peacock. It is actually a lovely spot so I just think Wheeler and Co. looked for the crappiest places to shoot. I have no idea where Quint and Nola's wedding shoot was...but I love the church they used for exteriors and I think they used that in the ending shot of the opening for a bit. The couch clip reminded me how much funny Billy and Van were at first..I have no idea why they made her a frumpy boring wife as soon as they got married. The opening shot also has the infamous scene of Phillip watching Mindy do yoga...urban legend is that GA was pulling his leg up as he had a hard on.

Excuse me...Mr. Tony Reardon's Hiiii-YAAAA is a classic! I hated the 85- to whatever cheap ass opening! I like it too..it feels like someone wrapped a blanket around me for some reason, probably because I was a kid and would hear it on Christmas and summer vacations in the next room, with my Mom not paying attention to what I was doing!

I agree...but what are you going to do when you have nutball fan cases who love Juzz? Bena??? I thought RN and Fiona had great chemistry and imagine Reva having to go toe to toe with a hottie who aint nuts? As I said, Buzz was fun as a conman that everyone thought was a weirdo..he would have made a better character on Edge of Night actually. Sorry, more of a GL discussion here.

LOL..I was actually watching these scenes and remembering that I thought he was sexy back then and still do when I rewatch. (maybe he always needed the facial hair...) but his Tom is a great combo of Bob (idealist, upright and defending the ones he loves) and Lisa (unconventional, sexual, and willing to bend a rule to get what he wants.) I will say he was yelly, OTT and "LOOK at me..." on Day 1 of GL. I think as Marcy Walker said, his acting could be self indulgent and I think his ego, combined with JFP's propping, and one of the writers propping of Buzz (he saw him as his own dad...) the industry delusion that he was the BEST, all made him untouchable and out of place in SF...(though I did like him when he first came on and everyone thought he was bizarre and he was a con artist...) I think on ATWT he was constrained by the character, the writing and the vets who surrounded him (plus Colin who gave as good as she got...) ON GL it was as if they wrote a scene ( Buzz yells, flaps his arms and the rest of the characters stand there and take it.) That's actually when I started to, at least tolerate him (as I knew he wasn't going anwhere...) Once Bruce Barry told him to settle it down, and Deas got butt hurt over that....his quiter and almost sadder Buzz made sense (he was a guy who abandoned his family and really was as selfish a prick as Alan...) Buzz seemed tired world weary but still in it because of his family. That made him a better fit in SF then...flapping arms and running around the Spaulding mansion set while poor Fiona had to stand there and watch.

Agreed...I think Roger being written out hastened her exit but she would have been gone..she did not work with Rauch's thing...she was a bad girl but Poser always gave Amanda an bravado that she was not crazy like Annie or neurotic like Dinah...Rauch also bet that Amanda could replace Alex but that didn't work. As I said, I loved Poser and she did well with the dumb Malibu Madame...the slooow drawn out time between Laibson and Rauch taking over and the interim writers making her Brandon's kid, which then was dropped (that could have worked with the right writing and Alex still there...Amanda..who always did not seem to fit in the Spaulding dynamic....as a Spaulding but yet, not really accepted as one...) I think she could have really worked as a smart amoral woman not letting anyone screw her over and flagrant with her sexuality...kind of like Raven on Edge of Night who had a more sterotypical male attitude on sex "Hey, it was fun but that doesn't mean we are getting married or even exclusive." Plus she had one of my favorite lines..pre clone...Josh attacks Alan, with overacting RN acting and overacting RR in the lab..Amanda is walking around checking things out, not concerned in the least when Alan says, "Amanda..he tried to KILL me!!" and Poser barley acknowledges this and underplays it with a "Who HASNT???"

Oh..that was..pretty bad!!! Who was trying to kill boring Eve? Van was jumping on hot..but obviously gay Ben...glam Van was desperate and jealous of wet rag Eve?Shouldn't Ben be home protecting his wife? I like what you say, Jennifer and Amanda are really wet rags themselves...I know people on here like Cullen as Amanda, but I lurve Poser's A..even if it made no sense that she was deaged at least a decade and her Malibu Madame thing was really bad. I can see Amanda moving to Cali and really letting her repression go...and becoming Vixen Amanda...(kinda like closeted guys who BURST out of the closet...)

Ha..the bars are a good analogy....I think that is why I always stuck with GL even during more tedious times...it was warm and energetic and messy (at its best.) Something that made Marland...Marland was that he made the Reardon's an Irish Blue Collar family..protestant...(Bea talks about having Minister something or other marry Nola and Floyd....) .but Long made them Catholic. I do agree that Long was great at writing the Reardons..that is why I don't understand the abrupt abondoment of them in 84/85. I also agree that Marland improves what he inherits, but then its back to cold analytical time...I thought it first year on ATWT was his best...it still had some of the campy messiness of the show he inherited but he put polish, and structure to it, while going back to the core.

That cracked me up..poor hottie Melinda...."Dee?" and viewers were supposed to think this was sexy? To add injury to insult...Melinda dies coming on to Brad on a boat, as she is drunk and jumps overboard!

Well since you asked my Christmas gift to you is.... HATED at all times: Buzz (wins the award..sorry, did not drink the soap industry Kool Aid that Deas was the BEST actor ever...yelling, flapping arms, spitting and as Marcy Walker said "self-indulgent" scene stealing does not a great actor make...and Buzz was a misogynistic ass most times and didn't fit in SF.) Super Duper Coopers- they were fine when it was just Harley and Frank, but when it was the only intact family all patting themselves on the back on how "RIGHT" they were..nah. Fairy Tale Island-Rassie..LW just came off as shrill sometimes...but I did start to like her with Danny and then..that ended so she jumped in the sack with the guy who tried to kill her sister and her nephew. Hated/LIked Harley-liked her as the tough "river rat" Nola knock off she was when first introduced....liked her okay as a more mature everywoman....HATED her during Kriezman's Love Goddess and Ehlers personal unhappiness came out and made Harley shrill and annoying. Reva-sometimes loved original recipe Reva (who could hate a drama queen wandering the country side in a big ass wedding dress after her failed ceremony...loved her and H.B. together..shouldnt have worked but did...) HATE Post Resurrection Reva and especially Rauchie making her at the middle aged love goddess when we could all clearly see that time had past...hated her eating story so they had to reach in their asses to come up with something to keep Zimmer's mug on my screen everyday. Marj's Alex-Marj was a victim of the writing and I felt she never GOT Alex..but sometimes she could be quite good...(Alex facing off with Faux Annie in the Spaulding Attic) the first few weeks she took over for Joan/Alex and they were still writing Alex as smart and powerful..and sometimes she was one of JFP's over the top scenery chewers on crack...popping eyes, hissing, stuttering...(my favorite scene so bad its good Roger convinces Alex the snake that bit her is venomous...she is on top of the Spaulding limo while Roger sucks the venom out..and her alternately schreicking and writing in semeiotic pleasure...so weird..) Jonathon-again, I did not drink the soap industry Kook Aid...TP's yelling, scenery chewing and attempts at scene stealing (no one could ever top the character in a scene TP would put in a laugh like Jonathon was NEVER ever going to loose.) TP was good as Reva's spawn from hell...sociopathic oddball, but romantic antihero...no...and I think TP left at the best time..) I also thought Matt, Frank, Rusty, Gus... all the nonentities Wheeler brought on, are just boring and useless. Oh, and I thought Otalia was boring...put sexy CC with someone better then a Kreizman boring creation. From my home to yours Donna for a Happy New Year! Uh, okay....

Yes, I was just Mitch but when you had to be authenticated it would not take that handle so I had to add in a number. Marah as the stalker would have been great...she would have YEARS of resentment towards Reva disappearing and causing strife and trauma in their lives. She would be a daddy's girl that would see what Reva has done to turn Josh inside and out and I never accepted the Rauch/E & B plot where Marah all of a sudden turned on "Mommy Annie" when the [!@#$%^&*] hit the fan..I would have had her secretly understanding Reva pushing Annie over the edge. But yea, McKeon couldn't act that out. I liked Jonathon and Tammy as a sicko dysfunctional thing....Tammy was always WAY too blond suburbany for a girl whose formative years were spent with her Mommy stripping so I could see her having a masochistic relationship with him out of lack of self esteem. But as soon as they were Twu Wuv I lost interest. In that scene Pelphery was definitely leaning into a sexual vibe deliberately trying to turn Sandathon on...I imagine it must have really freaked TPTB out. Which leads to my plot, which I think was based on those tattoos that Jeffie, Sandy and Jonathon had that was never explained...I can't remember, maybe they were call boys with Jeffie as their pimp..Jonathon being part of a sexual scam operation with his daddy's look alike as the head of it would have been just the kind of stuff I think Pelphery would like to play out..I think he was bored with the generic bad boy with the heart of gold, so he starting chewing that damn scenery...Anyway .anything to really get the Brad Cole cows upset and get him off my screen.

Timing is off here a bit....Carmen went into a coma when Bill tackled her as she was pulling a gun (yet again) on Chele at the Bauer house...Carmen hit her head on a step and she was carted off and everyone was like....so do we order a pizza or go out, no one gave a damn. That was on New Year's Eve. Eddie and Liv worked quite nicely with the Spaulding's, but Collin's sexy Alex worked better with him then Marj's whatever the hell she was doing with Alex. (though she did quite well as Alex before Weston took over.) I remember the eye popping he did all the time. He was cute but not interesting but I saw him on a commercial and he aged into a very handsome man. He had chemistry with one person, Pelphery and there was one scene where TP was on top of him in a hospital bed taunting him and thought the reveal would be that Sandy was Joanthon "experimented" which made sense as TP gave Jonathon a vibe where he would do anyone as long as he could manipulate them with sex. Taggert/Culliton always intended the stalker to be Jonathon but didn't Weston change that to make it Alex...(picking up from a real stalker who was caught..) to stop world class journalist Reva from discovering Gus was Alan's kid with that stupid nun...(and yes, Gus was supposed to be either Alan or Ed's kid with Rita.) which led to her drugging Alan (Mac n' Cheese Alan) which JLH admitted they made him Alan's kid as they liked the way RR and RPG kidded around with each other backstage...(huh???) and then led to Alex being a drug lord so they totally butchered Alex. Oh I remember the days where a Rassie fan got hit by a car crossing a street she was so upset about Richie dying, and then the Manny's sending LW a stuffed big bird doll..again, I lay it all on MADD's feet that she stuck to the formula to appease those fruitcakes.

I agree, this was the last, best attempt to save GL...(Taggart/Culliton) and Weston and Conboy put the final nail in. I would say MADD, who was supported Rauch in all his interference and excess, and put Weston and Conboy in place. She was the final say at P & G and she had a vision of GL which was not consistent with what the show was (gloss and glamour and ROMANCE all the time...) The P & G shows were not ABC shows and she could never get that out of her head. Someone mentioned that McTavish had an axe to grind with GL...what was it? I know she got her start there so she should have been excited to be back. I can believe it, the way she wrote Nola was terrible (Nola, sad and lonely???) and she basically shat on Java (and I am not their biggest fan.) Rick screws what his basically his uncle's wife, and he grew up for years thinking it was his sister, and its all for shits and giggles????