Jdee43

I'm impressed by the restraint of the producers that they didn't make this new WSB character Frisco. They usually don't resist the temptation to destroy veteran characters, but I guess he was too popular to recast with a nobody and make evil.

I've always enjoyed Nita Talbot in everything I've seen her in. She was one of the primetime actors that Gloria Monty would bring in from time to time for short term stints. Watching old episodes, I found another cameo was David Doyle and Martha Scott, in late 1985-1986; I had no idea!

Three years into the peacock experiment, the crippling effects of budget cuts can't be glossed over. Ron sucked, but the show has gotten even worse since he left. I think it's pretty obvious they got rid of him due to budget cuts. Also obvious is that not only can they not afford decent writers, even if they.did, those writers would be screwed by the limited cast and budget. The show is a sad shell of what it was, and I doubt it will be making 70. Maybe they can switch to audio only, and in that way find enough budget and cast members to go out as a quality show.

Cody is being wasted on the z-level plot with Molly. They should pair him with one of the veteran ladies on the show, like Tracy, Felicia, or even Alexis. It would make for much more interesting story.

These episodes see the intro of Dawn Merrick as Samantha Welles, who soon becomes the Amy Vining of the police station. She wasn't a gossip like Amy; she was just always there in the background of the police stuff, without a story or much meaningful dialogue. You wonder why they kept her on for so long, despite doing absolutely nothing with her. I think I remember seeing her into 1990.

I think a new romance for Laura, or exploring Laura and Kevin, has the same priority for the producers that the old Dan Rooney/ Aunt Ruby relationship had for the producers of the 1980s..

Too bad we will never get the full picture of the Gloria Monty - Tony Geary relationship as their first stint together, his run on Bright Promises, is lost to time. Apparently he so impressed her with that run that she had to get him on General Hospital.

They should just let Derek fade away and disappear. No need to destroy the character any further. They should do the same with Ashley, but for some reason they are keeping her..

Wow, those scenes on Friday's show between Michael and Jacinda were painful. The disparity in the acting was too much. He was good and she was dreadful. The actress is not ready for primetime.

Today was entertaining! Glad to see the writers didn't chicken out by making it a dayplayer! Hopefully they commit all the way to playing the messiness and the crazy with Willow!

Today's episode had Laura reveal to Martin that Kevin has left town with Ace. And that's it. Kevin's return was such a nothing-burger. There was nothing remotely interesting in any of his scenes. While he's a vet and it's kind of unlikely he's going to be back anytime soon, he didn't even warrant a final emotional goodbye. The next episode he's just gone. I guess there's no point for Jon Lindstrom to be on other than nostalgia, as once they killed off Ryan, he's not going to be getting anything on this show other than being part of the furniture.

Looks like they're headed towards Willow being guilty and having another breakdown in court as she reveals it. Kind of predictable, but probably the right move. I hope the performances will make it all worthwhile. Also kind of predictable that it was Martin who sold out Tracy. I'd wish they'd let Tracy mix it up with other male characters. This Tracy vs Martin stuff is so hollow and forced.

Nice move! They should keep all episodes of Beyond the Gates up in perpetuity. They own the show. I hope they let people find it and go at their own pace.

I think the show made the wrong choice keeping Ashley over Derek. Derek had chemistry with almost everyone, everyone other than Ashley, whereas Ashley I don't know. And Thomas certainly should be dumped or recast. Given how much the writers love Joey, it's not surprising to see him in the opening credits. What I don't understand is why they had to make him so dark. He is responsible for two murders so far. I'm guessing he's not going to pay for any of that this season..

The breast cancer story has been well done, with all the actors stepping up to the occasion. Vernon and Anita in particular have been amazing. It brings back memories of Monica's breast cancer story on GH back in 1995.

For Luke's finale adventure, the producers recycled 1979 and brought back a de-aged Frank Smith for a few episodes, maybe out of some forlorn hope of doing something with Luke and Laura. They should have recycled 81-83, and done some silly WSB mission or con with Robert and Holly instead.

Could AI ever take old scripts and photos of the actors and generate versions of old episodes that have been wiped? Maybe we can see versions of these episodes again!

Watching a bunch of 80s episodes makes you realize that the show had 1000s of characters back then too, so many of them, intentionally or not, minor, as the show always revolved around the big characters of Luke, Robert, and Anna. A few of these minor players were old Hollywood film and TV stars. Perhaps a lot of these people were kept around because they were friends of Gloria? The state of the show today has many precedents!

Luke's finale should have been more upbeat and humorous. Maybe have his last scenes be with Robert ushering him off on some new adventures. How come Robert wasn't more involved in this? If Gloria Monty had been producing Luke's exit, you would have seen Robert, Holly, outdoor scenes, a ton of extras, maybe the extras chasing Luke out of town because of some zany misunderstanding. Maybe the big bad could have been Scotty finally getting his perfect revenge against Luke. Ah, the 80s.

Riche used Sean and Tiffany really heavily when she first came on, from 1992-93. She might not have had much choice though, with the canvas pretty bare. I guess by 1995, with Luke and Laura back, and other slightly younger characters who could take Sean and Tiffany's spot, she was able to save a buck and send them off. Too bad that they were pretty much forgotten after 1995.

It was too bad when the show dropped Sean and Tiffany in February 1995. They had Luke accidentally shoot Sean, and then Sean shipped out of town for better medical care, and Tiffany a blubbering mess. And then they were never heard from again. Not exactly a great ending. I suspect they were both axed for budget reasons?

A shorter version of this promo is at the end of an episode of the super rare game show Musical Chairs that was recently uploaded to YouTube, the Musical Chairs episode identified as episode 7 from June 24, 1975.

With Robert and O'Reilly, apparently she was more of a mother figure to him. I thought it was funny that in her initial run from the first half of 1981 she actually calls him Sonny, which was to be the name of the future lead character of the show from the 90s into today..

I watched the 1984 New Year's episode too. Dang, the Quatermaine mansion sets looked so cramped and claustrophobic! I felt sorry for all the actors, dressed to the nines yet having no space to move around, with almost every other actor on top of each other! Having seen the Christmas Eve show from 1987, I think the show was in a better spot in 1984. In 84, Bobbie and Felicia had more to do, Monica was more sarcastic, Sean was more interesting, Robert wasn't moping around, with Holly still there. The show seem to have more energy. 1987 did have Lucy though. Alan and Edward seemed pretty much the same in both shows. The 1984 episode ended strangely, with a newly created flashback where they bring back Robert's original WSB partner O'Reilly and show Sean sending them on the Cassadine mission that brought Robert to the show. I think they brought back the original actress from 3 years before. For them to go to all the trouble, and expect the audience to know what they were referring to; I guess they had a little more respect for long time viewers back then?

I think the lack of romance on this show is partly tied to budget limitations. They just don't have the money to cast real actors who have chemistry. So we get Laura paired with a recurring actor who is hardly available, Michael paired with a dayplayer, Kristina paired with no one, Tracy paired with no one, Alexis paired with no one, etc. If Steve or Maurice ever quit, maybe then they'd have the money to invest in romance.