DeeVee

I had no idea any of this was dramatized. Was an actress ever shown as the character? (I'm not saying the name again, LOL). Or was it one of those things where you see her feet or only from the back or a shadow or something like that? I'm guessing dropping that story was one of the better decisions TPTB made. I think someone with some backstage info said they would not have brought back Roussel if Hope had returned. I liked her, but I don't think that would have been a very difficult recast. Kasdorf, OTOH, would have been a challenge to replace.

Even as late as 2012, people were lying about the real reason Bernau died. And the show was OFF THE AIR by then! Wow.

SO, I just watched an episode from August 1986 that I had inadvertently skipped because it was mixed in with May episodes, and found it very, very interesting: Johnny Bauer is telling the camp kids a "San Rios legend" (ugh, the camp story is such a yawn). About some mythical woman called The Encantadora (the enchantress). It's SUPER obvious this is meant to be the story of what happened to Alan in San Rios--that he was found almost dead in the jungle by a beautiful woman who cured him. There's an episode that I've seen elsewhere where Alan is commiserating with Phillip over Beth's "death" and it's clear he's referring to this woman, too. Then I skip over to episodes from October 1986 and... there's ANOTHER HW change. They dropped whatever was being set up here. Those two years he was missing were left mostly a mystery. I seem to remember some local someone named Tito who was out to get him for a while, but that was it. I wonder--was this story possibly repurposed as the Sonni story for Josh? Beautiful, exotic, mysterious woman who wreaks havoc with his life? We'll never know where this was going, but interesting to speculate.

Well, that's not Mart's fault. 😂 I would call Ed from that era "oblivious." Never caught on fast enough, whether it was Holly cheating, Rita pursuing him, Holly realizing she loved him, not satisfying Rita, Rita cheating with both the non-entity doctor and later Alan, Vanessa lying her ass off to him, etc., etc., etc. I have to say, at the time, I wasn't Mart's biggest fan. But in retrospect, he gave Ed a likability that definitely was missing in later years.

You would think that this incident would have made Alan and Rick life-long enemies. Weird that doesn't really happen. I believe Lenore Kasdorf said in an interview once that she was offered the chance to come back as Rita around 1987. So they could have been starting to foreshadow her return here. There was talk about Hope being brought back around this time, as well. As far back as the late Marland tenure there was a plan to bring Rita back, and I think Kasdorf was asked back yet another time later on. Kind of a shame the stars never aligned to make it happen, for both Rita's and Hope's returns, even if they had to do recasts. The weird part about this particular scene is Ed accusing Alan of wanting revenge over Rita when, if either one of them still cared about it, Ed would have been the aggrieved party, not Alan. And apparently these writers didn't know that Ed had forgiven Alan during Alan's sackcloth and ashes period after he went to prison for his dealings with Roger. They even became almost friendly.

Wasn't she kind of ordered to get rid of them by Kobe? There's that story that she axed Elvera Roussel so the rest of the cast would know none of them were safe. That atrocious "tribute" to Bert definitely negates the claim that Ryder cared about GL history.

I can't keep up with all the changes in character motivation. Under several previous writers, Brandon was portrayed as an awful father, which is why Alan took Spaulding away from him and parked him in a rest home. He stole both Alan's and Alex's children. Both talked about how he set them against each other. Now they're both talking about him with warm affection and how loved they were by him. When Long returns, he's back to being an even more blatantly abusive father. I get why Alex named her kid after him. It's common for abused children to still seek love and approval from their abusive parent. But she never pretended he was a kind and good father. He's just running around town yelling at everyone. It's so silly. Alan looking for a chest of gold? Oh, come on. Like the upcoming art theft storyline, that's beneath the character. If he's rich enough to buy up TV stations and newspapers, he doesn't need a treasure chest! The writers who really understood Alan's character knew it wasn't money or even worldly power that motivated him. His "villainy" was about controlling the people in his personal sphere, which always escalated to the point where he would be in danger of losing people he cared about, like Phillip, Hope, or his sister. The only time Long deviated from that was in stories she was told to write, like the Dreaming Death or Roger's return, or if she was cleaning up another writer's mess, like the art theft story. As much as I loathed them pairing him with Reva, at least that story was classic Alan, doing things like switching DNA tests or bringing back Sonni and teaming up with her to keep Josh and Reva apart. Don't even get me started on what they did to him when he came back in the 90s. Total Snidely Whiplash stuff.

It really writes itself, doesn't it? SO obviously the way to go. Even though I already know most of the upcoming stuff is frickin' awful, I am enjoying Bernau's return, just because he seems to be having such a good time. For some reason they have him carrying a cane, which he clearly doesn't need. He's jogging up and down stairs, dancing at the ball, all while carrying this cane which never seems to hit the floor. I get the feeling it was a choice; maybe even a wink at the audience. I howled when Reva described Alan to Kyle, and she exactly described Kyle! Bit of a self awareness problem there!

I'm now up to the 1986 Bauer BBQ episode, and everything has changed again! In episodes just a month or so before, Jackson was giving Mindy wise and friendly advice about her career and marriage. In this one, he's suddenly a scruffy villain who has trashed Mindy's reputation by sending some risqué photos to a men's magazine. WHAT? Simon has been outed as an imposter. Is he in jail? No. India is in Andorra with her father and Alan, who is plotting his return to SF. Her father is pushing her to marry Alan. Even though she is obviously attracted to him, she's completely against the idea. The woman who blackmailed Phillip and tried to blackmail Simon into marrying her because her one goal in life was to become a Spaulding is now hesitant about trying to land another one? Sure, I get she doesn't trust him, but what a missed opportunity! Bernau and Adams had a strong onscreen chemistry. Their scenes together are really enjoyable to watch. What fun it would have been if they had followed through with this and had them marry or plan to marry while both planned to stab each other in the back. And MAYBE at some point actually fall for each other. They could have been an awesome scheming power couple. Not surprisingly, the HW team had changed again. Ryder was out, and Munisteri was now paired with Ellen Barrett. The 1986 roller-coaster continues.

I would REALLY like to know why Rauch and Harding Lemay hated Jacqueline Courtney so much. The hate for her almost shimmered off of Lemay's book. He constantly ripped her acting. I never understood it. Was she the greatest actress ever? No, but she very good and had that certain something that made audiences like her. Lemay adored her replacement on AW. I forget her name--because she was extremely forgettable! There's got to be some story behind that story.

Yeah, I'm thinking that, too. It certainly would be one way to deflect from the embarrassment of being fired early in your contract.

No, it couldn't have been her. She left early 1983 (with an actor who would become her husband, and still is, as far as I know). Other names from the era would be Shelly Burch (Delilah), Brynn Thayer (Jenny), and Andrea Evans (Tina). But I doubt any of these were powerful enough to push the eject button on another actress.

Juicy! The biggest female star on OLTL was Erika Slezak, but she was married. MAYBE Robin Strasser? She was also married, but she and her husband divorced around that time. Anyone have any other guesses?

Hahaha, he must have soiled himself when Newman came back. Vincent Irizarry told a similar story about an actor he wouldn't name, but it couldn't have been about Malloy. He was talking about his first few months as Lujack, before Kyle arrived in SF. Lots of tender egos on soap sets, it seems!

1. Yes, Kyle was always an a-hole. When he was first introduced he had some kind of past with Roxy. I don't remember exactly what she did to him, but it incensed him so much would sexually humiliate her as revenge. (And yet Roxy ended up being the biggest supporter of Reva and Kyle's romance. Go figure.) 2. I can't for the life of me figure out why they were popular. But there definitely was a faction of the audience that loved them. There's a YT channel devoted to them, but none devoted to Reva and Alan, or Reva and Buzz, or Reva and Jeffrey, or any of her other non-Josh pairings. Obviously, after Robert Newman made his first exit, they needed a romantic lead for Reva, so they got Larkin, who had been very popular on EON. Also, I would assume they brought him on to fill the gap left by Alan's absence after Bernau left the first time. They needed a super-rich a-hole to be in conflict with the Lewises. They went to a lot of trouble to weave him into the canvas, creating that whole "Is he or is he not a Lewis" story." So probably they planned to keep him long-term. But then two things happened: Bernau returned and a few months later Newman returned. Suddenly, the reasons the character was created didn't exist anymore. I think the canvas could have supported two rich, powerful male leads. And they could have had a Josh/Reva/Kyle triangle. The fact that they eventually created a Josh/Reva/Alan triangle shows that was a feasible way to go. Maybe it was a matter of money (all three actors were probably not cheap). Or Larkin may not have liked suddenly not being the show's major romantic lead. It's almost hilarious how fast Reva ditched Kyle's ass when Josh came back. The Fletcher thing: I don't know if they were chem testing them necessarily. Reva has a history on the show of being good friends with male characters she doesn't get involved with romantically. If men don't fall for her they like being buddies with her. Because, you know, she's Reva (and, let's face it, it's a way to get her into more scenes).

Yes, I forgot there was a gap between his exit from GL and his start at ATWT. This almost makes me want to cry. He really turned ATWT around (and good for them). It would have been great if someone had done the same for GL. Can't imagine who. The Dobsons were doing Santa Barbara at this point. I mainly blame Kobe. She may not have been the worst EP they ever had, but she almost totally destroyed the Bauers and decimated much of the rest of the cast, sometimes for egotistical reasons. That was a huge mistake and made it that much harder for the show to recover.

This is not at all surprising. Watching the recently uploaded episodes, the uneveness is SO apparent. Characters are changing at the drop of a hat. The stories are close to incoherent. It's a mess, and we're only up to May. What a fall from grace. An Emmy-winning show with good ratings and within a few short years hitting possible cancelation territory. I'm surprised CBS and/or P&G didn't try to do SOMETHING to restore its former glory. Was Marland still at ATWT at this point?

Oh. That. I pretend that never happened. 😂 I did think of another possibility. Did India ever sleep with Alan? They kind of toyed with pairing them up, but I'm not sure they ever became lovers.

Has anyone ever totted up how many women on GL slept with both father and son(s)? Reva gets a lot of crap for it but she's far from the only one: Claire Beth Blake Olivia Dina Did I miss anyone? Also, did Reva ever sleep with Phillip? They always had some "closeness" thing, but I don't know if they ever actually did the deed. If they did, then Reva's the clear winner, with TWO families covered, lol!

I'm sorry, truly I am, but this literally made me LOL. Tempting fate, much? 😂

Eeek. I didn't know this either! I will say, though, even though they skimmed over a lot of Roger's past, I will give them props for not trying to turn him into a hero. Yeah, I was hoping we would get more 1986 episodes than were available on YT before, but now I'm wondering if I really want to see that.

She did. It was during a party at Amanda's. She didn't literally throw herself at him, but she was subtly coming on to him and he quickly shut her down. Yes, I remember she not only made a pass at Justin, she convinced Jackie that he was harassing her sexually. She also tried to convince Sara that he was pestering her. Everyone banged Josh back then, LOL. Whoa. I must have missed a good chunk of this first time around because I don't remember Reva going to India. What I recall is Harley being a nanny to the kids and then Reva driving off the bridge. Then they kind of toyed with the idea of Josh and Harley getting together but I don't think that ever happened. Yes, that all happens but I don't recall the tumor. Maybe that's coming up soon with the videos being uploaded to Spauldingfield. The last one I watched, she was planning to vamp Kyle while taking care of the pregnant Maeve.

Didn't Carrie2 even seduce a minor? Ick. Oh, yeah, and she even tried to seduce Alan, but this was his post-prison era when he was trying to prove to everyone he had changed. It's funny that of all people he didn't go for it. Wait. Josh had an affair with Vanessa? Or she just thought he did? I know people always say "it's just a soap" but the way mental illness is portrayed on soaps (and that goes for pretty much all of them) has always been not great, especially PPD. They practically turned Claire into The Joker. She also was trying to seduce men. (I notice that now Mary Ryan Munisteri is listed as co HW with Ryder in the 1986 episodes, Claire has calmed down a lot. Never thought her GL career was very good but seems like she tried to course correct that a bit).

Great points, and it has not completely vanished. Leslie on Beyond the Gates fits the trope (she's still not over that Ted lovin' two decades later), though I will say there does seem to be an effort to make her more complex.

It wasn't just a GL thing, it was an 80s thing. Opulent party scenes on soaps were very big back then. Even in regular episodes where people are just going to dinner they're dressed up like they're going to see royalty.