Speed Racer

A big yes on that! And the writing was great for several characters. Months ago, I posted about a quick, almost brush-aside scene between Hart and Alexandra that I found unbelievably good. I love that kind of stuff, the seemingly unimportant, almost casual comments/observations that actually are a very big deal. Curlee and crew were quite effective at it and didn't hesitate to employ it. How does this relate to July 1993? Ed and Michelle sitting opposite one another at the kitchen table. They're talking a tad tacitly about Ed's infidelity, but not so much so that any meaning gets lost. The writers gave Michelle/Rachel Miner what might be considered a throwaway line: "I knew, but I didn't". Brilliant! Not only loaded with meaning and consequence, but also a perfect thing for a reasonably smart 11- or 12-year-old to say. It's so on target! Note that Michelle isn't screaming or yelling but rather is having a conversation with her father. And that conversation is done "Ed-style", putting Michelle in Ed's wheelhouse and not the other way around. That's critical. It gives Ed the relief from worry (about Michelle) that he desperately sought. He now understands where she is because she was ready to tell him and she instinctively knew how to tell him! The catalyst of her overt readiness, of course, being the prospect of her father dying at the cliff house. All of that crammed into a maybe 2-3 minute scene. Blows my mind. Note, too, that both characters are seated across from each other, at the middle of the kitchen table, rather than having either seated at the head of the table.

And Kevin McClatchey (Vinnie) would have made an excellent AM recast, post Rick Hearst. I could see McClatchey going head-to-head with Grant Aleksander. (McClatchey also could have been a decent Nick Spaulding, had Irizarry left the show before the character did. But, I'd prefer him as AM).

I suspected you'd like that second week of July 1993! (And I encourage everyone here who is already familiar to go back and rewatch that week. Crammed with good material, nearly non-stop. Not only Roger/Holly and Ed/Michelle, but Gilly/Hamp/Roger as well). Monto Sharp is outstanding in those diner scenes. Just the look on his face! And poor Stavros. I really liked Stavros. GL won for the Emmy for Best Writing of 1993. When you see what you just saw, GL95, it's no wonder. Not sure why some people here admonish 1993 (resentful over the loss of Maureen, perhaps)? Things start to slide late in the year, but not until then.

Eve was re-employed at Cedars, but mainly in an administrative role, with light duty - ie, "consultative" responsibilities as an MD. Ed learned of Blake/Ross' financial predicament, and asked Eve to hire Blake on in a quasi-admin role. She did so. Blake gave Eve endless grief because she wanted Ed and Eve apart. Eve got tired of Blake's crap and fired her. Timeframe? I don't remember. 1994. Thanks for the info re: Ross and money. I now remember Ross telling Alex to take a hike!

I do remember Vanessa and Ross enlisting Holly's help in trying to stop Dinah from marrying Roger. A wonderful scene between Holly and Dinah about Roger ensued. Noting that, your idea about having Holly approach Vanessa re: Dinah/Ross/Blake is smart. Re: Crampton. Her spin as Mindy was unfortunate. She simply wasn't Mindy - and the beating of the dead Mindy/Nick horse sure didn't help. However, Crampton was a good actress. Her best showing as Mindy I thought came when she learned Nick and Alex were ready to sacrifice Lewis Oil to keep Spaulding solvent. Crampton's acting in a particular episode- November 21 1994 - I thought was worthy of an Emmy nod. Excellent work, there. The last 10 minutes or so. It's in the Vault.

Agree re: Blake being a crisis manager...a position often taken on by public relations executives in the real world. A perfect role for a yet-to-be tested, newly reformed/domiciled Blake. There was maybe a six-month period in either 1994 or 95 when Ross and Blake were lacking money, which I always found odd since both were capable of pulling in cash. Did Ross lose lawyer business/contracts in the wake of Roger/Jenna's takeover of Spaulding? Was that it?

Van/Holly anything would have been interesting. There's an undefined obliqueness (for lack of a better descriptor) between those two that I find fascinating. Story? If not a Ross/Holly/Van triangle, then have Roger blackmail Holly of all people, with her ticket out of the mess being the destruction of Vanessa's career. Via WSPR, naturally.

Quite likely, I would think. Swap Sonni for Alex, make some changes, and presto!

July 1993 is a solid month. I just did a rewatch of the second week of July....some very respectable and fairly thorough character development at that time between Roger/Holly and Ed/Michelle. No, I'm not going to give you any details. Aside from those four, something rather significant happens.

Yes, AM was cursed on both sides. At least the Julie story (which I knew nothing about until just now) could very well help explain Hope's absence and her alcoholism, Alan aside. That would've been a solid story to tell in 1986/1987, right before AM returns to town. A drunk Hope should've really laid into her father for what he did...and because throughout her growing years, she never had her mother! Yet here's the ever noble, self-righteous, legal eagle Mike Bauer. AM's grandma committed suicide? That's some news, right there. Yet another why, that If AM and Amanda were in Springfield simultaneously for any real length of time, a very strong camaraderie between them would've been a must. As a joint defense mechanism in some ways.

Mike and Roger have a brief, fictitious interaction, not long before Santo Domingo. Mike enters the room.... Roger: "Ah, Mr. Sanctimony himself! Rapist Mike Bauer!" Mike: "Unlike you, Roger, I wasn't married to Julie when I raped her. Besides, Hope was conceived out of love. Retroactively, sure, but love just the same. I grew to love Julie." Roger: "Oh, I see. Because you didn't violate the holy sacrament of marriage, you are morally superior. But guess what, I loved Holly before I raped her. And after. There was no "retroactive" about it. And guess what? Holly didn't commit suicide. No matter what has happened between Holly and I, our love for daughter Chrissie remains." Pretty wild scenario, but more accurate that what we ever saw onscreen.

Oh- I would have loved to see Ross go after Mike on legal charges (for fraud committed off-screen in 1985?), and have Ross prevail. Another missed opportunity!

So, the ever condescending, the ever sanctimonious Mike Bauer was a rapist, eh? Figures. That he received Springfield's Man of the Year award circa 1980-ish is thus a remarkable feat. I can only imagine what long-term GL viewers must have thought of that award at the time! That Bert's two sons were a rapist and a drunk, respectively, more than explains Bert's rather humble, grateful persona that I saw when I started watching in the late 1970s. Her daughter-in-law commits suicide? Wow. Were Julie's parents/siblings ever part of the story? I don't remember Julie's fate ever coming up in Bauer conversation from the late 1970s onward. Heck, there was no serious friction between Mike and Hope ever. Disagreements over Alan, sure, but none over Hope's mother? Several people here have stated that they would have liked to see Mike and Hope return during the late 1980s - JULIE and the repercussions of her story is THE story that should have been told/revisited. Where the h@ll does Mike get off chastising anyone over their behavior, considering his own? The gall. I couldn't stand Mike before. Now, it's worse. He and Reva should have been dumped into an active volcano. Oh - Reverend - thanks for the write-up! LOL.

Julie Bauer? Hope's mother? I second that. Yeah, Reverend - who's Julie Bauer? Relations? Her personality? Key story? Etc. I have the same question re: Ellis Smith and Rose Kransky. Thanks in advance for the info.