GL95

The little, “Oh, THAT conversation!” with the knowing chuckle slayed me. I didn’t even have any context and it was clear Van was intentionally being a chaos agent. It’s sort of funny but when AM and Van were rivals for the Spaulding presidency, Van had about the best possible line available to say, “If I’d felt like it at the time, you’d never have been born. What a shame.” lol

The algo then went backwards to March 1980 and I couldn’t resist. It’s the lead up to the Santo Domingo plot. There’s Ross plotting with Alan. But what drew me in was Roger disguised as an old professor and young Nola bringing him food. I can really see how people say Bridget was like Young Nola.

YouTube apparently got super sneaky with the algorithm to push an episode with Chris Berneau as Alan from 1980-definitely night and day from RR. There’s Vanessa looking stunning and clearly trying to drive Hope nuts with jealousy, and Hope confiding in Amanda about her insecurities. There’s preteen Phillip in a baseball uniform (and Amanda is very much an adult haha). And Maureen Garrett truly is an ageless wonder.

I have a hard time going this far because I feel like Cynthia Watros’s Crazy Annie was one of the last great plot arcs the show had. I’m not sure anyone was as uniquely qualified to push someone with preexisting mental health issues completely over the edge as Josh/Reva were. Them all getting a fresh start outside Springfield once they left Annie in their wake would be fine.

I’d also add that while his motivations were fairly well drawn, they let Ross look like an idiot for far too long where Dinah was concerned. (Though at least that time with Blake/Ross they actually had Blake eventually put her foot down about the strain it was causing their marriage without jumping into anyone’s bed, or even acting questionably like trying to crash with AM on the yacht. I wish they’d let that Blake stick around.)

I think Reva’s return was the nail in the coffin, but the Alan/Alex recasts then bringing on Buzz (and Barbara Crampton’s Mindy and Wendy Moniz’s Dinah) all were casting decisions that made the show hammier. Putting Holly (someone generally more grounded) with Fletcher certainly didn’t help. I feel like if Reva is back in this stodgier environment where one of the conflicts is she doesn’t quite fit into polite society it makes for a more interesting story and the whole show isn’t so “loud” for lack of a better word. It all came to a head in summer 1996 in the terrible Sixth Street plot-though they then went the other way with the AM recast to go completely wooden. You had hammy Alan/Buzz/Alex/Reva mixed in with a monotone A-M. All the extremes. Not disagreeing that the Reva of it all ate the show, but it’s like they set the tone for everyone to be more like Kim Zimmer stylistically before she even came back. To me I think Marj’s Alex started the change but then bringing on RR to have the same tone as Alan was the real turning point. That Alan vs Alex battle over which progeny wins was excruciating and Zas having to play off them made Roger basically have to shift from a cooler, more calculating villain into something more blatant. (Zas was still good and the material started to really suck for Roger once Alan was back-they gave up on Roger being a real player post takeover for far too long in that godforsaken Dinah/Hart plot.)

I haven’t revisited it, but I feel like a lot was letting them both long overstay their welcome. In my recollection Edmund, who you have not met, was a fun villain for awhile since Roger was off the canvas and Alan had been mustache twirling for a decade. Or I remember being very mob resistant but decided Danny/Michelle’s chemistry won out and I generally liked PAS. The bad Michelle recast along with dragging out the Carmen of it all made it excruciating. (Side note: with the bad Michelle recast making Danny/Michelle extra dull they did a brief chem test of Cassie/Danny that I remember rooting for but alas the Manny fanatics won.) Side note: if she had wanted to really honor some history, they should have had Harley talk to Holly since she was involved in AM kidnapping Susan/Daisy for Harley and stood trial for it (since Alex convinced her that playing the grieving teen birth mother card would play much better than spoiled rich boy takes baby for his wife in front of a jury and Alex was not necessarily wrong haha). Harley had been involved in criminal charges for kidnapping one of the children involved in the past which would seem like a natural tie-in.

There’s a scene circa 1995 where Marj’s Alex barges into the yacht to do one of her shrewish yammerings about Alan to the point where A-M literally covers his ears and starts making unintelligible sounds just to get her to stop talking. There’s obviously a character dynamic shift but even at his most irritated/pissed off you can’t imagine AM doing that to Bev’s Alex (or Rick making that acting choice). I hadn’t seen any of Bev’s Alex when I first watched and the entire tone of the show is so different. When Holly completely loses it over Blake/Ross and is breaking down/lashing out for awhile Maureen plays it pretty big but it’s effective because Holly’s not generally over the top. By 1995 you feel like most characters would go on a 5 minute table clearing rant if they ran out of ketchup.

Given the casting starting in 1993 or so, it has the feel of there being a network note that GL needed to go “higher energy” or something. It’s like someone from the network noted that Kim Zimmer had been very popular and the show needed the actors to be more like her. (Or Jay Hammer lol). I don’t know if it was just a lot of actors playing off of Bev, but watching 1990-1993 after having recently watched 1995-1997, there just seems like there’s a general direction to go “bigger.” Even how Zas plays Roger is notably bigger by late 1994 or so.

Ross going shady and losing his license to get Spaulding back/beat Roger, then Ross working at Spaulding as a non-lawyer could’ve been interesting. I feel like Ross being brought down a peg would've helped the Blake/Ross dynamic (though just splitting them up works fine for me). They let the crew working at Spaulding get really hallowed out. My first soap was Y&R so I always gravitate to corporate plots.

Haha I conflated the Mindys into one actress. This is what I get for trusting my memory. I also just watched the episode where Blake/Ross have the fight in women’s lounge at the country club and it certainly solidified my belief they shouldn’t have been a long-term couple. Literally everything they argued about remained their problems on loop for years-Blake’s insecurities combined with Ross’s resistance to placate them makes them really incompatible. I feel like in most of their arguments he’s usually right about the larger issue but he goes about it making the argument in a patronizing way that fuels her insecurities. Here she wants Ross not to represent Spaulding in the Roger/Jenna takeover attempt which is too big of an opportunity for him to pass up with his fledgling practice, but he just goes on the offensive that she’s a spoiled child who just doesn’t understand needing a job. He said something about how he shouldn’t be expected to reassure her all the time, but one of the things that drew him to her was discovering her vulnerabilities. He just seemed to think he can be the white knight and it’s cured, and is personally affronted that it’s not. I haven’t watched any Ross/Vanessa romantically but I can see that being a much more enjoyable dynamic if they’d let them get back together. Vanessa would not take being patronized to.

Ben can’t also end up a killer in this scenario because the Daniel St John story was bad enough. (and totally okay with dropping that). Holly/AM hooking up at the Journal wouldn’t have made me mad-she’d be making a little strike at Blake and also Ed who basically chose Eve over her. (How he cheats on Maureen then has women battling for him…. I increasingly think even if imperfect they could’ve at least somewhat improved two mid 90s issues by just casting Marcy Walker as Mindy. I think she could’ve been good as a more hardened version of Krista Simms’ Mindy and then there’s no Tangie. Plus one of the only people Tangie had decent chemistry with was Nick.

I'm in the beginnings of the Spaulding takeover plot. Ross just let Leo know he was hired by Spaulding and got him on edge. I always enjoy Leo-I wish they'd let him be more than Roger's fixer and be more of a sleazy, lurking presence for when someone needs something shady or is desperate. The Leo/Ross dynamic is fun. Ann Hamilton as Mindy in scenes with Dylan is really painful. Nadine just hosted a get together for Mindy returning, and Mindy/Dylan/Frank is a whole lot of bland. I thought Dylan had a good chemistry with Krista Simms' Mindy and Melissa Hayden elevates Morgan Englund, but these Mindy scenes are rough. I'm a bit amused right now that Eve is living at the boarding house, and somehow she has the absolute worst room there. The decor is all stark white, and like half the size of the Harley/Lucy room that has a lot of character and the huge terrace thing. Blake and Roger reconcile when she finds him at Maureen's grave (his gravesite speech moved me much more than Ed's that came right after) then immediately realize they're on opposite sides of the Spaulding takeover. There's some irony that Blake went after Ross to hurt Holly, but ultimately it ends up being what distances Blake from Roger.

Fletcher would die of a stabbing like a character in a Shakespeare tragedy-slowly, and with many words.

I could actually see some sort of Mindy/Jenna business venture like a fashion/jewelry line and have her in some business shenanigans until the right chemistry develops, and in the meantime this would put her in Roger’s orbit which would cause tension with the Lewises and probably between Jenna/Mindy. (Or do this post Roger/Jenna and it’s at least better than the Jenna lotion plot.). But I think there’s Mindy as a fashion designer possibilities to keep her on the canvas without a love interest for a little bit-it’s actually too bad that Michael O’Leary came back so late in Barbara Crampton’s run as Rick/Mindy reconnecting as friends for awhile as they get over Annie/Nick then make a go of it might have worked. With the Ed/Lillian affair I think no one finding out initially makes sense as I think focusing on the grief of losing Mo works. But I do think it coming out and the reactions of people like Bridget/AM/Blake who all saw Ed /Mo living the life they aspired to and Ed being the “good” person example in their lives could be pretty powerful. (I wish they’d explored a little more of AM/Bridget as “cousins” and them forming a tighter familial bond over losing their idealization of Ed could’ve been interesting.

It’s my thing I harp on, but Roger was actively recruiting AM to join him then it gets dropped. I could see your scenario be what gets AM to yes. I think Bev leaving plus the decision to make Bloss a stable couple (Liz Kiefer started the day Bev left) changed the story around some-Alex setting up Roger to be AM’s mentor only to have them team up against Spaulding just seems so obvious of a direction to go, with Blake/AM working together again. If you then brought Alan into picture at that point it’s so much more interesting than the Alan/AM versus Alex/Nick with Roger in the background getting duped by Alan plot. A lot in that period just feels really cobbled together and just a bunch of retread.

And it’s human to have your own blind spots, but basically right before the emotional affair with Lillian begins Ed is chastising AM for leading Blake on and being insensitive and he just turns around and does the same thing but even has an affair with minimal resistance on his end. It’s sort of remarkable how you really don’t feel that much for him with Maureen dying. (Watching Eve be one of Lillian’s only confidants is very strange knowing what’s coming.) Even him saying in fact he’s glad Rick can’t be reached since Rick can see through him is a pretty monstrously selfish thought. God forbid he be made to feel bad.

I really can’t get over Blake not having a kid with any Spaulding, but Blake/AM having a kid even if they’re not together just has so many possibilities that develop pretty organically. Otherwise my preferred scenario for an AM kid is a disappeared at sea AM rather than being saved by Zachary, leaving Lucy pregnant and sparing us the Michael Dietz recast. (Have AM call home and Amanda tells him Lucy died so he stays away or something.) Alan only loves AM when he’s in peril, so Alan thinking he’s dead will make him love AM far more than he ever did alive which would drive Phillip nuts to come in second to a ghost. Lucy moves into the Bauer house because she doesn’t want to deal with the Cooper/Spaulding feud, and Rick tries to make himself a candidate for raising the baby but just ad he gets his hopes up AM returns. Rick Hearst comes back for two weeks just in time for the kids’ birth and he and Lucy move to San Cristobal where’s been holed up.

I mentioned it upthread but I just finished watching the period where Marina was conceived and Eleni had sex with them both in a very short window so I am not sure how they felt so confident in a sonogram but it’s definitely best to feel it was accurate.

At least AM didn’t have a kid they SORASed and tried to put with one of Phillip’s kids to test the is it incest if you’re not blood related but just grew up thinking you’re family question.

I am now into 1993 and watched the Maureen death/mourning episodes and again coming back to add to the Melissa Hayden love. With some of the best actors on the show all onscreen mourning (Maeve/MG/Zas/RH) she was the standout and the one who really drove the emotional fallout. I wanted to give her a hug through my TV from 30 years in the future. No one else really made me cry but I was heartbroken for Bridget. Watching that whole Ed/Lillian plot line unfold, I hadn't realized just what a slow moving trainwreck that affair was. Ed is just terrible. Lillian is at least lonely and deluded that there's something real there, but Ed just seems to sleep with her because he wants to? (Though writing that letter and just delivering it that way is a monumentally dumb thing to do, and you almost have to believe she wants it discovered by Maureen. But Michelle could've been the one to see it just as easily?). Conversely, I am also up to the Mindy return with the super dud Mindy recast whose name I am too lazy to look up. It's wild because the entire cast is absolutely bringing it and....she's there. Walking into Nick's place to find him in bed with Eve. I do love the soap thing of people having absolutely zero boundaries and thinking the best way to see an ex months after they left them at the altar is to walk into their home unannounced in the dead of the night. I mean, wouldn't a Lewis be raised to shoot someone who did that? Billy definitely would. Harley/Mallet are trying to figure out what happened to Buzz after discovering he's not on the Vietnam War memorial wall. (They pan to Harley touching the 1959 wall and I am going to just say it's a random wall she was drawn to and not where she was looking to not completely lose my sanity with the timelines. I mean, in no world would Buzz be 34 at the time of his return.) It's a very odd story right now actually knowing what happens when Frank waxes poetic about how amazing his father was. I started this loopback in June 1990 when AM is first released from his kidnapping and is going on and on to Blake about how the baby was the only thing getting him through the torture when we know there never was a baby. Then right before he finds out about Maureen's accident he apologized to Vanessa and showed real remorse for his past actions, talking about nearly dying when he was shot and how all he could think about was Eleni/the baby. He of course deserves what's coming having switched out the birth control, but it's a different viewing experience knowing what's coming. I definitely feel I've gone full circle on this stretch of episodes. (It's pretty crazy how AM never has a kid given how consistently he wanted one-he's referring to the future grandfathers right before he marries Lucy. But maybe the thought of the future grandfathers made Lucy/AM have second thoughts down the line.)

I feel like Hart basically never went from concept (Roger’s simple life long lost son) to actual character. His relationship to Roger was all over the map, they never tied him all that closely to Blake, and like you said he had no real purpose without Roger. His biggest presence really was from being Peter’s father.

When I first got the urge to revisit GL, I watched AM/Lucy clips on YouTube as my gateway drug and it's maybe even more jarring how the boarding house relationships just suddenly end since you aren't seeing what Bridget/David are up to. It's kind of crazy how the first violent act from Marion is to try to kill David because he was being protective of Lucy/Marion wanted the boarding house room and then basically the last time we see Lucy/David interacting as friends is when she visits him in the hospital. They basically had Susan replace Bridget as Lucy's primary friend, and once Lola comes the boarding house is more about the Reardons than the younger set hang out place. This is where Maureen's death really hurt in bringing people together because Lucy/AM and Bridget all would have been attending the same holiday functions at least/been more clearly part of the same family unit. The tiny Universal Studios wedding was unfortunate for Lucy/AM because it was a huge lost opportunity to bring a lot of characters together in one place with the ongoing plots. Like you could have had Roger spot Phillip hiding out and Dinah gaslighting him that he's seeing things (and have Roger even run into AM who says vehemently Phillip wasn't invited). Rick actually chasing Blake around the wedding about the paternity test, etc. Keeping the wedding as just a Cooper/Spaulding feud took away a lot of possibilities. I think in general by 1995 the show was really bad about plots just being on islands that rarely intersect.

Hayden Panatierre/Brittany Snow too. Sharon Leal had a nice primetime run even if Dahlia was forgettable, plus Nia Long too. The younger set casting in the 90s/200s was incredible. Watching teenage Bridget and her manipulative/devious side makes me wish that they'd tried putting Bridget at Spaulding for awhile-it would be easy enough to write in that it's something Maureen had suggested. (Or of course my mythical Thorpe Enterprises definitely has room for Bridget which Roger would be for as the mother of Hart's kid.)

I’m up to some of Maureen’s last scenes and it’s heartbreaking watching Bridget hug her goodbye knowing what’s coming. Killing her just after the holidays was actually pretty shrewd because the somewhat over the top Maureen is the heart scenes don’t feel forced or out of place. There’s a lot of emotional scenes that don’t feel heavy handed between the plot lines and the holidays, but you can see the groundwork being laid knowing what’s coming. One of my favorite parts of this 1990-1992 watch has been teenage Bridget. I liked her as the boarding house young mom but seeing her full story really has been an enjoyable gap filler.