GL95

Harley is also the only one who made a good choice in adoption agency as far as the adoptive parent situation goes. Dylan/Dinah both had terrible childhoods. Alex not remembering she had twins and Nick subsequently being sold by her ex might win on crazy retcons.

Harley should be roughly A-M’s age but that doesn’t really make sense with Buzz disappearing after he’s drafted if we’re talking A-M’s onscreen birthdate. The A-M SORAS really messes with any timeline of anyone on the canvas. A-M would be born around 1970 to match his 18 years old in 1987. Lucy was 20 in 1993 so if they tried to have their adult ages match up Buzz would’ve been with Lucy’s mom roughly 1976 if my (very rough) math is right.

I started my current viewing on Rick Hearst’s first day in June 1990 when A-M gets rescued from being kidnapped/tortured. I didn’t watch him getting scammed into the marriage but they have him come from this ordeal laying it on thick how the only thing that got him through the kidnapping was knowing the baby was coming. It’s a pretty horrible watch seeing her tell him she miscarried because we know he’s about to find out Phillip “died” as well. I think Blake/A-M after they divorce is a pretty great soap dynamic with two strong actors good at portraying characters whose wheels are always turning. A-M in a lot of ways is the monster of her own making. While he was definitely ambitious and out to prove something, a lot of his rush to grab power was Blake whispering in his ear and hitting all his insecurities. (She is very much her father’s daughter as played by SS.) She was the one who pushed hard to get back into his life when he wanted nothing to do with her, but then a lot of the confidence she instilled in him from successes that had a lot to do with her became arrogance. Then Blake calling immigration on Eleni led to the A-M/Eleni marriage. I liked the dynamic they set up even though it’s almost hard to watch, as Blake is scheming to break up A-M/Eleni but A-M knows full well Blake is working to prop him up because she is still in love with him. However, she’s also so closely hitched her own career prospects to him that if he cuts her loose and stops leading her on that she has nothing so there’s not much he can do to do right by her. What SS does so well is convey that she absolutely knows what is going on and it’s crushing, but she also is going to try to keep scheming until she wins just like Roger would. Until she decides an interlude to channel her pain towards hurting Holly is what she wants. I liked those scenes with A-M/Blake when they are just friends/confidantes who get each other (with some remaining sexual tension). I like those relationships like Ed/Holly being on the canvas that are always there and vaguely threatening to their respective partners, but also keeps the characters’ histories alive through their conversations.

Just how dead was Jackie? Buzz was dead on the show until 1993 haha. Phillip’s mom coming back from the dead AND being Lucy’s mom would be high drama at least. It reminds me of when they have Reva doing the police sketch of Brent as A-M and Alan dramatically watch. First, it’s sort of funny because while Reva was attacked by Frank Beaty’s Brent she remembers the face of the new actor. But then Alan and A-M spend a solid minute going back and forth saying “It couldn’t be” while Reva has no clue what they’re talking about, then them finally telling Reva the guy she drew was dead. No one in the room mentions that A-M would also have thought Reva was dead at the time she had the altercation with Brent. I really wanted Reva to say, “I should know just because you think someone’s dead doesn’t mean it’s true.”

What’s funny is I actually could see it still being a Sarah deathbed confession that she’s always known about this secret kid of Hawk’s. I actually like the Lanie Marler thought best just because Lucy and Phillip forming a familial bond that’s separate from A-M would be an interesting dynamic. It would also make Lucy Dinah’s cousin plus more organically put A-M/Blake into the same orbit to be confidantes again.

Lucy and A-M not having sex for a really long time even pre-Brent does make you feel like there were thoughts of an incest plot.

It just seemed like an interesting coincidence if they were really exploring Lucy’s parentage that Reva has an instant-sister a few months later and learns of it while still married to Buzz. Buzz grifting an older woman wouldn’t have been out of character at that point though giving Hawk a secret daughter wouldn’t have been at all unbelievable. It also has to be someone not actually on the canvas or Buzz would’ve known them. Roger having an unknown sister maybe? Maureen having had a secret child offscreen would’ve perhaps been an interesting twist especially since Matt was seemingly involved in every story at this point and pulled A-M more closely into the Bauer fold without incest. Lucy/Bridget being cousins would’ve resurrected that abandoned friendship that I liked. It’s not dramatic per se but ties Lucy to a lot of the canvas through Matt and the Lewises/Vanessa don’t like/trust A-M. Is there a viable Marler option? Lucy being related to Phillip and Ross would actually create the most drama for A-M I feel like. I know Sam’s too young and Jackie died too soon, right? Making her Annie’s sister would’ve been possible and have some dramatic possibilities at that time especially since Lucy likely didn’t learn about being so trusting post Marian/Brent haha

It really fits the history of the show if Ross was Blake’s Ed and A-M her Roger. (Granted I never watched any pre-RR Alan, but A-M always felt closer to Roger than Alan as far as his more treacherous acts/manipulations and his motivations for them.)

I was playing around looking at old soap opera press since I’ve gone down this early to mid 90s rabbit hole, and I read the SOD article before Lucy/A-M’s wedding and McTavish and Sonia Satra hint at the identity of Lucy’s mom being on the canvas. I actually wonder if Lucy was meant to be Reva’s sister but it got scrapped when Rick Hearst left and Lucy/Alan-Michael were just there to be part of Phillip’s revenge arc. The timing fits and it would’ve made the Alan/Reva conflict have more at stake than whatever iteration of Sixth Street gentrification. Though at that point if A-M/Lucy had a Spaulding/Bauer/Shayne/Cooper kid in the next generation it would be nearly impossible to avoid cousins haha

So it’s funny I think Rick Hearst being brought in for SS worked when they got into their scheming period, and the more I get into 1992 it feels like Blake/A-M were meant to grow from their “good” people pairing but ultimately find their way back if Bloss hadn’t become a true couple. I have a feeling if Liz Kieffer’s take on Blake hadn’t made Bloss a more viable couple that a baby comes from that last Blake/A-M tryst. There would be some dramatic irony of Blake getting pregnant by A-M when she didn’t want to given her fake pregnancy lies broke them up. (I think Liz and Rick had a fun lived in chemistry when they were confidantes.) Almost everything with Alan’s return is so much more interesting if Blake/A-M were together or at least still connected through a kid. Not having a Thorpe/Spaulding grandkid on the canvas was such a lost opportunity. I say all this as someone who actually really likes Lucy/A-M but it’s pretty wild to me that they just dropped Blake/A-M remaining connected completely (like I kept waiting for Blake to find A-M when Tangie was caring for him which would’ve added so much more intrigue to that godforsaken plot if Blake is lying to Ross about helping hide A-M then Blake being involved in the Alan confrontation/reunion.)

There was also the hot minute they had Dylan dating Eleni and appeared to be setting up the phenomenally boring triangle of Eleni/Dylan/Frank when they were still toying with A-M/Harley/Blake. What was funny is that Harley mentioning Daisy was why Eleni couldn't be with Dylan because of his values or something, but she then doesn't seem particularly fazed by A-M's two divorces in three years. Other random observation from my current viewing: I am amused by Eleni/A-M living at the Spaulding mansion in the same bedroom where he was living with Blake and they kept the same set for when he was living there with Lucy.

I’m watching the Nick goes to Cambrai with Eve plot and it’s legit insane that Alex would rather Nick go to a dangerous war zone than marry Mindy.

That triangle was happening early in my viewing from June 1990 on and it was prime FF time for me. I knew nothing about Chelsea but knew I had no interest in Frank/Fletch competing over a woman.

In addition to Frank D being a mediocre actor, watching in 1992 Frank Cooper is such a sad sack mix of no business acumen while trying to run multiple businesses, too much pride to take badly needed money from anyone including Nadine who truly owes him, and repeatedly losing detective work because someone he’s close to turns out to be the culprit (Nadine/Blake). Currently he’s living off the found (stolen really but stolen from a thief) money of Jenna’s he found in the alley despite Eleni/Nadine/Harley all offering him money. (The not taking A-M money I get but the stubborn pride but resorting to sketchy money instead is pretty clearly doomed.) I’m up to the brief Fletcher/Vanessa pairing and it’s pretty funny how I am pretty sure this is never referenced again once it ends.

Thanks, that’s interesting. The wrong casting and the Eleni story would’ve been so bad. They did a good job finding someone who was innocent and guileless but also projected maturity so Frank didn’t seem like a creeper. I saw Rick Hearst’s Locher reunion with Sonia Satra and he said he and Melina always remained close too. (Side note I came across an old Sonia Satra interview where it came up she was super private about her personal life and she had dated/lived with Monty Sharp for several years, and apparently she and Monty were together over a year before anyone knew and Rick Hearst was pissed at her for not saying anything because they were close haha)

I’m curious-does anyone know if there’s any backstory to Melina K coming onto the show? On paper importing a Greek immigrant arranged bride to pair with Frank sounds like a disaster and only works because Melina K is a star. It has the feel of a part written for her, but was curious if that was the case.

They should have brought back Sam to pair with Rick as the closest he can get to being with Phillip.

I actually watched/rewatched 1994-1997 before I decided to fill in gaps, so I’ve seen Bitch Julie but I’m still in the long Sweet Julie period and it’s pretty crazy knowing what’s to come. I’ve said it before but this experience is like watching an origin story prequel.

It just dawned on me that somewhere in my viewing Sam exited and I had no idea. Did she go to law school out of town? Did she go to India to be with Justin? Her plot line ended with Daniel St Clair's exit and with no Phillip/Justin she didn't have much purpose on the canvas, but it was a pretty unceremonious exit for someone who took up a lot of airtime for the whole time I've been watching since June 1990. I find it interesting that Sam never returned when Phillip did, especially given that she was Harley's best friend. Though it's funny that I watched first run 1995-2005ish and did not remember that Phillip was Ross's biological nephew, so clearly the show had about as much interest in Phillip as a Marler by 1996 as they had in A-M as a Bauer. I remember Sam really confusing me when I started my June 1990 viewing especially when Phillip/A-M visited her in the hospital and she seemed really close to both of them, and the whole familiarity/comfort of that scene was so different from any family dynamic I'd seen of the Spauldings.

I was thinking the same thing-it always seemed like her makeup was pretty minimalist too.

As someone who actually liked Alan-Michael/Lucy (I had no history with the show and just started watching right when A-M was first named president and Lucy was working for him and I liked their dynamic and A-M at this point is someone who is generally trying to be a better person), I think they did a decent job with his story arc in 1995 with him fighting to free himself from the need to be loved/noticed by Alan and learning to love someone unselfishly. As far as the Spaulding dynamics, I hate more in 1995 how they pretty much permanently set up the Alex/Alan dynamics with Alex backing Alan in the end no matter what while also being weirdly obsessive about his love life. Now, did we need THREE different times that A-M is on the outs with Alan starting in 1994 and A-M decides Alan really does love him because Alan does the bare minimum and cares whether A-M lives or dies then betrays him again five minutes later? No, we did not. A-M basically went by way of Mindy as an important character that they never recovered from a giant recasting mistake/keeping in the same stagnant dynamic. The A. Spaulding/Amanda as madam stuff was terrible but having an uninteresting actor as A-M who couldn't pull off any of the necessary saying one thing while thinking/reacting to the machinations of the other Spauldings (or show the vulnerability underneath the bluster) made it so much worse.

Right now where I'm at I'm mostly just amused at how big of a deal they're making outbidding Lewis based on getting access to the contract including Ross/Holly trying to get Blake to turn A-M in. It's certainly not a sound moral or ethical decision, but on the scale of possible criminal matters on this show it seems pretty minor (Billy has committed assault in public twice in the last two months without consequences though Springfield PD doesn't seem particularly interested in assault charges in general haha). Billy is pretty sanctimonious about Spaulding even trying to compete to begin with and Nadine of course isn't at all sympathetic. The most interesting aspect of all this is the A-M/Alex dynamic where Alex is basically giving him tacit approval to be underhanded so long as he doesn't get caught and keeps her hands clean with plausible deniability. (Not dissimilar to her with Roger really.) It's interesting watching out of order as I first started watching GL somewhere in 1995 and A-M was in his phase of trying to be a better man while also repeatedly in the Charlie Brown mode of getting the football yanked from under him. What's a waste to me is I actually think A-M has some of the clearest motivations of anyone ( a lot of this is Rick Hearst's performance but it's in the writing too). The Spaulding presidency drive is pretty clearly the way he thinks he'll finally get the love and respect he's never gotten from his family before (and it's a shame the Bauer side as a mixed bag with a mom that apparently was in and out of rehab as the "good side" wasn't explored more). I think the front half of 1994 still mostly works for A-M but I think more than anything he gets lost in the Alan/Alex over the top recasts with RR's Alan dominating far too much. As much as Reva's sucking up all the oxygen gets blamed for the show's slide, I think it really begins with Alan's return and Alan just being a complete sociopath who's not even a fun villain. It's sort of funny how unceremoniously they dumped Nick just when he was more or less tolerable after keeping him with one foot in the Spaulding fray with no real reason for far too long (Alex actually unconditionally loved him just like she did Alan).

I'm in late April 1992 right after A-M fires Blake after Eleni overhears Holly saying that Blake called immigration on Eleni. Right now all the "good" characters are talking about how A-M is the most devious person ever for blackmailing Nadine to hand over the Lewis Oil bid in a contract he was bidding against Billy for. Nadine had leaked to the Inquisitor that Vanessa was the anonymous woman pressing attempted rape charges against a Spaulding client-something A-M actually specifically wouldn't do even though he was in a rivalry with Vanessa. This whole thing seems rather quaint compared to later Spaulding shenanigans. A-M is now legitimately doing sketchy/amoral things, but it's funny how early they had Harley talking about how much he'd changed for the worse over things like being upset that someone had broken into the Foundation's computer that held all the accounts, wearing a suit a lot, or just taking his first job at Spaulding seriously in general. The whole face-off with A-M/Blake/Eleni/Holly was a real powerhouse of good actors. Watching Melina K and Sherry Stringfield square off was fun. A-M definitely was using Blake during this time and is throwing her under the bus, but it's an interesting mirror with Nick who has the DNA test saying he's not Alexandra's son but is taking the Spaulding board seat for his own purposes to find out dirt, etc. The way Nick just keeps using Alexandra's desperation to have a son again seems just as bad as what A-M was doing but the show keeps putting him in the "good category." Alex keeps scheming partly because Nick keeps staying in her orbit and stringing her along. In this plot line I also enjoyed the Roger/A-M confrontations. I do feel like looking ahead a couple of years that they really wasted an opportunity when Roger made A-M the primary fall guy/target in his embezzlement scheme. I think if he'd just scammed Alex there would have been more room to lure A-M over to Roger in one of the many times A-M gets cast aside, and Roger while trying to manipulate A-M also very clearly recognizes his weaknesses/insecurities and largely is speaking the truth. Not that Roger doesn't eventually alienate everyone, but I feel like a period of a true Roger/A-M alliance would've had some interesting potential.

I’m watching AM/Eleni’s airport wedding-poor Frank. I knew the basics of AM tricking Eleni with the prostitute in Paris/Blair calling immigration. I hadn’t realized just how much Blake’s call set it up given that AM’s scheme is elaborate as far as needing a private jet and being an international trip, but given that Alex was with Frank all night one conversation was likely going to blow it all up. Blake/Holly having a nice moment talking about AM then Blake just unapologetically telling Holly she tried to have Eleni deported without even realizing why a normal person might think this was wrong made me chuckle. The SS version of Blake just has zero moral compass.

Maybe the timing was off, but I feel like bringing in Marcy Walker as Mindy might have worked. If nothing else it seems she wouldn’t have been a worse recast and then no Tangie randomly floating around.