vetsoapfan

Long gone are the days when soap producers held true to certain moral principles and had a sense of social responsibility. Now they will do, say, or portray anything on-screen, no matter how depraved.

There were so many Stewarts that the show could have used to keep the family front and center over the years (I mean, Annie alone birthed a football team, LOL), but obviously, the interest just wasn't there. So many soaps stopped nurturing their roots in the 1980s or so. He was an adequate (if not great) actor, but could never fully overcome his limitations, and TBH, he did not age well, which worked against him as a leading man. Perfectly said. Why even give such a lame nod to history, when it was inaccurate AND bound to be irrelevant to most current viewers? The audience members who did know the history would only be annoyed at how much the show screwed it up, so...what was the point? I came up with the same possible rationalization, but honestly, the audience shouldn't have to do mental gymnastics all the time to justify blatant historical gaffes. TPTB ought to do the research; it's their responsibility when they take over long-running franchises. I was there when Frederick was born, and still watching when Christina came along and raised as Ed's daughter and Bert's granddaughter. The Rick/Blake hook-up turned my stomach, much like Craig targeting Dani on ATWT.

Yes, Meta's hearing Reverend Ruthledge via radio broadcasts in her youth is less problematical, canon-wise, than other theories about how she could have "known" him. In a radio episode from 1950, Meta said she was 31 years old, so born in 1919. She would have been old enough in the late 1920s-early 1930s to remember radio sermons from her childhood. We really ARE putting more thought into this than is warranted, ROTF! Did the writers even care this much? Probably not! Yes, Josh met a supposed grandson of Rev. Ruthledge's, and told him that his grandfather was "a legend around here." Ouch. Ruthledge could not have had a grandson with that surname, without seriously revising history, and...why would the original John Ruthledge be a legend in Springfield? (Was it through memorable radio sermons from many decades before, which were broadcast throughout the country, from Selby Flats to Illinois?🤨) Overthinking, part two.😝 The show never used the family effectively in TGL's final decades, so even with a few remnants around, the Bauers were no longer considered by TPTB as the soap's core, anyway. They were cast aside for the Shaymes the way Emmerdale's Sugdens were wiped out and replaced by the Dingle-berries.🤮

I did the EXACT SAME mind exercises to justify what Meta said, in order to make it work within the context of established history, LOL! That's why I tried so hard to make the pieces fit. 🙃

Okay, so probably I am misremembering that bit, no doubt because I could not stomach watching it, LOL. There are so many errors and flights of fantasy; so much fan fiction on SoapCentral. UGH! It's nice to know that history was honored at least once in the show's final years! In her Christmas toast, Aunt Meta said, "When I was a girl, we used to listen to Reverend Ruthledge, in the church in Five Points. He was the best man I've ever known for finding hope for people in trouble...." So the history/accuracy was wonky, but I doubt that besides die-hard history buffs, few viewers would notice. Great synopsis, as always. If you wrote a book, detailing the history of TGL's early years, I'd buy it.👍

I might be confusing myself, here, LOL. Didn't Mary Stuart play Mary Bauer in flashbacks? (I may be totally off about this. The show was too painful for me to pay attention to at that time.) In a Christmas toast, Meta reflected on knowing Reverend Ruthledge when she was a girl. I had to do mental gymnastics in my mind to justify how she could say that, but I too appreciated the nod to history. I just wished it had been easily-accepted/accurate. Throughout my life, I have known both men and women who initially swore that they did not want kids, and then later changed their minds and had some. I could have accepted Trudy doing the same, and even acknowledging her change of heart on-air. That. Was. EGREGIOUSLY. Stupid.

I doubt it. Latter-year PTB screwed up history egregiously (and proved that they did not do their research) more often than not. I remember hearing about Gallagher. Claire Labine was wont to dig into history (bringing back Meg Dale to Love of live after an extended absence revitalized that show), but the rumor about HG felt like fan-driven fiction to me. I hadn't heard the bit about Gil Gerard. Still, it would have been nice. Gallagher was a fine, respected actress, and Gerard was attractive and had an affable presence (I would have preferred him as Ed Bauer over Peter Simon). Alas, no one in charge ever cared about or mined into TGL's rich history in its final years. I did too. While I did not totally despise O'Leary, I found him grating, and could never see him as leading-man material. I would have accepted Sada Thompson as a new Bauer matriarch. I loved her on Family in the 1970s. Getting the actress to sign a contract might have been a challenge, however. I wonder if she could have adjusted to a soap's hectic pace and shooting schedule.

I only vaguely recall the existence of Mary Bauer. I remember thinking that she was a retconned character whom I didn't accept as really ever existing. Do you remember the specifics? Yes, Trudy was basically a blank slate, with whom the show could have gone in many directions. Off-screen for so long, she could have had children and grandchildren to repopulate the dwindling Bauer bloodline. Critics tell me that most 1980s' or 1990s' viewers would not even know who she was, but soaps routinely foist newbies upon us; total strangers whom none of us have ever seen or heard of before. A "stranger" to modern viewers, but who's a blood Bauer, and whose roots actually go back to the 1940s, is not a bad thing. It's no worse than having a plethora of random, unknown and unrelated characters coming and going through a revolving door (which was TGL's problem starting in the 1980s). I strongly identified with Ellen Demming in the role of Meta, and if I had had my druthers, I would have cast Mary Stuart as Trudy Bauer (with some bio descendants to follow).

That was my thought as well. Billy was a character with real, strong ties to the Bauer family which we had witnessed on-screen for many years. It would have been more effective than introducing Kelly, who had to be connected to the family through artificial, revisionist ties. Peter Bergman will forever be "the new Jack" to me, just as Simon was always "the new (fake) Ed." Neither actor ever won me over, even though I acknowledged their talent in other roles. Ditto. Even beloved icon Mary Stuart never truly felt like Meta to me (even though I was thrilled to have her on the show). I always thought of her as Jo Gardner from SFT. After losing Charita Bauer, I wish TPTB had approached Ellen Demming about reprising the role of Meta. It would have been so comforting, amid all the changes TGL went through in the 1980s, to see a familiar face reappear on screen. It was clear there was no real interest in the character at the time. Vigard had a certain something, a spark, that made her interesting to watch. Jennifer Cooke was simply non-descript and bland, and had no chemistry with anyone. I remember Jennifer Court at one point years later, opined that Cooke was a "very cynical choice for the part."

My first Ed was Robert Gentry, who was excellent in the role, but when Mart Hulswit took over and Ed softened and became more of a protagonist/leading man, I grew to adore him. Hulswit became my Ed Bauer, too. I don't think Simon is a terrible actor per se, judging from his work on SFT and ATWT, but after the affable Hulswit, he was a major let-down on TGL. The show totally dropped the ball with the character of Rick Bauer, in terms of his potential to become a leading man, or a patriarch as he grew older. O'Leary's unbearable mugging made everything worse. IMHO, he's not as funny as he thinks he is, and the character fell into a grating second-banana position which ultimately rendered him impotent on the canvas. His sleeping with his "sister" made me turn against the character. With no Papa, Bert or Maureen, Springfield felt rudderless without a "guiding light" patriarch or matriarch at its helm. I've had a beef with Long since she said in a long-ago interview that her first mission at TGL was "getting rid of all the dead wood." UGH. Even against General Hospital, which was a huge powerhouse at the time, TGL's ratings were strong and the show was in very good shape. To me, there was not a lot of dead wood to be found, yet Long and Gail Kobe swiftly slaughtered a majority of the existing cast. No one could avoid losing Bert, unfortunately, but Long killed off Bill Bauer (originally introduced in the 1940s) and Hillary Bauer, and wrote off Mike and Hope. Those losses, along with a poorly-recast Ed, basically decimated the core family.

This is so well articulated. Gentry embodied the truest sense of the character as Ed Bauer was first written as a young adult. I often wanted to box his ears, he could be so annoying, but he was perfect as Ed at the time. As the character mellowed and matured, however, the charming Hulswit fit the part beautifully. Ed could still have a temper, but showed a softer side of himself as well. Hulswit's version made Ed sweeter and (dare I say?) cuddlier. So true, and I believe that to viewers (at least the longtime ones), the last remaining patriarch of the once-core family being morose, sour and weak was not what we wanted to see. At least Bert's transformation into a kinder and more loving individual was earned, and more gradual than Ed's relatively swift changeover from annoying dick to leading man. (I accepted it because I adored Hulswit, but found it somewhat jarring at the time. Like Rachel Davis on AW, who went from bitch to insta-heroine practically overnight in 1975.) That is NOT true, LOL! Your commentary is always fun to read.🙃 Yes, as noted Kelly was Ed's godson, and Hillary was Ed's half sister (they shared the same father). They were in the same family orbit, but not biologically related.

LOL! Robert Gentry was actually very good as Ed when he originally played the role decades ago, but when he returned, the magic was gone and he no longer fit the part. Of course, lousy writing and TPTB's apparent disinterest in the character at the time made the situation worse. The less said about RVF, the better. He clicked as Chuck Tyler on AMC, but he was woefully miscast on TGL. If RG and RVF were the only other options, I guess I'd grudgingly have to accept Simon as Ed Bauer, but his listless, morose take on the character was a turn-off. I've always been team Mart Hulswit, and felt firing him was a decision that damaged the character and the show in the long term. I'm glad that I'm not the only one to find Derek Colby attractive.👍

I love watching how different series incorporate flashbacks into their episodes. On Peyton Place: The Next Generation, the director chose to use sepia tone (like in the opening and closing scenes of The Wizard of Oz) when showing flashbacks to the original 1964-69 primetime drama, and I found it both nostalgic and effective. (BTW, I don't know why, but I was surprised to discover that Jean Bruce Scott played the comatose Allison MacKenzie in that 1985 film.) I love when shows give us flashbacks from the distant past.

It shocked me that Helen Wagner and Don McLaughlin were dropped from contract status in the early 1980s (one of the all-time most bone-headed moves on daytime TV), so I was always expecting David and Ellen to be shoved off the back-burner as well. In the end, I am surprised that Patricia Bruder made it all the way to 1996, considering how little Ellen had to do in her final years on the series.

Ahh, the revisionist-history Bauers, who had never existed or been mentioned since the family was introduced in the 1940s. With known and established characters like Mike, Hope, Meta, Trudy, etc., out there to use in the TGL universe, I resented how these awkwardly-inserted strangers were suddenly supposed to be part of the family. Nope. I called them all "the fake Bauers," and never accepted any of them. Daughter Lacey was particularly painful to tolerate. At least they came and went fairly quickly. I had to endure Peter Simon as "the fake Ed" for a looooong 27 years, LOL! I really liked Derek Colby and was disappointed that the show dropped him so suddenly. He was vastly more appealing than so many of the revolving-door newbies who kept being foisted on us as the 1980s progressed.

Lee Godart always turned me off completely, on both AMC and TEON. I would have preferred Woods remain in the role, TBH. Did anybody discern actual chemistry between Godart and Lucci? I can't say that I ever did.

While I technically still have my ancient Facebook and Twitter accounts, my usage of those platforms has dwindled to almost nothing. The toxicity, dishonesty and unbridled hate speech on those sites is just not tolerable.

Oh, no, no, no. Please do not apologize. It is not your fault that hate speech permeates any site upon which you happen to find a video of interest to soap fans. No one would expect you to pour through the entire Rumble archives before sharing a classic ATWT episode. I'm grateful that you let us know about the vintage upload. If we can find soap gems on any site, I'll investigate them readily, but fortunately we don't have to watch or endorse any of the other, toxic content out there. God knows, there are many things on Twitter/X and even Youtube I disagree with, but I just block or ignore them, and save the content I want. On the internet, I think we all learn pretty quickly to navigate through the murky waters.

I just glanced around a bit, but I was shocked and sickened to see all the hate speech, disinformation and toxicity given free reign on the platform.

Once venomous trolls target someone, they never quit, alas.

I can't see him deserving to be banned on any site, unless his posting style is vastly different than what it is here.

Thanks for the tag, @DRW50. I can't imagine why @EricMontreal22 would get banned. He's a great poster and adds value to conversations.

He wasn't on very long, and never was a major character, so I doubt many viewers remember him. It's like Pam Chandler and Tim Ryan; most folks today have no clue who they are/were.

It is. She played Janet Mason on TGL. Deerfield and Garrett struck me as quite different. I felt that Deerfield came across as flighty and less substantial than Garrett, who brought a somber depth and thoughtfulness to the role. Garrett made Holly a full, flesh-and-blood woman, which made her much more memorable and powerful to watch. Holly is an icon thanks to Garrett. JMHO.

Bert Bauer, Mike Bauer, Ed Bauer, OG Holly Norris, Janet Norris, Peggy Scott, Leslie Jackson, Steve Jackson, Wilson Frost, Sara McIntyre, Ken Norris, Adam Thorpe, Barbara Norris. Don't ask me to name 85% of the characters from the final few decades of the show, LOL, but when TGL was great, its characters were memorable. Thank you @Sapounopera. I enjoyed seeing that. It sure brought back a lot of memories!