vetsoapfan

Thanks for the link, @slick jones. Even though I only watched OLTL daily from 1968 to 1983, and then during the Billy Douglas/AIDS quilt saga, when it was good, I loved the show dearly and have great memories of its golden era. And I'm still interested in its overall history, even the years I was not a regular viewer.

Thanks @slick jones!

Yep. I'd watch 1973-82 again for sure, even the "less effective" material with Vanessa Prentiss. Suzanne Lynch was another hard-to-take-seriously plot point character. I've always thought she was used to garner sympathy for Katherine, after all Mrs. C's egregious, earlier behavior. Even at her worst, Lorie always had traces of humanity and guilt about her crimes. I think William J. Bell tried to redeem her the most, and evolve her away from being primarily a bitch, when Lorie fell in love with Mark Henderson. He made her happy for the first time in her life, it seemed, and then Lorie discoved that he was in reality her half-brother (they shared a biological father). Lorie's anguish was gut-wrencing to witness, and I think Bell really turned the tide of sympathy towards her at that point.

I agree it would have been a wiser (and more emotionally-satisfying) choice for Brad and Leslie to ride into the sunset togther when the show did not renew Lynde's contract. Fans cry foul when their favorite, beloved couples leave town, but better them depart together and have a happy ending, than the couple breaking up and making the audience endure a recast. When Another World fired George Reinholt in 1975, I would have preferred to see Steve and Alice move to Australia together, than see Steve die and an unfortunate replacement in the role of Alice. But Y&R was highly invested in the character of Leslie, and AW was so centered on Alice (even with Rachel waiting in the wings to overtake the show) at the time, I'm not surprised that TPTB made the choices they did. I just don't feel those choices were successfil in hindsight.

The Chris/Snapper and Leslie/Brad sagas were brilliant: beautifully conceived, written and acted. The original actors had star appeal and charisma to burn; a certain "je ne sais quoi" and chemistry that can't be forced or manufactured. I was instantly mesmerized. I consider the debut year of Y&R to be the best opening of any soap I have seen in all the decades of my watching daytime TV. Personally, I felt the Lorie/Lance/Leslie/Lucas business was a step down in effectiveness (not a huge plunge, but just not as riveting). Victoria Mallory was an exquisitively attractive woman, who played the piano beautifully and sang like an angel. She also (to me) came across as poised as self-contained, lacking the depths of insecurity and emotional pain that Leslie had always exibited under Janice Lynde. There did not seem to be the "still waters run deep" quality to Leslie now, so integral elements of the character disappeared. Leslie felt like a different character who did not incite as much protectiveness and sympathy anymore. (Rona Barrett's Daytimers magazine referred to Mallory's take on the character as "colorless," which transferred the rooting value to Jaime Lyn Bauer's tempermental, complicated and emotional Lorie.) I believe Mallory would have worked out in a different, newly-created role, but she wasn't right for Leslie. (Think Linda Borgensen in comparion to Jacqueline Courtney on Another World or Marj Dusay in comparion to Beverlee McKinsey on The Guiding Light.) The romantic uncertainties of the four Ls were lopsided because the rooting value (again, to me) remained hugely in Lorie's favor. I know there are fans who enjoy campy villainesses like Vivian Alamain and Susan Banks on DAYS, Susan Piper on TGL, Justine on Another World, etc., but I never have. The rest of the characters on Y&R were nuanced and relatable, and portrayed by actors who brought subtle layers to their roles. Vanessa Prentiss was an over-the-top loon played by an actress who took a highly affected, theatrical, "hammy" approach to the role. She did not mesh with the other actor's naturalistic and believable style. Mainly, I found Vanessa to be unrealistic and absurd. I couldn't settle into and believe in any story she was part of. So with two performers I felt were miscast, the four L/Vanessa stuff never captivated me as much as the earlier Chris/Snapper, Brad/Leslie, and even the intitial Lorie/Lance stories did. That being said, the four L/Vanessa storylines were MASTERIECES compared to anything we've seen on daytime TV in decades!

I adored the storyline Janice Lynde and Tom Hallick played out during Y&R's early years; it is tied for first place as my all-time favorite Genoa City story. That being said, it's completely erroneous to assert, "We were the first super-couple of daytime...." Brad and Leslie were certainly NOT the first super couple of soaps. In fact, they weren't even the first superr couple of Y&R. Chris Brooks and Snapper Foster were already tangled in a blossoming star-crossed relationship in the very first episiode, before Leslie even meet Brad.

Yes, Naked at Dawn was the first book Lorie had written. She penned In My Sister's Shadow later on, about her contentious relationship with Leslie. I imagine Fairman might have just jumped on duos or groups of people who were already talking to each other anyway, and asked them for brief interviews. With prior planning, it would have made sense to include Tom Hallick.

I had not caught this interview until you pointed it out to me. Thank you so much @DRW50! It was a treat! I also wish we could have had some interactions like this with their characters on the show. Acknowledging Victoria Mallory with such respect was sweet. I found it amusing that Jaime Lyn Bauer mixed up Lorie's book titles Naked at Dawn and In My Sister's Shadow. I instantly caught her error. Die-hard fans can remember even the most obscure details. I don't believe there's bad blood with JL and Tom Hallick. She's in the classic Y&R Facebook group, and she has often posted very glowing comments about Hallick, their characters' storyline, and working with him.

Nothing could ever be more egregious than the "Mary Stewart" tribute fiasco. UGH!

Throughout the decades, I have been a major fan of many supercouples, but only when their their storylines remained grounded in the realm of believability and relative reality. Bill and Laura and Doug and Julie on DAYS, Brad and Leslie and Chris and Snapper on Y&R, Steve and Alice on AW, Laura and Scotty on GH; I could name many pairs. But once the uber villains, spies, mad scientists, ghosts, clones, time travellers and Satan entered the soap equation, I was totally turned off. Supercouples' conflict with a bitter ex lover or baby mama was realistic and compelling; supercouples battling a mad scientist freezing the world or a rapidly-aging clone was too stupid to endure. After loving DAYS since the beginning, I endured the terrible Ann Marcus period, and even survived my way through Nina Laemmle's debacle, but James Reilly made me finally abandon the show. I could never watch it again after what he did to it. (Yes, I know: to each his own, and there were folks who enjoyed/still enjoy supernatural, sci-fi and low-brow camp elements. That is fine, but I'm just not one of them. I truly believe they destroyed the soaps.)

I don't think folks are upset about soaps' being renewed; I see viewers desperately advocating for better product to warrant the shows' continued existence, and to make soaps worthwhile and enjoyable to watch again. I'm know I am a curmudgeon about quality, LOL, but to me, the last time DAYS was well written was under Pat Falken Smith in 1982. I've been more than patient!🤣

Please, Lord, let Ron be replaced, sooner rather than later. Two more years of his material is the stuff nightmares are made of.

I would say that the period written by Agnes Nixon and then the first few years of the Lemay era (1971-74) were the best. The show was weaker between Nixon and Lemay, when Cenedella was on his own, but still okay. IMHO, the writing started to show cracks in 1975, and Lemay's material from 1976 until he left was a step down from his earlier stuff. Again, JMHO.

No, if you've only watched episodes 1-8, you still have number 9 to see, which is the first season's finale.

Joan Bennett received $1,000.00 per week for her starring role on Dark Shadows, which began in 1966. Adjusted for inflation, her yearly $52,000.00 salary would be $480,149.38 today. This is excellent pay, of course, but we've heard horror stories about newbie daytime actors earning surprisingly low salaries during the 1960s and well into the 1970s. I imagine TPTB continued to nickel-and-dime most soap performers for as long as they could, and only lavished good salaries on the superstars of the genre, In January of 1971, Daytime TV magazine (how I miss the golden age of soap mags!) wrote: "Would you like to know what actors now get on daytime serials? The new AFTRA (union) minimum fee is $175 for one show, $350 for two, $525 for three, $650 for four, and $790 for five shows a week."

On the 60-minute version of Another World, George Reinholt said that his contract guaranteed him $70,000.00 a year. Presumably, Jacqueline Courtney would have been receiving similar pay. When the stars transferred over to OLTL, Reinholt acknowledged that ABC would never go that high. For the 30-minute One Life, Reinholt and Courtney received $35,000.00. Even that was allegedly much higher than what other actors were getting at the time, however, which created conflict. Erika Slezak acknowledged other performers wanted their salaries increased to be aligned with what George and Jacquie were receiving. That was in 1975. There's no way any actor on the show would jump to a million-dollar salary within five years.

I love rare/obscure finds like this. Thanks, @slick jones!

When folks are melting down and gnashing their teeth over all these minor, absurd "issues," you know they have lost their minds, LOL. I think FEDRA is run by the "remaining government," and the Fireflies are members a resistance force, so I don't believe FEDRA is run by the Fireflies. The two organizations appear to be battling each other. Check out this essay on the two groups: https://mashable.com/article/the-last-of-us-fireflies-fedra-hbo Pedro Pascal gets cuter and more appealing every time I see him! The fact that soaps no longer even attempt drama like this is a major reason why soaps are failing, IMHO. I'm very impressed by the casting of this series. Everyone, from the leading regulars to the one-time guest stars and bit players are impressive. What did you think of the third episode? I've watched eight of the season's nine episodes as of right now. Every one of them has been a roller-coaster ride.

In her book, Ellen Holly is honest about her bafflement/disappointment over suddenly playing opposite an "old man," IIRC.

Thanks for pointing that out. It never fails to amaze me what fans can find in the nooks and crannies of the internet!

It was so weird transitioning from Robert Milli to Nat Polen in the role of Jim Craig. The potential romantic future of Carla and Jim instantly disappeared (Polen was simply not a viable partner for her) and never even mentioned again in subsequent years. I can relate. After 30-40-50 years, some memories get muddled or simply vanish altogether. It happens to all of us. I remember Pryce Trainor, and a policeman named Jack Neal, both of whom could have made long-term on-screen partners for Carla, but they both only last about two years. In the end, it worked out for the best, because we were blessed with Al Freeman as Ed Hall.

It's even more egregious to see absolute trash being rewarded, as in this case.💩🤢

I have to laugh at how enraged the intellectually- and socially-limited fan boys are, as they scream about how the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in the mix is "destroying the show" because "there were no qu**r characters in the game." Um, hello? They obviously never played the original games or know anything about them. They are just jumping on the homophobic bandwagon and soiling their painties in rage out of knee-jerk (emphasis on the "jerk," LOL) bigotry. Their impotent fury is hilarious. Whatever would they do if faced with actual, real problems?

I think most actors would be honored to be associated with the fine writing and directing of that episode (although, I must say, the series has not produced a clunker of an episode yet).

I agree. Often, "genre" series (sci-fi, horror) are under-appreciated at award times, but I can see episode three being nominated in multiple areas, and deserving to win. I am majorly crushing on Pedro Pascal. ZADDY!!!