vetsoapfan

Thank you, @te. and @DRW50. This episode is new to me on youtube. I just watched it and enjoyed it thoroughly!

Cool.

Yes, I saved the issue.

Their cover shot was gorgeous!

TEON was a soap I literally watched every day back then. I audio-recorded episodes and kept scrapbooks with storyline synopses, cast/crew interviews, etc. It was excellent for many years under writer Henry Slesar.

Martha's final on-screen appearance was with Geraldine Whitney, when the two women were discussing Kevin Jamison's and Phoebe Smith's relationship. Then she simply stopped appearing and went unmentioned for several months. Finally, while he was testifying on the witness stand in court, Bill was asked about his relationship with Mike Karr. Bill replied that he, Mike and their wives had been close friends for many years, but that they saw each other much less now, "...since my wife and I moved to the country." Louise did not simply disappear. She had an official "write out," with the character visiting the Karrs' home and telling Nancy that she was leaving town to be with Phil who had left Monticello for business.

Thank you for the link. I had heard about this respectful Amy/Jessie mention from a friend of mine who also watched GH during the 1960s, '70s and early '80s, but I had never seen it. I suppose I shouldn't quibble about it happening more than two decades after Emily McLaughlin's death. As a long-time fan, I always appreciate when shows honor their roots. I'm sure that was a significant part of it. The network was determined to pander to the youth market, but as well, McLaughlin did have various issues over the years which interfered with her work life. That also factored in to her dwindling presence on the show. There were times in the 1980s when Jessie was off-screen for extended periods of time, without explanation. The show cast actress Lisa Figus as Nurse Georgia Price as a standby for when McLaughlin couldn't appear, so there still must have been some interest in using Jessie, at least from time to time. By the early 1990s, however, Jessie had dwindled so far into the background, she might as well have been an under-fiver. Carnes is an actor whom the show should be trying to keep. Lucas is a legacy character with built-in rooting appeal, and Carnes is a) a good performer and b) beautiful.

ITA. After seeing so many botched "tribute" episodes to beloved characters/actors over the years (from all the soaps, not just this one), I wasn't expecting much of anything from GH's send-off to Bobbie. (Considering Jessie Brewer's death was not even acknowledged by other characters in Port Charles until years later, when she received a brief mention in an anniversary special, even a beloved vet's receiving the respect she deserves cannot be taken for granted. Did Amy Vining receive an on-screen send-off when Shell Kepler died, or did the character simply cease to exist, without acknowledgement? I forget.) I agree that when GH actually chooses to do them, the tributes tend to do justice to the departed characters/actors. When that sad time times, I hope the show honors our dear Rachel Ames. To me, GH is top-heavy with irrelevant characters who could and should be pruned out. But Lucas is a legacy character and should definitely be on contract and featured regularly. I'd take Ryan Carnes over Steve Burton in a heartbeat!

This is devastating. May he rest in eternal peace.

Yes, but I'm afraid those once-popular characters have disappeared into Forgotten History territory. I was (pleasantly) shocked to see that Lucille March was featured on the wall.

I legit haven't watched an entire episode of GH in decades, not since Claire Labine left as head scribe. I've seen clips and partial eps here and there, but nothing that satisfied me or made me want to tune back in regularly. That being said, I've actually sat down and watched the last few episodes (it helped a lot that so many vets were featured prominently). I'm shocked to admit that I was pleased with today's episode (January 11, 2024), and felt it was an honorable and touching send-off to a beloved actress and character. And it made me cry. A crusty curmudgeon like me, who hasn't shed a tear over a soap since Maureen Bauer (TGL), and BJ and Stone (GH) died in the 1990s! Hell has frozen over, LOL! Good job, GH.

Thank you. I couldn't spot him in the photos I've seen, but I'm glad he was there, considering the long history he shared with Bobbie.

Where's Scotty? I don't see him in the church.

Dear God in heaven...NOOOOOOOO! Hold back my hair; I'm gonna hurl!😖🫢🤢🤮 When Burton was actually trying to act, decades ago, he was at least adequate. He's been expressionless and robotic for many years, however, and his "stone-cold," unrepentant, mass-murdering and sociopathic character has long outlived his usefulness on the canvas. How many people have Jason and Sonny assassinated by now, anyway? (Serious question!) Why are these putrid slugs glorified as "anti-hero" leads of the show, who continually attract romantic desire of so many women? UGH!

I guess TPTB wanted to pimp the current pod-incarnation of the show, more than celebrate its extensive and rich history. That makes sense from a commercial standpoint, perhaps, but it's not emotionally satisfying to long-time fans.

Thanks. It sounds like the "special" focused on the recent years of the show; the Frank Valenti period. If I had sat through it and seen no Jessie or Audrey, no Lesley or Lee Baldwin, I would have been bitterly disappointed.

Were there any mentions or clips of the legendary stars and characters of yore, like John Beradino as Steve Hardy, Emily McLaughlin as Jessie Brewer, Rachel Ames as Audrey Hardy, Denise Alexander as Lesley Webber, etc.? Scotty Baldwin is the longest-running character still on GH; did Kin Shriner make an appearance? TIA.

As always, I appreciate the heads up. Good find! Thanks, @DRW50!

What? Additional rare, classic episodes of TGL, right after the TEON treasure was unearthed? Stuff I am overjoyed to see, which I don't already have in my collection? The soap gods' love is shining down upon us these days! Thanks @BoldRestless and @DRW50!

Way back when, a trader friend sent me three, 2-hour VHS tape of SFT from the summer of 1966. I'm trying to remember the total number of episodes I received. I believe she recorded nine on each tape, so a total of 27. I thought that was a huge amount. I don't recall any trader or fan referencing a whopping 40 episodes from that year (great as that would have been).

Bill Bell was still executive story consultant after Smith left, and into Marcus' tenure. He is the one who created the Trish-mental breakdown story, which Smith said she kept trying to put off for being too over-the-top. The ratings had dropped from in the 9s down to the 8s during BB's and PFS's last year working as a team.. After Smith was fired, she sued the network. Ann Marcus was continuing to use PFS's story (which had been created in coordination with William J. Bell.), but acknowledged in the press that if she did not wish to write what Bell suggested, she would just change things as she saw fit. There was a huge deterioration in the quality of the writing once Marcus took over. Comments in the press were not kind ("Never have I seen a show go downhill so quickly.") The ratings really dropped after PFS was axed and AM was in charge. They fell into the 6s. Thus began a revolving door of headwriters.

Again, ITA 100%. Although the writing for ATWT had wavered between tepid and poor for a solid decade before its demise, and although a plethora of inept production choices had been long been heaped upon the show, the core was still relatively intact and recognizable. ATWT miraculously escaped the enormous damage that had torn apart TGL (and which has destroyed Days of Our Lives). This miracle left Oakdale still salvageable in its final days. A capable producer and writer could have turned ATWT around relatively quickly, whereas I believe it would have taken a complete, extensive and lengthy overhaul to get TGL anywhere near "fighting shape" again.

To be brutally frank, I would say that TGL in its dying days added to the knowledge of how NEVER to produce a soap in this or any era; that canceling it, before steering it right into the toilet where it circled the drain before the inevitable flush, would honor the show's (and the overall genre's) integrity much more appropriately. JMHO.

ITA 100%. After Nancy Curlee left, TGL was severely decimated, and began a crippling downward spiral to its inevitable death. Its cancellation felt, to me, like a mercy killing.

It was disheartening to peruse the two recently-posted cast pictures and realize how many totally irrelevant, pointless characters were taking up space on the TGL's canvas, while so many beloved, essential-to-the-show's core were nowhere to be seen. I really am surprised this soap lasted as long as it did, after being on life-support for YEARS.