vetsoapfan

I was gifted a CD years ago, with mp3 files of TGL from 1950. I forget now, but I think there were 90 full episodes. A while later, many more from around that era popped up. I had broken my foot at the time, and basically binged dozens of eps continuously as I was relegated to the couch. It was a sanity saver, LOL!

@Matt, thank you so much for all these great recaps which you are gifting to the board. With the dearth of quality soaps on television these days, I'd be more than happy to sit back and listen to several golden-age radio dramas. Has anybody else listened to the extended stretch of The Guiding Light episodes from 1950? It's a miracle that so many survived, and what a treat it was to enjoy.

Sadly, when it comes down to a choice between offering us gimmicks and stunts or developing characterization and relatable, human drama, TPTB almost always take the easy way out and heap more cheap stunts onto the soaps. They continually fail (or refuse) to comprehend that investment in human drama and characters we care for is the salvation of soaps.

The truth can be accurate and hilarious at the same time, I guess.🙃 Thank you. I fully understand that every kind of material will thoroughly engage some folks and totally turn off others. I loved the work of Irna Phillips, Agnes Nixon, William J. Bell, Pat Falken Smith, Harding Lemay, etc., but intimate, character-driven and adult drama is not everyone's cup of tea. I mean, some people actually chose to watch Hey Vern, It's Ernest! and Beavus and Butt-Head. C'est la vie, as they say.🤷‍♂️ It's curious that you are so ready to relegate soaps to the "lesser-than" category. As someone who was around to see the soaps' earlier years, I'd counter than many of the legendary writers of the genre gifted fans with stellar material, often on a par with or equal to the dreck that primetime television foisted upon us. It's difficult to believe such a petulant and unsupported retort was even offered.😬 All traditional, network programming exists to sell advertisers' products. It does not preclude artists working within television from doing their best to produce quality entertainment. There is a plethora of evidence available to support the contention that superior TV exists. Yes, even among the beleaguered soaps.

As previously noted, it all depends on what you enjoy and prefer to watch. To each his own. Passions was created to be exactly what it was, and that's fine. There's an audience out there for everything, and all viewers should be served. On the other hand, Days was created to be, and found its highest ratings and biggest success as, an erudite, literate, adult soap with quality writing. When Masterpiece Theatre is suddenly morphed into Ren & Stimpy Meet the Great Gazoo, some folks will love it and others will loathe it. Strong and varying differences of opinion are not new among TV fans.

It depends on what you like to watch. There are, of course, viewers who enjoy the sort of material that Reilly was responsible for, but I am one of the veteran viewers who preferred the mature, sophisticated and adult writing of Bill Bell and Pat Falken Smith. I found Reilly's camp writing to be embarrassing and painful. To each his own, as they say.

ITA. And the more control and authority Sheffer and Reilly gained, the more ATWT and DAYS went to hell.

He was okay at the very beginning, but was allowed to run wild and create an unappealing sh*t show, damaging a lot of characters and the show's integrity in the process.😖

During Agnes Nixon's tenure, Steve came to Bay City as a debonair, well-off business man, fashioned after Cash McCall (a character from 1960's film of the same name), according to George Reinholt. Steve originally had no family ties. Later, Lemay created revisionist history for the character, inventing previously-unheard-of relatives, most of whom were not well off. Soap operas often foist insta-relatives onto existing characters, and I could tolerate the idea that Steve had lied about having no kin because he wanted to distance himself from his roots, so I grew to accept the sudden changes. Steve's sister, Emma Ordway appeared on AW first, in 1972, briefly played by the divine Beverlee McKinsey. Janice Frame, Steve's and Emma's sister, came to Bay City later that same year. Willis, another Frame brother, arrived in early 1975. These were the only Frame relatives to be introduced while George Reinholt was still on the show. Sharlene was introduced in 1975, the year Reinholt was fired, but she arrived in the fall, after Steve was gone.

That's why I added "among so many others," because when I started to think about all the casting misfires on ATWT, it was like an overflowing cornucopia! Along with KMH, Marie Wilson as Meg belongs on that list.

ITA! Those recasts were egregious. Plus Jason Kinkaid as Tom Hughes, Susan Batten as Connor Walsh, Roger Howarth as Paul Ryan, and Grayson McCouch as Dusty Donovan (among so many others) on ATWT. And Wesley Pfenning as Alice Frame on AW. Kathleen Tolan as Mary Ryan on Ryan's Hope. The list of inexplicable, painful recasts is endless, but some are PARTICULARLY heinous.

Drag them all behind the barn, pronto!

I was just about to mention the same pair. And Ellen versus Susan, too. There might not have been physical cat-fights, face-slapping or hair-pulling, but Ellen shaded both Lisa and Susan for YEARS after what they did to her family. No one held a grudge for more decades than our Ellen Stewart!

As dreadful as it is to lose a grandparent, parent, or even a dearly-beloved pet (yes, losing pets can be crushing to one's spirit in a very real way), at least we expect such losses as a part of life's natural progression. Losing a child is not "supposed" to happen; you are expected to pass before your children do. I don't know how anyone survives this kind of loss. I would literally prefer to die, first, than to see my child perish.

Them's fightin' words, LOL!😉

A friend of mine once said that you don't know what overwhelming, abject, and paralyzing TERROR really is, until you're faced with the potential loss of your child. My heart breaks for this family.

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.