vetsoapfan

Right. For decades I "spent" the holidays with the Hughes, Stewart, Bauer, Matthews, Martin, Karr, Lord and Wolek families; with Jo and Stu, aqnd so many other soap "friends" whom none of us will ever have the pleasure of watching again. It's certainly enough to make one nostalgic.

I am afraid that you are humiliating yourself. I point this out carefully, because you do not seem to have the resources to see it for yourself.Less gratuitous antagonism and more restraint might be the better way to go.

Yes, that is right. Going back to at least the 1960s, consultants on the soaps have been paid quite handsomely for offering their opinions and advice, even though TPTB who run the shows on a daily basis have not necessarily followed through and used their ideas or input. Irna Phillips, William J. Bell, Harding Lemay and other giants of the industry have consulted on various soaps but had their ideas dismissed or reworked by the daily show runners. If these legendary talents can be "ignored," any other consultants could surely be, as well.

I remember that commercial! TK was such a likable actress.

I've love to rewatcvh OLTL from 1968 to 1983, and then Michael Malone's homophobia story,, but anything after that, ehhh.

OMG, yes, I'd have a hard time choosing between Smith and Riemelt if it ever came down to that.

@Bright Eyes, don't get me wrong, Brian Hallisay is a nice-looking man, but no o one can equal the cuteness of my baby, Brian J. Smith! 💓

The Sense8 boys were so hot.

@Soapsuds, I agree: Cohen is gorgeous, and makes himself all the more appealing by devoting his life to anti-bullying campaigns.

There are some times when you know IMMEDIATELY that a new character or actor is not going to work out, and I think most folks in the audience and in the studio felt that way about Lacey. She was just awful; uncharismatic, a terrible actress, devoid of chemistry with anyone. Long was right to axe her. Long was also right to see that the so-called "fake Bauers" had been a mistake, and so eliminating Johnny's parents and Lacey from the canvas did not have any negative impact on the show. Unfortunately, the 1980s were rife with characters who did not work out, and who came and went very quickly, although you are right: Lacey's disappearance was probably one of the fastest on record, LOL.

She just said that by the time she left the show was number one. She did not specify time slot, so it came across as if she meant that TD had become the number one soap.

Right. Lakin's run was impressive, and she helped increase the ratings significantly, but TD never reached number one under her pen.

As always, John Kelly Genovese hit the nail right on its head.

Thank you for the link. That was a great interview. My only quibble: Lakin claimed that The Doctors "was number one" when she left the series, which simply was not true. In the 1966-67 season, the series ranked 8/13 soaps, with a rating of 7.6. After she took over, the 1967-68 period saw TD climb to 5/12, with a rating of 9.7. That was a fast and impressive rise, but the show was not number one. In 1968-69, it was 6/14 and 9.3. While I personally adored the time Lakin spent writing for Hope Memorial, there were always other series with higher ratings.

They certainly worked well together, having similar styles. I enjoyed Lakin's work on Peyton Place, The Mod Squad and The Rookies in particular. Edelstein's brief run as How to Survive a Marriage's second head writer was phenomenal!

Edelstein certainly was versatile. He was also credited as a director during the earliest episodes I watched from the end of 1967. His name is "now" (February 1968) nowhere to be seen, and he's not credited as a story editor, producer, or director. Fortunately, we know he returns. Personally, I think the Lakin/Edelstein material is the best of The Doctors' run. I know the Pollocks brought the show its highest ratings, but it is so adult, nuanced and character-driven under Lakin and Edelstein, I am going to miss those aspects once the more plot-driven Pollacks take the reigns. Both Lakin and Edelstein did great work for primetime television, but I wish they had stuck around around daytime longer.

I just recently began watching TD, starting from the earliest available eps of December, 1967. Along with Rita Lakin as HW, Rick Edelstein was credited as "Story Editor" at that time. The "story editor" credit has since disappeared however, along with Edelstein's name. I noticed RE's name was missing around the time Liz Wilson and Nick Bellini broke up and Liz was held captive in a seedy hotel room by that weirdo from across the hall. I'm now in early 1968, and RL's is the only writer ever listed, although as Paul Raven has pointed out, Edelstein should be back working on the show in a few months.

Thank you very much. If the episodes available start in 1979, that means viewers can enjoy about four years' worth of the great Henry Slesar's material before Lee Sheldon takes over.

--The Doctors (vintage NBC soap; currently watching eps from 1968) --The latest seasons of Chicago Med, Fire, P.D.; Grey's Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder --Law & Order: SVU (season three, I am YEARS behind, LOL) --This is Us (the end of season two, sob), downloading season three eps to catch up Where is The Edge of Night streaming? I'd love to watch that again, if I can enjoy the Henry Slesar episodes rather than the dreadful Lee Sheldon garbage.

Lacey Bauer came and went very quickly. The actress was dreadful and the character, who was not developed well or fleshed out, never really had too much of a story. The writing back then was an inconsistent mess. If I recall correctly, Lacey was a gymnast who briefly became infatuated with Alan-Michael Spaulding, but that did not go anywhere and the character was dumped, never to be seen or heard of again. I don't remember if Lacey and Johnny had had problems in their relationship, or why she would not have responded to him.

I did not expect anything from this skit. I knew it would be dumb, not actually funny or clever. I knew it would mock and denigrate the soap, so I just don't see the point. Yes, it was mildly touching to see some of AMC's former castmates together again, but I felt like a dog who had been thrown a plastic bone. In the end, I'm still hungry for what I want: the real AMC.

The dreadful writing during the time of Johnny's introduction did the character no favors. Nor did the tedious, forgettable, cliche characters like the Valeres whom he was saddled with in his initial story. After following 36 years' worth of story, I simply could not accept that Johnny's branch of the Bauers even existed. His grandfather, Otto Bauer, was supposed to be the brother of Frederick, "Papa" Bauer, Ed's grandfather and Rick's great grandfather, but I did not buy it. Otto was never mentioned during any of the Bauers' crises or family celebrations from 1950 to 1986. No one ever mentioned notifying Otto or Johnny's parents, Jack and Lanie Bauer, when Papa died in 1973, or when Bill Bauer died (either time) or when Bert died. I always referred to Johnny, Jack, Lanie and that dreadful Lacey as the fake Bauers, because it seemed to me TPTB just threw them into the mix to placate viewers and shut them up, since die-hard fans of the show had been demanding the core family be resurrected in Springfield for years. But offering us fake Bauers was like offering a plastic bone to a starving dog. Why TPTB did not dig into the show's history and bring back real, established characters like Mike, Hope, Trudy, etc., I'll never understand.

No, Penny had not adopted Amy before she left Oakdale in 1968. Nor did she have Amy when she briefly returned to town in 1971. We know that Penny assumed Anton's name when she married him, because during Chris' and Nancy's 50th anniversary celebration, Frannie introduced her as Penny Cunningham, so Amy was not referred to as "Hughes" because Penny had kept her maiden name. Penny was a Cunningham too. I always assumed that TPTB had just used Hughes as Amy's family name to make her ties to the Oakdale branch of the family more obvious, whether it make factual sense or not. But maybe Penny had adopted Amy prior to her marriage to Anton in England, and given her the surname Hughes already, so that when Penny and Anton later wed and he adopted the girl too, Amy had already established herself as a Hughes and did not want to change her name again. I know that little nitpicky questions like this can drive soap fans crazy, LOL. It happens to me all the time too. :)