EricMontreal22

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RIGHT there was some Palmer connection apparently, though we didn't get as far as seeing any of that even hinted on screen I don't think. And yes, since the storyline actually directly addressed what kids can be taught, specifically around gay issues, in school (and other things--remember how Trevor was shown as being so worried that Michael would take his nephew Timmy camping?) all things that I think a network soap would simply be told not to get into now..

It was a complicated and weird project that my MA (in English lit no less) developed into--well half of it--a thesis and presentation about the gay storylines on Agnes Nixon soaps, with a focus on the Michael Delaney/Kevin Sheffield gay umbrella storyline on AMC. That was just one part of my overall topic which was about how much maligned "pulp" fiction forms, especially serials, going back to the 1860s "sensation serials" of Victorian England (Wilkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, etc--two authors Agnes Nixon "borrowed" from directly BTW) always were at the forefront of telling stories with progressive social attitudes. But my grad advisor especially liked what I was writing about soap operas, and said that at the time it was expected in Academia to focus on an interdisciplinary model (in this case TV soaps would count) so told me to especially focus on that, and I did. I made the Delaney/Sheffield storyline the main focus because I felt like other 1990s gay soap storylines on Nixon soaps (Billy Douglas on OLTL and Bianca on AMC) had been covered in academic writing before, but everyone kind of seemed to forgot about the earlier AMC storyline which had meant a lot to me as a teen--and I thought it was significant because it had been created as a true umbrella storyline, covering really almost all of Broderick's 90s run on AMC with--and this was confirmed to me--a concentrated effort to keep the characters and their stories on the air, despite ABC not really being so keen (speaking of McTavish causing characters to be written out, that's pretty much happened when she came back to AMC in the 90s with Kevin.) I did get to do interviews (one by phone, the rest by email) with a number of the writers of that time (not Broderick though she was meant to get back to me, but not in time--but one of her associates who I'm not meant to name lol) as well as some of the actors (including Ben Monk who was very excited to talk about the story--very sad how he committed suicide just a few years after I talked to him.) I know I've sent a few people on here my thesis but if you're interested I can share it with you--there are things I'd like to change now, but I was very proud of it and it did extremely well for me academically (I even later was asked to present it at two different conferences in the US.) But as an AMC fan you probably know most of what I cover--I do have the saved interviews I conducted as well which often covered a lot of non relevant AMC related stuff, but I haven't sorted those out or shared them yet.

Thank you! It certainly was nice to introduce an Asian family (even if a rather stereotypical one)--how sad is it to point out how rare that was for soaps even in the early 2000s. I remember fans online couldn't get over how they had Dr Joe stop there for lunch and some dialogue about how he had been going to their Chinese Restaurant regularly for YEARS.

The problem was the way Rayfield wrote (I remember it improved a bit when Cascio--sp?--became co-HW) never felt like Pine Valley and was a lot of quick solutions. So these teens had no real ties to the canvas (although Henry--thanks @DRW50 for the reminder--dated Maggie, Joni was with Jamie and Laurie was with JR) and felt like short term storylines (Laurie's alcoholic dad, etc) AMC was really strange in that brief era--we also had crazy therapist Lysistrata with Liza and Adam doing couples therapy with her (I remember she sent them to see a movie together--and JR and Laurie and maybe Jamie and Joni were there too, and the set and everything else looked like something from a Disney channel sitcom) who briefly dated Tad. I do think Lena and Bianca were in that era (right?) and fans mostly loved them, but... It all felt like quick fixes. In hindsight I think Brian Frons just had Rayfield there as a stop gap measure. He was trying to get Broderick back as HW apparently and when she said no, he hired McTavish. At first Frons did seem to have the idea to re-hire writers for his shows who wrote it during high points in the past (this was also when he hired Josh Griffith and eventually Michael Malone too, for OLTL--of course Griffith left after a year, followed by Malone due to Frons interference.) So I think Rayfield was a place holder and I certainly didn't resent McTavish immediately disregarding much of his stuff--while I did like a bit of it, really it made the most sense. I remember her first episode was a Fourth of July one and suddenly (albeit only briefly) Pine Valley felt more like itself than it had in a while.

I don't think this has been posted. When I did my MA thesis in part about the big 1995-97 gay umbrellas storylines on AMC, I got to speak to writers and cast members but never thought to do any research into the real life teacher who inspired the start of the storyline--with Michael Delaney coming out to his class. Here's that teacher, Rodney Wilson's recollections. Thirty Years Ago: AMC’s Michael Delaney Pointed to a Pink Triangle December 3, 2025 | By Rodney Wilson https://outinstl.com/thirty-years-ago-amcs-michael-delaney-pointed-to-a-pink-triangle/?fbclid=IwdGRzaAOlN3hjbGNrA6U3bmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHmsGwciUx_v8PPO8OVXqlqXU3vOOEVIIO5_nQ8u4370VulcRTa-fSHIX5rmA_aem_uAJ-YXLy0q1prGt_eMu4bQ

Yeah I think this was the case too. Rayfield had introduced a bunch of characters with no strong ties to the canvas--especially those young characters (I'm blanking on the Asian guy's name...) If I recall correctly Jonie lasted longer than Laurie, I assumed because she seemed to be the better actress at the time, though not much longer.

Right, it doesn't add up for me. Ashley's Andre drama notwithstanding, if I was with someone who we were worried might never use his legs again, and I found out he could, THAT would be what I cared about. Sure, I'd be hurt that he didn't tell me sooner, but I would probably get that the reason might have been because he wasn't sure just how well he would be able to use his legs, etc. To have everyone act like he betrayed Ashley. Ugh.

Burke came from Loving and The City (where, all things considered including that "video tape to film" look, she did a great job) and went to AMC not that long after The City was cancelled, really. Didn't Julie Hanan Carruthers basically replace her as soon as the soap she was EP at, Port Charles, was cancelled? I thought, due to AMC not doing great in the numbers, it was done as a sort of "Well we thought you did your best with PC so here you go" present to Julie But I agree with all the comments. (Even if I wish Francesca James had had more time at AMC as EP--at least on paper the statements she made about how she saw the show sounded ideal.)

*Catching up on this old thread just to say... YES. That's where Erica lived when I started watching and even in the early 90s it always seemed like such a weird set for a house. Though, somehow fitting for Erica of that era.

I know this is SUCH a nitpick, but have I been handling my jobs (including two at universities) all wrong? I never thought that I might need a lawyer to look over my contracts for pretty straight forward job positions (which is what it seems like Isaiah's job is--and Isaiah in particular doesn't seem like the type of person who would need a lawyer to go over it...)

I missed today's episode and did a quick search--I had no idea that you can stream every episode here in Canada on Crave--have we already discussed that?

Hayley's speech about why she doesn't feel guilty about getting all she can from Bill was... weird. She seemed to forget that she also is trying to kill him.

Agreed 100% on this all. I dunno why, but I couldn't stop laughing whenever Nicole's maid was on screen today. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing (but really--she has a maid? Even though she often works from home and also has her assistants, etc?)

Well I'm watching and mostly enjoying and I still felt the need to say I found Isaiah's scenes distracting though, if there's proper direction, I'm sure that will tone down/go away. It just seemed like some acting teacher had told him that whenever you deliver lines you should be as animated as possible. It reminded me of those older Disneyland animatronics that are programmed with almost too much movement. I can go on if you'd like? (He is hot though, and I do think there's potential for the character.)

Aren't forums made for nitpicking?

It still looks like the rumpus room my family had in the '80s. Even with the orange orb

I'm glad others clocked Izaiah's "bobblehead." Hopefully it's a tick he quickly grows out of... Also, how old are these characters meant to be?? In my experience it's pretty common to see people in grad school in their late 20s into their 30s (and not so uncommon to see them older) unlike undergrad... Lots of students don't immediately go into it after undergrad. And nobody says "But I've been living in the *pacific northwest* for a while" They'd say the city or something...

LOL Leslie complaining about those perfectly normal looking salads...

HA oh me too... I'm talking more about the little things BEFORE her. Phoebe showing up at an Alden wedding on Loving, etc.

Oh it definitely can create problems... With the ABC soaps (especially the Nixon ones though of course GH crossed over going back to 1969 when Steve Hardy visited OLTL) it always made sense, even when you had 1980s super OTT camp One Life to Live seeming to exist in a different reality than AMC. But yeah...

😮 I mean I even am a Rebecca Budig fan but *vomit* It made me think for example like some of the mostly forgotten mini crossovers on AMC/OLTL like when Adam and Dorian talked business on the phone, (or that 1970 AMC episode we have where Joe is visited by... I forget who from OLTL who is just coming to catch up lol.) *edit* I spoke too soon, just finished today's episode of BTG and they aired a promo saying Kaye was guest starring LOL

They didn't promote this cross over, did they? (I know they did the last one with Y&R) So I assume it was just a cute way to use an existing character from one of their other soaps instead of introducing a new character for one scene--something AMC/OLTL (and other soaps) used to do every so often. I'm fine with that--while I'm not about to start watching B&B, I admit I've always liked the idea of a soap opera shared universe.

I still have my quibbles (BOY do I ever) but the show at least has been fun for me to watch more often than not for a few weeks now, which is more than I can say for most US soaps in a long time, so...

Yep. I can buy all the other arguments people have made about when they met, but I am not backing down from my thought that at least a couple of conversations did make it sound like Dani had been like a second mother figure to Hayley.... (Despite the flashback we got today lol)