EricMontreal22

The show certainly did fall apart (and quickly) as soon as he left as HW (he passed away, didn't he?)

I remember people despised RIdings, but thought most felt Bennett was fine.

I give Schnessel a lot of grief--because I think the show largely became overly camp when he was there (under Peggy O'Shea, who had a long history with the show, the work was much more sophisticated and managed to keep more classic Llanview). I always got the impression Schnessel (what a name) was more of a yes man to Rauch, but that's probably unfair, as there WAS some great character work under him.

Right which made them kinda unbearable. The dance marathon was a rare instance I agreed completely with our beloved R Sinclair--it felt SOO clausterphobic, whether a cost saving measure or not. What an awful, so un-Pine Valley-overused set. "It's an event space! That's also a trendy dance club with "cool" music! And a place to have business meetings! And weddings! oh yeah, and breakfast too!" I really don't get why anyone decided the two major Pine Valley Inn locations--the main dining hall/event space OR the side bar/lounge were passe or something.

Of course, but after a while I really grew to miss them. I can't think of the last big one on AMC or OLTL. I mean even obvious things like weddings where it actually looks like people attended (as a kid I used to love to speculate who all the other people were--particularly my first year with AMC where for a long time it seemed I hadn't even seen the all the characters in the opening sequence--so it was hard to know who were extras and who were simply minor characters, or characters without any story).

Was the first Crystal Ball during McTavish's run? When Adam started seeing the ghost of whatever that blond was, etc? I do remember the tree branch on Dimitri. I agree they were relatively boring. Of course once they stopped doing them due to budget reasons I missed them--as that was when we started to not have any of those classic soap gatherings with everyone dressed up--so I would have gladly taken them back. (The only similar thing we had that I can think of after they stopped in 2002-2004 or there abouts was the Mardi Gras party Janet crashed and caused the explosion which I thinkw as around 2006 and seemed to be one of AMC's last desperate attempts at having a big expensive party).

Oh maybe it means we'll finally get some more of the Wildwind and maybe even Budapest stuff eventually ANd yes that Crystal ball was for he 30th... Still some good stuff, but it doesn't compare.

She doesn't strike me as a stage actress--though I would love to be proven wrong. You don't know the half of it

It's fascinating because Cathy seemed to be a favorite character of Nixon's, despite re-casts.

Has Blake done anything since AMC? And how many women (or men ) have done tampon adverts and then gone on to soap work--Alicia Minshew is another. Others (like Carl) don't share my love for Greenlee pre-Ryan but I think Nixon created her to be kinda a twist on Erica--the poor little rich girl.

Sometimes I've really agreed with her commentary, but things like that make me just... wow. (And of course she knows why Rupaul didn't flirt with Noah). (It's funny I had the episode on while doing work and was just listening to it and for a bit thought Scott was the drag queen... And Bobby wanting desperately to see "the original gender bender"--but so great to see Phoebe on her feet--i don't remember her playing a part)

Please don't taint my pure image of our Jonathan

Cruel! lol I didn't really start watching until she started being slightly redeemed though... It's funny watching Chuck in that 1980 episode--the days when a fit male soap body didn't have to include a six pack...

I think it's too easy and unfair to criticize Daniel's acting (well the actor's I mean...) It's perhaps the most thankless role on the show, I don't honestly know how anyone could play it better...

My brother has a DVD/VCR combo machine I use. I really need to get down and do the final 4 months of City, etc... The only other truly old AMC I have is two tapes of edits someone sent me in the early 90s from 1983, but I think most of the episodes are now on youtube (although it does contain a lot of the lesbian storyline so maybe there would be some interest there as I think that's not easily available...) Aww I loved her, especially during the Adam Stuart story. For some reason I always felt like i could relate to her (which as a 12 year old boy is kinda a scary thought...)

LOL That's my video (I'm Eric Henwood-Greer)! I was just going to edit the video description and title now and then saw you posted it,. LOL Yes, May 28, 1980. Me too--sadly that's all I have, but glad you're getting so much out of them. I'm going to go to my brother's this eekend and digitze some more of my VHS's Yes her mom was clearly modelled after Piper Laurie in Carrie. She was on maybe a week but made a huge impression on me for some reason (I assume it was early in Gloria's run and was partly to make her more sympathetic--or at least explain where she was coming from).

I'm glad Emily at least saw SOME of the light to all she was destroying in the process. The one thing I'm not sure I buy is that Amanda (Fake Amanda) so easily and quickly believed her and agreeably left town

AMC probably in general was one of the tamer soaps, it's true. I do remember around this time there was more though (I also remember a ton of ridiculous scenes when Alec was into Gloria and first came on, of him working out shirtless in the CHandler gym and her ogling him lol)

Considering all the factors with networks, etc and the lesbian angle, I agree.

Nipplegate is one factor. Network tv got so tame when it came to sex since then--remember how just before GL and Y&R experimented with male rear nudity--as did even the family show Once and Again). But in general late 80s/early 90s soaps had a LOT more graphic sex than anything since--I remember around 91 or 92 seeing a Donahue episode where peopple discussed how soaps were softcore porn that children could watch at home and how horrible it was. I admit too many sex scenes on a soap, or even embarassing excuses to have shirtless men can annoy me, but sometimes I wonder (AMC for its past few years seemed to go out of their way not to have any male partial nudity--even for people like Ryan and Griff who seemed hired at east partly for their abs--Griff I think took his shirt off about three times in a year lol--of course watching OLTL right afterwards made the disaprity between shirtless guys on the two shows even more obvious).

Yep near the endof the era when soaps would still fairly routinely license "real" music and not someone either you had never ever heard of, or some generic fake club music, etc. I was in Jr High and I think I felt kinda dirty about it too (not that I didn't like it ). My mom around then would start watching sometimes with me and I know sometimes if I knew what stories would be featured I'd go out of my way to make sure she wasn't watching (oh the innocent days before any teen or preteen could access far worse material with the click of a mouse...) I agree with Carl, some content like that has become a negative soap cliche (and the kind of thing that primetime soaps, particularly by the time of Melrose Place, would take from daytime soaps and emphasize to the utmost), but when done right it's hard to argue it's soapy appeal.

Maxwell--who I love--was camptastic in the role! LOL it just got pretty ridiculous--even as a teen I felt that, but a part of me enjoyed that, LOL. The middle Pierce wasn't remotely memorable and I wonder if they ever even thought about keeping him around or if he was a stop gap. it's too bad that the first Pierce had to be left go, I did like him and with Janet, but it was understandable after his behaviour. (That essay on soap viewers in Worlds Without Ends in its section on gay fans says that the most watched soap at the time--this was '96--amoing gay men by far was AMC but the essayist found it interesting that more women responded to Michael Delaney as one of the most appealing and attractive men on the show--apparently by a wide margin the one gay men surveyed fou8nd the most attractive was the first Pierce). Alec and Arlene were great together I think. Yes the story was borderline sleaze but so well done...

It is isn't it! I think I've been brainwashed to think any early AMC (or OLTL, etc for that matter) must have that fuzzy, archaic, B&W kinescope look. It's always fascinating to me these soap characters and couples who often lasted for YEARS and were never really A story material. I think soaps used ot have more of this--and it helped add to the secnse of community (I mean, I doubt Devon and Wally ever made any soap rag polls as fave couple). Of course OLTL with its quick changeovers seems to have a TON of such characters. Thanks!

I do too--Ifind the vocal version just a bit... much. It's not like that super bombasitc first vocal Loving opening but... I do get the nostalgia fans have for it. I really liked Riley--I'm glad the actor has had continued musical theatre success because he was wasted (unless you count finding out his dad was a psycho gay murderer not being wasted...) I was going to say he was created as part of Malone's Love Crew but actually I guess he wasn't - he was Flash's friend lol (again wasted--why would she go for Priest Joey instead?)

Yes, I prefer Broderick's tenure over you, but there's no doubt she was pressured into big shock stories--some I felt worked (incorporating Laurel's shooting into the gay story) others (voodoo is an obvious example but there were many) didn't. I thought the Janet plastic surgery story--as much as by AMC levels it may have been OTT was well received by fans... And yes, I think Seabone was involved with Opal.