Khan

Now, that story, I hated, lol! Liz Vassey was good, but Michael Brainerd and Greta Lind were so boring. I didn't understand why Emily Ann went off the deep end for a drip like Joey, lol. That was when I, as a lifelong AMC fan, began to feel something was very amiss with "my show." I never could quite put my finger on it - God knows AMC had told a wacky tale or two before then - but I just had this sense that the times, and the show, were changing, and not necessarily for the better either. Same thing with OLTL, by the way. In my head, I knew that getting rid of Paul Rauch as EP was the right thing to do, but once I started watching Linda Gottlieb and Michael Malone's work, my heart just wasn't into that show as much anymore.

I would have much rather seen GL's cast reduced to twelve and the show forced to tape using just three sets on LOVE OF LIFE's old closet of a set than be made to endure even thirty seconds of Peapack. And you can quote me on that, terrible syntax and all. And most of the cast looked exactly like that, too, whenever they were on camera. I'll never forget Ellen Wheeler's pitiful attempt at hyping the production changes by saying things like, "We'll finally get to see Cassie plant real flowers in a real garden!". Bitch, I don't CARE about some damn flowers. I watch GL for the characters and their stories. And you don't need to sweat your balls off in NJ to provide them either.

Oh, I *loved* watching "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story" as a kid. I still think it's some of the best work Farrah Fawcett ever did (critics be damned, lol). Sidney Sheldon ALWAYS gave good miniseries. Judith Krantz, too. "Deceptions" played like the recipe for a perfectly trashy '80's miniseries. Take one Stefanie Powers and one Barry Bostwick, add 2-3 internationally famous co-stars (Jeremy Brett! Gina Lollabrigida!) and an eccentric "comic relief" (Brenda Vaccaro!); throw in a precocious child or two (Jeremy Miller, Fairuza Balk); stir in a preposterous story with a forbidden love element (OMG, the bad twin sister's gonna sleep with the good twin sister's husband!); also, toss in enough jewels and furs to make the characters on DYNASTY look like bums in comparison; simmer for four hours over two nights; and voila! Just the thing you need to help you forget how much the Reagan administration and Moral Majority are [!@#$%^&*] you over. Sigh. I miss the '80's.

I agree. You'd think Lifetime, with their TV movies that verge on being exploitational, would know how to produce miniseries that were in the spirit of those made during the '70's and '80's, but it's almost like they want to play it safe. I confess, as hard as I am on soaps whenever they're being trashy, I much prefer the "trashy" miniseries over the "classy" ones. After all, the "trashy" ones aren't trying to win awards; they just want to tell a good story.

It never bothered me either, @All My Shadows. Even when I was in junior high, and my history teacher showed our class the miniseries, I knew "Roots" was, at best, partly fictionalized. I hadn't read the book yet, nor had I heard all about the issues over its' veracity, but I reasoned that whatever anecdotal evidence Alex Haley had uncovered had to have been relayed to him second- or third-hand, and was likely embellished. Besides, it wasn't as if Kunta Kinte, his descendants or any of the other slaves on the Harvey plantation were allowed to keep daily, detailed journals, so who the heck knows all that went down back then or how? What was important to me, then and now, was the message behind the storytelling. If any of the events that were depicted in the book or the miniseries were not real, or if they did not occur as described, or in the exact same order, it almost didn't matter. What mattered was what both Haley's book and the subsequent miniseries had to say about the history of enslavement in this country. Period.

I miss the golden era of network TV miniseries. They were like mini-soaps, but with more money for location shoots, lol. One that made a big impression on me as a child, though, was "Judith Krantz's I'll Take Manhattan," starring Valerie Bertinelli. I watched it again years ago, and it struck me how the first part, written by Sherman Yellen, was almost like a period drama; while the second, written by Diana Gould, was just straight-up '80's trash. Of course, there's a cameo from a certain ex-president who shall remain nameless, but it was a different era, one where most of the country was clueless about him.

Why do I feel like the Danny/Cricket ship sailed a long time ago? I should be happy that Michael Damian is back on the show (for now) and that Danny and Cricket appear to be reconciling, but...like I said...I feel as if that ship has long sailed. Then again, maybe I'm just wishing that Danny would finally come to his senses and get back with Traci.

If you're a TV nerd like I am, you'll also remember her from all those Tylenol commercials she made back in the day, lol. Last I heard, Susan Saint James was happily retired and living in CT with her husband, Dick Ebersol. But, you know, I think she could be persuaded to appear in a Christmas movie (w/ Jane Curtin and the rest of the "Kate & Allie" cast?). And, OMG, seeing Stefanie Powers again in anything would be awesome. Right now, there's a thread about classic primetime miniseries in the Cancelled Soaps thread, and BITD, she and Jaclyn Smith were QUEENS of the miniseries! I think I would die if I ever saw Miss Hall and Miss Lucci share the screen with each other. Talk about "Clash of the Titans," lol. Meanwhile, it's a shame Brenda Dickson has crazied her way out of the business, because she would make a good addition to this ever-growing list, too. You can't remember the '80's without remembering her Jill Abbott showing up for work at Jabot in expensive evening gowns, lol.

You have associate writer Tom Reilly to thank for that. According to one former scribe for ATWT, no one really saw the chemistry between KMH and Benjamin Hendrickson - not even Reilly's friend and former writing partner, Hogan Sheffer - until Reilly said it was like "His Girl Friday," but with the cop and the reporter.

And Alley Mills! You can't forget Kevin Arnold's mom, lol! Sadly, there are so many actresses from that period who are no longer with us: Dixie Carter, Markie Post, Mary Frann, Angela Lansbury, all four "Golden Girls." Maybe Susan Flannery could recreate her death scene in "The Towering Inferno," lol?

I wonder if his brother, David, was/is any better.

I'm sitting here, thinking, "Aside from the soap divas, did we have any other 'ladies of the '80's' who could show up in sequels?" You've got the primetime soaps, but what about sitcoms and drama shows? There's Shelley Long, I guess, and Julia Duffy; the surviving "Designing Women" cast members; and Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless. But I'm hard-pressed to come up with others. (I'm leaving out Roseanne Barr and Cybill Shepherd for obvious reasons, lol).

I think so. By 1991, Robert Calhoun, who'd been the EP for the past two years, had stabilized the show creatively, bringing in Nancy Curlee as Co-HW, then promoting her to the HW slot after Pamela K. Long's departure. Jill Farren Phelps receives a ton of credit for GL's resurgence in the early '90's, but it really began with Calhoun, who moved GL back to being an ensemble show after it had spent much of the previous decade being dominated by Reva Shayne Lewis, played by Kim Zimmer. It's interesting that Gloria Monty was rumored to be in talks with SaBa. Weren't there also rumors suggesting that she was in talks to take over AMC as well? I think she could have done some good for SaBa, but I don't know if she would've been able to save it from cancellation. (Frankly, I think SaBa was a goner by that point).

The more I watch old clips of Jaime Lyn Bauer as Lorie and read about Lorie's years in Genoa City, the more I'm convinced Lorie was Bell's all-time best creation. Simply put, she was a character who worked in so many different ways. You had the sibling rivalry with Leslie that also fed into a triangle with Brad Eliot, the generational conflicts with Stuart and Jennifer, the revelation of her true bio dad and near-incest with Bruce Henderson, the star-crossed love with Lance, the triangle with Lance and Lucas, the QUADRANGLE with Lance, Lucas AND Leslie, the custody drama over Brooks, the "mother-in-law from hell" psychodrama with Vanessa, the corporate intrigue (mixed with sexual attraction) with Victor.... I mean, that girl had her feet in so many different kinds of storylines; yet, Bell never lost track of who she was at her core, and she remained a sympathetic character throughout all of it. I would add Lorie, Jill and Drucilla to that list.

At the very least, they could expand Crimson Lights to include an independent bookstore and record shop. But I still think they need to burn it down.

Charlotte Waring Bauer fascinates me. There, you have a character who was overly arch - certainly more arch than many GL characters had been up to that point - but who manages to stick around for SIX YEARS, even after the witch is exposed as a fraud.

I was playing the exact same game in my head, @All My Shadows, lol! It's so hard for me to come up with a definitive list, though, because there are so many actresses in daytime who I'd want to see working together. But I can't argue with YOUR list at all! And I'm still thinking there could be another "Ladies of the '80's," with repeat performances from Donna, Linda, Morgan and Nicollette, but also with actresses like Susan Sullivan, Ana-Alicia, Michele Lee, Joan Van Ark (God help us), Lisa Hartman Black, Charlene Tilton, Pamela Sue Martin - and, of course, Dame Joan.

I agree. It's one thing to cast more diverse actors; it's another to write well for them. And I don't think AW was writing well for anyone, black OR white, during that period. Same goes for GENERATIONS. You can't just expect African-American viewers to watch a show and keep it on the air because we "see ourselves" on the screen. The writing has to be there, too, or else we're not gonna bother.

I think it could have worked, had they done a better job of casting Charlie. But it seems like they never knew how to cast that particular role. Josh Hamilton came the closest on nailing the part, but his stint was just for Grandma Kate's funeral, IIRC. I don't believe he had any intention of staying indefinitely. Besides, even as I was watching that particular story unfold, I never thought that they were supposed to be a long-term pairing. To me, Charlie seemed more like a distraction for Erica to keep her busy until the next time she and Jack would hook up. (AMC tried their best, but they never sold me on Jack and Erica, lol). I thought the incest storyline with Ceara was pretty good - at least on paper. In that case, Felicia Minei Behr managed to cast two fine actors (Bethel Leslie and Stephen Joyce) to play her folks. But it also was clear that the story was an attempt to redeem Ceara (and make her and Jeremy a more palatable couple) and write more to Genie Francis's strengths, as I think GF has always had a tough time portraying vixens and villainesses. And I know Genie herself has always been proud of her work in that storyline, but I, for one, thought her performance, especially in the story's climax, was pitched all wrong and was probably her worst stuff as an actress (or, it was, before she joined Y&R).

In a way, I feel sorry for Melanie Smith. When Kelley Menighan (Hensley) succeeded her as Emily, Laurie Caso said (in so many words) that Melanie's Emily was too slutty - which, I thought, was just insulting. Moreover, even if Smith's Emily had behaved like a slut, it wasn't as if she was sleeping around just for the hell of it, or to make others' lives miserable. Her need for love, stemmed from being without her father for so many years and being raised by Susan, made her a very complex young woman. Emily, as a character, was certainly more interesting when MS was playing her. (No offense to KMH or her fans, but I thought she would've made a much better Betsy).

Man, that was some good [!@#$%^&*], lol.

And I would count myself among those some. (When grown folks are dressing up for your TV wedding like they're going to a real one, you're a supercouple).

Someone might've posted it somewhere - either on here, or elsewhere on the Internet - but I can't say for certain. I received a copy in the mail from someone who shall remain nameless.

I know "The Second Coming of Gloria (Monty)" hadn't worked out at GH like they had hoped; and I know, too, Paul Rauch had run out of steam at OLTL, which was on the verge of being taken over by Linda Gottlieb if it hadn't already; but what the heck was going on at AMC? I'm racking my brains trying to figure out what could've happened for them to drop that far. Had Michael E. Knight just left the show?

Wow, I had no idea AMC fell THAT far in '91. From what I recall, it was a fairly good time for the show.